What to Eat in Tokyo: 5 Foods That Started Here!

What to Eat in Tokyo: 5 Foods That Started Here!

Tokyo is full of amazing food, but did you know that some of Japan’s most iconic foods started right here in Tokyo? Today, we’re taking you on a journey through five traditional Tokyo born foods you absolutely need to try. From sushi to pickles to street food, they all have their roots right here in the city. We’re starting off with probably the most famous Tokyo food of all, Edomay Sushi. Edom maya means in front of Tokyo which refers to Tokyo Bay. Back in the Edo period, this sushi was created for fast service. They were small bites of fish often marinated or simmered to preserve them before refrigeration existed. And even here at Sushiko, which is a casual sushi chain, which we love actually. You can get edomi style sushies like simmon mackerel, anago. My favorite one is tuna. This tuna is really good. M fresh and flavorful. Also not expensive. I especially like the shim sab the pickled macro. It’s so good. And this is interesting. For a limited time, they’re using red vinegar. Interesting. Last time we came here, they were just using regular rice vinegar. The shima here is always good. And like she said, not expensive. And once again, eddomi sushi refers to this type of sushi where the rice is molded like this. is topped with fresh seafood or other ingredients. What we like about Sushiro is their variety. They have traditional one. Also, they have pujong. This is pujong. It’s a proto basil and mozzarella cheese. And Sushi always has like new items like this one. This is a special maki rose sushi with fried shrimp inside, avocado. We recently did a video on sushi’s unique offerings. Check that video later. The link is in the description. If you’re looking for maybe higherend sushi, Yoshino Sushi in Niashi is one of the oldest. They’ve been around since 1879. And they still serve traditional edomal style sushi in an authentic setting. It’s one of my favorite places for really, really high quality high-end sushi. And if you want a fun experience and you have a big appetite, we recommend Hina Sushi where they offer an all you can eat high-end sushi. And although I say high-end, it’s actually super super reasonable. No matter what, Edomay sushi is something you have to try in Tokyo. So, now we’re headed to Tamakya, located just a 5-minute walk from Shinashi station. This is the birthplace of something sweet, savory, very, very umami, rich, and very Tokyo. So, Tamaka is said to be the original. They’ve been making tukodani since 1830. And we’ve tried many, many. Let me tell you, nothing beats the tukani from this place. All right, we have arrived. This is Tamakia, one of my absolute favorite stores in Tokyo. The shop offers many, many items. These are the original tsukodani. These are my favorite and absolutely recommend these. But if, say, you’re on a low sodium diet, you’re watching your sodium intake. They do have some low sodium versions as well. If you don’t know, here is a great sample. Look, this is scani made with seafood, seaweed, fish or vegetables like so. It’s simarad in soy sauce, meat, and sugar. They even have unagi. Yes. I’ve actually never had unagi before. Hello, Kosan. Hello. Uh, can we try some today? Yeah, of course. Thank you. So, start from this amii. Ami is a kind of a tiny tiny shrimp. Well, basically ami come from the sea, but the tamakia’s ammy comes from the purified clear water. That’s why the scent is more nice and uh not so strong sea flavor and easy eating. Very soft. This is I know this one. It’s really flavorful. Yeah, this is one of our favorites. M. Lots of umami. The shrimp flavor. It’s very Korean shrimp taste. This is definitely one of my favorite the short egg clam. So delicious. Yes. Like that like teriyaki sauce but distinctive the clam taste. It’s beautiful. This one is shed k and you know Einstein he has got the no flies and he loved it. Oh my god. Beautiful oceany flavor, seaweed flavor. But their special sauce is what makes it so special. This is my first time trying this. Check it out. Chili pepper leaf. Oh, wow. M. Wow, that is so aromatic and flavorful. So, Kosan, uh, can we get an order of oniiri? Yeah, of course. So, since we already tried this, this, and this, we’ve never tried this before. I didn’t even know you could make this kani from talango. Why don’t we get the taraco and the new one, the chili pepper leaf? Yes. And also, if you want, you can eat here or take out. Wonderful. Sorry guys, could not resist. So, we’re going to eat the oniiriti inside the store. If you eat it in the store, they serve it with some green tea and their beans. They’re also famous for their beans. Today, they’re serving the zaz mame. This is Tamakia’s very, very beginning. It started with making these beans really delicious. I got the taraco feel filling. M. Oh, the rice is so fluffy. M. I’ve never had taco like this before. And it’s filled with tons of tarakotani. M. Delicious. Sweet and a little bit savory. Really like elevates the taco. Mine is a chili beef. serve lots of leaves. Oh, I see. So, it’s mixed in. Mixed in. My scani umami came to my mouth with this fluffy rice. It’s so comfortable. But I want to say this balance of the spiciness. It has a soft spiciness in this chili leaf. When it’s simmered in sweet soy sauce, it has a balance sweetness and spiciness. Oh, this is the taraco. The tarakot kudani. They even have unagi. Oh, should I get the unagi? When most people visit Tokyo, the first thing they want to eat is like ramen or sushi. But my family, the first thing they eat is tempura. And tempura happens to be an edo original. We’re here at Ginsza. If you guys have been watching us for a while, you know Sonama Ginsza is one of our favorite Shengai shopping streets in Tokyo. There are many varieties of street food here that you can enjoy. We have two favorite tempora takeout shops here in Giza. Today we’re going to be checking out tempeh which is located at the entrance of Ginsa. So originally tempura was eaten as street food in old Edo or old Tokyo. And here you can kind of um eat it as street food as well. Um there’s a takeout place, there’s a wide variety of tempura. So we got shrimp, we got pumpkin, uh fishcake and eggplant. And the people here are so nice. Um if you want to eat it here or just sitting right in front of the shop, uh they will warm it up for you and they’ll even pour some sauce for you. So really, really recommend this place. So of course, one of our favorite is the shrimp tempura. Definitely get this m Oh my god, that’s so good. And you know, the shrimp is always fresh here. I also love the pumpkin temple. It’s a pretty big piece. M delicious. Look at that. So tender, naturally sweet. And then the chuba fish cake. Delicious. I eat eggplant. This eggplant I lightly seasoned with salt. It’s very much with this eggplant fleshing flavor. So this shop tempeh is a super casual place which is why I love it. But you can also go high-end with tempura. Lots of high-end tempura places in Tokyo. One of our favorite places is called Tempo located in Mibashi. It’s super high-end. Uh, it’s one of It’s probably the best tempura I’ve had in my entire life, but it’s like I said, it’s quite pricey for tempura. And so, I’ve only been there once. Actually, we’ve only been there once, and that was the last time. But if you can afford it, definitely check that place out. Um, there’s also some uh casual tempura chains. You can also find tempura everywhere. It’s sold everywhere in the city like supermarkets, convenience store, practically everywhere. Anyway, tempura, my family’s favorite Japanese food, is something you definitely have to try because it is a Tokyo original. So, next Tokyo classic is better. We picked some atoo. Yeah, we especially like this Skimono shop because they have a variety of pickled vegetables, Japanese pickles and and they also have betarazzuk. And the great thing is that you can buy a whole daon, half daon or you can get betarazz already cut up for you. So betarazzuk is made from daon. It’s lightly pickled with sugar and kji or fermented rice malt which gives it that signature sticky surface and that’s where the name comes from. Veta means sticky. It started in the mid Edo period and became popular at the Takarada Abisu shrines autumn festival in Nihonashi area. Even the 15th Shogun was said to love it. So this is better. M. It’s sweet and crunchy and also it has a little bit of tanginess. Very good balance of the sweetness, tanginess, umami. Lots of umami inside. You can find betarasuk at suk mono shops like this one. You can also find them in supermarkets. I think it’s best eaten with hot rice or with sake. That’s my opinion. And it’s especially delicious on a hot day like today. So refreshing. It’s so different from other pickles. You know, it’s also sweet and it’s a little bit um sticky because of that um the rice malt. But it is delicious. So betazuk another Tokyo classic. You must try this. So finally we are here atishima which is Tokyo’s monjayaki town. Almost every restaurant right and monjayaki is something that was born right here in Tokyo. Now until a while back actually honestly until about 6 months ago we both weren’t huge fans of moja which is why we only made one video and that was pretty recent. and we’re gonna go back there today because that made us lovers of mja. The mongja there was so good. Anyway, let’s go. It’s right here. So, moja started out kind of as a snack for children. Uh it was offered in the downtown areas of Tokyo. In fact, my mother used to talk about it all the time. She says that uh it used to be like really cheap food and she loved monja. What we like about this particular restaurant is that not only do they have the original basic moja, but they have some creative ones and very unique ones as well. Also, western style monja. And so, when we first came here the last time, we actually did a video on it. We have the link to that video in the description below. You can watch that later. Uh we had a yamagata beef burger monja and it sounds insane, but it was actually amazing. And we fell in love with the mocha here. So we’re back again here today to try two more unique mochas. So first moja done. This is umakara dand. You know dandan noodles. This one is inspired by dandan noodles. It’s spicy dand moja. It’s very unique. It has ground meat, cabbage, bean sprouts, and sesame seeds. Also they added garlic and miso. And of course some chili. To eat monja, please use this one. This spatula, very small spatula. You scoop up with your spatula. And be careful. It’s very, very hot. M. The sesame seed flavor is really nice. It’s toasted aroma came to my mouth and it’s spicy. It’s like a eating very good dandan noodles. I like this one. Of course, we had to get another one. And we got a unique one. This is a margarita. It’s a Italian moja. And this includes cabbage. Of course, you got lots of mozzarella cheese, which is wheat gluten, diced potatoes, tomatoes, basil, olive oil. Insane. Trust me guys, you will not find moja like this at your typical moja restaurant. M. Wow. It’s like nothing I’ve ever had. That is so interesting because you get the texture of the potatoes. There’s potatoes in there. Super cheesy. It’s tomatoey. Almost like tomato sauce. It doesn’t taste like Japanese food at all. I feel like I’m at an Italian restaurant now. Yeah. This is why we love this place so much. So once again, this is a local kind of dish. So most Tokyo people like it. Um people outside of Tokyo, some people love it, some people hate it. But we suggest you try it out for yourself and decide if you love mojo or not. Either way, this is a Tokyo original. Definitely try it out at least one time. So that was our journey through five of Tokyo’s traditional food. These food go way back, but still enjoyed by the locals today. My favorite was everything. Everything. Mine, too. Everything. Yeah. Everything you have to try on your next visit to Tokyo. Anyway, if you want to dive deeper into Tokyo’s food culture, make sure to check out our other videos. We have playlists on Tokyo street food, Tokyo restaurants, and so much more. Also, don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss a single video. See you on the next one. Bye-bye. Bye.

Looking for the real taste of Tokyo? In this video, we’re introducing 5 must-try foods that were born right here in Tokyo — from world-famous sushi to the underrated but delicious monjayaki!

**Special thanks to Shimbashi Tamakiya for sponsoring this video.**

🍣 Sushi – Affordable and fresh conveyor belt sushi, Tokyo-style!
(We visited Sushiro, one of Japan’s most popular sushi chains.)
👉 https://www.akindo-sushiro.co.jp/en/
✔️weird Sushi at Sushiro
👉 https://youtu.be/DCFsDqA-26k?si=nyylL-95Ij9GNFEk

🍱 Tsukudani – Preserved goodness from the sea
(with a visit to Shimbashi Tamakiya, a long-established tsukudani shop!)
👉 https://tamakiya-shop.jp/view/page/forinternationalcustomer
✔️We try Tamakiya’s tasting course
👉 https://youtu.be/igalVqYsjMU?si=JmfEtKMsKta1t9US

🍤 Tempura – Crispy bites of seasonal seafood and vegetables
(from Tenpei, a local favorite in Sunamachi Ginza shopping street)
👉 https://s.tabelog.com/en/tokyo/A1312/A131202/13140704/
✔️Tenmo is the best tempura weve ever had. Watch this video to see what it’s like.
👉https://youtu.be/yjyLIdmrAv0?si=xxzPPby-VCHY0g4p
✔️Sunsmachi Shotengai is featured on this video
👉 https://youtu.be/bX6hOqhgJXo?si=y6X-3M6AP3_ubTSb

🥒 Bettarazuke – A sweet, slightly tangy pickle made with daikon radish
(we got ours from Washi-ya, a traditional pickle shop in Nihonbashi Ningyocho)
👉 https://centraltokyo-tourism.com/en/spot/detail/106651

🔥 Monjayaki – A sizzling, savory pancake-like dish with Tokyo roots
(we cooked it ourselves at Koboreya Kakoi in Tsukishima, the monja capital!)
👉 https://tsukishima-monja-koboreya.com/
✔️Our favorite Monja restaurant
👉https://youtu.be/r9w8WnSR6zc?si=3h4Q1b2S72tNvSqo

Whether you’re planning your first trip to Japan or just love Japanese food, these Tokyo-born specialties will give you a real taste of the city!

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