Tokyo Weekend Trip

We went to Tokyo for the weekend with Miyoko and her husband Kiyoshi. Their nephew is a theatre director in Tokyo, and his play was showing in a theater downtown. So we went to the show, and then spent the rest of the weekend touring Tokyo. Even though Joe and I have been to Tokyo before, we were able to experience all new things this time because 1) Tokyo is HUGE and there is so much to do there, and 2) we had our own personal tour guides!

On our way to Tokyo, we stopped in Yokohama to eat at this cute floating restaurant with spectacular views on the bay. Surprisingly, there were quite a few Mexican dishes, so you can imagine how excited Joe and I were! (Nagoya does not have any good Mexican restaurants!) Anyway, the food at this particular restaurant in Yokohama was very good. We both had fish tacos, and they were fabulous.

Floating restaurant in Yokohama.

After our quick lunch, we drove the rest of the way to Tokyo to see the play. It was interesting to watch a play in a language that we don't understand. Surprisingly though, because of the costumes and actors, we understood almost everything. I'm sure we would have enjoyed it more had we actually known what they were saying, but overall we still had a nice time. Miyoko's sister volunteered to watch Elodie, so Joe and I were actually able to sit through part of the play together, which was really nice.

Standing next to the advertisement for the play.

After the play, we went to a really fancy Japanese restaurant in the heart of downtown, right next to the Tokyo Tower. Each party has their own private room, which resembles the culture of the Japanese Edo period. The restaurant overlooks a 71,000 square foot Japanese garden.

It was set menu with 8 courses, all of which were really lovely - everything from the appearance, detail, and taste - was absolutely wonderful. Our set menu included: boiled pike conger & shrimp, deep fried tofu coated with sweet miso sauce, assorted sashimi, eggplant with sesame dressing (my favorite!!!!), tofu in seasoned soy milk, sauteed Japanese sea bass, rice with ginger and burdock root, and fig for dessert. 

The restaurant entrance.

Walking through the garden to our private room.

This isn't a great picture of anyone (except Joe who looks really cute!), but it's the only picture I have of the table and wanted to share what the room looked like.

Miyoko showing Elodie the tea kettle in our private room.

The waitress, dressed in Kimono, who served us each course.

Joe & Elodie with Miyoko's nephew (the director) and his daughter.

It was a wonderful Japanese experience, and I'm so glad we went! The only downfall is that it was very expensive. The set course cost us about 10,000yen each - or about $127.50 per person (and that didn't include drinks!). But the atmosphere was outstanding, the food was delicious, and it was an overall fantastic Japanese experience - so I'd recommend for anyone visiting Japan to go here! Although I should warn you, the restaurant specializes in tofu. ;) Here's the English website if you want to see pictures of the restaurant: Tokyo Shiba Tofuya-Ukai.

On Sunday, Miyoko and Kiyoshi drove us around Tokyo to show us different parts of the city that we had never seen before. Here are a few highlights from our day....

The new Tokyo Sky Tree, which opened this past May 22. It has been sold out for MONTHS!.. and you still can't go up without an advanced reservation.

Pagoda at Asakusa temple.

Asakusa temple, a Buddhist temple built in the 7th Century. It's Tokyo's most famous and popular temple. It is also one of the oldest, although the current buildings are post-war reconstructions.

Nakamise, a shopping street from the temple entrance gate to the temple. Any and every kind of Japanese souvenir can be found here! It was incredibly crowded!

Tokyo style "monjya" in the Tsukishima district. It's basically Tokyo's version of okonomiyaki. They have similar ingredients, but monjya has a lot more liquid and is more runny. It's then eaten directly off of the grill using a small metal spatula.

Joe eating monjya with his small spatula, haha! We liked okonomiyaki much better than monjya.

We also stopped at Daikanyama for some shopping, but I didn't take any photos there. I found some cute moose cookie-cutters, and Elodie got new hair bows... a successful shopping trip. :)

Wow, that was an exhausting but fun weekend!!!