i++ coffee date at home reading driftmag
i++ balzac’s
day 0: Train from Yamadera. Check into LANDABOUT TOKYO. Dinner at Beer Bar Marumaru Okachimachi “another of northern Tokyo’s craft beer hot spots, that specializes in beer from Shizuoka Prefecture, and compliments the brews with a selection of Italian-style cooking made using fresh ingredients from the countryside”
day 1: Breakfast at Kayaba Coffee. Check out Uenosakuragi Atari (see img above) and Yanaka Cemetery. Dinner at Take Sushi
day 2: Coffee at Fuglen (see img below). Breakfast at Misojyu. “On the menu you’ll find traditional miso soup but also some unconventional flavors like soy milk miso soup and tomato miso soup” Visit Tokyo Skytree and Ameshin. Omakase dinner at Torisawa
day 3: Visit Rikugien. “Built around 1700 for the 5th Tokugawa Shogun, Rikugien literally means six poems garden and reproduces in miniature 88 scenes from famous poems”. Tea at 吹上茶屋. Train to airport
p.s. six days in tokyo: part i
part i
day 0: Train from airport. Check into MIMARU TOKYO AKASAKA. Savoy. “Italian flavor and tradition meets Japanese precision and dedication in this Tokyo pizzeria where they only do two types of pies, Marinara and Margherita. I’ve lived in Italy and while things sounds blasphemous the best pizza I’ve had in my life was here.” – Aziz Ansari
day 1: Coffee at Little Darling. Check out Aoyama Cemetery. Lunch at Aoyama Flower Market. Visit Nezu Museum (picture above). Dinner/beer at Smokehouse (picture below)
day 2: Breakfast at Sushi Sen (7 am). “squid with yuzu seasoning (¥198) and octopus with shiso and ume plum seasoning (¥198)”. Walk around Tsukiji. Lunch at Nakamura Tokichi and/or Starbucks. Sake tasting at Dassai Bar 23. Walk/shop around Ginza (e.g. G6 Tsutaya Book Store and G.Itoya) // Wagyu sushi at Teppanyaki Grow
day 3: Visit Meiji Shrine. Lunch at Think of Things. Train to Aizu
1: stay claska in naka meguro
2: eat tokoshima (yakitori)
3: shop d department
4: eat seirinkan (pizza)
5: drink saryo (tea)(see img below)
6: drink artless (coffee)
7: eat king george (sandwich)
8: eat blacows (burger)
9: shop nadiff
10: eat ushigoro bambina “sirloin, prepared in two different ways: thinly cut in sukiyaki style with raw egg, and as a steak with the specially prepared onion sauce”
11: walk alpine route (see img above)
i++ his mum made creme brulee
i++ she paired it with panettone we bought from eataly
i++ his dad got dark horse coffee
We are loving BDA very much but every time we visit t dot we debate where we would live when we eventually move back
Me: Gotta be cool and live in the west end within walking distance of giulietta (picture above)
Him: Not as good as bestellen used to be
Me: Well let’s move back to the Esplanade drinking coffee @ tandem and walking around berczy park
Traveling can definitely create a dependency
Achingly beautiful landscape enthralls and as my flight takes off from New Chitose airport, a train of thoughts move towards the next time. For my fifth trip to Japan, should I go to Kitakyushu? Or Sensuijima? Or revisit Wakayama
But before the first train can explode with possibilities, another train of thoughts interjects. Is this real? Or another thing I do so that I can pretend to understand reality without really understanding anything
I think the magic of Japan is the immersion in the here now, eating local, drinking local, buying local. But what is local for someone like me who has lived in different places my entire life?
This final train brings me back to
greenwood (the location of my first school in canada): roast @ pilot
coxwell (the location of our first rental in canada): brew @ godspeed
main street (home sweet home): bbq @ beach hill smokehouse