Ueno Zoo

Ueno zoo is my favorite place and, it is one of very popular zoos in Tokyo.
Also, it is very oldest zoo in Tokyo.

My favorite animals are the Giant Pandas and the Western lowland Gorillas.
The two new Giant Pandas have come from China in February 2011, and then, they are very popular now in Japan.
We really missed Giant Pandas because the Ueno zoo had been without Giant Pandas for a while.

We are able to enjoy all day long at Ueno zoo where is managed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government with reasonable price.

Ueno Zoo
Ueno Zoo – wikipedia

Oishi YAMAGATA Plaza

There are many Pilot Shops in Ginza where you can get each prefecture’s touring information and purchase its local specialities.
Today I bought plums, dried pear, and fruit juice at a Yamagata shop.
It’s fun looking for yummy and cutely designed things.
Going around antenna shops is a simple way to enjoy the taste of touring.

Oishi YAMAGATA Plaza – おいしい山形プラザ
Ginza Pilot Shops map

La Chanson

La Chanson is a French Bistro style restaurant in Kamakura.
It was a lovely spring day, I and my friend had good lunch at there.

Especially Kamakura vegetable terrine was like a tasty jewelry box!

OTTIMO & La Chanson (Japanese)

Tanzaburo

I went to a soba noodle restaurant called Tanzaburo in Okutama.

The restaurant is a remodeled old house, and has great atmosphere.

There is a heated table set in the middle of the room, and it is very relaxing.

I ordered the tempura soba set meal.
The handmade soba noodles were very chewy.
The tempura made from seasonal vegetables was very delicious.

Tanzaburo - 丹三郎 (Japanese)
Tanzaburo tabelog – タベログ（Japanese)

KOBAIEN

I went to a restaurant called KOBAIEN in Ome.

Ome is a place famous for Japanese apricots. Right now, it’s the Japanese apricot season and it was bustling with people.
Next to the restaurant too, the flowers of a red Japanese apricot tree were blooming.

This restaurant is famous for 葛きり(kudzu starch noodles).

I ate chilled 葛きり dipped in Japanese apricot sauce.
It was slightly sweet-and-sour and was very delicious.

KOBAIEN - 紅梅苑
KOBAIEN tabelog – タベログ
kuzuko – 葛粉 (wikipedia)

sakura is blooming!

Sakura (cherry blossom) is blooming everywhere in Tokyo!

I went to Shinjuku Gyoen in last weekend with my friend. We bought our lunch obento at Isetan.

So many sakura trees in the park. I love the place where 3 colors of sakura were showing off their dress-up!

Shinjuku Gyoen
Isetan Shinjuku

antenna shop in Tokyo

There are antenna shops from all over Japan in Tokyo. Antenna shops are stores that sell famous local products from different prefectures.
One such shop that I often go to is the Miyazaki Prefecture antenna shop, which is located just outside the south exit of Shinjuku station.

Miyazaki, which is located in the south of Japan, is a rich fruit-growing region so you can easily pick up some delicious fruit at this shop.
There is also an antenna shop from Hokkaido next to the Miyazaki store.
This is a fantastic spot for enjoying foods from various regions of Japan without having to leave Tokyo.

antenna shop in Tokyo (Japanese)

Daikanyama Tsutaya Bookstore

I went to the Daikanyama Tsutaya Bookstore at the newly built shopping complex called Daikanyama T-SITE.

The space is lined with buildings in a T-shaped motif, many of them specialist shops such as restaurants, a camera shops and an electrically assisted bicycle shops.

The Daikanyama Tsutaya Bookstore is made up of three buildings. It’s completely different from the other Tsutaya shops up until now, selling mainly books, and as a bookstore, it is a space that can be fully enjoyed by children and adults.

Of course, there are well-stocked DVD and CD corners, and you can probably find movies for enthusiasts of various tastes there as well. Since you can do returns by mail for free from anywhere in Japan, even people who live far away can rent there care-free.

It truly was an enjoyable space, such that you could spend hours there without getting tired of it.
I think I will definitely end up going there again many times in the future.

DAIKANYAMA T-SITE