LANI THE CREATOR

Sekai no Yamachan: My New Love

By Lani - 12:33:00 PM

To conclude this wonderful Japanese food adventure, here is Sekai no Yamachan. They are a known fried chicken chain restaurant in Japan. They are known for their fried chicken and the very special way you can eat them. You can slide the chicken right off the bone in one bite! They have specific instructions on their menu and chopstick covers. Check out their website (link at the end of this post) to learn more about their history and see the instructions for yourself!

You can order up to fifty wings and more depending on how hungry you and your friends are. When I went, my family and I ordered about fifty wings for four people. They separated it into plates of twenty-five and it was great. The wings have a distinct peppery taste that makes them slightly spicy, but delicious. There is also a variety of drinks, appetizers, and other dishes to pair with your fried chicken. We got the Yamachan salad along with some Japanese pickles which went well together.

Honestly, after eating at Yamachan, I don't think I can ever eat chicken wings anywhere else. I was never a fan of having to nibble around the bone and make sure all the bits were eaten. This place changed my life.

Yamachan's Website: http://yamachan.co.jp/english/

It saddens me that this will be my last post about Japan for a while. I hope that I can continue this series with restaurants and other places in my hometown. If there is a restaurant or food place you want to recommend, leave a comment down below! I always love hearing about new and good food.

Hope you all enjoyed this segment on Japan! Here's to the next adventure!

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food

Ganso Mentai Nikomi Tsukemen

By Lani - 12:30:00 PM

Ganso Mentai Nikomi Tsukemen is known for their mentaiko-based tsukemen, or fish egg based dipping ramen. The only dish they serve is their tsukemen, so if you're looking for variety, this isn't the place to go. However, their main dish is very worth it. According to outside sources, this ramen shop has been featured on Japanese television. When you enter, you are prompted to pick how spicy you want your order to be with wooden chips. On top of that, you can choose how many grams of noodles you want and if you want rice on the side. Besides that, the main dish is set.

The tsukemen broth itself was so flavorful. Since it's meant for tsukemen, it is more condensed than regular broth. It was thick, hot and salty, which is perfect for dipping cold noodles into.

Once you're finished with your noodles, you can decide to pour hot soup broth into the remainder of your tsukemen broth to water it down. This turns it into the perfect soup broth which will fill you up with warmth. You can even add in your extra rice if you prefer.

For dessert, we ordered their caramel pudding. It was similar to a flan, but the top has jello-like bits of caramel instead. It added a bitterness to the sweet and rich pudding. It was quite nice after a hot and flavorful meal.

I really enjoyed the food here. It was a bit intimidating at first because none of the waiters spoke English and everyone around us seemed like a local. However, the delicious food made up for it and I would definitely come back here again.

Address: 2F, No. 7 Yahagi Bldg. 1-21-5 Minami-ikebukuro, Toyoshima-ku, Tokyo 171-0022

Website: mentaitsukemen.com/en/

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food

Asakusa Food Tour

By Lani - 12:31:00 PM

Aside from its famous temple, Asakusa is filled with many different foods to try. Along the street leading to the temple, there are a bunch of small shops selling different types of food. These range from fresh rice crackers to traditional Japanese desserts.

The first place we visited was a melon pan shop called Kagestsudo. "Melon pan" is named after melons because of the way it looks, but does not traditionally taste like melon.When I bit into the bread, it was perfectly crisp on the outside and warm and soft on the inside. It wasn't overly sweet and it was comforting to eat. The shop has the atmosphere of a 1950s Japanese shop. Each melon pan costs 200 yen a piece (or 300 yen for five) which makes it a great afternoon snack.

Address : 1-18-11 Asakusa, Taito-ku

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On the outskirts of the temple, there is a tea shop called Suzukien that sells a range of green tea gelato. They had them organized by strength of matcha infused into the gelato. They have the richest matcha flavored gelato in the world. There were levels 1-7, I got level one, my mother got level two, and my dad got level seven for kicks. In the end, we liked what we got for ourselves. Since they are a teahouse with over 150 years of history, they also sell a wide variety of teas!

Address : 3-4-3 Asakusa, Taito-ku

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There are many fresh rice cracker, or senbei, shops along Nakamise street, but we decided to try this one. It had a few different flavors including soy sauce and wasabi. Wrapped in seaweed, or nori, it has a strong crunch and grilled flavor. Rice crackers are my personal favorite snack, so this was perfect for me.

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After walking for a while, we visited Karaage Yukari that is known for their fried chicken. The chicken in coated in a light flavored batter. When I bit into it, there was a nice crunch on the outside and a juicy inside. I'm not usually a fan of chicken and am picky about my karaage, but this one was very delicious in my opinion. The place is take-out-only so be aware that you can't eat at the location if you go visit!

Address : 1-24-7 Asakusa, Taito-ku

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Asakusa is a great place to try many different types of food. There is a large variety of traditional and non-traditional foods to try in the area. Plus, since it's mostly street food, you can try a lot without feeling stuffed! I was full and content after our journey through Asakusa. However, I still feel like there is more for me to try and would love to go back for more!

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food

Woodberry's: My Favorite Dessert Place

By Lani - 12:38:00 PM

Woodberry's is a fresh fruit, frozen yogurt cafe in Kichijoji. From afar, they look like parfaits, but they don't contain regular ice cream! They ferment their yogurt in-house and have been located in Kichijoji for 21 years now. You might be wondering, why did you get frozen yogurt in the middle of winter? Well, I heard about this place from Simon and Martina (go check out their video, link below!) and I couldn't resist the sound of it.

You can choose from multiple base flavors of yogurt and a couple of topping options. Everything is seasonal, and their fruits change regularly. The first time I went, they were serving an apple, orange, and yellow kiwi combination. But, the next time I went, which was within the same week, they had swapped out the kiwi for grapes.

The yogurt is cold, icy and flavorful. The regular plain yogurt has the perfect amount of sweetness without an overpowering sour yogurt taste. It is faintly tart and matches very well with the fresh fruit toppings. The fruit flavored yogurts were delicious and flavored with real fruits.

I would highly recommend this place to anyone visiting! It's a unique and relaxing shop with refreshing frozen yogurt. All their information is down below!

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Address: 1-Chome-20-14 Kichijōji Honchō
Woodberry's Website: https://www.woodberrys.co.jp/
Simon & Martina's video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVYuOzMI6_4

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Japan 2019

Hie Shrine: A Hidden Gem in Tokyo

By Lani - 12:36:00 PM

Hie Shrine is a Shinto Shrine located in the center of Tokyo. It was interesting to see such a shrine in the middle of a busy city. There is a main black gate that marks the entrance. After passing through the gate, there were three stairways to get to the main shrine.On the left, there is a tunnel of beautiful red gates that go along the staircase. Walking through the gates made it feel like I was in another world.

Despite the cold and cloudy weather, there were many people praying and visiting the shrine. There were families, couples, and individuals visiting the shrine. Since the shrine is elevated, it feels far from the city. It is also surrounded by greenery despite being in the middle of Tokyo.

At Japanese shrines, there are usually specific guardian animals that can be found throughout the area in the form of statues, charms, and more. According to a Shinto belief, animals protect the gods and are sent from the heavens. At Hie Shrine, their sacred animal is the monkey, or masaru. They symbolize strength, aid in keeping evil spirits away, and bring good fortune in love and relationships. We bought a couple charms as gifts for family members to give them strength.

Address: 2-10-5 Nagatacho, Chiyoda, Tokyo

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food

A Classic: Sushi

By Lani - 12:39:00 PM

Tokyo Sushi Say

As cliche as it might sound, sushi is one of my favorite Asian foods. It is refreshing, filling, and delicious. I personally love how it can be made it a variety of ways, but remains simple in its original form. Over the years, sushi has become more popular around the world and has evolved. During my stay in Japan, I was able to go to a few places that I enjoyed, some new and some old.

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Located in Tokyo station, Tokyo Sushi Say offers high quality sushi in a convenient location. You can go shopping, stop by for some quality Tsukiji market sushi, and go back to shopping. Compared to the places in Tsukiji Market, this place isn't as top-notch, but it was still decent for the price point. It took us forever to find this place. Don't use Google maps when wandering around a multi-level station, it gets very confusing unless you know what you're doing!

Address: 1 Chome-9-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda, Tokyo

Ever since my friend introduced me to Hamazushi, eating at conveyor sushi bars has never been the same. Hamazushi is known for being a 100 yen family-friendly sushi restaurant. Majority of the menu is a straight 100 yen with the exception of special items, but even those items are still very affordable. The wait at this place during mealtimes is always really long. This time, we waited for over an hour to get a table! But, in the end, it's worth it for the price and the delicious sushi. We went to the location near Toyosu station, near Odaiba. There are many other locations, though, so be sure to check where the closest one is to you!

Address: 3 Chome-4-8 Toyosu, Koto-ku, Tokyo

Sushiro is another affordable conveyor belt sushi in Japan. At this specific location, the plates weren't 100 yen each, BUT they had three tiers that were still very affordable. According to their website, most of the locations should serve sushi at only 100 yen per plate. My personal favorite pieces were the seared salmon nigiri, the hotate scallop, and the minced tuna with egg. This place is always a MUST for me if I'm visiting Japan. If you're lucky and depending on the location, they will have specials where all the plates are less than 100 yen, or 1 dollar.

Address: 6-9-9 Ueno, Taito-Ku, Tokyo

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Japan 2019

Toyokawa Inari Tokyo Betsuin

By Lani - 12:37:00 PM

The story about how we found this place was kind of funny. We were looking for Hie Shrine, which was supposedly near our hotel, but we somehow ended up walking in the wrong direction. That's when we stumbled upon this temple, the Toyokawa Inari Tokyo Betsuin.

It's a branch temple of the main Toyokawa Inari Temple that is located in Toyokawa City. It has one thousand foxes around the temple and has a tranquil atmosphere.

It's located in central Tokyo, but it is still quiet and peaceful. It's a nice getaway from the city's hustle bustle.

Address: 1 Chome-4-7 Motoakasaka, Minato, Tokyo 107-0051, Japan

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Stories

Sekai no Yamachan: My New Love

Ganso Mentai Nikomi Tsukemen

Asakusa Food Tour

Woodberry's: My Favorite Dessert Place

Hie Shrine: A Hidden Gem in Tokyo

A Classic: Sushi

Toyokawa Inari Tokyo Betsuin

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