MIKE AND JESS' TRAVEL DIARY
Tokyo Trip
Day 6 - October 19 2024
We had a slow morning and left the hotel around 11 again. Since it was going to be so hot and humid, we decided to head to a district called Ikebukuro. There was a large mall called Sunshine City we wanted to explore.
But first, there was a Japanese-French patisserie we wanted to try out right down the street from our hotel. After Fetishe in Ljubljana, we now have to try every one we find anywhere we go just in case it scratches that itch! There wasn’t any English, and the workers didn’t speak English, so we just got a couple that looked good.
They were kind enough to package the desserts in a box with ice packs, so we didn’t have to eat it right away. So, with dessert in tow, we headed to the subway station.
The Ikebukuro main train station is among the top 3 largest and busiest stations in all of Tokyo. Even though it was a Saturday, it was packed and even leaving the station, we were walking with huge crowds down the street. We hadn’t had this experience yet, so it was cool, but with the weather so hot and humid, it felt even more dramatic.
After about a 5-10 minute walk to the mall, we started walking straight to the nearest Katsu (panko fried pork) restaurant. Malls here have actual restaurants, not really food courts, and they can be really good.
We put our name down for a table at Wako Katsu and within 10 minutes we were seated and ordering. I got the pork katsu lunch set and Mike got a set with pork, chicken, and shrimp. The breading is so light and crisp and the meat is so tender and juicy, it’s so darn good. They even serve the meat on a small metal rack so it doesn’t sweat and make the breading soggy. Genius. The sets are served with white rice, cabbage salad and a miso soup. I started to stir the soup before taking a sip and heard a weird clacking noise from in the bowl. What is down there? Baby clams! Surprise!
Each meal was less than $10 and was easily the best pork I’ve ever had. For many reasons, but also this, we love this city.
After lunch, we grabbed a seat in the mall to eat dessert.
The red one was a chocolate raspberry flavor and the brown one was harder to tell, but it seemed like chocolate orange and maybe some hints of coffee. They were both delicious and we would try it again, but we hadn’t realized how similar they would both be, so we will try to pick ones that look a but different in hopes of finding some that are a bit more unique.
On the top floor is the world’s largest capsule toy store. These are quite popular in Japan. It’s essentially like those small kid toy machines where you put a quarter in, turn the knob, and a random toy or tattoo or whatever in a small plastic egg rolls out. But on steroids. They had hundreds of options. Keychains, toys, stickers, you name it. And it was PACKED. It’s so fun! We got a few for the nieces and one for me as well!
We shopped the rest of the three story mall for a few hours and bought some clothes, earrings for me, and gifts. It was a nice way to get out of the heat for a few hours and do what the locals do on a Saturday.
We made our way back to the hotel to drop off our purchases and rest our feet for a short while. Soon after, though, we were hungry again. We walked a couple blocks down to a ramen restaurant we haven’t tried yet. I got the chicken ramen and Mike got the tsukemen. We didn’t really know what the broth was and it wasn’t made more clear when he received it or we tasted it, but he said it was one of his favorite bowls ever. Of course, he had to get the gyoza as well!
Both broths were seriously so thick and rich an the noodles were hand-pulled and chewy. It was delicious.
Still feeling a bit tired and sore, we are taking an early night to hopefully finish recuperating for the rest of the week here. We haven’t decided what we will do tomorrow, but thankfully the weather is improving for the remainder of our stay!