Hello everybody ! Where to eat in Tokyo ? I find that the issue of food can often be complicated abroad. Not knowing the country, I often rely on the advice of Tripadvisor. So, I decided to list the things I liked to discover and the addresses I noted.
1 / Discover a coffee in 3D: Reissue
I fell for this little cafe located in Harajuku. In this super cozy cafe, you can enjoy lattes in 2D or 3D. All you need to do is choose your drawing/picture in advance. You can ask what you want. Personally, I opted for 3D coffee. Of course it is a little more expensive but I think it’s really well done (400 yen more).
If you are in Harajuku and you want to take a break, Reissue is perfect.
Adress: 3 Chome-25-7 Jingumae, Shibuya, Tokyo 150-0001, Japan
2 / Discover the crepes in Harajuku: Marion crêpes / SantaMonica
The district of Harajuku is very famous for its crepes. Concretely, you can not go without tasting one. If you take Takeshita-Dori street you will either stop at Marion crepes or Santa Monica. You’re going to tell me « eating crepes in Tokyo, it’s a bit weird? » Honestly the crepes that are offered are more « food porn » than traditional crepes. What do I mean by food porn? Basically, the proposed fillings are quite insane: cheese cake, several balls of ice cream, chocolate cake etc.
Personally, I took the lightest: chocolate, banana, whipped cream. In fact, there was more whipped cream than crepe. I do not regret having tasted this crepe because it is the specialty of Harajuku. However, know that it is better to be really hungry before going there.
3 / Be tempted by pancakes: Flipper’s Shimokitazawa
Having been raised in the USA, you must know that I love pancakes. So, when I was told that there were a lot of pancake restaurants in Tokyo, I could not resist. While strolling in the Shimokitazawa district, we came across the Flipper’s shop. There was a waiting line outside, which is usually a good sign. There was also a takeaway corner. I cracked for a pancake sandwich: a pancake in the middle with strawberries and 2 small cakes surrounding it.
Frankly, it’s original and not bad when you’re hungry. In any case, their pancakes are very good but very stodgy.
The best places for pancake brunch: Shimokitazawa and Cat street
Adress: 2-26-20 Kitazawa | 1f, Setagaya 155-0031, Préfecture de Tokyo
4 / Starbucks will be your friend
Strangely, you will find Starbucks really everywhere in Tokyo. I agree that it is absolutely not local but it is convenient in the morning to have breakfast in a hurry before going on an excursion (their Mocha and cinnamon roll saved me more than once the morning). You have one in the Ueno Park if you want to have breakfast there.
5 / Go eat sushi : Kizuna Sushi Shinjuku Kabukichō
Sushi is not a basic dish in Japan at all. There are fewer sushi restaurants than in France. However, I couldn’t resist going at least one. When you want to eat sushi, 2 choices are available: a restaurant where the chef prepares your sushi in front of you or a restaurant where you can choose the plates on a treadmill.
We chose the 1st option by going to the restaurant Kizuna Sushi Shinjuku Kabukichō. The chefs prepare your order in front of you. It’s super interesting to see and the sushi is really good. They know how to perfectly dosed wasabi (which I do not know how to do in France). I really recommend this address in terms of sushi because we really loved it.
The best places to eat sushi: Shinjuku, Shibuya or Tsukiji Market.
Adress: １丁目-18-8 Kabukichō, Shinjuku-ku, Tōkyō-to 160-0021, Japan
6 / Eat curry dishes: Coco Curry
Coco Curry is a well-known chain in Japan. You will be able to eat curry dishes from which you can choose the level of spice. The concept is to choose your curry base (shrimp for me) then your rice size and spice level. Having to go to Japan, I saw that many youtubers or bloggers were talking about this channel.
After, have tasted, I recommend it because simply the food is simple and good.
7 / Find a nice cafe in harajuku: Hands café
We found this address one night when we were looking for a restaurant in Harajuku. We arrived at the Tokyu Plaza where we saw an advertisement for the Hands Cafe. We want there because we were tired and hungry. Frankly, I do not regret this discovery. It is a simple coffee and whose decor is really nice. We ate a « healthy » and simple meal .. just what we needed.
I had a vegetarian steak with vegetables and rice. My photo does not do justice to the dish, it was very good.
Adress: Tokyu Plaza Omotesando-Harajuku 5F, 4-30-3 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku Tokyo
8 / Trying lobster rolls: Luke’s lobster
If you pass in Cat Street you will not be able to miss Luke’s lobster. It’s a booth (not a restaurant) where you can eat lobster rolls. Brioche bread and lobster well seasoned, frankly it’s super good.
Adress: 6-7-1 Jingumae, Shibuya 150-0001, Tokyo
9 / Take a burger break in Akihabara: Henry’s Burger
After spending some time in the game centers and buying gifts for our loved ones (see my article on what to do in Tokyo), we stopped at Henry’s Burger by chance. It was a nice discovery because the burgers are very good and the staff is very attentive. It was the perfect comfort food after 10km of walking.
If you walked too much in the huge area of Akihabara then I suggest you take a well-deserved break at Henri’s Burger.
Adress: 3 Chome-7-13 Sotokanda, Chiyoda, Tokyo 101-0021, Japan
10 / Taste food bought at konbini
Tasting konbini’s food(Japanese grocery) has to be on your to do list in Tokyo. After visiting the Ameyoko market, we bought a curry dish and an Onigiri (stuffed rice ball … in our case with tuna) at a Konbini. We peacefully ate our food in Ueno Park.
Unsurprisingly the curry dish was very good and the onigiri was original. My husband loved it. Personally, I thought it was ok. In any case this picnic at Ueno Park was a very good idea.
11 / Discover the restaurants on the floors of the buildings:Bills Omotesando
One night we couldn’t agree on a restaurant. We had been walking in Harajuku for at least 30 minutes. I finally used Tripadvisor to help us decide. And surprise, it tells me a well rated restaurant is right next to our location. This restaurant was on the 6th floor of the building in front of us. We took the elevator to get to this restaurant that we could not see from the street.
Very nice surprise. Not only was the decor really perfect but we also had a view of a small hidden garden. The food is very good and well presented. We paid the price of a parisian restaurant honestly.
Address: 4-30-3 Jingumae, Shibuya 150-0001, Tokyo Prefecture
12 / Discover more traditional restaurants
Unfortunately, I do not have a particular address to give you to taste ramens or Gyudons. I advise you to find a restaurant during your discovery of Tokyo. In Shibuya or Shinjuku you will find a traditional restaurant without any problem.
13 / Try the strange drinks in the vending machines
You will find automatic machines at every street corner in Tokyo. In general, it contains cold or hot drinks and often quite bizarre. You can also find machines selling ice cream or toys. I recommend you to taste at least once a drink in this type of machine. Personally, I tried the peach coca cola. As you would expect, it was super sweet but after 15km of walking in the day, I was not against it.
Have fun trying a surprising drink. Get ready, it’s time to step out of your comfort zone :).
14 / Have a drink in Golden Gai
What is Golden Gai? It is a set of alleys containing typical Japanese bars. In general, there are no more than 10 seats in the bars. Some are forbidden to foreigners (so be careful to read the signs before entering). This area has a unique atmosphere because the bars are very small. The doors of the bars are all open so it’s funny to discover the different themes (yes because some bars have themes).
Golden Gai is a concrete passage. On the other hand, you have to like sharing with strangers while having a drink. If you do not want to have a drink, at least take a walk in the streets to discover this atmosphere.
I hope you enjoyed this article. These are the main places I discovered during my stay. Tell me if you have any addresses in Tokyo, you can recommend me for next time :).
Anna
