I always remember my trip to Japan 5 years ago when I was 17 at that point of time, when I had no clue about what good food is all about, I never heard about Tsukiji fish market before, I don’t give a damn about fine dining or starred restaurant. I was going there with a group of tours with my family.

Maybe, I was more obsessed to their theme park instead of their fresh seafood. The tour always brought me to decent places to eat. I’m not saying it’s bad, but it was not fantastic either. The only memory about good food in Japan was when I stayed at one place around Mt. Fuji areas, I had a sushi buffet, and it was fantastic enough for me. The other one was when I had a humble bowl of udon. It was winter by the way. There was no meat inside, it’s just udon simmered in a warm broth garnished with seaweed and Japanese fish cake. It was so bloody simple but yet the magic still sticks in my head until now.

I was going by myself during my recent trip to Japan. And as you might expect, Japan was insane! I went to Tokyo, Osaka, and a short trip to Kyoto (1 day only for sight seeing). Yes, some of you might blame me for not experienced staying at Kyoto’s Ryokan (It’s a Japanese traditional inn when you sleep on tatami, wearing Yukata, and maybe taking a hot spring bath. Apologize my bad explanations, you can get more details from Google), or having the most amazing Kaiseki (Japanese traditional degustation menuI.

I didn’t have a chance those things. Even though I was not travelling with a group of tours, I was travelling with 3 other people where they have different destinations and goals about Japan. And also I save my budget for other restaurant in Tokyo.

The food.

This is my first breakfast when I reached Tokyo. A great start with Unagi sushi.

Japanese sweet potato

Bento!

I found this ramen shop at Dotonbori area in Osaka. You can easily noticed it by looking at the big dragon above the shop, Choose the ramen portion you want at the vending machine, and give the ticket to the chef. They will cook it for you. And you’ll have a bowl of delicious Ramen. Their roasted pork was delicious!

On the first morning in Osaka, I found this Udon shop, and surprisingly it was simply amazing. Remember the first Udon I had in Japan 5 years ago? This was ten times better. The price is reasonable. Don’t forget to try their tempura. They’re fresh, tasty, and just make you want it more.

I think this is one of the most worth it Unagi in town. But the only difficulty I had was there’s no English menu, and English speaking staff. So I Just pointed at the picture to order the dish.

This Gyoza shop located not far from the Unagi shop previously. They have several selections of Gyoza such as pork and cheese, and even Iberico pork. But their original pork Gyoza is still the best so far.

Yakitori, Yaki means grilled, Tori means chicken, so Yakitori is basically grilled chicken skewer over charcoals. This is one of Japanese delicacies. Even though Yakitori means grilled chicken, you can simply understand it as Japanese barbecue. While most items usually still parts of chicken such as heart, liver, gizzard, skin, wings, and so on. They have others selections such as pork, bacon with asparagus or enoki mushroom. When you’re in Tokyo, go to Omoide Yokocho area in Shinjuku. It’s a small alley with numbers of Yakitori places. Most places are small and cramped, but they serve good foods.

During my trip in Tokyo, I stayed at Korean town, so at one evening I was thinking why don’t I try one Korean restaurant and grab a beer for supper. Some restaurants close quite late. As you can see, they’re not only looking good in the picture, but taste great in your mouth also.

Gindaco takoyaki. This chain restaurant serves good takoyaki, better than the one I had in Osaka. Oh ya, I had a glass of “Highball”, one of the famous cocktail in Japan. It is the combination of whisky, water, and soda.

  The perfect breakfast. Cold soba with yam paste and Japanese curry rice!

I feel slightly disappointed because I didn’t explore much. This country has a lot to offer. Even in Tokyo itself, it is close to difficult to find bad food. I didn’t get a chance to visit the most amazing Tsukiji fish market, trying different Ramen shop, or eating at traditional Soba shop. Coming back to Japan is a must. For me, Japan itself is not a destination. It is a journey, to find the best food you can easily get.