Tokyo, Japan (Spring 2024) - Day 3
Akasaka
We headed to the Akasaka neighborhood to hit my one of my favorite sushi places in Tokyo. Stopping first for a coffee and then headed to the office tower where the sushi restaurant was located. It tends to get busy as it is very popular with the locals so we went there before it opened.
Sushi No Midori (Akasaka)
I believe this restaurant has a few locations but I prefer going to the one in Akasaka because I think it’s less busy. The have a take a number station at the door and the locals flock here because of the quality and also the price seems ridiculously affordable for what you get. They announce the numbers in Japanese so it’s good to Google Translate you number so you know when it’s called.
The ordering on an iPad is new since the last time I was here
Senso-Ji (Asakusa)
These stalls where you get your fortunes on little paper slips seemed very popular with the tourists
After the sushi we went from Akasaka to Asakusa (I always get these two names confused). We went to visit Senso-ji we had never been to it on any of the previous trips. It is Tokyo’s oldest Buddhist temple but everything has been rebuilt since being destroyed in WWII.
A lot of visitors were here on this day. The blocks leading up to the temple are lined with shops and thick with people. The temple area was pretty packed as well. This is a very popular spot. You see a lot of tour groups walking around here. I’m sure this being Golden Week didn’t help with the crowds.
Asahi Sky Bar (Asakusa)
The bar is on one of the upper floors of the gold building.
Next to it is another Asahi building with what I think is supposed to be a gold flame, though my neighbor thought it looked more like a giant golden turd.
The other reason for going to Asakusa was to head across the river to check out the Asahi Sky Bar. They converted a section of the office building above the gold windows into a beer bar with a view of the city. They have snacks as well but we just got some beer. There was a short wait to get a seat.
Zoetrope (Shinjuku)
Not the easiest bar to find but one of my favorite whiskey bars. Unfortunately these tiny single owner establishments won’t last forever as I’m sure this will be gone when the owner retires. He offers up mostly Japanese whiskeys here. No menu, you just tell him the type of flavor profile you like and he finds stuff for you to try. The place is tiny and often he has playing old American films playing on the back wall.
He always ends the evening by letting you try one of his private bottlings from a distiller which is usually higher proof and excellent
Memory Lane (Shinjuku)
Otherwise known as “Piss Alley,” this spot like many places isn’t what it used to be. What was a place for locals to dine on yakitoris and beer, it is almost always tourists seen sitting in the stalls now. I think it still has maintained the feel in terms of how it looks but I don’t think many Japanese people go here anymore.
I don’t know the name of this particular spot although I have been here several times before in past years. I think the ownership has changed as they no longer offer the thing I always used to get here which was garlic cloves wrapped with thin strips of beef.
Bar Le Parrain (Shinjuku)
Decided to end the night trying a cigar bar. This place named after the Godfather is an uber-classy joint for men to enjoy some quiet drinks and smokes. They gave us a private alcove in the back to enjoy our night. The bar is seated with regulars serenely enjoying their drinks and had a feel of an exclusive old English drinking club. This is another pleasant Japanese tendency in that when they decide to coopt a culture, they go 1000% and do it well.