24 Hours of Eating Japanese Sandwiches in Tokyo 🥪

24 Hours of Eating Japanese Sandwiches in Tokyo 🥪

Today I’m going to be taking on a 24-hour sandwich challenge where all I’m going to be eating today are sandwiches. But this is a great thing because sandwiches in Tokyo are definitely on another level. From the classic sandwiches to the over the top to the really fancy, there’s a little bit of everything in Tokyo and I cannot wait to try them all. And we’re saving the fanciest for last. So make sure to stay tuned till the end. But before we go, don’t forget to subscribe for more Japan adventures like this one. And don’t forget that you can book Japanese restaurants and food tours and fun food experiences when you come to Japan on byfood.com. So make sure to check that out, too. All right, let’s go eat a bunch of sandwiches today. Let’s go. [Music] First up today is this adorable little sandwich shop called Popo, which is located in Nishipuri area. It’s family-owned and it is clearly very popular and it’s a beloved sandwich shop since it first opened in 1973. It seems to be run by an adorable elderly couple. I think there are a couple and they have a wonderful selection of sandwiches in the showcase. Usually around 20 different varieties of sandwiches and clearly people love them because locals are lining up which is a great sign. And it’s currently around a little bit after 9:00 a.m., but the shop opens early at 7:00 a.m. And according to some articles online, on some busy days, they can sell out at around 9:00 a.m., so it’s recommended to come line up when they first open at 7:00. But it is after 9:00 a.m. now, and they do still appear to have quite a full showcase. So, you might still be in luck. They’re open till 1:00 p.m. So, worth stopping by to see try your luck, basically. So, let’s go line up and see what kind of unique sandwiches they have. I can’t wait. [Music] All right, so we’ve come to a nearby park. This is Nishinipuri Park, which is very close to Popai, actually. It’s actually really pretty. It’s got little benches here. So, I think it’s the perfect spot to eat our popo sandwiches. So, I ended up getting three sandwiches. So, this one is the hamburger sandwich. Hugaboo is actually a hamburger patty, and they usually put like gravy on it, and then maybe even cheese, and it’ll be melty and sizzling, and you just cut into it. So that’s what they put inside of the sandwich. I also got the popo sandwich, named after the shop Popo, of course, which is also apparently one of their most popular sandwiches. And I think it’s a little bit of a mix of potato salad and a little bit of ham. So yeah, it’s it’s a nice interesting variety mix. And then the other one I ended up getting is the curry cutlet sandwich because it is unusual to have curry and potato inside of a fried cutlet. So let’s see how it all tastes. Let’s start with the hamagu cuz I took it out first. M. Oh yes. It’s sort of reminiscent of a like beef cutlet sandwich. This one is just like really nice and meaty and it the sauce compliments it nicely. Yeah. And there’s a little bit of crunch from the onions in the hamburger. So, and of course the bread is super fluffy and soft. It’s perfect. It goes really well together. Wow. Look at this. It is so jam-packed with goodness. This one looks like it is half egg salad sandwich and half potato salad sandwich. All right, I’m just going to go for it. Oh, that’s a delightful combination actually. The two types of salad, the complent each other very nicely. And there’s also a slice of cheese in here on the egg salad side. And the texture, it’s actually hefty, but it still feels light and fluffy. It’s like a a sandwich that that your Japanese grandmother might make. Okay, let’s try the last one. The one that I am particularly excited for is the curry cutlet sandwich. M. This is also really nice. I love a good potato croette. It’s not like a super crispy croette because it is in a sandwich with sauce. So, it is going to get less crispy, but it it does have a nice like soft fluffy texture with the almost like mashed potato filling and then a little bit of curry flavoring. It’s really good. The sauce is wonderful and I love that it’s a slightly different twist on a cutlet sandwich. I will say that this sandwich shop is has quickly become one of my favorites. If you love a good Japanese sandwich, like the ones they have at the convenience store, I would say all of the ones that they have here at this shop are better. Anyway, um we still have a lot more sandwiches to eat, so I’ll see you guys at the next one, which is also a very popular one. See you guys over there. I’ve always loved how food brings people together, and sharing has always been at the heart of what BY Food does. Especially in times like these when many people face economic challenges, every act of kindness matters even more. So this autumn, BY food is strengthening their food for happiness program where 10 additional meals will be donated to children in need on top of what is already donated through each booking on byfood.com. Plus, we’re also thinking about you. If you book more than once during October or November, then by food will give you a,000 yen off your next foodie adventure. And I don’t know about you, but that’s definitely a journey that I want to be a part of. So join me in savoring the flavors of Japanese autumn and spread some kindness along the way. All right, back to the video. All right, my next sandwich shop stop of the day is right here at Sando Lab Tokyo. It is a fried sandwich shop. The fried bread is actually called agipan in Japan, and it’s actually a popular dessert or snack food that was often uh served as a treat in school lunches back in the day in the post-war period. But they’ve kind of taken a pipon to the next level with sandwiches. This one just opened the beginning of September, so I’m really curious to give it a try. They have some really gourmet looking sandos and they even have some sauces that you can like add to the sandwiches. And what’s particularly interesting about this shop that I found out is that they’ve really researched how to make a good fried sandwich. And they found that if you freeze the bread first before frying it, it prevents it from absorbing too much oil. So it keeps it really crisp on the outside but fluffy bread on the inside. So you can enjoy that like crunch and fluffy texture. So, let’s go try maybe a savory and a sweet sandwich. Let’s go. [Music] Oh my god, there’s a lot of things happening today. Okay, I have my two sandwiches. triple egg sandwich and the strawberry shortcake sweet dessert sandwich, which I’m very excited about. These were both the most recommended ones that I asked for to the staff, so I’m going to trust her recommendation. And as you can see, it comes with these little droppers full of sauce. I believe you can switch them out, too. Like, you can ask to change it to a different flavor. One of the ideas or concepts of this shop is you can enjoy the changing of flavors with each bite. So, can’t wait to try. Let’s start with the savory one first. It looks so good. It did say online that one of the benefits is you can hold it with one hand because it’s like a pocket sandwich, which is true, but I I do feel like it’s going to overflow with egg. So, I think you have to eat it very carefully and it may be a little messy. Okay, here we go. M. Wow, that’s very crispy. You know, I think this might actually be the first time I’ve tried a savory fried bread. It’s kind of an interesting experience for me. So, I’m not quite sure if I if it matches yet, but I want to see what happens if I add the Sriracha mayo on top. M. Oh, the Sriracha mayo adds a really nice kick to it. It adds a little tiny hint of spice to it. I love the crispy nature of the outside of the bread. The inside of the bread is really fluffy and you get scrambled eggs with big chunks of egg whites. So, it’s a nice combo of everything. Actually, the one thing I would say is they don’t season scrambled eggs in Japan. They try to season it with other sauces like ketchup. I think they should salt the scrambled eggs. That’s my biggest thing. So, this one also is lacking a little bit of salt with the Sriracha mayo. It’s just perfect. All right. Next, I’m going to try the strawberry shortcake fried sandwich. Oh, before I dig in, I should also mention we only have two people on the team today. So, we were actually balancing this sandwich in our suitcase while I was eating the egg one. But anyway, it worked. M. That’s much better. I definitely prefer the sweet one over the the savory one. You don’t even need any sauce for it because the strawberries, they’re juicy, sweet, a little bit sour. Yeah, that’s perfect. Now I can drizzle some strawberry sauce on it and see what happened. Wait, there is even more strawberry jelly inside. I didn’t even need to drizzle the sauce. Look at this. The strawberry shortcake fried sandwich is a thumbs up for me. The sauces are really tasty. The whipped cream goes really well with the fried bread. I would say sweet is is the way to go for fried bread. Anyway, let’s go eat the next sandwich. So, look forward to the next one. My next sandwich stop is hidden, as you can see, in a back alley in the back streets of Ginsa of all places. So, Ginsa is a really fancy town, but some of the back alleys are not that fancy, apparently. And this one is nestled in there, but this is actually a tuna cutlet sandwich shop. And it’s called Tuna Cutlet Specialty Shop, Yukia Ginsa. And apparently they use really high quality tuna that is caught in Japan, like fresh from the day. And when you order a sandwich, they’ll cook it for you fresh. And apparently they do um low heat cooking of the tuna. It’s still new, so it’s not super super popular. But what their goal was was to bring high quality tuna cutlet sandwiches to customers that can easily be taken out and even given as gifts and things like that. But you also can sit inside to eat as well. So, let’s try a cutlet sandwich. Here it is. I have my takeout bag. So, this is what it looks like if you were to do a takeout. I got the one that has obla, which is the Japanese shiso leaf, also known as pillo leaf, and it has cheese in it. That particular one was about 1,650. And then I got a recommended sauce to go with it, which is wasabi, soy sauce, and mayo. So, in total, it was around 1,700 yen. The box is gorgeous. It says premium sandwich, yuki ginsa in Japanese, and in Japanese, it actually says today’s tuna. So today’s tuna comes from Hokkaido, the northern prefecture of Japan. But yeah, that’s really cool. It’s I think it’s just great that they actually know where the tuna came from, and that it’s high quality and fresh. All right, let’s give it a try. The first thing it smells incredible. So tantalizing. You get this like juicy tuna smell. Like it doesn’t smell fishy. It just smells really juicy and tasty. The bread is so fluffy, too. That looks so juicy. Here we go. M. That is an excellent sandwich. Oh my goodness. There should be a long lineup of people here and there are not. I don’t know what you guys are all doing. The best tuna sandwich is right here. This is so good. The tuna itself is so thick and juicy. It almost doesn’t really taste like tuna, but it really is like a big meaty cutlet. And then the cheese is a really nice compliment. It’s like a really creamy cheese that kind of pulls everything together. and the subtle flavors of the the shiso leaf is just a really subtle hint. And then what really stands out is the wasabi soy sauce mayo. That’s a nice compliment to a tuna burger or a tuna cutlet sandwich in this case. Adds a little hint of spice and creaminess. It’s all great and there’s a little bit of crispiness on the outside of the tuna cutlet. I think it’s easily worth the price. Like if you want a good quality sandwich, this is definitely a good quality sandwich. All right, I recommend this you guys. Like this is still a hidden gem right now. There’s literally nobody here. If you’re interested, get on this right now before everyone finds out about it. A very good find. We still have one more really fancy sandwich to try. So, don’t miss out on that. See you guys over there. All right, my last sandwich shop stop of the day is right here at Aldi Dining Siz, which is located inside of the Conrad Tokyo. And siz by the way is the French word for cherry. Hence, there is a cherry right there. And the reason I’m here today is to try a really tasty Wagyu beef sandwich they offer here. So, this will be the higher end or the highest end portion of our sandwich adventure today. This restaurant is actually where they do the breakfast buffets in the morning for the guests who stay at the hotel. And after that, they do a lunch buffet open to all guests who want to come. Even during lunchtime, you’re able to order the alakart menu. You can also try the steak sandwich that we’re going to try today anytime, which I think is a great part about it. So, let’s go inside and see what makes it special. Come on. [Music] Yes. [Music] Hi. [Music] I know. I didn’t want this to [Music] I don’t know. [Music] Yeah, [Music] [Applause] [Music] It’s really cool to get to hear all about what makes this a great sandwich. I’m very excited to try. But before we dig in, let’s start by having a sip of the um recommended non-alcoholic sparkling wine. Come by. Ooh, how do I explain this? It tastes sweet. It tastes a little bit tart, like a sparkling grape juice. So, it’s really nice if you wanted something refreshing and bubbly without the alcohol. It almost tastes a little bit like a cider, a French apple cider but with grapes. Now, let’s dive into the main part of the show. I cannot wait to try this amazing looking Wagyu steak sandwich. M. [Music] Wow. That’s actually that’s a really solid sandwich for sure. First, when you bite into it, you get this noticeable crunch. It’s really crisp on the outside. The texture is great. It’s a little bit tougher than a lot of sandwiches you would get in Tokyo. And the beef is very tender. Also, the onions are caramelized, sweet, juicy. The spinach adds a nice touch. It just adds a little bit of extra layer of interestingly juiciness. Actually, I wouldn’t have noticed at all that he uses Coca-Cola in the sauce, but the way that he uses it is very creative. He’s really well thought out, this sandwich, and I’m really enjoying it. It’s very good. I just want to say one last thing about the meat in the sandwich because he chose an A3 grade beef, but I think it was a great choice because it still has a balance of fat that adds a little bit of sweetness and juiciness to the meat, but it still maintains its bite. It feels a little bit more American leaning, but still has this kind of like Japanese essence to it as well. So yeah, I think it’s a really unique and very high quality sandwich for sure. Anyway, that was my day of eating only sandwiches all day today. And I did discover a lot of new great sandwich shops. Um, a few that I definitely will be visiting again. from like the homey sandwich shop that’s perfect for on the- go in the morning to the more viral foods to the higherend but takeout and the dine in sandwich experience. So there was a little bit of something for everybody I think today and I really enjoyed eating all sandwiches. But anyway, I had a lot of fun today. I hope you guys enjoyed watching this as well. If you did, please give us a like and please let me know in the comments down below which sandwich I featured today speaks the most to you and which one you definitely try when you come to Tokyo. All right, well, thank you for watching and don’t forget to subscribe if you haven’t yet and hit that notification bell and we’ll see you guys very soon in another video. Bye guys. See you. Cheers. If you enjoyed this video, click the photos on the left for more and click the one on the right to learn more about buy food and book your own Japan adventures. [Music]

Japan byFood and Shizuka are back, eating *only* “sando” aka Japanese sandwich to discover the best ones! While konbini egg sando will remain a classic, there are so many more varieties that we found – from curry sando, tuna cheese sando (BEST!), to wagyu sando with the best A3 beef cut of the day. Time to level up your sando game.

*Locations*
POPŌ
3 Chome-6-12 Nishinippori, Arakawa City, Tokyo 116-0013

SANDO LAB TOKYO
4 Chome-3-3 Sotokanda, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 101-0021

Yukiya Ginza
7 Chome−7−12, Ginza, Chuo City, Tokyo 104-0061

Cerise
1 Chome-9-1 Higashishinbashi, Minato City, Tokyo 105-7337

TIMELINE:
00:00 – Intro
00:44 – POPŌ
04:37 – Autumn Campaign
05:19 – SANDO LAB TOKYO
09:29 – Yukiya Ginza
12:39 – Cerise
18:27 – Outro

*About byFood*
ByFood is a platform that connects foodies with food experiences in Japan, from bustling food markets to serene countryside tastings. Besides exploring Japanese food culture in an authentic way, your booking fuels positive change! For every booking, we donate 10 meals to children in need through our Food for Happiness program. Ready for your next food adventure?

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