A week in Tokyo
If you’ve ever visited Tokyo, you know how tough it is to describe just how much the city has to offer. The food is incredible, people are kind and the city is bustling with energy. And if that isn’t enough to pique your interest, they have just about every kind of animal cafe you could imagine — a delightful and unexpected treat for those of us first-time visitors.
A few of us visited Tokyo to cap off our annual hack week with Google, where we worked on Santa Tracker 2017. When we got back and combined all of our photos from the trip, we realized that a good 80% were pictures of the food we ate, so we thought we’d share some of our favorites:
1. Fuunji Ramen
Being from San Francisco — an unapologetically line-loving city — we knew we had found the right place when we saw a line of people waiting outside the restaurant, stretching across the street and around the corner.
Thankfully, it was well worth the wait. This place turned out to be the best ramen any of us have ever had.
We all ordered the Tsukemen or dipping ramen. The noodles were thicker than your average ramen and they come served cold on a large plate, separate from the broth. It’s tough to describe what exactly made this ramen perfect, but the flavor was unreal. Highly recommend.
2. Sushi Fukumoto
We stayed near this 1 Michelin star sushi restaurant, which turned out to be a wonderful stroke of luck. Situated in the basement of an unassuming building, Sushi Fukumoto is a tiny room with only 8 seats, 1 chef and 1 waitress. The counter seats allowed us to watch as the chef prepared our 13-piece Omakase (chef’s choice).
The whole dinner was mesmerizing. We watched the chef prepare each piece like a work of art and we used their beautifully drawn binder of sushi illustrations to follow along with each course.
Adding to the experience, we sat next to a kind Japanese couple who were very helpful translating for us, as well. In a fun twist to the story, we later found out that they were famous — Teru Sekiguchi, an award-winning photographer and Keiko Takeshita, a famous actress.
The meal ended with warm tea and miso soup. It was a lovely experience and the food was amazing!
3. A Happy Pancake
If the name doesn’t sell it, I hope the pictures do. A must if you like sweet, delicious, fluffy, amazing pancakes. We went for brunch, but these sugary snacks could also pass for dessert :)
4. Hiroshima Fuokonomiyaki Asuka
This savory pancake was absurdly satisfying. The base is made with layered batter, cabbage and fried noodles which sets the stage for the delicious toppings. Highlights were the perfectly fried egg and the aioli sauce drizzle. Pairs well with Sake.
5. Toritake
This restaurant was crowded and for good reason — there’s a wide variety of incredible food. We ordered an assortment of veggie and meat skewers, with my personal favorites being the duck and the quail eggs. They give you the option to get it salty or saucy, and while both are good choices, sauce is the way to go. The beer is tasty too and comes in large or extra large mugs.
6. Bread, Espresso &
One surprise of the trip was the french toast (first image). It’s thicker, eggier and super yummy. I ordered the weekend brunch set: 4 kinds of bread, seasonal vegetables, quiche and a full set of cheese. Don’t forget to take home a square-shaped loaf of bread!
7. Albatross
We liked this eclectic bar so much that we actually ended up here twice on our trip. You’ll find it nestled in the alley of Golden Gai. The alley is as wide as a sidewalk, strung with lights and filled with people, restaurants and bars. It’s a pretty unusual experience, but unusual in a good way. It had multiple floors, good service and great drinks. Not to mention, the decor is dope.
These places were great too…
Row 1: Tsukiji Fish Market and Sushi Katsura at the Fish Market
Row 2: Ramen Nagi Shimokitazawa
Row 3: Nine Pancake House, Freeman Cafe and 梅窓
Row 4: Tsurutontan Roppongi
Upperquad is a growing team of designers, developers and producers brought together by good fortune, great clients and a shared drive to make amazing things.
Kailie Parrish is a senior designer at Upperquad who enjoys making things, travel and puppies.
