tokyo tohoku trip - day 6.
back in tokyo after a 5 days trip up north, i wanted a more relaxing day to just relax and chill, hence this day would revolve around exploring my friend’s neighborhood - ningyocho. this neighbourhood is super interesting and there’s a lot to explore with a lot of good food too.
we started the day by visiting a nearby coffee place - kissako kaisenken 喫茶去 快生軒, this is a very traditional retro style place, and for some reason they don’t allow photos in the store. i had the cheesy toast with iced coffee, very simple and light breakfast. toast is very fluffy so it’s really nice. after that, we visited a popular meat store - ningyocho imahan 人形町今半 to get the signature sukiyaki croquette, the meat inside is very soft and flavorful, it’s an enjoyable and satisfying snack to have. we also bought pudding from a dessert store before heading home.
at home, my friend has invited a kimono expert friend to help us put on kimono so that we can look pretty while exploring the neighborhood for the day. the process is quite fun, she is very detailed and took her time to made sure everything looks nice. and my friend did pick out really nice kimonos for both of us too.
for lunch, we decided to visit a famous place for grilled fish - uokyu 魚久 本店. the menu here is very simple with set meal that is served with different type of fish, together with white rice, soup and pickles. we ordered the meal with a small portion of three kind of fishes, so we get to enjoy a little of everything, which is super delicious. the fishes has different texture and slightly different flavor as well, very fresh and grilled to perfection.
after lunch, we head to the nearby shrine for prayers and photos, koami jinja 小網神社. surprisingly, there’s quite a lot of people there and we had to queue as the shrine is quite small. we also visited a furoshiki store 風呂敷専門店 東京唐草屋 that sells different kind of clothes for furoshiki. i picked a few for my friends as souvenirs as i plan to wrap their christmas present in one. the store staff also taught me a few ways to wrap with the furoshiki i purchased, so it’s really fun and educational.
since we did quite a lot of walking, we decided to go to the tea store morinoen 森乃園 for some desserts. this store specializes in hojicha and it has been in operation for many many years, it a great place to get tea for souvenirs if you enjoy hojicha. i ordered the parfait at their upstairs cafe which has so much things inside, hojicha ice cream, jelly, bean paste, and many more. it’s quite enjoyable but also quite a lot to eat as well.
after that, before the sunset, we visited hamacho park 浜町公園 for some more photos with ginko tree leaves which is beautifully yellow during that time. the street lights was also lighted up at that time so the ambiance does change and feels quite romantic. it’s a very nice feeling to walk and enjoy some peaceful time in park.
within ningyocho neighborhood, there’s lots of crafty stores that sells nice decoration of stationery or kitchenware, and it’s great as souvenirs too. mucco is one of many, which has really cute selection with japanese style and elements. they do have branches in other areas as well, but definitely very interesting to visit and have a look. during that time, there’s so much christmas and new year stuff which are pretty.
for dinner, my friend brought us to her favorite izakaya place 立喰い処 酒喰洲 that is also within walking distance. this izakaya is very popular even on a weekday. my friend is so close with the staff here already, she just made the decision and ordered us a lot of good food, sashimi, ginko, fried fish, fried vegetables, cold soba. the food is so good as their ingredients come from fish market from other prefecture directly, so it’s very fresh. i got to try more fishes that is local to japan and it’s really nice. the fried food is so crispy and enjoyable, and surprisingly not too oily or heavy. another satisfying meal at an authentic neighborhood izakaya.
we decided to head home early to relax and unwind as we have an early dat tomorrow for our day trip to kawaguchiko. so it’s better to just chit chat and catch up and just go to bed early. to be continued...
