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Gonpachi, a taste of Edo
Rumoured to be the filming location for the famous fight scene involving Uma Thurman and the Japanese actress Chiaki Kuriyama in the Quentin Tarantino movie Kill Bill (it wasn't but the two places look almost identical), Gonpachi is a Japanese restaurant serving up equal parts atmosphere and delicious izakaya-inspired dishes. From the outside, this restaurant in Tokyo's Roppongi district, close to the Roppongi Hills business/shopping complex, is hard to miss. It is designed to look like a kura (a traditional Japanese storehouse) with its imposing stone base, yellow plastered walls and attractive lighting. Inside continues with the Edo-era Japan theme. There is a huge open area containing both the kitchen and dining space with a fantastic counter space facing the kitchen. The second floor has a balcony wrapping all the way around overlooking the kitchen and off to the sides on the first and second floors are quiet wooden booth areas covered by sloping tile roofs. Most of the restaurant was built using dark wood and stone accented by soft lighting from paper lanterns. The taiko drumming you hear and the costumed waiters who offer a hearty irrashaimase to everyone that walks in the door all add to the experience. If the whole thing sounds a tad artificial, well it is, but considering the extent to which the owners have gone, it is kind of easy to overlook and simply enjoy the atmosphere. Plus, the food is delicious.
The menu includes classics like negima (chicken and green onion yakitori), soft zaru tofu, really excellent soba noodles and nicely prepared tempura. There are also some more unusual items like grilled duck served with wasabi and gindara (cod glazed with a miso-based sauce). The drink menu is extensive and there are pretty of offerings from Japanese breweries and distilleries.
The third floor, which has private rooms, is more expensive the each dining room also look out over a small garden and, when the weather is nice, the roof is uncovered allowing for a pleasant open-air dining experience. Actually, a few years ago, this is where ex-Prime Minister Koizumi brought George Bush for a private dinner meeting.
Gonpachi has built a solid reputation and so most nights are crowded with reservations recommended. The restaurant also has a reasonably priced lunch menu (under 3,000 yen for 2), which is also popular. Lunchtimes lines tend to move fairly quickly so it should never be too hard to get a table soon after arriving.
Thank God for Hallelujah
While the simplicity and subtleness of Japanese food is often appealing, there are times when you just want something bolder, brasher; something that takes your senses for a bit of a spin. Some of the best food for offering a full-on taste experience is undoubtly Korean food. The oftentimes bold, but delicious tastes and smells makes it a favorite for many, and, in winter particularly, it is just the thing to chase away the chills.
One of the largest Korean neighborhoods in Tokyo is in Okubo, which sits right next to Kabukicho in Shinjuku, the slightly sleazy but popular bar and nightclub district. Up until a couple years ago Okubo also had a reputation as a dodgy, somewhat seedy area, however, with a Korean boom that has seen the popularity of Korean music, movies, dramas and travel increase dramatically in Japan, there has been a subsequent transformation in Okubo.
Of all the Korean restaurants in Okubo, it is hard to find a more genuine place than Hallelujah, located on a small side street just off of Shokuan dori, near the big Don Quijote store. Hallelujah has long been a legend in the area, and it's easy to see why. On entering, you're hit with the smells that best represent Korean cooking: red pepper, garlic, sesame, and of course, the smell of beef barbeque. Most of the tables are low to the ground with the center cut out to hold the grill, where guests cook the meat dishes themselves. The kalbi and bulgogi are always good as is the beef tongue, very thinly sliced with lemon and garlic. Other delicious dishes include the chijimi, and the soups, especially the samgaetang, and kimchi chigae, plus dolsot bibimbap, rice and vegetables cooked in a hot stone bowl. Hallelujah also has a fish and noodle dishes as well as a good selection of spicy Korean pickled vegetables. Korean food is very well suited to the Hite beer that the restaurant offers or soju (rice liquor).
Although Hallelujah fills up most nights, a reservation is not usually necessary. And, a wait provides the opportunity to look around the neighborhood, which is definitely a bit more edgy and less placid than other areas of the city.
For those unable to go to Okubo, Hallelujah has opened another restaurant near Gaienmae station in Aoyama and it too has the same great homestyle dishes and atmosphere as the original.
Finding that special something
One of the really fun things about spending some time in Tokyo is the opportunity to happen across some item, gift, product or food that has you immediately reaching for your wallet. Shopping here can elicit more than a few expressions of delight, and it’s one of reasons some people like visiting here again and again. It’s not just about the luxury brand stores. It’s actually much more to do with the fact that with the number of people here, there is a greater market for niche products that target a particular segment of the population or particular taste and sense of style. Plus quality products are very much appreciated and valued. That’s not to say there aren’t a lot of cheap, mass-manufactured imported product, there are. But, there are also plenty of unique, exceptional items that can be treasured for a long time and make great gifts or souvenirs of your trip.
Whether you are looking for something for yourself or someone else, there are many areas and shops that are well worth exploring. Unless, of course, you just want that shirt that has “Number 1” written on it in Japanese, in which case all you have to do is go to the hotel or airport gift shop.
Tokyu Hands is one of those stores that has something for everyone. Mainly a retailer of daily and household goods, this department store brings together carefully selected products many of which are available only in Japan. With lots of things and lots of diverse styles, the best thing to do on your first visit is start on the main floor and work your way up. The stationary section is quite good with many Japanese products, especially really interesting cards, paper and wrappings. There are also some really good personal products and gadgets for the home. Perhaps the best Tokyu Hands store is in Shinjuku, near the station part of the Takashimaya complex. The website is at: http://www.tokyu-hands.co.jp.
If you are looking for something a child or traveling with children, then Toyland in Ginza is a terrific store to visit. With 4 floors, and all sorts of toys, games, dolls, stuffed animals, anime characters, it is a very popular spot. Being Japan, there are lots of character products like, Hello Kitty, Doraemon, Dragon Ball Z and Ultraman. Some of the Japanese brain teaser puzzles and games are quite unusual, fun and make good souvenirs.
Finally, for people who really appreciate the Japanese aesthetic, either traditional or modern, J-PERIOD (as in J.) in Jiyugaoka offers so many really attractive, amazingly well-designed products. The store focuses on furniture and things for the Japanese-inspired home with products throughout the store that complement one another. The kitchenware section has beautiful ceramic bowls, cups, dishes and chopstick holders. There are many wooden products like miso soup bowls, finely crafted chopsticks along with sake containers and items for making tea. For the home, the store sells soft tablecloths, bed covers, cushions, mats, noren curtains and a host of other products. The website is at: http://www.j-period.com
With so many unique, wonderful products, Tokyo can put the excitement back into the most jaded, cynical shopper.
Above it all
There is something compelling about watching the sun set on a city as you’re perched high above, high enough to enjoy a panoramic view of streets, neighborhoods and buildings as they stretch out to the horizon. Once the transformation from daylight to darkness is complete and the city below has puts on a new skin you get a much different perspective.
There are a number of bars and restaurants in Tokyo that offer a bird’s eye view of the metropolis, however, it is difficult to find a better place than so/ra/si/o, 46 floors up at the top of the Caretta building in Shiodome, near Shimbashi and Ginza. Looking out over the city, with its bright lights and neon, toward the Rainbow Bridge and Odaiba, including the colorful Ferris wheel, there is a certain undeniable wow factor. This is accented by so/ra/si/o itself an attractively laid out restaurant, classy in an understated kind of way, with high ceilings and a raised bar area, which is a popular spot from 5 to 7 when the happy hour special means that you can get drinks—and there is a wide selection—for half price. Sipping on some champagne or a cocktail while admiring the view is a seductive combination, consequently you won’t often find that you have the place to yourself. But even with a crowd, the ambience is usually quite relaxed with many people winding down instead of up.
After drinks, the dinner menu is an attractive, albeit expensive choice with dishes like lightly grilled abalone, and Wagyu steak from Yamagata prefecture. Shiodome is also very close to Tsukiji Fish Market, with a large number of good seafood restaurants in the area.
The best time to go is when the bar opens (5 pm on weekdays; 4 pm on weekends), as it gives you a better opportunity to get a good seat. The restaurant is also open for lunch from 11 am.
Whether you stay for a full dinner or to enjoy a few drinks, a visit to
so/ra/si/o offers a superb way to catch a glimpse of the city.
so/ra/si/o
Dentsu Headquarters, Caretta Building, 46f
1-8-1 Minato ku, Higashi Shinbashi
Tokyo
http://www.sorasio.jp
Tel. 3-6215-8055
Award-winning sushi
A small restaurant with a giant reputation for serving some of the highest quality sushi, Umi sushi is a high-end establishment with a very well-respected third-generation chef whose fresh, constantly changing menu selections are not available at other places.
The restaurant itself, like many sushi places at this level, is a model in minimalist thinking and simplicity. There are a couple tables and seats that go the length of a plain wooden counter made of Japanese cedar, the interior is bright and open and the customers are essentially devotees who savor every bite and wait in a state of subdued excitement for the next offering.
Dinner, and that is the only time they are open, is priced at what you’d expect for a place like this at about 20,000 yen or more per person. The omakase—chef’s choice menu—is the best opportunity to judge ability of the itamae san (chef). The omakase experience is well worth it and when you watch the chef working diligently, deeply serious about his vocation, it is hard not to respect his dedication. No detail is too small. The rice is carefully chosen and produced by just one or two farms, the wasabi is grated right in front of you and served fresh, and the presentation of each item a short study in the meticulousness that has made Umi famous.
Eating at Umi is a rare opportunity to experience sushi at a level matched only by very, very few places. Reservations are always necessary and must be booked well in advance.
Umi
3-2-8 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
3401-3368
Kitchen Town
With about 160,000 restaurants in the Tokyo area (according to the people behind the latest Michelin Guidebook), the restaurant industry here is big business. And, to support all those restaurants and eateries, there are a huge number of suppliers providing everything from tableware, and furnishings to kitchen utensils and cooking equipment. What’s more, most of these suppliers are located close together on a single street, near the center of the city. If you are interested in cooking or are curious about the world of Japanese cuisine, then Kappabashi is a wonderful place to poke around, and to be amazed at the quantities and incredible selection of every conceivable restaurant-related product.
Start at one end of Kappabashi street and just go end to end, then double back. Besides an incredible array of kitchen stuff, there is so much merchandise that is produced for the Japanese market. The area does really offer a chance to learn about Japanese food culture. There are stores selling fine hand-crafted knives of all shapes and sizes, simple wooden miso soup bowls, very elaborate lacquerware, beautiful ceramic plates and bowls and chopsticks of all types. The stores here offer many things you don’t see everyday, like incredibly real-looking plastic food—fruits, vegetables, plates of spaghetti with a fork suspended in the air, noodles, hamburgers, steaks, and just about any food you can think of, including a roast turkey. They are pretty neat, but surprisingly expensive. Decorations, such as the red lanterns that you often see hanging outside izakayas, are also available.
While kitchen supplies might not seem like a thrilling subject to investigate, it’s hard not to be a little intrigued once you happen upon some of the more exotic products for sale. If you are already interested in cooking, then you will most likely be quite charmed and surprised by what awaits at Kappabashi.
The closest stations are Tawaramachi or Inaricho, both on the Ginza subway line, close to Ueno station. Stores in Kappabashi don’t stay open late, and many are not open on Sundays so the time to go is before 4pm on a weekday.
A hot spring in the city
A trip to Japan isn’t complete without a trip to an onsen (natural hot spring resort). Hot spring resorts offer good accommodations, really delicious homemade Japanese cooking, and, of course, hot spring bathing areas, many outside that are incredibly soothing and relaxing. While the best onsen are in the countryside or mountains, Hakone or Nagano, for example have some fantastic resorts, there are a few onsen in Tokyo. One place to go if you feel like experiencing Japanese bathing culture, but can’t make it out of the city is Sanganoyu Seta Onsen located in Futako Tamagawa. This is a real hot spring with hot, mineral-rich water from deep underground used in the pools both indoor and outdoor. The water can be very hot, about 40 degrees Celsius, however usually people get in and out of the baths if it the heat is too uncomfortable. There is also an outdoor Jacuzzi, and a relaxation room where you can lie down. After all, what’s better than enjoying a bit of a snooze after having a long soak in a hot bath. Once you have finished bathing, dinner is often next on the list. Sanganoya has three restaurants serving traditional Japanese food and drinks. The price for the onsen is a fairly reasonable 2,300 yen, and if you go between 10:00am and 1pm on a weekday, there is a 600 yen discount available.
Sanganoyu Seta Onsen is close to Futako Tamagawa Station on the Tokyu Denen Toshi line from Shibuya or the Oimachi line from Oimachi. It only takes 10 minutes to walk and it’s easy to find, however, there is also a shuttle bus going from the station.
The is a definite reason why the onsen experience has never lost its popularity in Japan, and why so many people, young and old, look forward to the chance to visit a hot spring resort. And, anyone visiting Japan should consider trying out the onsen experience for themselves.
The Seta Onsen website is: http://www.setaonsen.co.jp