I Tried the Most Japanese Places in New York City! NYC Travel Vlog!

I travelled to New York but it was like travelling to Japan!
From food, dessert, festival, shopping, and bento, I experienced the best of Japanese culture here in NYC! Let this be your travel itinerary!

Japanese Festival lasts until first week of November 2024, so hurry!
https://www.japanfes.com/

Train to New York Video:

#travelvideo #soltube #solotravel #manhattannyc #newyorktravel #japanesefood #japanfestival

Welcome to New York City another bustling day in New York City right behind me is a typical city of New York but tomorrow they’re holding the biggest/longest Japanese festival here in New York City well I figured, today and tomorrow I’m gonna be doing or looking for everything ‘Japan’ about Manhattan and like that I was on the move racing against another train Hi here’s East Village of New York City known for its laid-back and hip atmosphere you will find vintage shops and many small yet unique eateries throughout this area right across is my first destination my 10 out of 10 Japanese skills says this place is called Kenka nah that’s what Google told me I don’t speak Japanese I got here a bit early so I’ll look around the area see what they got! more Japanese places and a salon a Korean cupbop as well as a Mexican place reiwatakiya health and beauty shop Chef Tan’s Chinese cuisine and taiwan’s number one cafe! how global! in reality I spent a lot more time walking around but I’m going to use this time machine called editing to get us to 5 oclock as I waited my turn I noticed an odd looking machine which apparently is a free chicken machine also no organized crime allowed soon enough I was inside and this place was like no other unfortunately I think the speaker is right above me so I could not speak too much anyhow this movie poster looking thing is actually a menu that offers a dollar fifty draft yes dollar fifty for the indecisive, you could probably spend a good 30 minutes just looking to the menu appetizers of all kind fresh selections including seafood and sushi Buta kimchi which should be milder than the original Korean kimchi deep-fried, ooh french fries grilled stuff and noodles which I filmed in portrait for some reason rice bowls and more well I’m going to try the sashimi moriwase and katsudon which is pork cutlet over rice does anybody know what these are for so this means gentlemen that means ladies holy cow this is a very… funky restroom wow I couldn’t check out ladies room for obvious reasons but reviews tell me it’s not as funky (is it?) and here we got games from 70s..? I would like to guess? let me know if you know and here maybe he aged oh wow maybe not for kids maybe not for kids I continued to look around as I waited for my food I think there was like one or two words that I know out of hundreds ahhhhh watashi ga~ soon enough, it was time! pork cutlet over rice, sashimi moriwase here we got red tuna, salmon mackerel and bonito all looking colorful and of quality first up, tuna! as shown on the phone the redness is often an indicator of its quality and as expected this was very good and it is a good quality too I don’t know how they manage at such price let me try the salmon too next up salmon, my favorite sushi and I was happily pleasant with that soft texture and delicious taste up next woah are you saying this it’s like right out of steam sauna so hot and so delicious it reminded me of good old days when I was able to get a lunch special katsudon for 12 dollars most fishy of all mackerel was good and so was that chewy bonito I tried the Japanese culture of eating a bowl of rice with chopsticks then I realized I’m more Korean 30 minutes in and the restaurant is packed wait is that oh~~~ that’s what the basket was for haha look at this noob welcome to New York I tried my best but they were so generous I still can’t believe that bowl was $8.50 yeah $8.50 I remember when Chipotle Bowl used cost $8.50 by the way what’s the salt for? 90 minutes on weekdays too? just FYI this place has a 90 minute time limit ah that was a delicious meal let’s go find ourselves a dessert right next door we got a place called Teso a Japanese grocery store music everywhere I go today decorated with bright pastel colors offering toys, beauty products and huge range of global food options let’s get myself some dessert shall we I can tell I’m at an Asian grocery store just based on how cute these characters are I mean look at this cute koala and panda are these Lay’s that have been exported and imported back? Korea’s all-time favorite the shrimp crackers iconic Japanese green tea taiyaki as ice cream! but they only come in a box so I’ll grab one of these on my way out man this place is really something and not just Japanese but all kinds of Korean instant noodles Japanese instant noodles Global tea and here Korea’s two biggest favorite and Buldak! which was recently outlawed in Denmark for being too spicy chopsticks for kids! which I don’t need because I’m a big boy (old boy) crayon Shin-chan Hello Kitty were you here the whole time embarrassing run time for some artificial goodness 맛있다 Mashidda means delicious I just finished the ice cream right here right out of Teso just people watching now I did have an artificial cheap dessert this was good too but let’s do a proper dessert The Bao, Land of Buddha and here we got Tokyo Taiyaki it looks a lot better without the eye all right seasonal specials and let’s take a look at the full menu it’s simple just list of filling options and duo mix option as well but I figured I’ll try the classic red bean and season triple Oreo! if I had to guess it’ll probably be too much for me let’s see if that’s the case here I got the red bean and Oreo which look identical from outside and it’s actually a lot bigger than I thought let’s start with the tail side the tail and outer layer are chewy flour-like batter which I love two of these is enough of a meal not a dessert look how fat the filling is and up next the Oreo I was curious about this one wow Oreo overload sweet, very sweet possibly too sweet for some it was good just couldn’t finish it because they were too big all right let’s freshen up with the iconic green tea and afterwards oh.. I came to see New York’s iconic Flatiron Building which is under renovation efforts as usual welcome to another bright morning in New York I am currently on the 8th and 55th let’s see what we got here so the Japanese festival is few blocks down I think they’re getting ready it was a bit early but the whole Eighth Street was getting ready for festivals and markets every Saturday and Sunday you can expect a couple blocks to be blocked like this you can also haha NYPD Officers are nice let’s see what else is happening Dragon Fest okay here we got Thailand mhmm Thai crispy chicken and on the next block must, keep,, moving,,, whew finally Japan Fest at Midtown every week (1 day) it is held on a different location until November 2024 let’s check it out fortunately and unfortunately I was early so I walked back and forth to see the early birds little did I know it’ll be shoulder to shoulder soon before we get there let me show you some of early birds here we got takoyaki and matcha, or green tea taiyaki or oh Frenchie taiyaki okay cat mint wheel cake kimonos for sale ooh silky paste Ice Cream and buns! Taiwan Peking and Korean buns oh Tanhuru! don’t let your kids see them (verrry sweet) and of course cute characters because that’s Japan Wagyu on the street 20 dollars a piece okonomiyaki Yakitori and Tokyo fried chicken and I continued to do some laps until vendors were ready to go and then I noticed more flags down the road Japan Jamaica Mexico as well as Colombia I love New York soon enough it was time first on the list takoyaki from KarlsBalls that is the name of the vendor that’s Karl he is famous look at those Golden Balls of takoyaki we’ll have to find a place to stand wait that trash can.. is now a table for my camera here we are! ball’s breaking! sounds weird but yeah literally the ball’s breaking apart it was hot! like, how would you like your tongue cooked? hot so the only takoyakis I’ve had are like the frozen ones that you microwave and those are okay but this is great! well when it comes to great food I’m willing to take some chances look no further this is gold right here up next, Japanese Yakitori here I got the beef on my right and chicken on the left I take my first bite [it’s salty] and I burst into laughter don’t get me wrong, this was great but they made sure you get the taste of the Himalayan salt it was special chicken’s good too but is it something that you can only enjoy here or from Japan? like authentic Japan? I don’t know,, the beef, this feels special this feels different once past that initial strike of salt it indeed felt special and delicious I’m right now debating whether I want to try that special A5 wagyu huh huh, a certificate for beef.. interesting Would you like some sauce? which one’s,, I recommend this one (spicy) must protect my wagyu! all right let’s take a closer look quite thicker than the Kobe beef I just had and there’s the hint of spicy sauce to the side you can probably see in my face I was rather questioning initially at least second piece second piece, third piece, yet still I mean yes good stuff, delicious but I don’t know about $20 a skewer but NOW, the last piece I just had was awesome rest 3 I was questioning but this last piece was eye-opening like oh is this what wagyu is? kind of moment It was greasy, tender, yet fluffly, making me think oh how is this possible? How is such taste and texture possible? was my thought at the moment the last piece got me like oh? so this is wagyu? I think I’ll try more next time when I get a chance and by now yeah no way I can,, so I just got myself a cool bubble tea and was on the move down the 8th Street one, two, three blocks? three blocks away from the Japanese festival there’s more still more! all right six blocks down from the festival I am on the 42nd that meant over 10 blocks were closed off for markets, festivals, and events of all sort next time you’re here on a weekend make sure to check out the 8th Street or avoid at all cost if driving and next I was at a Japanese bookstore it’s more than just books I promise see manga, toys, collectibles oh hi Luffy! the first floor looks to be a normal bookstore down the steps is a huge space especially for New York City filled with authentic Japanese books and things of cultural significance that read right to left and schoolgirls with rifles military Moe I think was the culture and cute fluffy animals yeah we also got craft materials for those interested of course cute characters are a must here as well and up the escalator was where the most crowd was featuring a cafe and a large space filled with everything you are looking for new releases legendary Death Note, Dragon Ball Z Demon Slayer, JoJo’s, Hunter x Hunter and of course the One Piece some ninty volumes of them we got figures in costume which I’ll keep my distance I’m exaggerating it’s not that bad although the price tag of most items in there were indeed in hundreds areas and I found the only thing I could afford 12 dollars all right I said my bye to fluffy, took a selfie with Luffy and was on the Times Square what brought me here was Tamashii Nations Store which pretty much sells everything we just saw plus more, a lot more can you name everything that you’re about to see? oh I know Pac-Man hello giant Goku and here I am it is a rather small space but this is the place if you are looking for anything from Japanese anime which of course cost quite a bit as well much like Kinokuniya one piece is the big name but in addition, we also got Godzilla, Sailor Moon Samurai Darth Vader which looks pretty cool Gundam, Ultraman, Spy Family Pac-Man, magical stuff, and a samurai sword prop I’m sure what I just mentioned is not even a third of their collection so if this is your thing go check them out and now of all the figures this super cute little Chopper was only 25 dollars looks like you’re coming home with me! I think I’m gonna try bento’s which is sort of like a Japanese culture when it comes to trains I was now getting ready to head back home Wasabi Sushi and Bento! and I said let’s get myself a meal to take on with me to the train station let’s see what they got we got a lot of sushi in boxes because bentos mean box of meal well if you were expecting something like this you might be disappointed hmm that’s how it actually looks I think they could use better lighting here also got hot food section to the side similar to katsudon from yesterday and ooh shumai appetizers all right a box of sushi and shumai it is that’ll be $19.38 do you need chopsticks or forks? just one chopsticks please time for more chopstick challenge! now I’ll be honest it was a 15 minute walk to the train station so it wasn’t exactly a box of meal on a train culture known as Ekiben ah back to Moynihan Hall! I made a separate dedicated video covering the train to and from New York, the premium lounge, and a special train that runs only once a day so check out the card or the description below now my special train wasn’t until midnight and so it was time to eat I grabbed my shumai,, by the top and it just popped chopsticks to the rescue! rescue! microwave shumai I recognize these flavors but they’re good ones and with a free snack plate from the lounge I was ready to eat nice plating skills man.. tiny fish huge amount of rice first up Sushi Bento decent grocery quality stuff and tamago, or the egg omelet oh wow! was to my liking and I enjoyed my meal over the overlook view and concluded my Japanese days in New York hope you enjoyed the video don’t forget to like and subscribe and thank you for watching goodbye!