You can’t beat Japan for variety and quality of native cuisine. Here are some of my favorite types of restaurants, followed by a few recommended Tokyo spots.
Noodle shops
A little more than an hour off my plane from the U.S., I was starving and had some time to kill, as my ride was going to be late to Shinagawa station. It is a very busy, somewhat bewildering train station. I’m a noodle fanatic, so I naturally homed in on a noodle shop.
For a minute or so, I studied the action: People …

With many people expected to flock to Tokyo Sky Tree in Sumida Ward, Tokyo, during the Golden Week holiday period, ward officials and police officers will be on alert around the structure. The Sky Tree became the highest structure in the country in late March, and since then the number of visitors to the area has sharply increased. According to the Tokyo Sky Tree Info Plaza, an information center near the tower, there had been more than 17,000 visitors in April as of Saturday.

About 200 people lined up on Saturday for the early-morning opening of the first official “Gundam”-themed cafe, based on the popular sci-fi animation series. Female staff members dressed as characters from the series greeted customers to the cafe in Tokyo’s Akihabara district when its doors opened at 8.30 a.m on Saturday.

In Japan, a good restaurant will display replicas of what’s on the menu. Craftsmen perfectly reproduce the food – it takes as much skill as the real thing. Now, if only they dusted these every now and then once they were in the windows.

Standing Bars are not only for middle aged men any more. They once were as they were used by salarymen to drop in after work. They would drink, perhaps have an appetizer, and talk there around the big barrels discussing what ever it was that happened to be happening around the office. That was yesterday. Not today. Today standing bars are a lot more hip and diverse.

For a stylish Standing Bar near Azabu Juban Station, try the Bistro Juban Stand. It is open …

We want to see you pose with the Colonel! Send your pics or videos to colonelpic(monkeytail)bionicbong.com. We’ll post them as they come in!!!

Have you seen the Japanese version of KFC’s Colonel Sanders? When I first saw him in Tokyo, I expected to see the Western version — chicken tasted great for sure, but didn’t expect a localization for the Japanese market ^^; (Photo: jpellgen)

Depending on the occasion, they also dress Mr. Sanders the way they want. Santa? No problem. Strange fat middle-aged men in yukata with a …

The Yu Yu Kobo Coffee Shop has to be the best run coffee shop in Tokyo. They have the best beans and the friendliest of owners. Not only is he friendly he knows his beans. Yuji Urakawa has worked in coffee all his life and is a retired veteran of a large Japanese coffee company.

But, it’s not all about the beans and the roast in this store. After retiring, Yuji decided he wanted to live his own life at his own pace. He also wanted …

Ikebukuro – ignored, ashamed, malcontent. On most tourists’ to-do list, Ikebukuro ranks next to last (the lowest one being the unlimited number of McDonald’s so-called restaurants) and has little to offer to your average visitor. There are nothing but chain stores, more stores, your arcades and camera shops, suit companies and sub-par pizza shops. The supposed jewel of Ikebukuro, Sunshine City, collects a large number of foreign brand name stores that will do little to excite even the most consumer-hungry westerner. When a shopping district’s biggest attraction is its Burger King, …

The Vingt et un restaurant cruise in Tokyo Bay was a great bit of fun for this posters birthday.  I won’t tell you which one it was though.  But I will tell you about the cruise and food.  The best time I think to go is in July or August during the Hanabi Season in Japan.  Almost every Saturday there are firework festivals throughout parts of Tokyo which you should be able to spot from the ship.  We were lucky enough to see one that seemed like it was in …