Tokyo: Time to Eat

Derek and I slept in until 11am our first day in Tokyo. We were both exhausted from six days of skiing. We hit up the classic holy trinity of Google Maps, ChatGPT, and Instagram and concocted our plan for Tokyo. As veteran blog readers may already be guessing, our itinerary revolved almost entirely around food, with walking planned between meals as a means of digestion to then allow for more food.

We began exploring the city, which was a fun blend of dense urban jungle and surprisingly tranquil shrines and temples.

We first hit up some wonderful fluffy pancakes for breakfast.

Then we waited for an hour for some udon. We did not realize at the time that this udon restaurant is apparently the Tokyo udon spot. After the first bite the line made more sense. The udon was so simple with smooth homemade noodles, salty shaved beef, fresh onions and rich raw orange egg yolk to bring it all together.

We wandered through Meji Jingu, Tokyo's most famous Shinto shrine. We appreciated the peaceful break from the crowded city streets.

We continued onwards to Shibuya Crossing, the crosswalk famous for being the busiest in the world. It was in fact, incredibly busy. In a bit of a virtuous cycle, its fame seems to have made it even busier.

We swung by a standing sushi place. Neither of us was familiar with the concept of standing sushi, but we caught on quickly. As the name suggests, you stand and order sushi a la carte and an old Japanese man in a chef uniform makes it for you on the spot. Immediately. You can order round after round. Amazing.

After some more wandering I went back to my Moroccan roots and ordered shawarma. (Side note: it feels like I have lived an entire life since my first bite of shawarma back in Marrakech.) I saw the rotating spit of meat and felt some deep biological urge ignite inside of me. I needed it. I will always be the number one fan of shawarma.

We explored the busy neon streets for a while longer and then had a little McDonald's night cap. Day 1 in Tokyo complete.

Derek and I began our second day of eating with an American chain, Eggslut. Yes that is their actual name. Neither of us had heard of it, but we both loved their buttery scrambled egg brioche breakfast sandwich. Well done America.

With our palates primed, we went straight into this more traditional breakfast spot that Derek found on the Japanese side of Instagram. This was a major development. Unlike the udon place, this restaurant had zero line and the best salmon I've ever had. It was so salty and fatty with a crispy exterior. Just lovely. For those keeping track, Japan has now claimed the best steak, skiing, and salmon of my life.

We set out for a two hour walk in search of a watch shop Derek was interested in. We broke up the walk with a stop for cake and another for some conveyor belt sushi.

Look at how fatty this fish is. The sushi (more specifically nigiri) has been unsurprisingly extraordinary across the board.

We made it to a new area full of izakayas (small Japanese eating / drinking spots) tucked away underneath the subway tracks overhead.

After shopping around for a bit, Derek achieved his dream of buying a watch in Japan. He purchased a classy Seiko. Very exciting.

We ate some decent but not particularly noteworthy soba to polish off our second full day in Tokyo.

Day three was our final full day in Tokyo. By now we had caught on that the popular restaurants tended to have dreadfully long lines. But not if you show up early. We went to arguably Tokyo's best dipping noodle restaurant fifteen minutes before open. The line was already long enough that we still weren't in the initial wave seated.

These noodles were my single favorite bite of food in Japan. The fresh noodles are cooked and then chilled and served in a cold mound. You take a bundle and dip them into the richest broth I've ever tasted with bits of salted pork floating around. It was extremely heavy, but incredible.

We took the subway to Tokyo's fish market. We swung by the flagship Sushi Zanmai shop, a chain owned by Kiyoshi Kimura, the "Tuna King" who purchased the first tuna of the 2026 season for $3.2 million. Wild. Apparently it brings good luck.

Next we set out for AGE.3, a famous fried whipped cream sandwich shop. The line was literally down the block.

So, being impatient Americans, we opted for the probably 80% as good 7/11 version next door.

Post-sandwich, we burned off some calories by walking through the wide streets of Ginza lined with every luxury store imaginable. Sometimes two or three times over. There were two Tiffany & Co. buildings and three Omega watch stores. It was a density of luxury consumer goods neither of us had seen before.

We swung by this watch mall that had private elevators to take you to each brand's store. We saw multiple showcases displaying watches worth well over $100,000.

Exhausted from pretending like we belonged in any of these stores, we ate three donuts to recover.

After the donuts we were sufficiently energized to explore the grounds around Tokyo's imperial palace.

Then we set our sights on a Michelin Guide katsu restaurant. We arrived 25 minutes early and were the second group through the door. This place was adorable. We watched a one man show unfold as he took precise care frying every single item.

All three fried goodies (shrimp, pork, and croquette) were so light and crispy but flavorful. And the experience of watching this man singlehandedly prepare the food from the meat hammer all the way through plating the final product was super entertaining. This was a very fun dining experience.

It also did not hit either of our required calorie minimums, so we immediately went to a spicy ramen place next door and ordered a bowl each. Derek has one of the biggest appetites I have ever seen. He fit right in with the wander and eat travel strategy.