JAPAN | Tokyo Part 2

Hey guys, welcome back to my blog! I talked about our first day in Tokyo in my previous blog, so check it out if you haven't yet :) So in Tokyo we walked A LOT. I mean like 4 hours a day of walking. And it's not because we're cheap and don't want to take the metro (we take it sometimes when it's way too far), but we thought walking around allowed us to see more of the city. We walked from Roppongi to Tokyo Station, and coincidentally passed by the area where the government buildings are. It was reallly nice, the landscaping was on point, and the streets were very well-maintained. There was police guards at every corner of the streets, which was interesting to see. Then, we reached Tokyo Station, and we were pleasantly surprised by the architecture of the building. It was one of the few historic/European style building that still remains in the city. But even coming from Montreal, a city filled with historic colonial buildings, I was still impressed with the Tokyo Station building since it was hugeee and the style of architecture is quite different than the one we find in Montreal. Also, underneath the station, there is this really big shopping street where they sell a lot of Japanese goods. They had a Pokemon Centre and shops that sell cute stuff from animes. There was also a lot of restaurants to choose from, and one of them sells the (allegedly) best tsukemen in Tokyo. We tried it out, and I'm going to make a blog post about it soon!

Tokyo Station

After Tokyo Station, we walked to Ginza (which was about 5-10 minutes wakl from Tokyo Station). If you know your shopping, Ginza is well known for branded goods and expensive stores. Though we didn't plan on buying anything, we still looked around and very much enjoyed the vibe that the area has. They also had other stores that were more affordable like UNIQLO (which had like more than 7 floors). 

Ginza Main Street

After another day of a lot of shopping, we walked back home and decided to rest a bit until dinner time since we were still pretty jet lagged. For dinner, we went to this Italian restaurant near our apartment since we heard that Japanese people make really good Italian food. I ordered spaghetti with a side of uni, which I've always wanted to try. It was pretty good, but to be honest it wasn't anything special so we didn't even remember the name of the restaurant haha. But we did eat other amazing Italian restaurants during our stay in Japan, which I will talk about in another blog post :)

Spaghetti with a side of uni

JAPAN | Tokyo Part 1

Hey guys! Last summer we visited Japan for 19 days and it was such a great adventure! We hail from Canada and Japan to us was a whole another world with such a different yet interesting culture. And I tell you, it is different but it is so much worth discovering!! The whole country as a whole is filled with so much excitement, so much culture, and so many new things to discover. We visited Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and Okinawa, but there are so much more to see in Japan. So here's the first part of our travel adventure in Tokyo, hope you enjoy!

The vending machines in front of our apartment

Since we were planning to stay in Tokyo for 10 days, we didn't want to stay in a hotel cause the prices were ridiculous!! So we decided to rent an Airbnb and found one priced at 70$ per night, located in the central area of Roppongi. It was in a very good location, had a Lawson convenience store downstairs, and vending machines right across the street from it. 

View in front of Shinjuku Station

The first day, we walked to Shinjuku passing by the little streets of Tokyo. We did this on purpose since we wanted to see the city up close and personal, beyond the big streets and extravagant stores. We were able to see the kinds of houses and apartments that people live in, and basically get a feel of a residential neighborhood in the middle of Tokyo. For us, that's exploring and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Since we were jet-lagged, we woke up too early and got to Shinjuku at 9 am. Stores weren't open yet, but do try to get in the Takashimaya Department Store at opening hour (10 am if I remember correctly). The way they greet customers at opening hour is definitely something else. It was really nice, almost too nice and different that it made us a bit awkward haha. And if you're planning to eat in Shinjuku, we recommend eating on the top floors of the Takashimaya Department Store. They have a lot of variety of restaurants and some of them have amazing views of the city (even the washrooms have great views).

View from Takashimaya Dept. Store top floor washrooms

The lunch set we ordered in a restaurant in Takashimaya Dept. Store

After long hours of shopping (really, it was more than 10 floors of shops) we walked by Shinjuku Central Park to eat and drink the stuff we bought at the vending machines. Then we proceeded to walk to Meiji Shrine. It was kinda hard to find, since we went in from the wrong entrance. We basically had to walk through a forest to find the shrine. But it was definitely worth it. The shrine reminded of typical shrines depicted in mangas or animes, and I definitely felt like I was in Japan. We also learned how to make a proper prayer in a shrine, like how many times you should clap and when you should put the money. 

After the Meiji Shrine, we walked back home and decided to eat in for dinner. The jet lag was pretty intense for both of us and we ended just buying instant noodles and sushi set from the convenience store downstairs. But honestly, even that was a very exciting dinner for us. The convenience store had so much to offer, we bought Japanese flans, ramen noodle snacks, and melon milk to go with our dinner. They also offer other prepared meals like pasta, onigiri (stuffed rice balls), and katsu among other things. So if you guys can't find a restaurant to eat in Japan (which I doubt) or are too tired to eat out, the convenience store is definitely a good place to buy your food!

Avocado Toast with Poached Eggs

I often get bored at home and end up trying out new things to cook. The other day, I was on Instagram looking for food pics (like always) and saw a photo of an avocado toast. I've already heard about it before but never really thought much of it. But since I was bored and wanted an excuse to hold off my school work, I thought I'd give it a try. Oh and I also added poached eggs randomly cause I felt like it. But honestly.. It was sooooo goooood. I didn't expect to like it that much and now I'm obsessed with avocado toast. And don't forget the poached eggs too. Many pics of avocado toast I saw don't have poached eggs on them, but seriously, the eggs make all the difference. Runny egg yolks coupled with creamy, savory smoothly mashed avocado? Yes please. And please do not toast your bread in the toaster. I mean it would come out okay and still acceptable. But baking/toasting it in the oven with butter just makes it that much crunchy and flavorful. Yeah, I know, I'm hungry too. So read on for some simple steps to make this yummy avocado toast!

INGREDIENTS:

1 whole ripe avocado
1/4 of lemon
2 slices of white bread
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter, room temperature
2 eggs
Salt to taste
Cayenne pepper (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mash avocado in a bowl and squeeze in lemon juice. Add salt to taste and some cayenne pepper (this is optional if you want a bit of a kick). Set aside.
2. Spread butter on bread slices and bake in oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 5-8 minutes or until golden brown.
3. Spread the mashes avocado on top of each bread slice equally, set aside.
4. To poach eggs, heat water in a pot until water simmers. Add a dash of vinegar into the water. Lower heat to medium. Crack each egg individually into a bowl and pour the egg from the bowl into the simmering water (this can prevent egg from breaking). Create a smooth whirlpool in the water to bind the egg whites with the yolk. Once it is ready, carefully remove the poached eggs from the water with a a slotted spoon and place each egg on top of the avocado toast.