Day 9: Shibuya Shopping Spree and MIDORI: THE BEST SUSHI OF MY LIFE
This day is dedicated to giving any of you shopping addicts an excuse to come to Tokyo: The shopping heaven that is Shibuya! (Southwest part of Tokyo)
Oh my God I LOVE THE RAMEN IN JAPAN! This is actually from a place that serves only Ramen… they had so many different kinds but I decided to keep it safe and stick with my never-disappointing beef ramen.
Behold, Japan’s newest super hero! On a related note to what this dude was promoting…. there are tons of Pachinkos in Japan. Pachinko is basically a place where you play certain arcade games of chance (eg: watching a steel ball drop from the top and make its way down… hopefully into the right hole that will award you points)… except in reality its a legalized way of gambling in Japan… because at the end off the day, you turn in your winnings for cash.
Saturday at Shibuya was packed!
Notice the Condomania? Haha that place was interesting, lots of different kinds of Condoms.. from ridiculously hung-like-a-horse to small pinky sized.. they had every size.. and flavor of edible condoms too!
This used to be the world’s largest Tower Records store until they opened an even bigger one in the west.
She wasn’t using her umbrella for rain… the weather was verrrrry hot and humid.
Even in Japan people keep up with Harry Potter! Haha the Katakana was quite entertaining to read: Hari Potta…kanji-i-dont-know…PORINSU!
This is Midori Sushi. I am going to just flat out stamp my foot down and announce that this is the world’s greatest sushi restaurant. You know how I can confirm this?
BECAUSE EVEN THE JAPANESE ARE WILLING TO WAIT OVER 2 HOURS TO EAT HERE!!!
With my stomach growling, I took my place in the back of the line….
While traveling alone has its downs.. it does have its perks- I only had to wait for 1 hour for a party of 1 at the sushi bar. (ichi-jikan hitori de machimashita!)
Let the feast begin!
I kicked off my meal with a very good dish of minced tuna salad
The incredibly skilled chefs are hard at work…
Now THIS is what I call Unagi (eel): They served me with a very generous slab of perfectly seared and sweetened Unagi Sashimi. You can’t even see the rice beneath it because of how huge the Unagi was!
A nicely decorated assortment of shell-fish sashimi placed within.. a shell!
The difference between this sashimi and other sashimi is like night and day. At Midori Sushi, they practically don’t even measure how big their cuts are… every piece of sashimi.. whether it’s salmon or their highest-grade toro is generously served at an unbelievably low price.
Thick and long slices of Toro… melts in your mouth!
Why settle for just fish? They will even serve you with meaty pieces of crab sashimi.
A match made in heaven… Asahi Super Dry… ice cold Sake.. and the best sushi of my life.
Salmon eggs so fresh that they may hatch any moment! lol
The toro practically melts on its own…
My sushi chef took his work very seriously… never missing any details in his creations.
These guys were like super heroes to all the customers at the restaurant. 😀
Beautifully decorated seafood salad
The crab sashimi was amazing… I really wonder why they never have this kind of sashimi here in the U.S… 🙁
Cut rolls, hand rolls.. you name it- they’ll make it.
Toro heaven!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fate was totally on my side when I sat next to this very nice couple at Midori Sushi. They were very cheerful and talked for quite awhile with me about how the Sushi in Japan compares with Sushi in the U.S. (IS THERE EVEN ANYTHING TO COMPARE!? LOL). Perhaps their cheerfullness came from the ice cold Sake they were drinking… but nonetheless I loved talking to these guys… they even paid for 3 rounds of sake for me (KAMPAI-SHIMASHYO!!!) to make sure that I was also feeling really cheerful! 😛
This was the sake the nice couple treated me with, it was ice cold… smooth… and sweet!
By the time I ended my legendary sushi feast, I stepped out late in the night to see that there was still an insanely long line of people! Midori Sushi.. truly the #1 best sushi place in the world (Sekei-no-ichiban-to-saiko-sushi desu-yo!)
One of the best parts about drinking in Tokyo is that you don’t have to worry about driving back… because the subway system is so perfect to take you wherever you need to get dropped off at! On my “cheerful” subway ride back, I met a group of Chinese travelers who amazed me with their fluent understanding in Japanese, Chinese, and English! I guess the Japanese was easy to pick up since they already knew all the Kanji from their native-tongue but their English was quite impressive (sugoi-desu-ne?).