February is always a bit of a weird one for me in Tokyo. Admittedly the skies are consistently blue, but the crisp air usually keeps me from venturing too far. Saying that, I can’t really complain about the weather at all. It didn’t dip below freezing this year, and we are already back into double digits. I think over the years I have just gotten worse at tolerating lower temperatures. But spring is just about here!
I’m blogging about once a week at the minute, mainly because I have been posting a lot on the Facebook page which is growing a lot. So I want to continue focusing on that, as well as working with some high-end hotels and even Japanese brands if possible. I have a few good restaurant collaborations coming up, but in the meantime, here’s a snapshot of what I have been up to over the last while – the usual neighbourhood wanderings injected with food. Once again, I hope it makes you see Tokyo from a different perspective.
The gentle hills of my neighbourhood. Amazingly, you never see any street cleaners – people simply do not drop litter, and even the road markings are always maintained.
Local streets with a few high-rises poking up in the distance.
We stumbled upon this amazingly cute cafe over the weekend 🙂 With its little wooden veranda, red postbox, and green trees, it looked like something from suburban America. I wanna keep this cafe for myself… everyone has to have a secret spot, right?
They served a great grilled herring sandwich!
I really liked the old-school Wes Anderson vibes of this barbershop.
Chirshi sushi (basically sashimi over rice) for lunch. Can you believe this set only cost ¥1,000 / £7
More sushi, though at a place I usually go to at night. I loved the straight, clean lines of the counter and ceiling here.
One day sunny…
The next, snowy.
In Japanese restaurants the curtain outside signifies that the place is open for business. This one, like many in Japan, has a window display of plastic food to show you what your meal will look like.
Lunch from LABO in Yutenji: shio (salt-based) ramen with a delicate soup stock made from chicken and dried sardines. Toppings included pickled sansho peppers (that numb your tongue) and slow roasted duck chashu.
A really chill coffee shop in Toshigaya, a neighbourhood not too far from Yoyogi Park and Shibuya. The lady asked me what type of flavour notes I wanted then came up with something. The cup took about 15 minutes to prepare – no way was I risking asking for milk or sugar in case they showed me the door!
Some green in our apartment
OK, more green.
I saw this retro 911 the other day. You see a few modern supercars around my neighbourhood (a guy has a Lamborghini down the street from me) but you don’t see too many classics like this.
A random restaurant in Gakugeidaigaku
I mentioned this on Facebook, but every time I look at this scene I imagine what the street must have looked like centuries ago, a dirt lane stretching off into the distance surrounded by fields and old houses.
Hello!
IKIMASHO! 