It was our last day in Tokyo before we fly back to Shanghai in the evening. We woke up earlier than the other days as we wanted to do some shopping before leaving. As there was not much variety around for breakfast, we settled with Yoshinoya located nearby our hotel. Yoshinoya was approximately 5 to 8 minutes’ walk from Hotel Mercure Tokyo Ginza.
YOSHINOYA
3-5-5 Ginza Chuo, Tokyo, Japan
Pork Bowl | 330円
Pork Bowl comes in four sizes and I chose the smallest one. I think it was the difference in portion size for the pork instead of the rice. The pork was sliced thinly, not exactly melt in the mouth texture but good enough for the price paid. I liked that it was not heavily seasoned.
Deluxe Broiled Eel & Rice Box | 820円
Deluxe Broiled Eel & Rice Box alone was 750円 but Sister made it a set deal so it was an additional 70円 for miso soup and salad. The broiled eel was not bad but I personally think it was not the best yet.
We retreated back to our hotel for some last minute packing and check-out. We left our luggage with the concierge for collection in the evening before heading to the airport. We took Marunochi Line from Ginza Station all the way to Shinjuku Station. We ended up not shopping much as the station was too big in size and we feared that we may not be able to make it back to the station.
Sister bought some skincare products from a drugstore inside the station and I got myself a pair of new glasses from JINS. Waiting time was half an hour so the both of us decided to kill the time by having lunch since we could not find the way out of Shinjuku Station to the street we intended to go.
すし三崎丸
1 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
Lunch was atすし三崎丸 inside Shinjuku Station. Most of the restaurants were queuing and you need to wait for other patrons to leave before you can have a table. But this restaurant does not offer chair and you have to stand while eating. So, everyone leaves right after they are done and no one lingers around. So, we got two spots once we were inside the restaurant.
The sushi chef do not speak English but they do have an English menu. So, we pointed to him what we wanted on the menu and with some finger language for quantity. LOL! It was a fun experience though. Albeit not speaking their language, it is okay as Japanese are extremely friendly.
Assorted Sushi | 722円
Tuna Hand Roll | 150円
All sushi in Japan are prepared with a tiny bit of wasabi on top of the raw fish. If you cannot take the taste of wasabi well, I suggest you might want to inform the sushi chef about it. I do not eat wasabi here in Brunei as I did not like the taste and smell. However, the ones in Japan were okay for my taste bud. So, all were good.
After lunch, we walked a bit here and there. As usual, we went into different drugstores to compare prices. We took the Metro and returned to Ginza Station as Sister was looking for MUJI. MUJI in Japan is a lot different compared to the ones we have in Shanghai. There are so many items which are only available at MUJI in Japan.
Sister bought assorted tea bags and I bought two packets of Instant Matcha Latte Powder. One for myself and one for Jennifer. On our way back, we dropped by a food mall and got ourselves a piece of Fruit Tart from La Maison Ensoleille Table Patisserie.
Fruit Tart with Shine Muscat | 760円
We bought this despite the steep price because Sister wanted to have a taste of how Shine Muscat is like. She wanted to purchase one whole bunch from a fruit shop but the price was horrendous. I think it was more than B$100 for like 20+ pieces of grapes? We rested a bit at Starbucks Coffee nearby Hotel Mercure Tokyo Ginza before we make our move towards Haneda Airport.
We reached airport early and check-in was a brisk affair. So, we decided to have dinner before going through Immigration clearance. However, most of the restaurants were crowded and required waiting. So, we decided to try our luck inside the departure terminal. And yeah, we got better luck inside and the pricing was not as steep as the ones outside.
Gyoza
I had their Tsukemen style ramen. It was good and the texture of the noodle was thick but springy. The soup broth was however too thick and salty for me. All in all, this was good if you like strong flavors.
So, this summed up my entire Tokyo 2016 holiday trip. As you can tell from my blog entries covering Day 1 to 3, we did not do much due to weather and time constraint. However, it is in my consideration that we will return to Japan next year (hopefully) but to Kyoto and Osaka. I was being told that Tokyo is not a city for food but Osaka is.
DAILY SNIPPETS OF LIFE 