A restaurant displays tons of bowls and plates of plastic food to showcase their menu
A restaurant displays tons of bowls and plates of plastic food to showcase their menu

Travel

In-flight meals & Sushi in Yodobashi Camera

Arriving in Tokyo, and our first meal in Akihabara

event May 1, 2016
location_onTokyo, Japan

Travel

In-flight meals & Sushi in Yodobashi Camera

Arriving in Tokyo, and our first meal in Akihabara

event May 1, 2016
location_onTokyo, Japan

The morning of our trip began with breakfast and then heading over to Morgan’s to pick him up. We headed to the airport and didn’t hit much traffic on the way over. Check-in and security went smoothly and we were at the gate in no time. After an hour of waiting at the gate, spending a good bit of that time texting family and friends about the trip, we all boarded the plane and the adventure felt like it was really about to begin. What had started off as a whim one night where we talked about how cool it would be to travel to Tokyo together was finally about to get going – and we were so game for it!

This troublemaker 😼

You really can’t take me anywhere.

Making funny photos at the camera while seated on the airplane
Making funny photos at the camera while seated on the airplane

This troublemaker 😼

You really can’t take me anywhere.

Seating Rearrangements

Once we boarded, Morgan and I took our seats. I had a window seat, Morgan in the middle, and another passenger had the aisle. We’d spoken about this earlier, and as soon as the stewardess closed the cabin door, Morgan got up and moved back a number of rows to sit in an aisle seat with someone who had a window seat. Each of us now had a row with the middle seat unoccupied and we therefore had a bit more room to stretch out and share the middle with the other person to put personal knick backs within arms reach.

Airline Food

Lunch service started pretty quickly. We had the choice of chicken or pork. I settled on: Pork teriyaki with rice, salad, edamame and pickled radish, roll & butter, brownie, and sierra Mist & Wine to drink.

If you guys know me, you know my little trick. I warm up my bread and butter using the entree’s warmth. It takes a few minutes and I often start to eat after all the noise of wrappers opening and drink cans opening subsides as others begin their meal. That said, it makes it worth it to me. I enjoyed the meal and also mixed wine with some Sierra Mist, it was a nice combination in my opinion.

Exposing the magician

I have a problem. I have to have my bread warm or toasted. This is as good as it gets when you’re 35,000 feet up in the air.

Placing my bread on the entree to warm it up
Placing my bread on the entree to warm it up

Exposing the magician

I have a problem. I have to have my bread warm or toasted. This is as good as it gets when you’re 35,000 feet up in the air.

Pork Teriyaki & Rice

I don’t know if it was just because I was hungry, but to be honest, it was pretty good.

Pork teriyaki with rice
Pork teriyaki with rice

Pork Teriyaki & Rice

I don’t know if it was just because I was hungry, but to be honest, it was pretty good.

Edamame & Pickled Radish

I usually pair my edamame with a beer. When they are salted just enough and warm, they are so good with an ice cold beer – what a combination!

Edamame and pickled radish
Edamame and pickled radish

Edamame & Pickled Radish

I usually pair my edamame with a beer. When they are salted just enough and warm, they are so good with an ice cold beer – what a combination!

In the middle of the flight, we were offered snacks and provided a: ham and white American sandwich with a spicy topping spread, a rice cracker snack mix, and salted caramel gelato cup.

Snack Time

As you can guess, the best part of the snack was the gelato.

Ham and cheese sandwich, rice cracker snack mix, and salted caramel gelato
Ham and cheese sandwich, rice cracker snack mix, and salted caramel gelato

Snack Time

As you can guess, the best part of the snack was the gelato.

Dinner Service

With about 2 hours left in our journey, we were served dinner. I kept watching my movie and enjoyed a final mini nap before arriving in Tokyo.

chicken and fruit
chicken and fruit

Dinner Service

With about 2 hours left in our journey, we were served dinner. I kept watching my movie and enjoyed a final mini nap before arriving in Tokyo.

Once we landed and both Morgan and I claimed our luggage, we headed to “name of train”. We bought tickets and headed to the platform.

The waiting game

A solid 10 minutes passed before the train arrived. That doesn’t sound long, but when you’ve been on a long flight, all you want to do is get to your final destination or a bed.

Waiting on the train platform
Waiting on the train platform

The waiting game

A solid 10 minutes passed before the train arrived. That doesn’t sound long, but when you’ve been on a long flight, all you want to do is get to your final destination or a bed.

Airbnb & Yodobashi

Once we got into Tokyo, we bought our SUICA cards and proceeded to make our way to Akihabara Station. Our Airbnb was in Akiba (a nickname for the area). We had been told by the host that he’d meet us at the station and walk us over to the place. We waited a while but he eventually came and got us. We went over to the spot.

From the place, we could see a backstreet behind the main Akiba strip. But before we could enjoy much, we were hungry and it was getting late.

SUICA

We found a Suica Machine in the JR Akihabara Station. We each got our own personal card that had our name on it.

Bought my SUICA card and put it in my wallet
Bought my SUICA card and put it in my wallet

SUICA

We found a Suica Machine in the JR Akihabara Station. We each got our own personal card that had our name on it.

秋葉原駅

Akihabara Station is a railway station within Akiba’s busy shopping district. Per Wikipedia, this station opened in November 1890 as a freight terminal, but later opened to passenger traffic in 1925.

Source

Akihabara Station
Akihabara Station

秋葉原駅

Akihabara Station is a railway station within Akiba’s busy shopping district. Per Wikipedia, this station opened in November 1890 as a freight terminal, but later opened to passenger traffic in 1925.

Source

Selfie time!

I was looking a bit rough. We had to wait a decent bit for our Airbnb host to arrive, and we had plenty of adrenaline flowing due to the long trip and sensory overload. We people watched to pass the time.

Selfie taken at Akihabara Station
Selfie taken at Akihabara Station

Selfie time!

I was looking a bit rough. We had to wait a decent bit for our Airbnb host to arrive, and we had plenty of adrenaline flowing due to the long trip and sensory overload. We people watched to pass the time.

A tranquil view

This is the view from our balcony in the Airbnb in Akihabara. To be honest, for this being known as the electronics district, our apartment was quiet and super comfortable.

The view from our balcony in the Airbnb in Akihabara
The view from our balcony in the Airbnb in Akihabara

A tranquil view

This is the view from our balcony in the Airbnb in Akihabara. To be honest, for this being known as the electronics district, our apartment was quiet and super comfortable.

We decided to go to Yodobashi for a few reasons. Some places were closed already, while other places we found were too far away. Yodobashi was within walking distance, was open, and it peaked our interest. Yodobashi is a massive electronics store with a food hall at the top. Therefore, we made our decision. We’d take the escalators up through the various floors of electronics goods to let us get a glimpse of the shopping treasures Akiba offered all the while working towards our final goal of food on the top floor – Yodobashi was the move!

Nighttime stroll

Some of the smaller shops were closed, but a bit further was non-stop light and music.

Sidewalk of a few people out in Akihabara at night
Sidewalk of a few people out in Akihabara at night

Nighttime stroll

Some of the smaller shops were closed, but a bit further was non-stop light and music.

Plastic Food Display

We sat down to make line at our restaurant. Across from us, a restaurant displayed tons of bowls and plastic food to showcase most, if not all, their menu in order to entice customers.

Bowls modeling the food of one of the restaurants in Yodobashi
Bowls modeling the food of one of the restaurants in Yodobashi

Plastic Food Display

We sat down to make line at our restaurant. Across from us, a restaurant displayed tons of bowls and plastic food to showcase most, if not all, their menu in order to entice customers.

Is our table open yet!?

Another restaurant also had chairs outside for patrons to sit while they waited for an open table.

People walking through and finding dinner in the food hall in Yodobashi
People walking through and finding dinner in the food hall in Yodobashi

Is our table open yet!?

Another restaurant also had chairs outside for patrons to sit while they waited for an open table.

We found and made line at a sushi restaurant with a conveyor belt called, Magurobito. I ate my favorite fish, mackerel, and tried a number of other things. It was amazing and it hit the spot. Afterwards, we went back down the escalators and spent some more time looking around before we got tired and decided to head back to get some sleep. Although we cut our time in Yodobashi short considering the immense size of the place compared to the ground we covered, we had finally made it to Tokyo, and could dream of what we’d see and experience next.

iPad ordering

Going to be honest…ordering on the iPad was awesome! We were hungry and didn’t need additional stresses of ordering the wrong thing.

iPad sushi menu
iPad sushi menu

iPad ordering

Going to be honest…ordering on the iPad was awesome! We were hungry and didn’t need additional stresses of ordering the wrong thing.

Salmon Gunkan Style

Gunken style is known for its similarity in appearance to a battle ship (of flavor!)

Salmon sushi
Salmon sushi

Salmon Gunkan Style

Gunken style is known for its similarity in appearance to a battle ship (of flavor!)

Mackerel is my favorite

If you ever want to treat me, just take me to a good sushi spot that offers saba (mackerel) nigiri. If you know of a mackerel based sushi creation that I need to try, please comment below and let me know!

Mackerel nigiri
Mackerel nigiri

Mackerel is my favorite

If you ever want to treat me, just take me to a good sushi spot that offers saba (mackerel) nigiri. If you know of a mackerel based sushi creation that I need to try, please comment below and let me know!

Heaven

This isn’t Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo nor Masa in New York, but hey, this Mackerel was the perfect topping to the warm rice. I could taste the rice vinegar, and the mackerel that night melted in my mouth. I was in heaven.

Closeup of the Mackerel nigiri
Closeup of the Mackerel nigiri

Heaven

This isn’t Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo nor Masa in New York, but hey, this Mackerel was the perfect topping to the warm rice. I could taste the rice vinegar, and the mackerel that night melted in my mouth. I was in heaven.

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