Japan April 2012 - Day 8 Roppongi / Tokyo Tower / Shibuya

Tokyo at last! We will be spending the rest of the trip in Tokyo to check out the Sakura spots and checking out gourmet food.

First glimpse of Sakura

Tokyo Tower

Close up view

Poodle in the park

Hanami

Our first glimpse of Sakura was at Roponggi at a small park near where we had breakfast. I think we got a little too excited as we spent probably more than an hour taking photos of the 4-5 trees that were there. We went to the Tokyo Tower after that and there were many more trees and people around. Blue sheets were laid on the ground to book the space for Hanami (Sakura viewing)

Hachiko

Hachiko with ceremonial wreaths

Peel your own egg

Ramen bar

After Tokyo Tower we went to Shibuya where the Hachiko statue was having some kind of ceremony. From what we could tell it was some kind of 100 year old anniversary? Lunch was at a ramen bar in Shibuya. It was at a basement level and very cramped but had a long queue so like all good Singaporeans we went and queued. We ordered the standard ramen and an egg. The egg was interesting as we had to peel it ourselves. The soup was flavorful and noodles springy but by tokyo standards it was normal.

Fujiya Dessert Cafe

The mascot - Peko-Chan

Strawberry shortcake

Banana pancakes

While strolling around and checking out the branded labels in Shibuya, we chanced upon Fujiya - a dessert cafe established in 1910. Peko-Chan is the mascot and many of the souvenirs sold in the store are based on her. The strawberry shortcake was soft and fluffy but we agreed that the one we had at the Kawaguchiko Music Forest was better. The banana pancakes was great, not dry and starchy.

BBQ seafood restaurant

Big Hamaguri - clams

Crab paste

Ika

Corn

Ebi

Back at Ikebukuro for dinner. We actually passed by this BBQ seafood restaurant last night but we were too full of food. So, here we are today to try it out. The restaurant was very noisy and boisterous, the staff young, very friendly and full of greetings, more so than normal Japanese restaurants. The BBQ is DIY in the center of the table and everyone was just chatting and drinking biru while slowly cooking the food. Very good place to hangout with your friends even though the food was ordinary.