I swear the Japanese people love to walk (no wonder they are all so fit, too!) and their idea of a walking distance is quite different from the usual that we've known so you really have to load up on carbs. Amusingly, even though we had rice meals everyday, I didn't gain that much weight because we were able to burn it from all the walking that we have done.
The three words that first come to mind when we speak of Japanese food are raw, authentic and traditional. Even in the Philippines, it is definitely one of my go-to meals as they are tasty and there are a lot of dishes to choose from: noodles, meat, even sweets.
I can now attest when people would say that when you order your food in Japan, you’ll get exactly how the dish would look like on the poster/menu. Sometimes it is even surprisingly overwhelming in person. They will definitely give you a run for your money. Even the convenience stores offer a vast number of choices of quality meals and snacks like onigiri and chips (I mean, have seen that pancit sandwich????)
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| Japan...is weird. But if anything, convenient and effective. |
We opted to go for food from the nearest convini for most of our dinner (I chose to have bread and milk, for example) as we are on a budget (and on a diet, ha), but with our proper planning/budgeting c/o Elai, we did get to splurge on some, also with the help of our friends who live/work in there. (We had free meals c/o Maco’s family members. We have been so lucky and we are so grateful.)
Seven days may not be enough to experience them all, but we can try.
Except for the raw fish (which the group is not too fond of) and sushi (I love, bummer!) we did try to have a taste of various Japanese dishes. And man, what an experience!
We had our lunch at the airport in Manila and so the first big meal that I had as we’ve landed in the land of the rising sun is gyudon (rice with seasoned beef toppings) in a Matsuya restaurant that can be found at the food & services area of the Kansai Airport. Some of my friends has ordered kare raisu (curry rice). The menu is within budget and authentic. It comes in a set with salad and soup as side dishes. Our noob selves don’t know what to do with the raw egg side dish at first, though. But it didn’t stop us from enjoying our sumptuous dinner.
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Gyudon set (miso soup, salad, egg); Matsuya
Price range: ¥700-¥1000,
way cheaper than the sets in Manila |
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A MUST TRY: Okonomiyaki/takoyaki on the streets of Kyoto. Might as well try their hotdogs , burgers and other street foods, too. Oishi!!!
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| Custard-filled pancake of sort at the Fushimi Inari stretch. Yummy! |
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| You can even eat them on-the-go! Price range: ¥500-¥800 |
One of the best that I had is probably this tempura/tonkatsu set in Katsuraku (Aomi Koto, Tokyo). They said it is a meal for two but in my opinion (and experience) it could feed four. Japan, I love you. You really amaze me.
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| *drooling* |
I forgot to note the restaurant’s name but I am pretty sure they have a franchise in the Philippines as well but we also had tonkatsu in Ikeda - Sugaharacho.
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| It's raining tonkatsu! |
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NOODLEBUG ALERT!
We didn’t miss the chance to try the authentic udon (thick noodles made from wheat flour), soba (thin noodles made from buckwheat flour; don’t ask me how they differ, I have just Google-d them, but I know they both taste so good!) and ramen (a favourite!) They are all so tasty I could cry, with prices ranging from ¥800-¥1500. Everything is so worth it.
- Udon/Soba: Nishiki Market (Nakgyo-kyu, Kyoto)
- Ramen: An small, unknown resto near the bus station in Osaka in which I’d like to call “rameng gala” (a pun to our very own maming gala). Apparently it’s an “eat and run” (eat and then leave) place that the servers albeit all friendly are giving us looks. “Nakatingin si kuya, nagagwapuhan yata sakin.” Our Jungkookie even said. Truth is, maybe they are thinking why we’re talking animatedly and why it’s taking us too long to leave? (oops? Sumimasen, gomen nasai minna~san heheh) Anyway, the food is good. We were also so hungry then so no photos were taken.
- Ramen part 2: Kamakura Ramen Place (Dohtonbori, Osaka) HUGE ARSE SERVINGS, I am telling you. Have I mentioned how I love Japan yet?
- Udon/soba: Nishiki Market (Nakgyo-ku, Kyoto)
- Nissin Instant Cup Noodles Museum: We get to customize our cup noodles from its content and flavour up to its packaging. Fun experience!
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| Udon with fish cake toppings! |
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| This is my customised cup noodle. I drew Tata, Chimmy and Mang (it was BTS' Hoseok's birthday then.) |
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| You just gotta! Taken outside the Kamakura ramen bar. |
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So much for being in character with our BTS counterparts, we also tried Korean food in Japan. I also have a separate
blog post for that just BECAUSE.
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| Woo hoo Chijeu-buldak (Fire chicken cheese) |
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| 잘 먹었습니다! 맛이 있어요! Komawo, ahjumma for preparing our meal uwu |
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| Tteokbokki and bujimgae, anyone? |
Locations: Kintatsurai Korean Resto in Tokyo; Korean street food in Tsuruhashi, Korean Town
FOOD COMA
Thanks to our generous sponsors! We even get to be one with the natives in an underground food hall where they usually have their almost mandatory “two bots” (two bottle of beers after a long work day).
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| BT21's RJ posing with his medium rare steak in a Steak House in Kōenji. |
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| Ginger ale! |
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| I don't know what this is, probably some vegetable but it is good? |
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| BOCA Mexican bar in Tokyo |
Bonus fun content:
Full witch/wizard mode at THE THREE BROOMSTICKS!
Ahhh we did get to eat at the famous Three Broomsticks at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. We were so hungry that we didn’t even make it a point to make it look classy on photos but it was such a feast. It is more expensive than we would usually spend for our lunch meal but we planned on splurging in here because it’s THE THREE BROOMSTICKS, for crying out loud. We had Butterbeers, too! Best day ever. Our Harry Potter fangirls/boys selves are so well-fed.
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| Cheers, mate! |
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| A proper feast! |
10/10 will definitely come back (in God’s time. He’s made it all possible, anyway. We truly are blessed.)
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