Tokyo in 40: Cheapo Steakhouse

After an afternoon at Ghibli Museum and wandering on the streets of Kichijoji for a mini zakka crawl, I decided to stick around the neighborhood for dinner before catching my midnight flight home. There's no lack of choices of places to eat near the train station, either inside the food halls of shopping centers and department stores, or inside a few blocks of narrow alleys lined with bars and izakayas (called Harmonica Yokocho)

Tokyo in 40: Kichijoji Zakka Hunt

Hopping on the bus after visiting Ghibli Museum, soon I was back to the busy streets of Kichijoji. I did my research in advance and made out my itinerary for a mini zakka hunt in the afternoon before dinner time. There are so many interesting shops in this area that I could easily spend a few days going through them one by one, but with only a few hours to spare, I got to be a bit selective.

Tokyo in 40: From Toro to Totoro

The neighborhood of Kichijoji, a western suburb near Tokyo, is known to be a shopping haven for homeware and zakka, and being a self-professed shopaholic for both, I am still puzzled why I have never visited there before. And this time shopping wasn't even my main purpose as I hopped over to this side of town for a museum that I always wanted to go, after my sushi lunch in Tokyo.

Tokyo in 40: Sunday Sushi Lunch

Finding a proper place to eat in Tokyo on Sundays is not as easy as one might think since many fine dining establishments chose to rest on that day, but Sushi Shin in Nishi-azabu is a rare exception, which stays open on Sunday and closes every Monday instead. So I asked the hotel concierge to make the booking for me for Sunday afternoon.

Tokyo in 40: Morning in Daikanyama

With the many times I have been in Tokyo, I have never been to Daikanyama – I still don’t understand why as the setting would have been my favorite hangout. But anyway, I rectified this situation this time with a visit to this trendy neighborhood on Sunday morning.

Tokyo in 40: Dinner at Kanda

While my Tokyo weekend was not entirely about food, I did have a few restaurants in mind that I was eager to try this time around. After an extraordinary lunch at Den just a few hours ago, in the evening I went for dinner at Chef Hiroyuki Kanda’s namesake restaurant at Moto-Azabu. Chef Kanda-san is a legend on his own, having earned the 3 stars for his restaurant Kanda in the first Michelin Guide Tokyo and retained the accolade til now. But this is not the only reason I wanted to visit the restaurant. A few years ago we had a memorable meal at Tokushima’s Aoyagi owned by Chef Hirohisa Koyama, whom Kanda-san has worked under for over a decade before going on his own in 2004. So with the chef coming through the school of one of the chefs I admired most I am curious to see how their cooking styles compare.

Tokyo in 40: Take Me Out to the Ballgame

I finally managed to catch a professional baseball game in Japan this time, as this is something I always wanted to do but never had a chance to. I was planning my itinerary for Saturday afternoon when I realized Den was literally right next to Meiji Jingu Stadium which is the home field for Yakult Swallows, and they happened to be playing at home that weekend against Seibu Lions. So I thought it would be a good idea to attend the game after my lunch at the restaurant.

Tokyo in 40: Mo-DEN Kaiseki

After breakfast, I managed a quick nap in my hotel room (thanks Hilton for letting me check in at 8am - must be my record of earliest check in at a hotel), and after that I was all refreshed and ready for lunch at Den, a restaurant owned by the young Chef Zaiyu Hasegawa that many of my friends have gone and loved, and now it became so popular that I needed to call them a month in advance to confirm a spot.

Tokyo in 40: Ramen Breakfast

Last year I spent a quick weekend in Tokyo with approximately only 50 hours on the ground - turned out the weekend was filled with happenings but didn't feel the rush. So this time I am doing it again with an even shorter stay (10 hours less, to be exact), made possible by the favorable flight schedule by the local low-cost carrier HK Express with red-eye flights both way.