8/31-9/13 Food Tour

[sage blade]

Hi all I am an American (31M) coming to Japan for the first time. Main goal is to eat great food and drink amazing coffee. Everything else comes second. That being said I have made some plans that require two or three people to get a spot and am looking for others who wish to join. At the moment I have two reservations:

Nakiryu Ramen (One Star Michelin Ramen)
https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/tokyo-region/tokyo/restaurant/sosakumenkobo-nakiryu
8/31 @ 10:30 AM (Have to line up an hour before they open)
Cost per person is around 1,400 yen
No set limit. Just let me know if you want to join and stand in line with me.

Nihonbashi Kakigaracho Sugita (Two Star Michelin Sushi)
https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/tokyo-region/tokyo/restaurant/nihombashi-kakigaracho-sugita
8/31 @ 20:30 (8:30 PM)
Cost per person is around 36,300 yen.
Have two open spots in the side room.

Tonkatsu Narikura
https://omakase.in/en/r/qw473765
9/1 @ 10:30 AM
Cost per person is around 5,500 yen.
Second spot has been reserved by @split widget already.

Will be in Tokyo from 8/31 to 9/4 (Day trip bus tour to Mt Fuji on 9/2, open for dinner).
Hiroshima 9/4 to 9/6.
Kyoto 9/6 to 9/9.
Osaka 9/9 to 9/12 (Day trip to Nara on the 10th or 11th).
Tokyo 912 to 9/13 (fly out that afternoon).

Let me know if you want o go grab something to eat, check out a cool coffee place, or get some drinks if your schedule matches up. I will probably make some more reservations over the next few days as I look for spots outside of Tokyo. Feel free to let me know of places I should try.

[stray pagoda]

I believe we have overlap for dates in Kyoto 😃 btw do you know about any places for coffee in Japan I would be interested as well, I thought Japan was more known for their tea

[sage blade]

If you want to go all out...

https://cokuun.com/en/

There was also a thread on here that has a list of cool coffee shops

what is a bit annoying is that coffee seems to be an afternoon thing in Japan as they all open either in the afternoon or late morning.

This is the one: https://discord.com/channels/440956791426383882/1087531797404983367

[stray pagoda]

Much appreciated, I’ve actually only recently gotten into coffee since I’m on a weight loss journey and a coffee or two I feel helps me regulate my appetite, so this will be helpful

[stray pagoda]

Neat-o

[sage blade]

For Kyoto I have reservations for the Imperial Villa and Palace. Palace on 9/6 15:30 and Villa on 9/5 9:20. Other then that I am open to do whatever if you want to meetup.

[stray pagoda]

Sure sounds good maybe we can hit up shrines or some street food stalls

[sage blade]

Did you want to try this Michelin star place for lunch on 9/7? Not trying to spend $100+ a day on food, but thought it would be a shame to not try some fancy food while in Kyoto. Dinner is over $200. but lunch is $100. https://myconciergejapan.com/restaurants/kiyama/

Supposed to be one of the best value per dollar places in Kyoto

Also I will be going to the Imperial Villa tour that morning at 9:20 if you wanted to join. They have an english tour and just costs 1000 yen. You can register here if you want to go. https://sankan.kunaicho.go.jp/register/frame/4201?ym=202309

[stray pagoda]

Yeah sure I don’t mind, I don’t have any experience with Michelin star dining

How would we make a reservation though

[sage blade]

I can book it online

Will book two lunch sets at noon

[stray pagoda]

Sick

I’m down to do the villa tour too

Just need to book it

But I need to hop on to my laptop to translate lol

[sage blade]

https://sankan.kunaicho.go.jp/register/month/4201?locale=en

Try that one

looks like I left out the EN

[stray pagoda]

Thanks will do

No worries at all

Appreciate the spoon feeding hahahaha

[sage blade]

no worries I normally travel with an old college buddy every couple of years on a big trip which was supposed to be this one, but he had some work problems pop up and had to drop out. He normally does not do any planing and leaves it all to me anyways...

You do not have any food problems I should note on the reservation?

[stray pagoda]

Not at all

I’ll eat anything

No guarantee I will like it but I will try it

I will force myself to swallow though

🤣

But I’m sure since it’s Michelin star that won’t be an issue

[sage blade]

no worries most of these places just require no shorts or open toe shoes

no need for dressing up

[stray pagoda]

Well good thing you mentioned that I need to pack some pants in that case

[sage blade]

I also found a couple of other cheaper places I may check out

Haha there is always Uniqlo in Tokyo if you forget

[stray pagoda]

Very true

Running shoes should be fine though

I hope haha

[sage blade]

will have to be since I am def not packing a second pair of dress shoes

https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/kyoto-region/kyoto/restaurant/juu-go

[stray pagoda]

Hahahaha same I’m just doing a pair of Brooks running shoes and some Birkenstocks

[sage blade]

That place also looks cool

only 1500 yen

[stray pagoda]

Ooooh very nice and cheap

[sage blade]

seems they were closed from 7/1 to 8/31

[stray pagoda]

So I applied for the tour

It’s a lottery system or is it just broken English

But I will let you know if I can attend

[sage blade]

if there is more demand then tickets

[stray pagoda]

Ahhh I see

[sage blade]

I got an email the next day I think

confiming

[stray pagoda]

Nice nice

I’ll let you know

I gotta go pack

[sage blade]

when you get into and out of Kyoto?

[stray pagoda]

I’m still in Canada but basically:
Aug 26 to 31 - Tokyo
Aug 31 - Sept 4 - Osaka
Sept 4 - 8 Kyoto
Sept 8 - 11 - Tokyo

[sage blade]

what time is your train on the 8th?

[stray pagoda]

Haha I have not booked that far in advance actually, I tried to keep my itinerary flexible but my hotel is right near the station so hopefully I’m flexible

But likely I will pick an afternoon slot or later on in the day tbh

Im just back in Tokyo because I fly out of Narita

[sage blade]

Maybe we can get that Soba as early lunch on the 8th

[stray pagoda]

Down for that

Is it the cold soba

I’ll let you know though

[sage blade]

https://www.instagram.com/15_soba

May be able to do the 6th and take an earlier train in from Hiroshima

[stray pagoda]

Very pretty

Had no idea buckwheat looked like that I just eat it 😂

[sage blade]

yeah not sure if I will like it but worth a try

[stray pagoda]

I’ve had it before, likely not at this quality and I thought it was good

It has a very refreshing and mildly earthy taste

But yea for sure

Have you ever tried whale or horse

[sage blade]

Always down for new things

I have not

[stray pagoda]

I was seeing Tokyo had some spots

[sage blade]

I know you can get horse in Japan though

[stray pagoda]

I have no idea if I will like it but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t interested

[sage blade]

Also doing the imperial palace tour on 9/6 at 3:30 if you wanted to join that one as well

that one is free

https://sankan.kunaicho.go.jp/register/month/3201?locale=en

[stray pagoda]

Sure I’ll look into it a little later

Gotta get ready

Im also down for coffee in Kyoto

[sage blade]

I found this place that actually has coffee in the morning and seems to be a decent breakfast https://goo.gl/maps/4zWKgb7Ld1enhYDf8

[sage blade]

https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/kyoto-region/kyoto/restaurant/sumiyakisosaitoriya-hitomi

This place also looks good, but you have to go in person to get a reservation for the following nights. If you feel comfortable going in when you get to Kyoto you can get a reservation for dinner on the 6th.

Here is some other affordable places if you wanted to take a look. https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/kyoto-region/kyoto/restaurants/affordable

[stray pagoda]

Sent you a friend request

just at the airport waiting for my Tokyo connection flight

Only 11 more hours to go

[stray pagoda]

Sure why not, I applied

I’ll see what I can do, the reviews seem rly positive

[velvet oracle]

Hi, I'll be visiting Japan from 9/1 to ~11, super last minute trip. still finalizing itinerary, but wanted to say hi and maybe tagging along on some events

[stuck holly]

@sage blade Damn too bad I’m only coming in October. I would tail you to every cafe (I love food too much)

[sage blade]

It is kind of crazy how cheap even the higher end places are. In the US getting a similar level of sushi would be like $500+. In Tokyo it is less then $250, not cheap, but way better value.

Still got one more spot for dinner on 8/31.

[stuck holly]

@sage blade unfortunately I’m not from US but a cheaper country, so can’t really admire this big difference. Wish I was though, you guys have good currency there 🙂