With everything from traditional blue collar Yakitori to exotic Tempura, Tokyo rightfully deserves its reputation as one of the greatest foodie cities in the world. It also has the potential to completely wipe out your budget if you aren’t careful, so here are some of our favourite restaurants that won’t leave you selling your shoes for airfare within the week.
Sushi-Bun
No trip to Japan would be complete without sampling some traditional Japanese sushi, and nowhere sells it fresher than Tokyo’s Central Fish Market. The market is the largest and busiest fish market in the world and the sushi bars there can be equally busy. Sushi-Bun is one of the smallest, and is often much quieter than the larger and more obvious choices, but serves equally fantastic fare. The Sushi is prepared in front of you by the head chef and served on a bamboo leaf. Sushi-Bun is unashamedly Japanese and rarely caters to tourists, so it can be hard to find, but it does at least have a set English menu so that you know what you are ordering.
Cure Maid Café
Akihabara is known primarily for its huge amount of electronics shops, and increasingly for its strong otaku culture. Otaku refers to an obsession or devotion to any hobby, but most commonly anime, and one of Akihabara’s trademarks is its abundance of anime inspired Maid Cafés. Cure Maid Café was the first of its type to open and is still one of the most popular, serving elegant if somewhat elaborate food and drink at reasonable prices. It is somewhat less extravagant than some other Maid Cafés and has a relatively formal vibe, but it still promises to be a completely unique experience for the casual traveller, a world away from what most people are used to.
Ivy Palace
Ivy Palace is a modern restaurant set amongst lush greenery and gives you space to relax away from the endless energy of the city. It is not entirely accurate to describe Ivy Palace as ‘traditional’ but it does have plenty of unmistakably Japanese elements and a cool contemporary feel. The restaurant serves a mixture of foods from around the world, including European favourites with a local twist for travellers missing the comforts of home; the restaurant aims to sooth the body and mind, and comfort food for homesick travellers is just one of its attractions. Ivy Palace also has plenty of choices for the more adventurous, with everything from Thai-style salads to grilled Swordfish, and a bar and café on site too.
