Food in Japan

Before i visited Japan, i was worried about the food being expensive, you know it's Japan we are talking about here. To my surprise there are a list of really good chain restaurant which serve yummy food that cost like less then 500yen for a set lunch

this is the standard size, which was enough for me

 teriyaki chicken, it's yummy and filling!!

like this Gyudon set with a Miso soup and a small salad which come with a Free tea or plain water. Gyudon is basically bowl of rice with boiled beef saute with onions in a mild sweet sauce with dashi(fish and seaweed stock) There are many chain restaurant which serve Gyudon and their price are almost the same. Try Yoshinoya(one of my favourite place to have a quick lunch), Sukiya, Nakau, Matsuya and many more

things you should now @ Gyudon restaurant :

A. the size ------> nami = standard, Omori = large, tokumori = extra large

B. there are also a variety of side dishes eg. Miso soup, tsukemono(pickled vege) raw egg, salad, etc are available for an addition of 100yen-200yen

menu @ Nakau chain restaurant

 and most of the menu they have it in English and if not don't worry most of their menu are illustrate :) and they normally come looking exactly the same like in the menu

menu @ Yoshinoya

Sukiya

All these chain restaurant they are scattered all over in Japan, Don't worry it's not hard to find 1 :)

2 of Boon's favorite convenient stores, 7-11 and Lawson. There are a variety of tit bits, rice balls(filled with salmon, chicken, vege  ,etc), sandwiches, ramen and other things suitable to eat on the run

my favorite, green tea ice cream by meiji

i didn't know that one can heat up their snack. My Doriyaki came with a warmer, just press it(the warmer) and it will warm up itself...cool right @v@

having lunch @ 7-11 in Kyoto. We were looking for a place to grab a quick lunch and couldn't find any Gyudon restaurant so 7-11 was our choice. Ramen for lunch and fruit Jelly for dessert

another slightly more expensive food chain is this Coco Ichibanya or Coco Ichi. It's rice with curry and deep friend pork cutlet or chicken 

the price range in  between 700yen - 1000yen. It's really filling! I find it just ok and the curry smell can be quite over powering at the end but I think one must try Japanese style curry :) 

if rice is not your thing, there is always noodles

:P

a must try in Japan is their vending machine noodle(ramen). We found alot of this vending machines noodle shop all over Japan town, train station, etc.

How do this work?

Though they are called vending machines noodles but they are not made by the vending machine. Most of the noodle shop in Japan, there have this vending machine infont or inside their shop.

1. know that you want to order

2. put in money to the vending machine

3. choose what you wish

4. the machines will print out a receipt of your purchase

5. get your change

6. bring this receipt inside shop and pass it to the chef

7. 5 minutes later voila....noodle is served

Alot of Japanese like to visit this noodle shop for a quick bite before catching the next train. 10 minutes is all you need. It's filling, soupy, yummy and it's cheap

vending machine noodle shop @ Mishima station

our favorite ramen shop...Arashi. found this place from an App. Ramen App. With this App one can find all the Ramen shops in Japan with ratings and reviews from other people. This Ramen chain shop is among the best with  good reviews.

I couldn't agree more!!!!

Arashi Ramen shop menu. There is 1 chain in Asakusa, Tokyo near the Sensoji temple. MUST TRY!!!

the condiments. My favorite this chili chives......it's AWESOMELY delicious with Ramen

the anticipation look on Boon's face. The thick soup base was simply delicious.

When we 1st found this ramen shop, we ate breakfast, lunch and dinner at this Ramen shop, all in a same day....that was how much we loved it :D

Mos burger! the burger size is a little small but it's yummy....try the Teriyaki chicken rice burger

another MUST TRY is this Kaiten Zushi or Shion sushi, literally means sushi on a conveyor belt.

Our friend Paul brought us to this 100yen Kaiten Zushi shop @ Mishima. Almost all the sushi cost 100yen/ plate. only some special dishes with difference prices. Overall it's really nice to try many types of sushi and only cost 100 yen/ plate

we even tried the sushi @ the food section Takashimaya in Kyoto. There are alot of choices there. The price are quite resornable. We found some cheap stuff like fish (the left over parts, after the nice parts are cut out to make sushi) cooked with sweet soy sauce...it's yummy and cost only 300yen enough for 3 person.

there are also bento sets, tempura and lots more. Interesting thing that i found out in Japan is that, all of their fruits are perfect... i mean really perfect. the grapes, strawberries, mangos and the rock melon... and some of the price are crazy. 1 rock melon can be sold easily for like 10,000yen ...i mean we are talking about 100Euro for 1 freaking melon..... CRAZY!!

1 apple for 200yen.....2Euro for an apple....and they taste like any apple but it's big and juicy though but still....

In tokyo town there are many small local food shop with reasonable price and most of their prices are state outside their shop. So you can check our the menu and price before you decide

there are also alot of choices for a snack, like takoyaki (ball shaped Japanese snack with diced octopus filling)are okonomiyaki(savoury pancake, cooked on hot plate, okonomi means what u what. Yaki means grilled or cooked). Gindaco is one of many food chain that sells these snacks

price for 8pcs of takoyaki about 600yen. It's enough for 2 person

another yummy must try snack is Yakitori (sticks if grilled meat)

cost from 70-100yen. I saw alot of these Yakitori shops in Osaka

doner kebobs(Doner kebab), there are all over the world and one can even find it in Japan. Cost 500yen

for a more fancy dinner

sashimi, one of the must have in Japan. For a nice dinner meal in Japan can cost about 2000 yen/pax. It's always nice to go in a group where u can order more variety and share it

I forgot this restaurant name but it's in Tokyo @ somewhere near Shinagawa Station

in Kyoto there is a nice alley with alot of nice restaurant called Pontocho. Most restaurant are quite small that can only fit about 10-15 people but it's a nice place to dine like a Japanese though this place is crawling with tourist

dinner @ some restaurant in Pontocho. Our 4 course meal cost about 2000-2500yen . pax. Starting with a dessert, Daifuku(literally means great luck) is a Japanese confection consisting of a small round mochi(glutinous rice cake) stuffed with sweet filling, most common is the sweetened red bean paste made from azuki beans,  then came the appetizer, cold tofu with fried bonito flakes....yum, then followed with sashimi

and my main course is chicken and vege comes together with a bowl of rice

group photo @ Pontocho :)

In kyoto, we were being introduced to a nice izakaya(izakaya originated from sake shops that allowed customers to sit on the premises to drink) style restaurant, Apollo (located somewhere along Sanjo-dori)

it's a cozy little restaurant with great food and friendly staff

we had sashimi, pumpkin spring rolls, dumplings

beef with fried garlic, deep fried prawn head and of course Miso soup :)

Thanks to Heike and Ehrenfried for inviting us along to this nice restaurant :) 

my hot coco macchiato after a lovely dinner :)

* some cafes in Japan do have cover charge, in our case we were charge 300yen/ pax ya...it's quite expensive

the Japanese are really proud of their Green tea....who can blame them...it's really good. Like my cold milky green tea.....nice for warm weather

hot green tea latte......yummy

all good must come to an end...just like my Japan trip. Though there are many yummy stuff that we didn't managed to try like Shabu Shabu(Japanese Steamboat or hotpot),Tempura...and lots more ...maybe next trip. Nonetheless i'm very happy with my 1st visit to Japan and i end it with a happy memories and a bowl of sizzling hot Ramen @ the Airport before leaving...hehe

ending Japan trip with a slurp :)

~ sayonara ~

Mishima & Hakone, Japan

Back to my Japan post... :) After spending a week in Kyoto, we took the Shinkansen to Mishima, Shizuoka. Thank god my JR pass was still valid....muhahaha. There we stayed with our friend Paul, so we saved alot on accommodation. It was actually a really fun experience staying in a typical Japanese Apartment. It's actually quite spacious, but then it is the suburb. 

the suburb is really peaceful, clean and almost every empty corner they plant vegetables, fruits and they even grow rice

alot of big fishy in the drain. amazing

another favorite of mine is this 24 hours hypermarket. After 9pm all sushi is 1/2 price ;)

we bought a 3 days Hakone Free Pass(a special pass to explore Hakone) by Odakyu Railway from Mishima Station, which cost us about 4,400yen / adult. There are also a 2 days pass

for more info about the Hakone Free Pass ------> http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2358_008.html

the pass is really worth it, besides having unlimited use of Odakyu affiliated buses, trains, boats, cable cars and rope-ways within the Hakone free area, it's also convenient. Even the bus fair from Mishima Station to Lake Ashi cost almost 1000yen 1 way, so the Hakone Free Pass is definitely worth it.

the bus ride from Mishima Station to Hakonemachi took about 1 hour

it was quite a bus ride but it was worth it. The view was amazing though the weather wasn't too good.

This is Lake Ashi

Boon @ Hakone

from there we will take a boat ride

 not just a boat...a pirate boat..... :D

it don't look abit like the pirate boat in one piece(Japanese manga series)

Lake Ashi, we were really unlucky, half way through the rain started to pour and we didn't manage to see Mount Fuji :(

the boat made 2 stops, 1st one @ Motohakone-ko and the last 1 is Togendai-ko

from Togendai-ko we then took the Hakone Ropeway

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to Owakudani (literally means Great Boiling Valley) or also known as The Valley of Hell (Jigoku-dani), which was formed before Christ by volcanic explosion about 3000 years ago

there were few souvenir shops that sells this black egg ( Kuro-tamago), a local specialty, hard boiled eggs in the hot springs. Some said that eating the eggs can increase longevity. Eating 1 is said to add 7 years to your life and eating too much won't make you immortal also and also highly unadvised. The most you may eat up to 2 and half that add 17 years to your life, or so they said

Warning!!!

Owakudani is a volcanic valley with active sulfur vents and hot spring

the sulfur smell was quite strong as we approached nearer the hot spring 

the wind was strong, drizzling and cold but luckily the steam from the hot spring even our the coldness 

didn't expect the weather so cold

back to the Ropeway

view of The Valley of Hell from the Ropeway

ticket price for the Hakone Ropeway. Thank god we have the Hakone Free Pass!

We then took the Hakone Tozan Cable-car, it;s kind of the same as the one in Penang Hill, Penang, Malaysia, but it's more spacious and more seats too :P

there are 5 stops in total and we got down @ Koenshimo to Hakone Gora Park

with the Hakone Free Pass, it's free admission

Gora Park is a French styled landscape pack with a large fountain and

rose garden. There is also a restaurant and a tea house

lovely flowers

hot spring water flowing in the drain in Gora

from Gora we changed to Hakone Tozan Train. I got to say I've never took so many different kind of transports in a day. It's kind of fun!

nice uniform, reminds me of Madeline , the little redheaded french girl cartoon

wanted to visit The Hakone Open-Air Museum but was closed...damn!

back to the Tozan train to Hakone Yumoto...on the way there were many sites to visit but it was getting dark we didn't managed to visit any but the view from the train was also really nice with Hydrangea in bloom alongside the line. The end of day 1 in Hakone :)

On the 2nd day we decided to walked to Motohakone-ko rather than taking the boat directly from Hakone Machi-ko

more eggs?

how very Japanese of us

Hakone Checkpoint or Hakone Sekisho Exhibition Hall, Hokone used to be an important checkpoint to control traffic in Tokaido, the highway which linked Tokyo with Kyoto during the Edo Period. Admission Fee 500yen/ adult. Discount if you have the Hakone Free Pass

for more info -----> http://www.hakonesekisyo.jp/english/data/access/access02.html

lake side path to Motohakone-ko

view from the boat and this lake side path does give a different feel

wild flowers

lake side

ancient cedar avenue, The Edo Shogunate ordered the planting of cedar trees along the old Tokaido highway in 1618

about almost 20-30 minutes hike up there is a kind of a bungalow, overlooking the beautiful Lake Ashi

panorama view from the bungalow

going down again

sight of the Hakone Jinja Shrine's Torii gate

the ancient cedar avenue are about 2 km long

they are huge

unusual tree

finally after more than 1 hour walked, Motohakone-ko

nearby is the Hakone-Jinja Shrine

Boon @ Hakone-Jinja Shrine

the shrine is quite hidden in the forest

i'm not sure what this tree is about but it seem some sort of a wishing tree

it's one giant wishing tree :)

going down the steps

to the red torii gate in the water. It was built in 1951 in commemoration of the Peace Treaty Japan concluded with 49 nations to formally end WWII 

lovely view from the torii gate

lallalala ^^

back to Motohakone-ko and took the boat to Togendai-ko

Hotel de Yama, famous for it's 3000 Azaleas flower garden. Season in end of April - late May. We were abit too late

from there we took the Hakone Tozan bus, to Gotemba Station, to the hot spring spa retreat :)

the bus ride took almost an hour. From Gotemba station there is also free shuttle bus to Gotemba Premium Outlets. Too bad we had no time for shopping

From Gotemba Station we took the free shuttle bus to our Spa retreat :)

there are many hot spring resort in the area to choose from

we spend about 5 hours here. 1 whole day entrance fee cost about 2000yen. We didn't even need to bring anything. towels, shampoo, lotions, anything you need they have it. Even hair tonic. If only i can go there every week...that would be awesome

life's good :)

this place highly recommended!! Oh damn i totally forgot the resort's name.....something Sumika

it was soooooo relaxing and at peace. We were also quite lucky to be able to see Mount Fuji though just for a few minutes because of the thick clouds but at least mission accomplish :)

day 3 we decided to just hang out in Mishima town

what better way to see the town then a bicycle, right?

there is an tourist information just next to the Mishima Station where u can register and borrow their bicycle for FREE

and it was really nice of Paul to show us around Mishima. Boon drinking spring water from Mount Fuji...

checking out the old water pump

some small antique shop

Mishima is an ancient town, which developed around the important Shinto Shrine of Mishima Taisha Shrine

Mishima Taisha Shrine

time for lunch, to Kaiten Zushi!! meaning sushi on a conveyor belt

almost all the sushi is 100 yen, only some special dishes with different prices.

This was one of the cheapest sushi we had in Japan :) and the quality was not bad

after lunch, time to hit the road. We bought our train ticket back to Tokyo from this 24 hours ticket vending machine. The price is slightly cheaper than the one in the train station, but it's in Japanese language :S

We had a great time in Mishima, definitely worth the trip and seeing Mount Fuji was an added bonus and the hot spring...oh i love the hot spring

~ sayonara ~