Everyone I met in Japan was so helpful and gracious. I would ask for extra help or take a little extra time, and not worry about it.
I help visitors who need help or guidance here in Canada. Pay it back elsewhere when you can. ( I know you do )
That’s just part of being a good global citizen.
No problem asking for help. Someone in line or the staff can usually translate. Image translate to start would be a good idea as well. Not all places have the special bowls up top.
Thanks for the rec! Duck and foie noodles sounds great.
I’m more of a newbie than you are I think 
maybe someone with more knowledge can answer? I did hold a line up once when trying to translate the options on my phone until a helpful person came up with an English menu. Some ticket machines have helpful photos or even an English translation. And as @Phoenikia and @tigerjohn mentioned there’s nothing wrong with asking for help.
I have T-Mobile (USA) which also has free data overseas but at 3G speeds, which is too slow for me. I got an eSIM from a JAL ABC counter at Narita airport - it was a NTT Docomo data only prepaid eSIM which had a 4GB a day high speed limit for 14 days for ¥7000, about $45. It worked well and was easy to set up, you just scan a QR code.
Great reports, eating well in Japan is such a joy!!
We use the Tmobile $50 international plan mostly these days.
Tmobile partners with top carriers in the countries we frequent. In Japan (throughout): Docomo, SoftBank or KDDI.
5G speed, 15GB data for 30 days. No charge for phone calls, domestic or international.
EZ on, EZ off. Do the add-on before you embark on your flight, four bars as soon as you hit the tarmac at destination.
Before dinner I did a bit of sightseeing.
Tokyo Station
And I also had reserved a ticket to Shibuya Sky, which has nice view of the Tokyo skyline and a unique view of the Shibuya Scramble Crossing below, in which people resembled ants.
For dinner I had some high end yakiniku / Japanese-style Korean BBQ at Yakiniku Jumbo Hanare (also spelled Jambo Hanare in some places) from chef Norimitsu Nanbara in Bunkyo City, where I’d made a late reservation on Tablecheck.
They have an omakase yakiniku option but I think it requires a minimum of two people. Since I was solo I ordered a la carte. Here’s the English menu. In addition to yakiniku, they also had Korean dishes like yukhoe and bibimbap.
I had some very good kimchi. It was a large portion with daikon, cucumber, and napa cabbage.
I also added some lettuce leaves to wrap with.
Sauces - there was a sweet soy based sauce and a sauce that was described as a dashi if I heard correctly. There was also salt.
There was also an egg to mix up and dip in.
The first piece was a “superior cut” of beef tongue. I cooked this on the grill, and it was juicy and beefy and had a bouncy texture.
Next, nohara yaki - described on the menu as their signature cut of sukiyaki sauced sirloin/striploin. This was one piece and was cooked for me, about 4 seconds a side only.
Into the egg it went, and then into the lettuce. This was a great tender richly marbled piece of beef with a bit of sweetness from the sukiyaki sauce. Delicious!
Nakaniku - described on the menu as premium hip loin with a balance of marbling and lean. Also a brief four seconds per side to cook.
And then a wagyu sushi, with rice cooked with genmaicha (Japanese green tea) which was supposed to balance out the sweetness of the meat. This was also grilled for me and then formed into a wagyu nigiri. Yum! The combination of rich beef and the green tea flavored sushi rice was so good.
Maki kalbi / premium shoulder kalbi (I think, my notes are a bit jumbled). You have a choice of sauce or salt to season with, I chose salt. Very well marbled. I was instructed to cook these a little longer - for 15 seconds a side. Very rich, a little more chewy texture than the noharayaki and the sushi, and quite beefy.
Misuji / top blade, or as described on the menu premium forearm loin. Sauced and thinly sliced, 4 seconds a side.
Fillet, which was sold by weight ¥4500 / 100g, I got around 100g. Chateaubriand steak from the tenderloin, which was cooked by the staff and had quite an involved cooking process. The steak was slow cooked under a cover, turned several times and cooked on all sides including the edges. It was then sliced into thick pieces. This was fantastic. The beef was cooked perfectly - just so the marbled fat had melted and the exterior was slightly seared. The pieces just kind of melted in my mouth but still had just a bit of chew. So good, and worth the price.
For a finishing dish, I had the “original style cold noodles”, which to me resembled Korean nyangmyeong. They were very chewy noodles in a cold and savory broth. It was garnished with some thinly sliced scallions and a soft boiled egg, and came with a brownish sauce that had soy I think and garlic in it. Very nice, and it fills you up.
Total price with a sake was ¥24,330 - a bit of a splurge, but this was the best yakiniku I’ve ever had, and I was pretty stuffed at the end. The beef was very rich and filling.
Tabelog: https://tabelog.com/en/tokyo/A1310/A131004/13160962/
Lunch the next day was at the Spice Ramen Manriki in Akihabara, a shop that serves a unique ramen with a heavily spice infused soup.
The ticket machine - I think I got the Premium Spiced Ramen bowl, which has ajitama and chashu. Once you sit down you choose either cilantro or onion to top your bowl - I chose the cilantro.
They also have craft beer. I had an Aooni IPA from Yo-Ho Brewing Company out of Nagano.
My ramen arrived shortly. It had a delicious broth with a bit of heat that to me resembled that of a Chinese beef noodle soup a bit, only with pork. There was cumin and coriander in there I think, and red chili oil. It tasted a bit herbal due to the spices. There were large slices of chashu on top, lots of bean sprouts for crunch, a piece of broccoli which I found a bit incongruous but appreciated for the fiber, and a nice soft boiled marinated egg. The noodles were medium thick and plentiful. It was another satisfying bowl of ramen and quite unlike any ramen I’ve had before.
Noodle closeup.
Tabelog: https://tabelog.com/en/tokyo/A1310/A131001/13237879/
Denger! Very spiced hot ramen! Love it 
I like the photos a lot. My neighborhood in Tokyo is Tokyo Station/Ginza so it is like seeing my old stomping ground. I have never seen Shibuya from above, that is a nice view.
Amazing Yakiniku! Those photos are outstanding. I come from a family that has been in the cattle business for more than a hundred years. I love good beef. This is something else entirely.
This transcends anything we do in Montana. It turns a “workmanlike” meal into art. Simply a beautiful meal.
And the ramen looks like a rich treat, too! Plus the order buttons are in English too. I see all the buttons I want to press, gotta have a softboiled egg and an Asahi beer!
What an absolutely spectacular meal! Wow wow wow.
I didn’t notice that until you pointed it out I see there are also double and triple coriander options for the cilantro lovers.
I agree, it was some of the best beef I’ve ever had.
One thing on my list to try in Tokyo was kaiseki - the traditional multi-course meal that highlights seasonal ingredients. I was able to make a reservation a few days prior to Ginza Kitagawa in Ginza via Omakase. Kitagawa is helmed by chef Kazuyuki Kitagawa. They have a bunch of accolades including a Michelin star and a Tabelog Silver award.
The entrance.
Inside - Kitagawa is a small restaurant with only a L-shaped counter. They were preparing the hassun.
I had a shochu on the rock to drink.
Dinner started with an amuse of a pumpkin soup flavored with I think a dashi. It was a nice taste of autumn.
And then a dish of akagai / blood clam (I think), uni / sea urchin, and grilled eggplant in a jelly like sauce. This was presented in a pretty autumn themed box.
Chef Kitagawa was a friendly and enthusiastic presence. He introduced the courses in Japanese, and another chef translated a bit for us Anglophones at the counter, who were seated next to each other. I had a nice conversation with my neighbor who was visiting Japan from the Nashville area.
Next was the hassun course - small dishes or appetizers with a seasonal theme. It was such a beautiful autumn themed presentation. There was a fruit salad with sweet tofu, saba / cured mackerel, spinach with ikura inside a hollowed out sudachi, tofu on soy sauce with a dab of ginger, and Spanish mackerel.
I had a carafe of sake, not sure what this was, I just took their recommendation for a sake on the drier side. It was very good.
ETA: with help from ChatGPT, it is Hitakami Yasuke Junmai Ginjo
Chef Kitagawa showed us the ingredient for the next dish, large red sweet peppers.
This was made into a tempura pepper, very nice. It was sweet and lightly fried. I believe this was the agemono / fried dish.
The next dish being prepared.
This was a delicious nigiri of anago / sea eel. The eel was warm with the skin on, and the rice underneath was perfect.
Next, the owan / soup course. This had a large shrimp ball, matsutake mushroom, and a root vegetable, all in a clear dashi.
A few supplements were offered, including a matsutake mushroom dish - we were displayed this box of matsutakes. I added a mushroom dish and also a shrimp dish.
The next dish being displayed by Chef Kitagawa.
This was a yakimono / grilled dish I believe. It was ayu / sweetfish. It had a slightly smoky flavor from the grill, and had lots of sweet roe within. Delicious! There was a lotus root stuffed with egg on the side.
Next was another tempura dish - this one of eel.
And then a noodle soup - soba in a soy sauce based broth with many small fried shrimp and nameko mushrooms. Delicious! The little shrimp still had their shell on but fried so crispy that the skin was edible.
The next course was one of the supplements - the matsutake mushroom. This was prepared as tempura, with matcha flavored salt, plain salt, tentsuyu, and a sudachi as condiments. Also delicious! It was meaty and perfectly fried.
A piece of steak was enthusiastically displayed.
And then another add-on followed, the shrimp dish. This had sweet shrimp and squid with a uni sauce. There was a little ball of rice on the side to soak up the uni sauce afterwards. So good!
Next, the previously displayed steak, now sliced up into cubes. It was very good medium rare beef with two condiments. The one on the right I think was caramelized onions, and I forget what the one on the left was.
The next dish was chicken and mushrooms in a thick flavorful gelatinous sauce. It was very good.
Some sliced matsutake mushrooms were displayed.
The mushrooms were used in the next course, which was a gohan / rice dish. This was great! So simple - just mushrooms and rice I think, but both the rice and the mushrooms were just perfect. Along with the rice there was green tea, pickled vegetables, and a strong miso soup.
And then another rice dish, which was an onigiri / rice ball. This may have been the best onigiri that I’ve ever had. The rice was again perfect. There were some pickles, freshly grated yuzu zest, and I think some more of the red pepper featured earlier within.
Finally, dessert. This was a very nice dorayaki, which is a pancake filled with adzuki / red bean paste.
There was also matcha.
This was an excellent dinner and a memorable kaiseki experience. Everything was delicious and it was evident that chef Kitagawa and crew were passionate about their craft. It was a splurge at ¥49,300 with two drinks and some supplements, I thought it was worth it.
Tabelog: https://tabelog.com/en/tokyo/A1301/A130101/13275790/
You are doing a good job making us rethink plans for 2026.
Wow again! Thank you so much for sharing your fabulous meals with us!
Positively drooling ovah heah!
Fantastic looking meal, and well worth the splurge!
Whenever I consider travelling anywhere else, I look at the planned cost and I ask myself: how many days could spend in Japan eating like Mr Happy on this trip. Often the result of this exercise is: i should just go to Japan.
Lunch the next day was a seafood extravaganza. First, an early lunch / brunch at Tsujihan, a well known kaisen-don / sashimi rice bowl restaurant. They have several locations, and I went to the one in Nihonbashi.
This was the line up at 10:30 am on a Friday. It’s very popular. An employee went around handing out menus and inquiring about party size with a notebook. They had Korean and English language menus as well.
The English menu - they mostly serve one thing, a zeitaku don in various sizes.
The menu also had dining instructions.
After about 45 minutes I got a seat at the counter. I ordered the matsu course (¥2,500), which has ikura / salmon roe, nakaochi / fish scraps from the bone, shrimp, whelk, geoduck clam, squid, and herring eggs, along with cucumber, green onion, shiso, and nori. The matsu size has added uni, crab, and extra ikura.
My bowl arrived. What a mountain of seafood!
Following the instructions, I mixed the wasabi with the bowl of soy sauce and egg yolk. I then broke up the seafood pile and drizzled some of the sauce on top. I really enjoyed the zeitaku don. Zeitaku means “luxury” (thanks Google) and this was for sure a luxurious bowl. Even with everything mixed up you could taste the different seafood components, and they were all enhanced by the egg yolk enriched soy wasabi sauce.
There was also a plate of sashimi, I think tai / sea bream on a separate plate with a thick brownish sauce that was a little sweet. I mistakenly ate all of the tai sashimi, you’re supposed to save a piece or two for the next step, whoops.
To finish, I handed my bowl with some of the rice remaining and they ladled a milky tai dashi soup into the bowl. Yuzu zest was then grated on top. Delicious! The broth had quite a body and was very flavorful.
This was a delicious seafood lunch, and a great deal at ¥2,500. Worth the wait!
Tabelog: https://tabelog.com/en/tokyo/A1302/A130202/13146590/
After brunch at Tsujihan, I took the metro down to Tsukiji to check out the Tsukiji Outer Market. The famous wholesale fish market moved from Tsukiji to Toyosu back in 2018, but there is still the bustling Outer Market with eateries and shops.
On my way to the market I passed by the Tsukiji Hongan-ji Temple, which looks like it is undergoing some restoration.
Here’s some pictures of the outer market.
King crab stall
A stall selling scallops with butter
Shohei Ohtani
A sushi stall
Everyday is unagi day
I had second lunch - a second kaisen-don of the day in fact, at Sea Gen in the outer market. Sea Gen’s specialty is kaisen-don with tuna.
There was a small line up outside.
I was handed an English language menu. Some of the items were sold out. I got the Yamayuki Chef’s Choice Tuna Bowl (¥2,600), which had a variety of sliced tuna, wasabi, shiso leaf, and a side of soup.
I had a highball that had sudachi in it, very refreshing.
There’s a soy sauce dispenser and interestingly also a spray bottle of soy. Multiple means of soy seasoning.
The Yamayuki Chef’s Choice tuna bowl. It’s a thing of beauty. This was another delicious kaisen-don. I think the tuna was a mix of different levels of fattiness. It was very high quality tuna. You can get a refill of rice if you need more. Another great deal at ¥2,600 for a generous amount of tuna.
Tabelog: https://tabelog.com/en/tokyo/A1313/A131301/13262581/
I walked off second lunch a bit by heading to the Hama-rikyū Gardens, which are just south of the Tsukiji Outer Market.
There’s a pond in the park that was once used for duck hunting. There’s a charming tea house overlooking the pond.
You take off your shoes before entering. There I had a snack of a bowl of hot matcha (you can also get it on ice) and a wagashi of a very pretty daifuku.
Wagashi close up
Tabelog: https://tabelog.com/en/tokyo/A1314/A131401/13036639/
