TEA-HEE- HELLO KITTY X LADUREE PARIS - GINZA TOKYO JAPAN

This little cafe with a big name was certainly hard to find. Located inside of the Ginza Mitsukoshi Shopping Center, if I did not purchase a travel guide, nor did my homework, I most definitely would have missed it.

Above all, I can now say I am a 90% macaron-er, for I have finally tried the father of macarons, Laduree. The final 10% is my quota left for the original store in Paris. 

 Tokyo Laduree Les Macarons in order from top to bottom:
Cafe - Coffee
Fleur de Cerisier - Cherry Blossom

Fleur d'Orange - Orange Blossom
Rose - Rose
Citron - Lemon

Pistache - Pistachio

I decided to savor my macarons back in the hotel, so I was given a small ice pack to keep the macarons fresh. How cute!

Snack Quack - GODIVA CAFE - HARAJUKU TOKYO JAPAN

Japan is known to have many extravagant cafes like Bvlgari Cafe, L'occitane Cafe etc... I came upon Godiva Cafe in the middle of an extremely hot day and was desperate for a quench of ice down my throat to calm my body down. I initially thought this was a simple drink stand ala Starbucks, until I went upstairs and was in awe at the  amazing and quirky decor. As noted in the pictures below, the cafe is decorated with fake dripping chocolate, along with a gorgeous chandelier, a juxtaposition of cute and classy!

I ordered:

Chocolixir Chocolat blanc au The vert - White Chocolate and Green Tea "Chocolixir"

Tarte Glacee in Dark Chocolate and Strawberry

TRIP GUIDE - SUSHI DAI - TSUKIJI FISH MARKET TOKYO JAPAN

I have never in my life, waited in line, standing on my feet for FOUR HOURS. 

But for the legendary Sushi Dai, I woke up at 2:30AM, and had the meal of a lifetime. I kid you not. 

TRIP GUIDE SUSHI DAI |We finished our Tuna action around 5:50AM and sprinted to Sushi Dai. I saw a line of people (say around 40-50) and thought people were waiting for the bus. When we got to Sushi Dai we saw approximately 20 people in front of it, then obaasan scolded us to another line - what I thought was the bus line. Obaasan kindly informed us that the current wait time (at 6:00AM) is 4 HOURS. We really waited for 4 hours and ate around 9:45. Sushi Dai closes at 2pm sharp, So if you plan on arriving anytime after 8:30AM, I say you'd probably will not get in. You need to expect at least a 3-4 hour wait time. The line only gets longer and longer, and there are only 13 seats in the restaurant, people after us were waiting anywhere close to 4.5 - 5 hours. 


SUSHI DAI | I have heard puns everywhere that Sushi Dai is "Sushi to Die for". I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. I honestly believe Sushi Dai is as close to the word "fresh" as anyone can ever eat. The fish are perfectly translucent and my clam was still moving when served. The moment we entered the restaurant we were greeted with multiple "thank you for waiting! arigatougozaimasu!". Because there were only 13 people in the restaurant, the chefs were able to connect and interact with everyone - such as asking "where you from!" or "how do you enjoy your stay in Japan!". The chefs are so cheerful and I suddenly forgot I just stood on the street for 4 hours.

Sushi Dai is expensive, but the entire journey here in the Tsukiji Fish Market (see previous blog post here) has been unforgettable. The adventure beginning at 2:30AM until waiting in line for 4 hours, with nothing to do we were literally playing rock paper scissors for an hour, we could only wait for time to pass slowly. But the anticipation only made Sushi Dai more delicious. The desire for the hyped sushi and the feeling of seeing the sushi only to still be counting the hours until it is finally in my mouth. But Sushi isn't only famed for its line and extravagance, its quality lives up to its name and reason why it IS famed and extravagant. Four hours is alot of time, but by the time we left Tsukiji it was only 11:00AM, for some tourists, its only the beginning of their day. 

There are two course choices of "trust the chef" (3900 yen/ $51 CAD) or "standard"  (2500 yen/ $33 CAD). We just waited 4 hours, its a no brainer for us to pig out on the deluxe menu. The Chef menu or "Omakase" consisted of 10 nigiri sushi, 4 sushi rolls, tamago (sweet egg) and one extra item of your hearts pleasure. We even added on 2-3 more sushi each on top of the regular menu. 

Otoro/ Tuna Belly/ Fatty Tuna

Hirame

Miso Soup

Uni/ Sea Urchin

  

Aji/ Horse Mackerel

 

Ika/ Squid

Akagi/ Red Clam

Lean Tuna

 Shira Ebe/ Baby Shrimp

 Tamago/ Sweet Egg

 Unagi/ Sea Eel

 Scallop

 Otoro/ Fatty Tuna (again!)

TRIP GUIDE - TSUKIJI FISH MARKET TUNA AUCTION - TOKYO JAPAN

The Tuna Fish Auction was really only 20 minutes, is it worth it? Well, considering Tsukiji Fish Market is the largest fish market in the world and houses some of the largest frozen tuna in the world, yes, it was well worth my sleep deprivation. You experience not only the sightings of the large tunas, but you experience an industry and a culture. Auctioneers sweat and stress over selecting the "perfect" tuna, some pacing back and forth, some staring at the fish for minutes. You experience a sort of dedication and passion from these fisherman, and there was a certain fire of respect that emerged from me - an appreciation for the art of Japanese cuisine. 

TRIP GUIDE TUNA AUCTION | We had done alot research on the Tuna Auction prior to our dedication, and I do recommend and stress (for those who wish to view the Tuna Auction) you must arrive to Tsukiji before 4:30AM. I woke up at 2:30 that day (had about 3 hours of sleep, maybe less) and was out the door by 3:30AM in a cab. There is no subway that early in the morning, you must take the cab. From Shinjuku to Tsukiji is approximately 30 minutes. They only allow 120 tourists into the Tuna Auction, while that sounds like alot, it is really broken down into two groups - 5:25AM viewing and 5:50 viewing, each group consisting of ONLY 60 people at once. Trust me, 120 spots are easy to fill up, there are keen tourists like us everyday. When we arrived around 4:00AM, there was already 15-20 people. It is EXCEPTIONALLY important to be part of the first group as next destination Sushi Dai opens at 5:00AM, and people line up at Sushi Dai at 5:00AM, hence, the earlier you arrive to Sushi Dai, the less time you have to wait there (again haha) and... the earlier you will get to eat.

It is incredibly dangerous in the market, little barrel carts (I made that name up) and whizzing around at high paces, each worker hurrying to beat the clock and grab stock. It's just common courtesy and respect to stay out of their way and let them move first. I like to say, it is out of their good will to allow tourists to tour the market. A few years ago, a few tourists arrived in the market drunk and was horsing around, Tsukiji closed the market from visitors for a few months. 

For reasons as such, Tsukiji market is taken very seriously by the Japanese, and to me, it makes the tour that much more interesting and more respectable.