Suggestions for "first night in Tokyo" restaurant/walk?
I'm arriving at NRT at about 6:00pm, so I figure that by the time I get to my Hotel it will be 8:00 if I'm lucky.
I'm staying at the Hotel Grand Palace, which is on Mejiro St. just north of Kudan-shita Crossing.
Not wanting to just crash and then wake up at 3am, I'd like to get out a little, grab something to eat and then walk a little to get some air. I could do room service, or the hotel has several restaurants, but I'd rather get out a bit.
Any suggestions for a casual place to eat that would be relatively easy to manage for a very jet-lagged foreigner (but Japanese food, please, yum) in the area and then a suggested route for a late evening walk?
If you've never been to Tokyo before, you can not imagine how many small eateries there are in the city. The question is not where to eat but where not to eat. Just step outside your hotel and start walking. Look at the plastic models or picture menus in the display windows and stop in at any place that looks appealing. If the proprietors do not speak English (and they probably won't), just point at what you want.
Most Japanese restaurants of the modest variety specialize in one or two kinds of food (such as noodles), so a lot will depend on what you're in the mood for.
You'll be near the Jimbocho book district and the Imperial Palace grounds, as well as the notorious (due to the war criminals enshrined there) Yasukuni Shrine, but only the shrine is likely to be open. Near the Yasukuni Shrine is the Kudan Kaikan, one of the few surviving examples of prewar Western-influenced architecture in central Tokyo, but I think it essentially functions as a private club these days.
So my suggestion would be to just walk around the neighborhood at random and see what you can see. Just be sure to take a business card from your hotel in case you get lost.
If you're going to be spending a few days in Tokyo, it will be worth your while to pick up the Tokyo City Atlas, published by Kodansha International. It is invaluable in a city where few streets have names and the street names have nothing to do with the addresses of buildings.
So my suggestion would be to just walk around the neighborhood at random and see what you can see.
Taking a random walk in that particular neighbourhood could land the OP in a dead zone as far as dining options are concerned. It's quite a trek between eating options if you wander around the imperial palace grounds and yasukuni jinja, for example.
My suggestion is to walk North. Go up Mejiro Dori towards Iidabashi. At Iidabashi station turn left and walk to the other end of the station (the West exit). And from there turn right and walk up Kagurazaka (North again). Along Kagurazaka are several Japanese restaurants - everything from high end to low end.
Robata no ro (on the left hand side, towards the bottom of Kagurazaka) is one great option if you're happy to spend 5,000 yen or so. For cheaper options, keep walking up the hill. You can find good izakayas like Seigetsu (also on the left side of the main drag). There's a good Okonomiyaki place (called Kurumi, I think) and a reasonable sushi restaurant almost next to that. Exploring the side streets to the left and right of Kagurazaka gives even more options and a lively neighbourhood. All within reasonable walking distance from the Grand Palace. (If you follow a map closely you can also take a short cut rather than the zigzag route that I described above).
...there is a McDonalds, which is where I will NOT be dining!
While I wouldn't eat McDonalds as my first meal in Japan, there is something to be said for trying menu items available only in Japan. And if you tire of $4 cups of coffee, McDonalds can supply you with one for about $1. They usually have smoking areas, if that interests you.
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Your hotel is on subway Shinjuku line and Hazonmon line. Shinjuku is but 4 stops away. Shibuya is also only a few stops away.
There are quite a bit of eating places at Akasaka-Mitsuke too. It is located one big block west of the Nagatacho station on the Hanzonmon line. Walk under the elevated highway until you get to the bridge. Up the hill to the right are New Otani and Akasaka Prince hotels, the restaurants are just to the left.
My hotel last night was on the Asakusa line. Wanting to eat Unagi don, I took the subway to Asakusa and had dinner there and did a bit of walking around too.
Taking a random walk in that particular neighbourhood could land the OP in a dead zone as far as dining options are concerned.
Understatement of the year. The area rolls up the sidewalks ~ 8:30 pm.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jib71
My suggestion is to walk North. Go up Mejiro Dori towards Iidabashi. At Iidabashi station turn left and walk to the other end of the station (the West exit). And from there turn right and walk up Kagurazaka (North again). Along Kagurazaka are several Japanese restaurants - everything from high end to low end.
Good suggestion, but a pretty long walk after just arriving.
N.B. - All the notes below assume you have mimimal Japanese language skills...
Other options:
1. There's a Jonathan's almost directly across from the hotel. It should be open until at least 2200.
ETA:
Just to the right of Jonathan's are two places, I Pancha (an okonomiyaki restaurant) and the oddly named Tokyo Tavern, which appears to have an extensive wine collection and a menu tending towards the meat-eater. Don't let the names fool you, both are Japanese-style establishments.
The area behind the Jonathans (one block east of the hotel) has many small restaurants, including a really nice little French Bistro, le Petite Tonneau. Turn left into the neighborhood at the first corner past Tokyo Tavern and it's on the left. If you're lucky, you'll catch a night when the French student is on garćon duty. The menu is in English, French & Japanese and they have pretty good steak frites. Some nights they have live jazz as a kicker.
2. Further north up Mejiro Dori (towards Iidabashi) on the east side there's an alwaysdependable CoCoIchi.
3. Leaving the hotel, turn left & head north(ish) on Meijiro Dori to the next big triangle intersection (traffic light). Turn right and continue straight under the Shuto Expwy to the next large crossing (Sendai Dori or whatever it's called on that particular block).
Walk past the Johnson & Johnson Tower to the corner. Directly across the street is the Hotel Villa Fontaine. Diagonally across the intersection there's a 24 hr. Denny's (2nd floor). There's also second CoCoIchi next to the hotel (and the best in the chain, IMHO).
If you cross Sendai Dori toward the Villa Fountaine & continue straight, there's a good & cheap Indian restaurant (Shanti) @ 15m on the left just past the hotel. They cater to the late-evening college crowd and are open until at least 2300.
5. If you're up for a longer walk, head north on Sendai Dori (left from the Villa Fontaine) to the the Suidobashi JR station. There are a ton of local izikaya & Japanese restaurants surrounding the station and most are simple "point & click" picture menus.
6. If you're up for an even longer walk, head further north over the pedestrain bridge into Tokyo Dome City just past the Suidobashi JR station. Plenty of eating places, including a funky ramen joint with some of the best chain ramen in Tokyo (again, IMHO). It's on the 2nd outdoor level of the LaQua (known locally as Rakkua) Plaza side of the complex. At this point the Kagurazaka option is ~ equidistant.
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Last edited by kcvt750; Nov 1, 09 at 7:47 am.
Reason: add info
City Sento are going the way of Beijing's Hutong. I've only been visiting Tokyo since 2002 and I've already lost some of my favourite haunts. It's a great way to slough off a long haul trip whilst enjoying some local 'colour'.
Borrow a towel from your hotel and take a flannel (they have tenugui flannels for sale cheaply at the sento). You may need soap and a shampoo too (but again, sachets will be on sale there)
Again, thanks for all the suggestions. The Sento is an interesting idea, and I think there might actually be one in my hotel as well.
I had thought about going somewhere by subway, but dealing with the Tokyo subway just after coming off a long plane ride fails my concept of "easy", I think. I'll save that for the next morning. I am an intrepid walker, so a longish walk doesn't deter me a bit.
The closest mosburger is another hike from the OP's hotel, although a straight shot east down Yasukuni-dori. Probably 2 - 2.5km on the left side. It closes @ 2100 IIRC.
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When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace. Jimi Hendrix
I'd agree that you shouldn't just walk around randomly - head north, and there are plenty of restaurants on the way to Iidabashi station within a few minutes of your hotel. Also there's a restaurant/office complex called i-Garden Terrace behind Hotel Metropolitan Edmont (2 or 3 min. north, then a few blocks east of your hotel), where there are several Japanese izakaya choices, including Sai and Ichibandori (for yakitori). They both have prix-fixe menus (called a "kosu menu" in Japanese) for easy ordering.
For an after-dinner walk, the route up through Kagurazaka would be my recommendation as well.
