Resistance is futile!! 
Thanks!
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Is that the place?
Thanks for the report! Great writeup. Time to book the tickets for next time!
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no, that’s the tiny, stand-up tapas bar in Koenji. The $$ izakaya is also listed at the end, but under the Tokyo restaurants:
and yes, haha, but it may be too early to start booking for 2027!
Thank you for a wonderful report. Glad you had a great time. In Koenji, there is a cafe that serves specialty coffee during the day and becomes a cool DJ bar on certain nights. It’s called “Incredible Coffee.”
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Thank you!
interesting! Apparently there are a lot of DJ bars in that area.
Oh Maria! I was mesmerized by Japan in 2019 and I’d so love to return - especially with your list in hand. Thanks for the pix and comments. Quite a vicarious thrill.
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That is an epic report! Thank you so much for sharing it! I still find it amazing that I heard for years that Tokyo/Japan at large was so expensive, but like you, I think it is not only great food, but frequently a bargain, as well.
Thanks again!
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thank you, and I hope you do!
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thanks! yes, and I think with the yen being so weak, it may continue to be so, unfortunately for them, but fortunately for travelers. I have read that Japan is instituting new pricing in some areas, however - charging tourists more for some attractions, historical sites, for example. They had a record-breaking amount of tourists in 2024.
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20 hour layover in Tokyo next month. Sushi for breakfast it is. Thanks!
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Lucky you!!
So do we just walk in at 5:30AM and there’s sushi ready to go? Or do we have to wait a while for vendors to put sushi out? Do you remember the name of the stand or shop where you purchased breakfast?
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no, so, as i may have said early in this report (or maybe my last one?), very few things are open early in the morning. We went to Toyosu, the commercial fish market (which separated from Tsukiji market), early one morning, but not THAT early. most of the stands/restaurants in those markets did not open until 9 a.m., if I recall, even if the fish markets themselves do, but you can google both. It is quite possible you might find sushi places open early in lower levels of the trains stations but i would think more like 7, for commuters. Shinjuku is the busiest station in Tokyo, so you would probably have the best luck there. We also happened upon a little place near the Shinjuku station one morning that was open at around 7 and served Japanese breakfast and other things, including sashimi, but I’m sorry, I couldn’t tell you the name.
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I stayed at a hotel near Tsukiji market for 3 days. By 10am, it was already very crowded. Some stalls opened earlier. It’s hard to find American style breakfast served outside hotels and fancy cafes. At Tsukiji, there are two buildings where produce and fresh fish are sold. There are seats and tables on the top floor for guests to enjoy food purchased downstairs.
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by 10, yes, but we arrived at Tsukiji at 9:00 and found it easy to get around and buy sushi, cooked foods, etc. from stalls. Not at 5 a.m. for eating.
American-style breakfast in Tokyo…besides the lackluster suggestion of Jonathan’s/Denny’s, there’s also a Bubby’s (import from NYC).
There’s also “Taste the World,” but they have a much more unique approach to food – a different country’s cuisine every 2-3 months. Now it’s Lithuania.
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we went to Denny’s for bfast once because it was in the lobby of our hotel and nothing else was open, but we got the Japanese breakfast. It was good, not great. I don’t really like Denny’s food, bfast or otherwise, in the States, so I don’t think I’d seek them out for American food in other countries. Though I guess if you’re in Japan for months you could have a hankering for an American bfast from time to time.
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After 4 weeks in Malaysia i took a train to Kuala Lumpur and went to an A&W at the old train station.
LOVED IT!!!
And i do not like A&W normally.
And Malaysia has GREAT food.
In some ways, absence truly does make the heart grow fonder.
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i totally get that! When i was 17 my family moved to Barcelona and we were there 6 months when I remember we took a train to some far out suburb because they had a KFC!
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It affects all of us! Back in 2012 when I had to work on a long assignment in Surabaya (Indonesia), I just had to pop into McDonalds for a Big Mac after 1 month of Javanese food. That burger never tasted better.
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