Hello Kitty on Odaiba: Cafe de Miki

After having gone to one of Japan’s iconic character cafes in Kyoto (the Hello Kitty tea house), we once more paid our respects to Hello Kitty. In the Diver City mall on Odaiba, there is the Cafe de Miki, a British style Hello Kitty Cafe. The British theme is reflected in the decor and also the menu items (a high tea set is on offer). A huge and very sparkling Hello Kitty receives the guests at the entrance and large Kitty plushies are ready to keep them company at the table.

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Gundam Revisited

We’ve gone to see the 18m tall Gundam back in 2009 when it was first put up in Odaiba. But after reading that it will be taken away in March, we felt compelled to visit it another time. While it can only light up and turn its head, it is nonetheless an impressive sight. So if you’re heading to Odaiba in the next two months, take the chance to pay your respects!

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The Garden of Nezu Museum

Just off of one of the fanciest shopping streets in Tokyo’s Omotesando, Nezu Museum is located. But it’s more than an art museum. Behind it, it hides one of the most amazing Japanese gardens of the metropolis, dark with leafy green and quiet ponds. The contrast to the modern and fashionable Omotesando could not be bigger.

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Back at Chidorigafuchi (Picture Book)

Sakura season has drawn to its close, hastened by a spell of windy and rainy weather here in Tokyo. But I still have a series of pictures from a few days ago, when the bloom was in its prime. It’s from one of Tokyo’s best sakura spots, Chidorigafuchi, along the Imperial Palace moat.

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Back in Japan: Hanami

We’re back in Japan, and just in time for the main event of spring: it’s Sakura season in Tokyo! What else could we do but to go straight for Hanami? The necessary implements can be found easily: a blue picnic sheet, a seasonal bento box, and not to forget, some sake. And not just any sake, but special one with a sakura blossom inside! This is only just the beginning, stay posted for more sakura posts…

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Favorite Asakusa Snacks

Asakusa remains one of our favorite areas in Tokyo, and even though we are now staying in Yushima when we are in Tokyo, we go over often. Since my post on our favorite restaurants in Asakusa enjoys lasting popularity, it is time to also talk about our favorite places there for the less hungry, if you just want to snatch a little bite. In fact, Asakusa is full of food option, but let’s get started with three of our favorites in the vicinity of the Tsukuba Express Asakusa station (see map). One of the most popular savory treats in Japan is surely nikuman, a steamed bun with a meat and onion filling. You can load up on those at Sekine (セキネ) behind the ROX building at the corner of Shin-Nakamisedori, a covered shopping street. But attention: when you get them really freshly made, the inside is literally steaming hot.

Yummy nikuman from Sekine

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The Former Asakura Residence

Just one subway stop away from the ever crowded Shibuya Crossing (also known as the Shibuya Scramble), an oasis of calm can be found in Tokyo: the Kyu Asakura House (旧朝倉家住宅), former residence of the Asakura family in Daikanyama. The house, built in 1919 is nearly a century old and is surrounded by a wooded garden which slopes down the hillside.

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