Tokyo Day 21
I wanted to show Adrienne the area of Shinjuku that I had stayed in before she arrived, so we headed back into the city to stay in the same hotel I’d scoped out with the guys. But first, breakfast!
This is a bento available from the bento shop in Ontakesan. Note that for less than $4, you can have a complete, delicious, healthy meal. Green beans, squash, salmon, egg, and rice. The bentos from this place were phenomenal. I’d kill for a place like this back home.
Rice hidden underneath the bento.
The shop in Ontakesan where they roast coffee to order.
Pimp your PSP!
There’s an absolutely amazing tonkatsu place in Shinjuku that Yuzo had shown me, where I needed to take Adrienne. They have people walking around with baskets of pickles and cabbage to refill your plate, and you grind your own sesame seeds for the sauce.
Every department store in Japan has a basement completely full of delicious foods and desserts.
Look at all that tasty goodness.
This place did all kimchee and pickles.
A very cool tea store.
And of course, dessert cakes.
And pastries.
There’s a store called Ranking Ranqueen that cracks me up. Every week, they have the top 3 products in a million different categories for sale. That’s all they do, an aggregation of the top selling products in Japan. Here’s the best selling milk coffees, teas, and lemon drinks.
Best selling snacks of every possible category.
Adrienne was tempted to make off with the whole rack.
The best selling bubble baths, based on your blood type!
Note that the best selling headphones look like M&Ms.
Best selling matchbooks have cat prints on them??
It was pouring rain that night, Adrienne went to sleep, but I went out to wander the streets of Shinjuku.
I had to stop at my favorite Indian joint. This place is run by one single guy, and is open til 5am. He cooks some of the tastiest curries and rice you’ll ever have, for a couple hundred yen. I chatted him up for a bit, and he says that the company that runs the restaurant flew him from India, pays for all his meals, lodging, insurance, and pays $30k a year on top of that. Pretty sweet gig.
And that’s a good end to the evening.