Tokyo Food Vlog (+prices) | Unexpected Finds, hidden gems & Japan Flavors | Japan Food Journey Ep.1

Tokyo Food Vlog (+prices) | Unexpected Finds, hidden gems & Japan Flavors | Japan Food Journey Ep.1

Welcome back to East West Wonder where we take you on the food journeys around the world. This time we are in Japan and we know it can feel overwhelming with so many food spots to choose from. Not everyone wants to wait in long lines at high places, but you still want amazing authentic Japanese food, right? In this series, we will show you hidden gems and local favorites in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. carefully researched and often discovered by following where the locals actually eat. You’re ready for real Japanese flavors without the cues. I was born ready. Then let’s go. Today is the day the largest travel for us for this year. And guess where we’re going? We’re going to Tokyo. How you feeling now? I’m very excited. But of course, like we have to survive like 16 hours flights with the change in Abu Dhabi. But I’m sure we’ll enjoy it. And you know what you feel about the trip? Super excited. And uh I couldn’t wait to try all the Japanese food and to show you how amazing the food there. I guess I haven’t been there, but after watching a lot of videos and suggestions, I cannot wait. [Music] That’s it. Really? So, after 16 hours of flying, we finally reached Narita International Airport. And now we need to figure out how to go to Tokyo. From here will be a challenge, but we think we can do What’s the first thing you uh did when you landed in Japan? I bought a beer. I mean, it’s quite hot here in comparison to Munich and you know, Japanese beer. So, let’s try refreshing. How much it cost? 350 yen. So, it’s like around €2. Oh, that’s quite okay. For airport, for the airport is nothing. I mean, in Munich, I think it cost like around5 to€6 and here fair price. Ah, the fastest way to go to the center is to take the train. You can take the express. So, it costs around €15 per ticket to go to the city center. We haven’t checked in the hotel, but uh first thing we need to buy something from 7-Eleven. Guess what? What we need to buy? So, this is onigiri. Um it’s like a triangle like mini sandwich with rice and filled with salmon, I think. So, we’re going to buy it and try it. That’s the first snack in Tokyo. So, we got our an oniiri. I need to open it first before we try it. Looks good. Oh, guys, it smells so good. I don’t know. It’s my first food in Japan. You ate a lot of this in um Germany, so you can compare. Really? Yes, absolutely. And uh I I will try it right now. Looks really good. This is very different. It tastes rather like like sushi, I would say. Like good sushi. Feel like with salmon and also with fish eggs. Let’s try a bit more of filling. [Music] Super flavorful. A little bit salty. You know, we had this things in Germany. I will eat it for lunch when I go to to the office and work. Oh, it it smells really good actually. Strong smell of the sea. Like can’t describe it, but it’s very different from what you can find in Europe. So many. After grabbing some delicious onigiri at 7-Eleven, we walked to check in at our hotel in Shinjuku. Tokyo impressed us right away. It’s crowded, lively, and packed restaurants everywhere. Exactly what we were hoping for on our Japanese holiday. So, this our hotel who just arrived. It’s quite small, but pretty decent. I think we will survive for a week in Tokyo. And here’s the restroom. After checking into our hotel, we went straight to our first coffee in Japan at Ael Tree Coffee in Shinjuku. The place had such good vibes and great coffee. Spoiler alert, it wasn’t our last time coming there. So, I got my coffee. It’s actually dripped coffee. Um, the first coffee I try in Japan. Um, and it’s iced. I mean, the weather in Tokyo is pretty warm, so why not? Let’s try. I like cold coffee. You know, you feel like the bitterness of roast roastiness and um roastiness, you know, of this coffee. It’s really really good and refreshing. I think I will be definitely awake after 16 17 hours of uh travel to Japan. It’s really good. Tastes similar like Americano or you know it’s something similar between Americano and cold brew. But it’s a bit different. I can’t really describe 1% how does it taste. But um if you really like a black coffee, this is the thing for you. Black and cold coffee. So it’s like it’s so with milk. Let me try it. Wow. After mixing it, it tastes like well balanced between milk and coffee. Strong taste of coffee. It’s really good. Then we took a walk around Shinjuku area to explore a bit. The atmosphere was electric. Bright lights, busy streets, and so much energy everywhere. And of course, we had to stop by and see the famous 3D cat. It’s even cooler in real life. For our first dinner in Japan, we went to Ichiran Ramen. Yes, it’s touristy, but why not to start with the basics? Classic ramen to kick off our Tokyo food journey. Like a secret path. So this is how you order in this um ticket machine and you can play by card as well and per cash. So you can choose different items whether you want a garlic, green onion and also the richness of the broth and um um spicy red sauce and noodle texture. So it’s interesting place, interesting concept. We’re sitting kind of separately. Um so and then cook is cooking there. So waiting for our ramen and they also order beer. So, let’s see. First time I will try ramen in Japan. I’m excited. Yeah, this is they have even the instruction on how to refill uh how about also how to crack the egg. Interesting. Also got water here or you can drink. I order matcha and then uh when I need to take it as a dessert, I need to put this on top of this uh mutton. It’s quite cold. I’ve got my beer as well. Very cold. And it’s draft beer. So, let’s try. Really refreshing. I recommend uh how is the beer here compared to Germany? It’s a little bit different. I cannot uh still make my own conclusion about that, but it’s good. better than uh in some other countries, that’s for sure. Thank you. So good. Yeah, we’ve got it. And it smells so good. I really cannot wait to try it. Although I’m not good uh in terms of eating the chopsticks, but today is going to be a day. Please not criticize my way of eating. Oh, look at that. All the noodles are homemade. Oh, smells so good. Try a bit with a little bit of broth. [Music] Oh, wow. It’s officially the best ramen I tried in my life. Wow. Must be something. It’s um so rich flavor. Slightly spicy. I cannot say it’s spicy. Just a little bit. But you can choose the spiciness on your own. Yes, you can choose. It’s up to you. And also have this um pieces of pork here. You can try. Looks good. [Music] So, so good. So, soft. Honestly, super cool. I’m very happy with this dish and um I absolutely recommend it. It’s very good. So, it’s my third time. It smells so good. So, I cannot wait. The sauce is really rich. I don’t know. It’s like full of flavors. Um, let me try the noodle. Perfect. [Music] So this is a matcha cake with a almond cheesecake I guess. Yeah, it’s a pudding actually. Looks so fluffy. Yeah, let me try it. Look at that. H. It tastes like jelly. Matcha jelly. Refreshing. I thought it would be sweet, but turn out it’s not really sweet. I think it’s a great way to um get some fresh taste after the ramen. So, if you go guys to this place, just make sure you come not in the rush hours. For example, we came around 5:00 p.m. and we only waited like 10 15 minutes. We got our food. Everything was amazing. But if you come like around 7 8 or 900 p.m., be prepared to wait like for an hour in the line. Yeah, it’s really good. After dinner, we headed to the famous Shibuya Crossing, probably the busiest intersection in the world. We joined the crowd and crossed with hundreds of people at once. It’s pure Tokyo energy. We can. So, we just dropped by 7-Eleven around Shibuya and we got these two juices. One seems to be like a mix of different vegetables and maybe fruits as well and another one it’s a mix of other fruits and vegetables. So, interesting. Never tried this. Yeah. And a lot of people recommended me to try this. So, I’m curious. So, yeah, let’s try. Also, we bought this uh mochi. Yeah. Typical Japanese rice cake stuffed with um red beans. Yeah. Usually when we buy that in Germany, it looks different. So I think it might taste uh different here. So we open the first juice. It seems just like a mix of different vegetables. Let’s try. It’s looks unusual to be honest. You know, it’s like tomato juice with some other vegetables. I think maybe with the carrots and um maybe even paprika. So, kind of 50% similar to tomato juice, but slightly different. Quite good. And this one, it seems it’s juice that made of different types of fruits. Let’s try. To my taste, this is more like a classic juice made of fruits and um it has some pieces of fruit inside. Quite good. I mean, if you want to get some vitamin boost, this this thing for you. And the last food for the night, we got this mochi. I think it’s made of matcha and stuff with um red beans. So, it’s a little bit unusual for Western people, I believe, for me as well. I mean, not going to lie. So, let’s try it. First time I try mochi in Japan. It’s a It tastes a little bit unusual, but I like it. Unusual taste of beans inside, but total combination. It’s not sweet at all. And um pretty good like dessert, you know, if you don’t want to eat something sweet. And of course, like the typical Japanese dessert. So, if you’re in Japan, I think it’s a must try thing. Before heading back to our room, we stopped by to see the Godzilla head. It was just a few minutes from our hotel. Such a fun and random Tokyo site to end our first night. So, one of the most famous Japanese drinks, it’s sake. I have never tried it in my life and I’ve heard like different reviews about this drinks. Someone really likes it, someone doesn’t. So, I think it’s a time for us to try given that’s our first evening in Tokyo. So, let’s actually smells pretty interesting. It’s It’s a rice wine though. But the smell is a little bit fruity. How of alcohol? I think it’s around 15. Put a bit for the first trial. Look, it’s pretty transparent. Let’s try. Actually, I don’t know how to describe it. It’s like wine with some, you know, lack of taste. But, um, it’s not bad as I imagined because I had different feeling that, you know, I won’t be able to drink it. Lack of grapes. Let me try one more sip. No, it’s actually not so bad. I mean, probably not my favorite thing, but um it’s okay. It’s drinkable. If you if you like it, try it. I mean, it’s not going to be that terrible as some people say to to you, but it’s not so bad, I would say. [Music] So, we just woke up and left our hotel in the morning. So, we’re going to find some coffee or or maybe matcha. We’ll see. In the morning in general is different vibes from the night. Way less people because I think locals stay at work mainly. But what I’m surprised like at least according to Google a lot of coffee shops are closed like until 10 11:00 which is quite strange. Like in Germany I think most of shops open like at 8:00 already. But let’s see maybe we can find something. [Music] So, we found the coffee shop which is open uh right now. So, we’re happy. And I took iced coffee here station. It’s not far from Shinjuku station. Like maybe four or five minutes walk um around the area. And um we ordered um um balatta and um iced coffee. Try ice coffee. Would say taste like typical cold brew. So, it’s pretty good. decent quality coffee. The matcha latte is really good. No, not sweet and full flavor of matcha. And it’s not so expensive. Um like less than €7 for everything, including the lemon cake. You know, inside of the one the metro stations, they have um this ramen shop and a don as well. And it smells so good. It’s very cheap actually. And very cheap. And you see a lot of locals. So I guess this place is good. So maybe we’ll see if we can try it next days. Depends on our itinonary. After our morning coffee, we have headed to Asaka to explore one of the Tokyo’s most famous areas. The streets around the Senoji Shrine are full of energy. traditional shops, local snacks, and the smell of fresh food everywhere. And of course, we’ll be trying some delicious treats while discovering this beautiful part of the largest city in the world. So, we arrived to Asaka area and uh there is ancient temple behind me, Buddhist temple and um it’s one of the main attraction here in Asaka and in Tokyo as well. And what is more important here is a big um market around this area and as well as with street food and also like souvenirs and other stuff where a lot of people coming here to buy um this those stuff and also of course try to eat some good food. And we’re here for the same reason to eat. [Music] Let’s [Music] get [Music] It’s Monday morning, so but still crowded, but it can be worse, I think. So, there are so many shops and also some small restaurants. So, please research before u you decide what to eat because there’s a lot of options. And then we ended up at Asaka Monjazenia. The place was packed with locals and tourists and the smell of their sizzling monjayaki hit us even before we stepped inside. It just felt like the right spot to try something truly Tokyo style. This is too. So, we came to a very random restaurant just because we like the smell from it. And we ordered some um typical dish from Tokyo which is called Monja. I mean to be honest, I only heard the first time here um like in audio in Japan. So, it’s kind of like water with um flour batter uh with different toppings. I ordered with the seafood and ordered with a pork and kimchi. So, we’re quite excited because we don’t know what to expect, but I think should be good. I believe so. It smells so good around here. So also in Japan, beer is very popular. And to be honest, it tastes really good. I mean, as a person who lived in Germany for a while, I can confirm it’s really good. And then they started cooking the monjayaki right in front of us, sizzling on the hot plate in the middle of the table. The smell was insanely good, and watching it come together made it even harder to wait. We honestly couldn’t wait to dig in. [Music] If you’ve been cooked on our table, it smells so good. Full of seafood. I don’t know. I’m very hungry now. And then it was finally time to eat. We’ve been waiting for this moment. So, it’s finally ready. Let’s try. It looks a bit like a liquid. with some seafood. I think I will not use chopsticks for this. I will just try directly because it’s a bit like liquid. You see, [Music] so good. So fresh food. So really good. Like you can taste the food. It’s so fresh. I don’t know how to describe this flour, but I think the combination of everything, it tastes It’s wavy. Yeah. Yeah. But super good. If you like seafood, this dish will not disappoint you. It’s a bit unusual, I know, but um with this flour and seafood and the vegetables, I think it kind of makes it special. I cannot wait to try it. This smells so good. [Music] The seafood is very fresh and the taste is really um like juicy seafood I would say. Yeah, mouth flavor. I like it. After finishing our super delicious monayaki, it was time for the next round. Noodles with pork cooked right in front of us. The smell was so good that even though we just eaten, it made us hungry all over again. So the next dish actually no decide to change because he want to try different things and we saw other people were eating it and it look good. So it’s like a fried noodles with some pork also beef I think some um vegetables and um and noodles and it’s all grilled again in front of us. Smells so good. So good. Really? I think this garlic, right? Yeah, some garlic and some chili on top. Oh my god, looks really good. [Music] Look really good actually. Smells so good. Like I can I can smell a lot of sesame oil which is really good. I think as I’m not really good with chopsticks, I will uh try directly to be easier. Oh, smells so good. Very good. It’s different from the ramen we tried before. It’s like a fried noodles and um very strong taste of garlic and some oil, a little bit of chili and also meat. Speaking about meat, let’s um try one piece of pork. Look at that. Looks gorgeous. It’s super delicious, guys. Really, it’s amazing. Good stuff. And also smells so good. So, cannot wait to try this. It smells amazing. [Music] super super well flavored and this actually so different from any um fry noodle I have tried before. This is amazing. Yeah. Although we already had lunch, it was a time for another snack because in Tokyo there is always room for more food. Another snack we got is called asuka mani. It’s like you see like breadcrumbs and I think inside it’s um filled with a pork and beef. Looks good. Let’s try. Smells good as well. M m. Tastes really good. It’s very juicy. Slightly sweet taste, but it’s really good. Very well flavored. With onions there inside. Yeah, there is onion as well and some some seasoning. Oh, wow. It’s very juicy. I love this juiciness. Very nice snack. [Music] We’re so full right now after eating so much food. But there’s one thing we should try. It’s mochi. Here they do handmade mochi. So I’m curious how it tastes. We had to wait a bit in line to try this homemade mochi. And honestly, we hope they taste even better than the ones from 7-Eleven. [Music] So, we got this first mochi. So, it’s a strawberry mochi. So, filled with strawberry. And it’s handmade. So, quite excited to try it because we never tried any handmade mochi before. Let’s have a bite. It’s different. It’s very good. I think there’s also some beans inside. So, it’s different. It’s not very sweet, which is good. I’m curious to try. Which strawberry is better? Really good. It’s very different from the mochi we ate in Germany. So, very juicy and fresh flowers. So, mochi rice also. Another type of mochi that which we ordered is called varabi mochi. Was a bit different. You see it’s kind of like pieces like this. Sticky sticky. And also I think it nuts like covered with a lot of nuts and smells a bit different. I don’t know. Let’s try. It’s quite interesting when you eat it. It’s like jelly but a bit less condensed. But it’s I feels like it’s sam. Not really nuts to be honest, but I’m not sure. It’s good. It’s very different. We cannot find this in Europe. At least we were not able to find such such such things. But it’s interesting. Really good. Sweet [Music] strawberry smoothie. And we need to do it here. Uh, step one, scan the bar code. [Music] Take the leaf off and put in the blender. Difficult [Music] in the blender. How to put it? Open it on the left. on the right side. Okay. And stop. And now the machine makes a magic. Hello. Ready? [Music] really good and refreshing with ice as well. So, it’s really cold. Um, not not really sweet and healthy. And then it was time for a little walk around Ginsa, the classy shopping district of Tokyo, before heading to the world’s largest uniclo store for some shopping. We don’t like shopping, but uh the shop we must visit here is Uni Club. How cool it is. So, we told you we don’t like shopping, but now it’s an exception. Uniqlo was a different experience. And guess how many items we bought. This is how many things we bought? Like 16 items. And I think we paid around €220 roughly. So, which is okay. Before heading to dinner, we took a walk around Shinjuku, full of neon lights, energy, and that unmistakable Tokyo vibe. [Music] This time for dinner, we decided to try sushi. So, we came to a sushi place, a running sushi place. And actually, we made a reservation in advance. But when you make an advance, you have to still check in with your number that is sent to you like this. And now we registered, checked in, and we’re waiting for our table. So, here you need to choose uh what you want to order on the screen here. Yeah. whole system actually. Raw salmon. Yeah, raw salmon sushi. Try. Let’s try raw salmon. Um maybe like a pico orch. Uh I don’t know. Oh, maybe this one. Yellow tail rice. Oh, okay. So, we ordered tuna, sushi, also salmon, fresh shrimp, and I think some white bale. I’m not sure if it’s correct or not. And according to my understanding, this sushi will come to our table. Very interesting way. It’s first time it see my life. So let’s see. And you also got a free matcha tea here. Yes. Make some matcha tea. It’s for free. But there’s no Yeah, use that. Okay. So, we got our first sushi. It’s for the shrimps. For the fresh shrimps. Let’s just put a little bit of soy sauce for the rice. This wood. Let’s try. The shrimp is very fresh. Fresh and roll. I assume this how sushi should be. I mean, can say there something super special, but it’s just super fresh. I think not bad. Now it’s my turn to try this. The fish is really fresh and um the rice is not um I feel like it’s just made it so it’s not really like sour. So we got tempura sushi looks good. So you see sushi tempura and a little bit of rice. So try this one. I’m going to use a fork because this one is so easy to to destroy which has partially successfully did already. But can you do a little bit of chili sauce and and um wasabi, but it’s very good. Probably the best so far. It’s crunchy and super fresh. It’s really nice. Look, I should also try it. It’s really good. Okay, let me try it. I’m going to use hand because the the texture is not really firm. Really crunchy and the shrimp is really fresh. I think I like this one. So another type of sushi which we’re going to try is with fish eggs. Looks good. So let’s put in the sauce and try. Pretty good. But fish are very fresh. A bit salty. Yes. And you know with this seaweed it’s really good combination. Reminds me a little bit of niggiri tried recently. really good. So, another sushi we got is with eel. So, you see rice and eel on top. Some people can eat eel for some reason, but I always like it. So, I’m expecting it to be good. I just put in the sauce and make sure it’s not going to be ruined like before. So, cheers. [Music] It’s very fresh. And to be honest, it was melting in your mouth. I don’t know how they did it, but super good. Maybe it’s because um it’s very thin, but tastes really good. Does this taste similar like some fish or how how how is the taste? I don’t know how to explain it because soya sauce it’s it’s it’s kind of tastes a little bit smokeoky for some reason. Slightly, but I know it’s fresh, but it’s good. If you’re here, try it. And I ordered this miso soup with clam. Let me try. Classic mis soup, but the fresh uh the fresh clam makes it better. Is it better than Germany? I would say that um it’s similar. Yeah, slightly better here. Maybe on this feedback. Yeah. And we have also got this crunchy tempura without rice because tempura was so good. So we decided to order it extra. Really good stuff. Then we also got sushi with a sardine like the whole fish fillet. Let’s try and hope I will not destroy it this time. Actually it tastes good. I like sardine. Really fresh and no bones. Really good. Another sushi we got is called something like quahok um clam. I don’t know what is this to be honest guys. Please do comment the video if you think uh like you know what is this. I will be curious really if you can help me with this. Actually, it’s um tastes a bit strange. I do feel like seafood taste, but it’s a bit chewy, but still good. I don’t know. I would never thought of this being um clam really. It tastes more like fish. More like a fish, not like um clams, but good. Another sushi that we got is called tuna and yum. Look, looks beautiful, actually. Look at this. Let’s try with a bit of soy sauce. Cheers. Tuna is very fresh. The slight is spicy. It’s not typical for sushi, but I like it. In addition to that, we also have some uh salmon sushi, I think, with wasabi on top. And this one. Do you know what is this actually? No, because I’m not sure. Shrimp. Shrimp and I think um omelette and avocado. Yep. And some white fish. I’m not sure what is that as well. Um and tuna rolls. Tuna rolls taste actually really good, but quite basic. I mean, fresh tuna and rice. Let’s try the sushi with salmon and wasabi. It’s different. It’s smoky. Like it tastes like it’s a bit smoky the salmon, which makes it a bit special. Good. Actually, I like it. One of the best sushi. So, in general, uh the sushi was really decent and we like the concept. You know, this running sushi when it comes to your table, it’s pretty cool. And um you can order like everything from your table with a tablet. It’s very convenient and easy to use and it’s actually quite cheap. It’s like uh all we order is like only €22. Yeah. Including beer which is great I think. But I think uh probably the place is still not the best and we still got to hunt for the best sushi. Yeah. And also we needed to know how to eat sushi more properly. More properly. I mean, probably we need to come to Japan more often. Yeah. Now it’s 11:00 in the night. Liverpool on Monday night. Yeah. On top of that, it’s Monday. Really nice city. [Music] Today we’re going to the team lab boardless. Um and um we decided to have some small breakfast in a family mart. We probably will take some oniri. So they gave us this iced uh cup and then we need to make coffee on our own here. Iced coffee. So you just do it here. And I ordered um iced coffee. M. So you just have to push it. Should work. I’m curious how the coffee tastes here and the ice cafe latte. I’m curious. Not so bad actually. It’s good. Not bad for the supermarket. I think like if you’re in rush, it is a place for you. Not bad. This actually is similar to when you Yeah. What do you think? I mean, it’s not bad for the morning snack, but I think the other on to try as our first meal in Tokyo, it was a little bit better. Mhm. Yeah. Agree. Then we headed to the Team Lab Borders exhibition, a place where lights and colors come alive. The whole atmosphere felt absolutely magical. [Music] Bye. See you guys. [Music] So much animations. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] By [Music] [Music] the way, [Music] [Music] [Music] After finishing In the team lab tour, we decided to follow the locals and found a ramen restaurant packed with people. Seeing so many locals eating there, we were kind of sure that it’s going to be good. So, now it’s time for lunch and we stopped by some local ramen place. Why local? Because a lot of office workers are coming here for lunch break and we’re standing in the line and we assume it could be good because I mean why would they wait for for such a long time to eat lunch if it was not good right? Yeah. You can put the different spices here. [Music] Also, fresh garlic, onions. Should be good. Waiting for our ramen. And smells so delicious. And you see only locals are here. So, I’m quite excited to try something authentic. Yeah. Smells so good. So, we got our ramen. Look at this. Looks gorgeous. Also, it’s unusual. So, they put parmesan on top, which is quite interesting idea. And I think might be inspired by pasta carbonara from uh Italy, but I think uh how can go wrong with this? I mean, looks gorgeous really with a lot of meat. And imagine that we just order the standard size of the portion and uh pretty big. It looks pretty big for this size. And I think we only pay like 2,200 yen in total. So, Yeah, I think it’s time to try this. Don’t forget your topping. Fried with the lemon topping to make it even more flavor. [Music] Cheers. It’s very good. It’s very different from the ramen we tried before. Different style. So good. Try it before. Super flavorful. Full of um full of seasoning. Really good stuff. And um parmesan I think only adds some flavor here which is really nice. Cool stuff. Really I recommend really good. Do you like it? [Music] It’s really good. It’s like it’s like um you know it’s not like pasta but like flavors. It’s bursting flavor of garlic, oil and onions and parmesan on top. So different taste. I cannot compare it with anything else. Yeah, I agree. It’s very different. Very good stuff. Super delicious. [Music] Also, you put some bamboo in this ramen and gives a little bit of special taste. You know, if I didn’t know it was bamboo, thanks to know if I know it is bamboo, I would think it was mushroom. Yeah, it added an exotic taste. It’s very flavorful. I recommend this place 100%. You can use this the Buddhas was like a broth in here to make it become a soup as well. So the food was really good. We enjoyed it a lot and we’re very full. But that’s one thing I really want to mention that um the Japanese people, they’re so friendly like they them welcome you like them say thank you if there’s something you want to say sorry or them saying goodbye when you leave the restaurant. Really impressive, really good people. So, after eating this delicious lunch, we decided to have a walk to to the Empire Palace, which is behind us. It’s beautiful. It’s I think only the beginning, but we’re going. And it’s also surrounded by a lot of buildings. So, it kind of gives us the vibe of Central Park in New York, but the buildings are less tall. I don’t know why. So, unfortunately, we came outside of working hours and the palace is closed. But what can we do? Maybe we can check it not today. So, if you want to visit the palace, please make sure to check the working hours on Google. It’s very limited. But at least we have this amazing view around. Yes, bonsai trees. Very beautiful around. So for a coffee break we came to Talis which is a chain here around Tokyo maybe all over Japan. I don’t know yet but this is some standard drip coffee one. So let’s give it a try. Not bad. Maybe not the best but um not bad. I think it’s a necessary coffee that you need for the afternoon walk around Tokyo. And I ordered something called matcha lista. It’s like the typical here in this coffee. It’s like a frozen matcha or a high quality matcha from uji region in Kyoto. I think it’s a frozen drink. It’s quite interesting taste. And top up with some chocolate by this. It’s very special, interesting taste. It’s really good as well. A lot of things going on in the night. Now we need to find something to eat. A lot of options. How crowded the subway sometimes can be. And then it was a time to head to the Shibuya sky observation deck. We took the metro from Shinjuku and made our way to Shibuya, ready to see Tokyo from above. Since we didn’t have much time for a proper dinner, we decided to grab some quick fast food right in Shibuya Sky Mall before heading up. So today um we decided not to go to the restaurant just because we have we’re short on time and because we’re going to Shibuya Sky observation deck. We decided to find something in food courts here in in Shibuya um sky. So, we ordered some gyozas, um some pork, um I think minced meat, also beef and um I think crab and shrimps and also some um um squid deep fried. So, I think should be good snack for us for this light dinner. Okay, let’s start uh with gyoza. It’s pretty hot, so you can heat it um up in the microwave, although it’s a little cold. It’s a little bit sticky, but I think should be still good. Try it’s with pork. So juicy. Oh god. Really? It’s so good. And I would never expect this from the food court. Um fast food quality. Really nice. Let me take one more bite with a bit of soy sauce. Is this different from the one you ate in Germany or in the US before? It’s different. It’s um I don’t know. It’s the flavor. It’s different. It’s um more seasoned and it’s soft, you know, like not really deep fried like some yodas can be, but more like steamed. And um I like so juicy. The next thing I’m going to try, I’m not even sure what is this. So, it’s rice factor. I know. One is stuffed with meat. Another one I think it’s with crab. This one I think with crab. So, let’s try a little bit of sauce. Oh, it’s good. Pretty good. You know, it reminds me of a pancake butter inside with um seafood taste. So, a little bit of crab. Quite um good, decent snack. I like it. I I cannot say like it’s something as wow, but it’s a really good snack. Another thing which we’re going to try. I think it’s a pork cutlet. If I said it correctly, to be honest, I was not 100% sure, but seems like looks like um German schnitzel, but maybe with some Japanese touch. Let’s try. It’s quite heavy to eat it with the chopsticks. It’s quite good. It’s different from snitle. I think the meat is a bit thicker but very tender. Pretty good. Let’s try with some garlic sauce a little bit. with the garlic sauce is better. Quite good. Pretty tender and juicy meat. Not bad for the for the snack. Another thing which we’re going to try is shrimp tempura. Very similar to the one we ate in the sushi restaurant, but I think this one has a little bit different uh better part. So, let’s try it a bit with the garlic sauce. The shrimp is very fresh. So, it’s pretty good. I mean, the batter part is a little bit thick. Could be thinner, but in general, it still tastes good. I like it. Another thing which we’re going to try is um Japanese beef um crockett. Looks pretty good and actually looks pretty fluffy and also pretty tender. So, let’s try with some sauce. I don’t know if it’s suitable or not, but let me know if which sauce is traditional for this because to be honest, I’m not I’m not sure. Please put this in the comment m I think it’s made of potato stuffed with um minced meat. Actually, it tastes really good. And um I think they put some Japanese seasoning inside. It’s a little bit sweet, but it’s really good. Honestly, maybe one of the best things I tried here in this market. In general, guys, you can try so many different things here in this market. We couldn’t obviously try everything, but you can just um go around in this um Shibuya Sky food market and you can find so many different things and you can heat it up in the microwave and will taste really great. Cheers. So after that, we still decide to take one more snack because everything looks really good. And now after 8:00, they have some discounts 30% which is not not not bad at all. And we we took oniri and you know, surprise factor. I have no idea what is inside. So I just like showed what I want and the lady gave it to me. So let’s try. I hope I can tell you what is inside. I think there’s some fish eggs quite spicy and some piece of something. Let’s try one bite. Actually, I think it’s a piece of beef inside. Very thin one. But like the combination of fish, eggs, and um beef, actually it’s very interesting. Never tried anything in my life, but I like it. It tastes really different and good. So this is how Shibuya sky uh view looks like from the top to the Shibuya crossing. [Music] [Music] So, what do you think about uh Tokyo so far? It’s amazing. I mean, you can see how massive the city is. It has so much things to offer in terms of um activities, food, really impressive, you know. I think a week in Tokyo, it’s just not enough to explore every district and everything which this city has to offer. After visiting Shibuya Sky and seeing Tokyo from above, we decided to grab some dessert. A freshly made tayyaki filled with sweet red beans. So, after seeing Tokyo from top, we decided to have some uh midnight snack. actually dessert. It’s called tayyaki which is like waffle like maybe not waffle but similar to waffle with it’s has a shape of fish and inside it’s stuffed with red beans. I know like for some western people it would be strange you know to eat with the red beans including myself but you know it’s Tokyo. It’s originated from here and I I’m still willing to try it. Cheers. It’s quite sweet. This is different from the one we had in Milan. I think this one is better. I think baffles are more like fluffy, like full of air and crunchy. Um, and also the red bean paste inside tastes better. I feel like it’s also less oily because in Milan was kind of oily, so I couldn’t really eat it. But this one, it’s pretty decent snack. I would say maybe it’s good. Maybe after 10 more you will like it. I might be finally. And you? What do you think about this? For me, red beans uh as a dessert is totally normal thing. So, [Music] very fresh, crunchy, and the beans on the inside tastes really good. I like it. This is like the best here. I ate in um Germany, also in um Italy, but um I think uh the original one from Tokyo still the best. So today is very rainy in Tokyo in the morning. So, we decided to go to Atel Tree um coffee again, the same coffee shop we came on the first day just to wait until the rain ends and then we’re going to do something else. Yeah, Alex order his favorite coffee here coffee. That’s really good. It’s good. Strong. I think that’s something what you need in the morning to wake up for one day. And for me, cafe latte very strong of coffee. You know guys, early morning the rain just stopped and you know we’re walking around Shinjuku now to the metro station and everywhere smells so good. I don’t know. I will never forget the smell of the city. It makes you hungry. Yeah, it makes me hungry the whole day. Although I’m not even hungry, but I still want to eat more. Can you describe the taste of the smell? It’s just smells like a grill. Like all Shinjuku smells like grilled meat, seafood, and a little bit of like ramen as well. Like all the smells, you know, makes you feel so hungry from the morning, you know. So, we arrived at Tuk Fiji Market, which is famous for its fresh seafood and fish, where you can buy fresh seafood and fish. And um what we came here for is street food. And hopefully we can also find some uh grilled uh seafood and fish. Let’s go. I’m excited. Smells so good here. There are a lot of uh shops and restaurants nearby. So, I’m sure we’ll find some good uh food. As soon as we enter Market, we instantly love the atmosphere. Busy, vibrant, and full of amazing food smells everywhere. It smells so good. The rain doesn’t stop the food lovers. Do we have stick? Yes. So, we came to the place in this market to try some grilled um fish and um seafood. Let’s see. We’ll go order now. There are a lot of options to choose from. So, I got my uh oyster. I like fresh oysters. I mean, I know a lot of people don’t like it, but I think it’s when it’s fresh, it’s just um a perfect starter, you know. Let’s make sure we I think it’s already loose enough to eat. Looks really good. It smells fresh. [Music] [Music] Very good. Fresh. Yes. Like which we got. It’s a grilled scallops. Look at this. They put it on the shell. And I think this has some seaweed inside. Smells so good. Oh, look. Let’s try. So good. So fresh and you know with the smoke from the grill. Oh, tastes so good. Another dish is the the grilled clam. It’s really hot. So I use chopstick to eat. [Music] I can um smell the taste of the sea, you know. fresh out of the sea. Really good. It’s a bit different from steam because it’s like um I think this is quite really really juicy. And the last snack which we love is a grilled eel on the stick. Smells really good. I know what people cannot give eel but personally I love it. Cheers. Tastes good. with some touch of soy sauce from it. Quite good snack and not very fat as it can be sometimes. I like it. After having some grilled seafood, it was the time to try something different. This time, our choice was grilled Wagyu Kobe beef on a stick. Our very first time trying it. And honestly, the moment it hit the grill, the smell was just unreal. rich, buttery, and mouthwatering. We couldn’t wait to take the first bite. So, we ordered um Wu sker um made of wu beef, which is the most expensive beef in the world. And it smells so good. Couldn’t stand it. So, the time has come. It’s time to try it. They put also with some sauce. Oh man, smells so good. 5 per piece you are eating. It’s so tender, juicy. It’s melt in your mouth. So good. Is it different from the marble beef in Germany? I think to some extent um similar. It’s just like it’s so perfectly balanced. It’s way softer. There’s no like any pieces of fat which um you know separate from the meat. It’s like perfectly marbled you know inside. So really good stuff. My first time trying way beef. A little bit salt and sauce. M I need to enjoy this moment. It’s super duper juicy, tender, and yeah, it’s melt in my mouth. Wow. So good. And then it was time to try something completely different. So the next snack we’re going to get, it’s something like a pancake with crab waffle. I know it seems like it’s crispy and you just wait for our order. So you get the ticket like this with a crab and then you just go there and give it to the cook. So it will cook it for you and uh you will get it after. I’m curious to try it because it’s something really interesting. So, we got our pancake or or rather cracker. I don’t know how to call it. So, the whole crab is inside. I don’t know how they manage to put it. And um I don’t know. I think let’s just try it. It does taste like a cracker. I don’t know. With a little bit of taste of crap. Quite interesting. Maybe you need to go eat until the middle to taste more. Yes. Let’s uh go a bit deeper, I guess. It’s so big. It’s bigger than my face. So, let me try it. It’s super crispy. And I for me it’s really like it tastes really like a craft cracker. When you go to this uh kind of Asian restaurants sometimes you can order the starter as a born cracker. It tastes similar but this is just fresher and you know freshly made. So it’s really strong taste of the crab. Very good. Actually guys, this part of crab in the middle tastes really good. Like super fresh and strong taste. It’s really really good. Um super strong taste of um sea. I like it in the end. Actually, I recommend it. It’s a bit pricey. I think it cost 1,500 yen, but I think it’s worth it if you’re in in Tokyo and you could visit this market. And then it was time to try some Japanese omelette. Fluffy, slightly sweet, and cooked right in front of us. It looked so soft that we couldn’t resist giving it a try. Japanese omelette. It’s a bit different way of cooking. Tastes a bit sweet. Did you put some sauce inside or is just plain omelette? I don’t know. Maybe they put in there. So, it’s just like the omelette they cook it. Yeah. A bit strange taste for me. But do you like it? It’s interesting. Now I’m going to try this omelette as well. Although I’m not like big fan of eating eggs, but let’s Yeah, it’s a bit sweet. I don’t know what they put inside, but it’s different. Yeah, it’s a bit different. Yes. to my taste, I would put a bit more salt and pepper and then it would be classic western omelette. But I think for Japanese people is normal. I mean, it’s not bad, but it’s bit unusual for Western people. After that, it was time for some super fresh sashimi. Beautifully sliced and ready to enjoy right away. with some vinegar and soy sauce. And I think the final snack we got, we couldn’t stand. It’s sashimi, which is um essentially raw fish without rice, not like sushi. And we already put some soy sauce and some vinegar on top. So, and here they have some wasabi. Um looks really fresh. Let’s try m The piece is so fresh. Just melt in my mouth. Oh, I like it. Try the salmon maybe. Yeah, it looks Yeah, it looks really fresh. And it’s really crowded there. So, I believe that’s very popular shop. Yes. The first sign. Yeah. Yes. I think it’s like you never go wrong with that unless you have to wait in line a bit, but So, how would you put some uh wasabi on top and try? Good. Perfect. Fresh salmon. Fresher than in Germany. It It tastes better. I think like maybe it’s just the feeling because it just probably caught it today and they brought to the market which is very fresh, you know. So, I like it. I’m not a big fan of sashimi, but it looks so fresh already. I will make an exception and try [Music] It’s really Yeah, it’s really fresh. It’s really tender. I ate that before in Germany, but it’s not the same. This is Oh, so fresh. Yeah. You want to try salmon as well? Okay. Yeah. M. Yeah. Super super super fresh. It’s still like a I already swallow the fish, but the taste is still like a wondering in my mouth. Let me try this. The taste is getting fresher fresher after every uh bite. M. Yeah, really good. So I I think I just don’t like sashimi in Germany. Yeah, I’m quite surprised you liked. Yeah. Oh, must try. I think really good. [Music] [Music] So after a great uh time at the market, now where are we heading? We’re heading to some Pokemon store somewhere like 30 minutes walk from the market. The area looks quite modern. I don’t know what’s the name of this area. I will check after. But um it’s looks looks nice and looking forward to visit some Pokemon stores and maybe buy something as well. So cute. [Music] Here you can buy a lot of souvenirs. Everything is so cute. [Music] Oh, this one is so cute. [Music] You know, and next to this Pokemon store, it’s actually the same building. They have a big mall here. And every mall has a food court. Although we have food, but it smells so good. you know, a little temptation to try something else. So, God bless me. And indeed, there were so many options to choose from. From super fresh sashimi to perfectly grilled meats and even a wide variety of treats for anyone with a sweet tooth, this place truly had something for everyone. giant craft. They have this nama chocolate here. A must try item. So, we walked around this market. There’s so many options, guys, to eat. Really, if you if you’re hungry, come here. You will you will not go wrong. But now, for us, it’s time for dessert. And no told me that it’s a must try in Japan. I have never heard of this, but it’s like matchy chocolate. And I think why not we eat some dessert? I would love to buy this uh to bring back to Germany, but unfortunately this one need to be store under the cold temperature. That’s why they gave us this ice uh uh pack to um store the chocolate, but we’re going to eat it now. Okay. So, now we opened the box and it’s time to try. Let’s try. I mean no gave me very high expectation for this. I took a big double piece actually. Let’s try one. It’s very good. Approved. Approved. And it’s really melted in my mouth. It’s very good. It’s different from any chocolate you ate before, right? It’s like a fresh chocolate, you know? Like for example, it can be compared when you go to some high-end store um of chocolates in Germany and you eat chocolate. Yeah. But this one is made of matcha. That’s what makes it special and it’s very good. Like I would say the same level when you go to some um expensive chocolate stores and you buy um like handmade chocolate. This is my feeling. But the only difference again it has matcha contains matcha inside. It has been a long time uh since the last time I tried it. So, I kind of forgot the taste, but I remember how good it was last time. So, [Music] it’s really soft. It tastes like um I don’t know, full of flavor. Matcha with enough sweet, not too sweet. I don’t know. It’s It’s like a perfect chocolate for me. I’m happy that they have a USB chargers, you know, so we finally can charge our phone after almost like I don’t know 60 something% of the day continuous eating, walking, drinking. It’s time. Got my nice matcha latte hot drink. This is the iced americano. Good. Let’s try. Yeah, not bad. Pretty strong, but it’s due to the fact that I ordered one extra espresso shot to keep partying. Exactly. For dinner, we went to a very local yakiniku place in Shinjuku. We noticed the amazing smell from the outside on the previous days and was too good to resist. So, we decided to make a reservation for another So, we came to the restaurant which is kind of like a fusion between Japanese and um Korean cuisine. And we ordered some different um beef um including wu which we’re going to grill on here on our own. It’s quite exciting. Um the first barbecue in Japan. So, I think it should be good. Smells so good like from other tables. Really can describe it. So good. [Music] That’s really good. One is with the sauce. Another one I think of the salt. So you can choose. So now we’re grilling our meat. But uh this one seems already done. Look at this seasoning of the smoke. Cannot wait to try it. Let’s plate. Oh, it’s so good. I’m going to eat it with the chopsticks. Is it correct way to put the chopsticks? Yes. So, so thin. [Music] Wow. It’s so tender. It’s so juicy. Super good. It’s like nothing in my mouth. So good quality beef. Thank you. Get some salad and kimchi on top, of course, to um feel a little bit refreshing after eating a lot of meat. Look at that. So juicy. grill on the charcoal. So, I think this uh piece already kind of cooked. You see, it’s fully brown. So, let’s actually try it. And I’m going to take a piece um with a scissors. Not that easy, apparently, but we’re going to handle it. Yes. Let’s try with the chopsticks. Looks quite good. And also a little bit of blood inside. So should be pretty good. Um um grill. It’s my turn now to try this juicy beef. I don’t need any sauce because it’s only mar mar mar mar mar mar mar mar mar mar mar mar mar mar mar mar mar mar mar mar mar mar mar mar mar mar mar mar mar mar mar mar mar mar mar mar mar mar mar mar marinated. It’s super duper juicy, well flavor, well seasoned. It’s like um I think it’s better than even the beef we ate in the market this morning. So good. But this a very good feedback. Oh, looks really good and smells as well. [Music] And of course, for the side dish, we ordered some salad. For example, this kimchi, I think, with a bit of chili. Looks good. very refreshing, you know, when you eat so much of meat. I recommend a side dish for you. So, another um deep fer is ready. Let’s give a try box and see. Looks really delicious. I’m going to take the scissors. Um I apologize in advance just because the scissors are not very sharp and sometimes it’s really difficult to cut it. So, I try to not sharp at all. I try to cut into the two, but it’s challenging, guys. Trust me. It’s not because I cannot handle well the scissors. But let me try this. Look at this. Oh, it smells so good. Cheers. [Music] This is so good. Like very well marinate with the salt and all the smokiness from this charcoal grill. Oh man, so good. And another type of meat which melted in my mouth. It’s amazing. Really cool stuff. I don’t guys describe the name um because there’s so many and also everything Japanese and Korean. I’m sorry. I’m just not good at this. But the main thing is the food tastes good and I can’t wait to try the last type of meat we ordered. It’s kind of a guu beef. So yeah, it’s wu beef. And we’re going to try this time in Korean way. We put going to put one piece of chili and one piece of garlic. Just like this. I think it’s going to be spicy, but you know, I like spicy food. And um God bless me. Cheers. [Music] I love it. So juicy, so tender and so like strong taste of fish grill. And of course chili gives a lot of taste. But if you don’t like spicy, you need to eat it. It’s fine. But to be honest, guys, it gives it a little special taste. Garlic and chili. Really good. I love it. I recommend it. Oh my god, these are really melting in my mouth. It’s so good. I’m from Vietnam and it’s quite difficult to eat um grilled meat, but this is I have to say one of my favorite son level. High quality of beef. So good. [Music] [Music] Honestly, guys, this place is really good. If you like meat, it’s perfect. Like, everything is so juicy, so tender, and so flavorful. Like, I’m really super happy about our choice tonight. And uh I recommend this place to anyone. If you’re a meat lover, please come here. Um I can guarantee you that you will like this place. So first time trying yaki miku in Japan for us. How was your experience? It was very good. I mean every type of meat was so good. I can’t even choose my favorite. Like I think in my opinion if you choose different types of meat, every type of meat you you will like it. I can guarantee this. Yeah. It’s really like like a definition of melting in your mouth and also seasoning is so good like um a bit spicy sometimes but I love it. Yeah, I like it when the the meat is marinated. It’s very special taste. Um you you can choose either with salt or with sauce but we chose mainly with sauce but and we didn’t regret it. It was so good flavored. One tip though for you if you come to the such type of place be prepared to wash your clothes after because grill it smells but u yes I think it’s worth it definitely so one popular activities in Japan it’s um to play in such a game center it’s like you find everywhere and Japanese people love it today we want to try our luck yes again we tried before and we were we were unlucky 100 yen inside and then we can play. Let’s try our water. You think it’s okay? Yeah. Let’s give it a try. Yeah. Let’s try another gift. [Music] We’ll have to keep trials here. That’s the problem. Oh. Ah, I think try one more time. One more time. [Music] Oh no, guys. It’s a scam. Just complete.

Tokyo is a paradise for food lovers — but where do locals really eat and where to eat the best food without waiting in long lines?
Join us as we spend the first four unforgettable days discovering Tokyo’s best hidden food gems, local favorites, and unexpected eats across Shibuya, Asakusa, Ginza, and Tsukiji Market.

From ramen and sushi to street snacks, mochi, and wagyu beef, we skip the tourist traps and follow where locals actually go.
This is Tokyo Food Adventure – Local Favorites, Unexpected Finds & Hidden Spots | Japan Food Journey Ep.1 by East West Wander.

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🍜 In This Episode (Tokyo Part 1) – Local Food & Timestamps:
Day 1: Shibuya & Shinjuku
0:00 Introduction
02:31 7-Eleven Onigiri Snack
04:26 First Coffee at Athel Tree Café
06:14 Classic Ichiran Ramen Dinner
11:08 Experiencing Shibuya Crossing

Day 2: Asakusa & Ginza
17:03 Exploring Asakusa Temple & Street Food
19:00 Trying Local Specialty: Monjayaki
26:24 Handmade Daifuku Mochi
30:11 Ginza Shopping & Uniqlo Visit
31:22 Conveyor Belt Sushi Dinner

Day 3: TeamLab, Local Ramen & Shibuya Sky
41:55 TeamLab Borderless Light Exhibition
44:09 Hidden Gem Alert: Local Salarymen Ramen Lunch
50:24 Shibuya Sky & Food Court Snacks (Gyoza, Tempura)
57:50 Taiyaki Dessert (Sweet Red Beans)

Day 4: Tsukiji Market & Yakiniku
1:01:11 Tsukiji Market Seafood Street Food
1:04:26 Grilled Wagyu Kobe Beef Skewer
1:18:28 Local Yakiniku BBQ Dinner

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📍 Featured Tokyo Neighborhoods

Shinjuku • Shibuya • Asakusa • Ginza • Tsukiji

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🧭 About This Series

This is Episode 1 of our 2-week Japan Food Journey, featuring Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka — exploring real Japanese food, hidden gems, and local culture without the long lines or hype.

👉 Next Episodes: Relaxing Mount Fuji Day Trip from Tokyo – Local Ramen, Coffee & Japan’s Most Iconic View | Japan Food Journey Ep.2

Tokyo Eats Continued – From Akihabara to Harajuku Hidden Gems | Japan Food Journey Ep. 2 (coming soon!)

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❤️ Support Us – Make our day ❤️

If you love travel, culture, and authentic food stories, don’t forget to:
👍 Like the video
📝 Comment your favorite Tokyo dish
🔔 Subscribe for more episodes from Japan & beyond

Music:
Kool Kats by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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