Tokyo, Japan (June, 2015) – Day Six: Tsukiji + Asakusa + Shibuya

January 9, 2016

Early mornings will forever be an essential at the Tsukiji, Fish Market. If you miss their early schedule, you’ll miss out on the best seafood as well! So, that was the very first thing we had on our list of missions to accomplish that day: wake up and come early to have a richly authentic seafood meal at the famous Tsukiji!

I’ve heard rumors about Tsukiji being flocked and crowded by locals and foreigners every morning. True enough, upon arriving there, it was even more crowded than I had imagined! But for me, it was crowded, strangely, in a good kind of way. The liveliness of all the activity, merchants shouting out to customers for deals and offers, chefs busy preparing in open kitchens–the whole scene just seemed to excite me and made me anticipate for more!

Despite the slightly rainy weather, Tsukiji’s crowded alleys were still very walk-able. Every turn in every corner to one alleyway to the next, you will undoubtedly find a wide array of fresh seafood, with some that you can even have grilled on the spot so you can eat it while standing by the stall. And, I find that any kind of seafood that I had come to try in Tsukiji, whether being prepared at an outside stall, or being specially prepared behind the kitchen counter, was like the freshest kind of gold (if there was such a thing) that would just melt into my mouth!

Spot the large fish head!

With a wide range of options of restaurants to choose from, it was certainly difficult for us to settle on a final decision. Much more, it was difficult to find a seat in a restaurant because almost all the places were practically full! ..I guess it’s because we arrived “late” in Tsukiji schedule standards. We actually started looking for a place to eat in at around brunch time (9 AM-ish?), whereas morning in Tsukiji usually start at around 3 AM, mostly because of the famous tuna auction.

Luckily enough, we found a wonderful sushi restaurant, and decided that any choice in Tsukiji would be a good choice anyway. Since, where else does the freshest fish in Japan come from? 😀

The restaurant we chose (I forgot the name, sorry. I couldn’t read it since it was in kanji.) was also pretty packed, so our group of four had to divide into two pairs in order to actually be seated. So, we just had to settle with having our “brunch” as a split group. Well, that didn’t really hinder us from having a great meal! I ended up ordering a sashimi set (which was actually posted in my Instagram, but I wasn’t able to snap a shot of it with my mirrorless.. :c). Never in my life had I had such fresh, rich, and juicy sushi! I can now properly compare the differences of authentic fresh sushi to that of the ones I get to eat in Manila!

Internally cryin’ ;u;

As we were exiting Tsukiji, we witnessed a shop with a chef currently in the process of cutting a tuna! Amazement *u*

After a rejuvenating experience in Tsukiji, we headed to Asakusa for the early afternoon. We had Sensoji Temple as the next stop in the check list of our itinerary.

Ninomiya Kazunari + Lawson ♥

At the entrance of the Sensoji Temple, there were actually a bunch of rickshaws “drivers” on stand-by. The whole view felt very reminiscent of the Edo period.

The Kaminarimon of Senso-ji

Back view of the entrance

After getting past the gate, you will be welcomed by Namikase Dori, which is a famous traditional shopping street within the temple grounds. Along it you will find a multitude of stores that sell a wide array of products–from snacks, charms, fabric, and much more.

Along Namikase Dori

Went to buy some traditional-flavored soft serve!

Got me a matcha soft serve! Fave #1!

My sister’s sakura-flavored soft serve! Fave #2! A unique kind of cherry flavor that I have taken a strong liking to! ♥

300 Yen soft serve! ♥

Going past Namikase Dori, we were headed towards Senso-ji’s main shrine area, which is where you can also draw omikuji (fortune drawing).

My omikuji (fortune) for that day! I think was able to draw regular luck at that time. 😀

If you get bad luck (which is what my sister got. lol!), it’s tradition to tie your fortune on these bars. From what I know though, people normally tie it to branches of trees. And, the higher you tie it, the more effective.

*shake shake*

We actually ended early at Asakusa, which was supposed to be our last activity for that day. But since we had a lot of spare time, we decided to head to Shibuya again! Since my sister and I were the only ones who got to see the Hachiko statue, we decided to go there again to show my mom and my other sister.

Hachiko! ♥ Shout out to the girl with the adorable bunny backpack. 🙁 I covet!

Crossing Shibuya Crossing again! 😀

We headed to Shibuya 109 just for a bit to window shop. I, in particular, really liked the shops there, but my siblings didn’t seem as interested, so we decided to head out to look for a place where we could have dinner.

We were actually aiming to have okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake) for dinner that day, but when we reached the restaurant somewhere at the uphill area of Shibuya, we found out that the restaurant was fully-booked. Since we were extremely tired from all the walking, plus extremely hungry from the all the energy we’ve used up, we decided not to be so picky and just settle for any restaurant nearby that seemed to have any kind of good-looking menu. We eventually settled for a simple katsu-curry restaurant.

Simple dinner, but very very satisfying! Katsu Curry is love! ♥

While having my dinner, we started hearing people shouting outside, so we wanted to check out what the commotion was all about. Then, I spotted these people cosplaying Mario characters while riding Mario Karts! omg How adorable is that??

I CAN’T EVEN.

After dinner, we headed back to Ebisu to rest at our AirBnB, but my younger sister and I decided to stop by a nearby cafe called Sarutohiko Coffee to try out some of the specialty coffee that Japan has to offer. Not to mention, since my sister used to work as a barista in a specialty coffee shop, she’s very keen on researching and trying out cafes in the different countries we get to visit. Sarutohiko Coffee was in her check list for Tokyo, and luckily enough, the AirBnB we booked was just nearby, so yey! Bonus!

We bought ourselves some coffee beans, cause, third wave coffee is love. ♥

ugh. the equipment. ♥

The very friendly staff who were so kind enough to agree to our request of giving us a shop card, as well as signing a coffee cup for us so we can bring it back home to Manila as a souvenir! lol.