Tokyo: Asakusa

This is the sixteenth recap for LOHOjapan, my 3 week trip to Japan with my boyfriend. After a whole day of waiting outside the JAL office to sort out our way home, we are left with 1 more day to enjoy Japan before our long flight home.

Asakusa

Asakusa is like a “little Kyoto”. We originally crossed this off our list to visit because we actually went to Kyoto, but since we have an extra day we decide to explore this area more.

Lunch: Kikko

Yesterday, our Japanese friend, Miyu, spent 4 hours waiting with us outside JAL’s office. We really want to thank her for her time so we tell her make her eat lunch with us, our treat. But really, insurance’s treat lol.

We originally want to try a gyu katsu (beef cutlet) restaurant, but as with all good restaurants in Japan, there is a long wait. It is raining so we decide to check out another spot instead. In the end, we choose a Japanese restaurant called Kikko.

Kikko has many good reviews on Google and it is a classic Japanese restaurant with really only 1 thing you can order on their menu – a lunch box set. For 3 people, the total is $141.40 CAD.

There are many different dishes inside this lunch box and it changes daily. In our lunchbox, we have:

• Prawn and fish tempura
• Tamago (rolled egg), ham, ?????? – lots of things I don’t know but they are all yummy and different lol
• Baked fish
• Tofu ball
• Mushrooms and fish eggs
• Sashimi
• Rice and miso soup

As Miyu tells us, normal Japanese people do not eat this for lunch on a regular basis. It is filled with special dishes, like things you might only eat on new years.

The owner is very friendly and speaks English well. He and another staff performs traditional Japanese music!

Feels more like a touristy restaurant if you want my honest opinion, but the live performance made the meal quite fun.

Things to do: Explore Nakamise and Sensoji

Sensoji is a very popular Buddhist temple and to get there, you pass through Nakamise, a busy shopping street filled with local goods to shop and eat.

It’s cool to have a big temple in the middle of the dense city. The shopping street that leads up to it is comprised of mini stalls, kind of like our Richmond Night Market. One thing that popped up for me is that I notice a lot more kimono rental places here. I imagine it is nicer to take photos in a kimono with Asakusa in the background because it has more traditional Japanese structures and backdrops compared to the rest of Tokyo.

Things to do: Shopping at Tokyo Solamachi

This is the mall attached to Tokyo SkyTree that we did not really have enough time to shop in. We decide to go back and spend the rest of our yen since it is raining anyways and we want to be indoors.

We really like this mall because it fits perfectly into our budget. The shopping in Ginza was super expensive, but this mall has a lot of stores and items that we are looking to buy.

Dinner: Viva Napoli

We spend many hours in this mall lol and we are tired so we decide to eat inside the mall too. After looking at the many options, we choose an Italian restaurant called Viva Napoli.

They have a set meal for 2,300 yen, which includes a pasta of your choice, wagyu steak, and a dessert. We also add a pizza for 2000 yen. They add this cheese called Laspadura (extra 300 yen). It is a rare cheese peculiar to Lodi district in Lombardy, Italy.

We choose the bolognese pasta and they add a soft boiled egg, which is a nice touch. For dessert, we chooese their lemon pie which almost looks like a fake food because of how perfect it is.

All in all, not the most amazing restaurant we’ve been to but we enjoyed our meal here.

Final thoughts

Our last day in Japan is kind of relaxing. We got to spend the rest of our money and just chill. There was no more “oh we gotta do that” or “we gotta go here” anymore, so in this aspect, it was nice.

I think we would’ve explored Asakusa a bit more if it didn’t rain, but based on what I saw in the shopping street, it looked like a lot of souvenirs and tourist gimmicks. Some nice looking street snacks though.

We tried to pull an early night to prepare for our long-ass trip home… 3 layovers and one of them is 6 hours long fml.

Stay tuned for my next post and follow along with the other recaps!
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Sincerely, Loewe