Majra

That's funny! How about this one? I'm betting that it has more recognizable items. This was my 12 year-old son's lunch from about a month ago. I have a question about inari. We always eat them with soy sauce and wasabi. I love that whole sweet/salty/spicy sensation. When we were in Japan, however, inari was never served with soy sauce. Are they usually eaten plain?

On that last Saturday, when we ate the beef bowl lunch, we had planned to eat at Kuu. Unfortunately we had underestimated its distance from the train station and arrived just as they were ending their lunch service. The view was nice, but the food will have to wait until next time. I always think it's good to leave a few things undone on any trip; I think it increases the possibility that you'll return. Late on that same Saturday night, my husband and I left the kids in the hotel room and snuck upstairs to the bar on Cerulean Tower's 40th floor for a date and glass of champagne. The following morning, we had 4+ hours of playtime left before leaving on the airport shuttle for Narita. Each family member was given the choice of one last activity. Daughter chose Harajuku, son chose Akhihabara, husband chose onigiri. I chose depachika. We didn't eat all of this stuff, but this is my idea of sightseeing. On the way back to the hotel to catch the shuttle bus, we had one Last Meal, at our little noodle shop for old times' sake. Ironically, I had the same thing as my very first meal in Japan: My husband had curry rice. He had an egg with it too, which didn't sound very tasty to me but I think he liked it. My son had a last plate of zaru soba. His sister may not have liked that preparation, but he discovered a new favorite dish! Here he is, slurping like an old pro: My daughter, to no one's surprise, had a bakery bun. She survived Japanese food, but she is still not a fan. No big shock to me, and at least I know that I wasn't being neurotic when I started this thread in the first place. Overall, the beauty of Japanese foods, and the care taken in the presentation of even the most simple items, is just so elevated over anything I've seen in the world. I'm so happy that I had the opportunity to see and experience a few things in Japan. And happy for my kids too--what a great place for them to broaden their horizons and expand their frame of reference. Thank you to all who provided suggestions and encouragement before our trip. It most definitely helped and I am grateful to everyone who took the time to help me out! Cheers!!

I know that it was not Yoshinoya, because their signs are written in English, and I vetoed that place as an option a couple of times on the basis that we had Yoshinoya nearby when we lived in California. I wanted to stick with only-in-Japan places whenever possible.

Maybe, probably, could have been?! The menu looks exactly the same. I don't recall seeing any roman alphabet though, so I cannot be sure of the name. I do remember thinking that it was probably a chain restaurant, and I remember noticing that the counter was occupied only by single male diners. And I remember that there were no tables, it was counter service only, and they also had a take-out window. If it was Matsuya, what do you think of that type of food?

One thing's for sure...I'd have to quit my job if I ever wanted to be a food blogger! I will try to wrap up my account of our last few days' of eating and adventure in Japan. After Kyoto, we had another 3 days back in Tokyo. Time to shop! First destination was Kappabashi-dori for kitchenwares. I purchased several serving pieces, nothing extravagant, but I love the oval shapes and petite sizes that I saw commonly in the shops. My family earned the saints award that morning for their patience while I shopped. They all encouraged me to take as long as I wanted, and I took the offer gladly. Before taking the train to Ginza for toy shopping at Hakuhinkan Toy Park, we stopped for lunch at a Chinese restaurant called Hong Kong Tower. We eat a lot of Chinese food at home, so choosing this restaurant had a level of "comfort food" to it. While I wouldn't consider it authentic Chinese, it was quite tasty and we all ate well. For the 4 of us, we ordered 3 dishes: ramen soup with pork and vegetable, kung pao chicken lunch set, and fried rice lunch set. The kung pao had a decent chili bite to it, so my daughter enjoyed it. My son inhaled most of the fried rice, and the soups really hit the spot on a cold day. My husband and I tried to hold back a little on that meal, so that we would have room for sampling more stuff later. Which we did, of course. My notes have us snacking on onigiri, more gyoza, and green tea soft-serve ice cream later that afternoon. In the evening we walked to Tokyo Hands and closed down the place, shopping for bento supplies and other goodies. Evidence of my shopping spree may show up on the bento thread one of these days. Walking busy Shibuya on a Friday night, the kids chose to eat at First Kitchen. They amused themselves for hours (or was it days?) over the fact that they ordered "hot dog set-o" and it was basically the same pronounciation in both Japanese and in English. I think they may still be giggling about that. We sat down in the non-smoking basement level of the restaurant, where I was amazed by the number of foreigners. I don't know if they were expats or tourists or a mix, but the English-speaking folks were hanging out there. After the kids ate, my husband and I had curry rice somewhere else. I think I must have been getting tired of the camera at this point, because there are no photos of these meals. On our last full day in Tokyo, we had some ambitious plans to shop 'til we dropped. Breakfast consisted of coffee, and lunch was a quick stop at a beef bowl place in Shinjuku. My son's meal: We felt the time slipping away too quickly, so I boldly allowed my daughter to eat some of her bakery stash while sitting at the restaurant counter. Horrors! I had curry rice, probably my favorite one in Japan. My husband had a pork set with egg which he loved. We are pretty low-maintenance foodies. My husband and I do enjoy an occasional haute cuisine experience, but we both prefer street foods and cheap eats as a rule. This meal in Tokyo ranked as one of our most enjoyable on the trip, and it was purchased with coins, from a vending machine, and we sat at a counter.

Thanks for your help, cats2! I'm still curious, though, as to why the pharmacist chose this medication to treat a cough. I have not seen cough listed as an indication. It did work, however.

Can she eat cheese? I make a salad of spinach and romaine, tossed very well with a good fruity olive oil only. Add lots of finely grated parm reggiano, salt, and pepper. Toss and toss and toss. Delicious.

Mmm... friendly expert Dr. G. Oogle says that Belladonnna alkaloids and barbiturates are frequently served together, but I don't think they count *as* barbiturates. From what I can see they're a part of typical motion-sickness medicines like scopolamine. ← I'm going to go with your Dr. G. Oogle research rather than the quick search I did myself yesterday... Thanks for easing my "mom guilt."

Thanks, Kris. The situation was less than ideal for a few days, but that's life and we all managed fine. She bounced back very well. We spent more and more time in the bakeries as our trip progressed. Besides the kid appeal, my husband also enjoyed the baked goods, and he is not usually much of a sweets eater. He had somehow missed the whole bakery meme when he travelled in Japan a year ago. Once he tuned into it, I think he wanted to make up for lost time. Thank you. I loved seeing it through their eyes too.

Thank you for posting your list--you must be a mind reader, notbatgirl! My husband and I will be in Madison for a few days in early May and I was about to post a request for updates to the food recommendations.

I'll have a go at this one: S.Tac by SS Drugs Limited マレイン酸カルビノキサミン 8mg ベラドンナ総アルカロイド 0.2mg 塩酸フェニレフリン 5mg 添加物として、ゼラチン、セルロース、白糖、ヒドロキシプロピルセルロース、ヒドロキシプロピルメチルセルロース、エチルセルロース、グリセリン脂肪酸エステル、タルク、トウモロコシデンプン、ラウリル硫酸Na、黄色５号、青色１号を含有します。 (guessing at some of the spellings) Malein acid carbinoxamine 8mg Belladonna alkaloids 0.2mg (woo-hoo !) Phenirefrin chlorate 5mg (a relation of ephedrine ?) (Edit: Pseudoephedrine hydrochloride) also contains various types of cellulose, glycerine, corn, talc, Yellow #5 and blue #1 ← Wow. Belladonna alkaloids, as in barbituates? Over the counter? Recommended by pharmacists for 10 year-olds? Well I can say that this medicine worked... All's well that ends well, I suppose.

Thanks Pan. The train ride was pleasant enough for her--comfy seats, an interesting view outside the window, and a couple of hours to sit and rest. Her spirits were good, and I had given her some ibuprofen to reduce the fever. Re: Kyoto, we all loved it too!

We spent the next 2 full days in Kyoto, and these times were among my favorites of all during our vacation. The sights were splendid, the daughter was back to her spunky self, and we ate some delicious stuff too. What more could a family ask for? Some food highlights included the White Day gift box from the boys, which contained these mouthwatering good cheesecakes. Breakfast anyone? Besides the delicious taste of these cheesecakes, we were suitably impressed with the packing technology. The little cardboard box had cold packs built right into lid! Another favorite food in Kyoto was fresh, hot soymilk donuts. The kids scurried up and down the charming shopping alleys off of "Teapot Lane" to buy an extra bag of these steaming treats. We also loved our first okonomiyaki experiernce! The do-it-yourself aspect of this meal suited us very nicely, and my daughter had a chance to make fried noodles exactly to her own specifications. Kyoto also provided us with a new vending machine quest: Qoo comes in different flavors, all of which were carefully compared and contrasted by the kids. We also delved further into pastry while in Kyoto. Once skillfully guided away from McDonalds, my daughter reached nirvana. In a bakery.

Time sure flies when you're busy! My little trip report lost its get-up-and-go sometime between the jetlag, work schedule, and ballet carpool, but I still have my trusty notes and a few photos to share. Let's see, where did I leave off... My daugher awoke the next morning with a relapse in her cold symptoms, complete with fever and cough. I made one of those motherly declarations that she was to do nothing but rest and recuperate all day. Nothing except get to Kyoto, that is. We had seats reserved on the 9:30am Shinkansen. We arrived at Tokyo station with 45 minutes to spare, and I took my daughter to a sit-down cafe inside the station to sit and rest. I ordered a tiny and expensive cup of coffee. I am not a big breakfast eater in general--I usually just have coffee in the morning--but this time I really was just buying the table and chairs for a little while. My daughter sipped on some cola at my insistence (which she found funny, even in her unwell state. My kids don't drink soda very often.) Meanwhile, my husband and son went for breakfast at a place next door to our cafe, where there was a conveyor belt restaurant offering fish and rice and miso soup. This photo is from a different restaurant, in Kyoto in fact, but my husband photographed it because he said it was the same foods that they had had for breakfast that morning in Tokyo station. My son was begging me to broil fish for his breakfasts after this meal. He has always favored savory foods in the mornings, so this breakfast was right up his alley. Not typical American fare; maybe he was Japanese in a past life? When the guys returned to the cafe to collect us for the train, they had two packages with them: one was cold packed, and off limits until White Day, and the other contained a box of sandwiches for me to enjoy on the train ride. They were beautiful. Egg salad with ham, and cucumber with cream cheese and salmon (I think). I ate them later and they were delicious. Japan is a good place for egg salad lovers like me. We also bought a couple of hot coffees from the vending machines on the train platform and took them on board. After sampling many different coffees over the course of our week, Georgia Cafe au Lait took top honors for me. I never drink my coffee sweetened, but I very quickly developed a taste for it in Tokyo. We arrived in Kyoto and took a cab directly to our hotel. Our original plans called for an afternoon of exploring the train station environs, but that idea was shelved as per my morning motherly declaration of rest. The next meals were eaten here: After we set up a futon for the littlest one, I went next door to Circle K convenience store and bought this for my daughter to try: She loved it! I ran back and bought 3 more: she ate one, and we put two in the fridge for later. I also bought two sandwiches--another egg salad and ham, and a tonkatsu sandwich. I was glad that I got two sandwiches, because my 12 year-old vaccuumed up exactly half of each as soon as I walked in the door. We also shared a dark chocolate Dars bar. Next, my husband and son set off for the afternoon. First stop was at a pharmacy. Armed with his trusty phrasebook, my husband communicated well enough to come back with some medicines. Next the boys stopped here: My boy was really tickled about the prevalence of Starbucks in Japan. We don't often go to Starbucks here at home, but I think it provided him a sliver of comfort and familiarity, much like McDonald's offered to his sister. Plus, warm drinks and cold weather are made to go together. Soon after they found a second conveyor belt meal for the day. This time, sushi. Again, my son was very happy. He went to a sushi boat restaurant quite often when he was a baby, toddler, and little boy in California. That was a fun and quick place to take the family to when the kids were tiny. We don't have any conveyor belt sushi here in Florida where we live now. After a long afternoon of shopping and exploring, the two guys ate one more meal at a beef bowl restaurant. My son had beef with rice and a cabbage salad and soup, and my husband had pork. When they came back to the hotel, they brought me a plate of the pork, along with rice and salad and soup, and some leftover beef as well. I ate a lot, but there was still a lot leftover. Daughter slept straight through until morning, and awoke fresh and ready for more adventures. We gave her this medicine from the pharmacy, which performed miracles!

We loved the museum! The place was so charming, with many interesting exhibits (and an awesome gift shop if you're a Miyazaki fan!!). The attention to detail at every level of the museum, right down to the rest rooms, was reminiscent of the best aspects of a Disney experience. The place is rather small--I don't think we stayed more than a couple of hours--but it was definitely a good excursion for us. We could have stayed longer to see movies (in Japanese only), but we were in "conserve energy" mode since our daughter was under the weather. (We also lucked out in seeing a visiting Wallace and Gromit exhibit.) Mitaka seemed like a very nice little town. The walk from the train station to the museum was lovely, complete with a (single) cherry blossom tree in bloom, a little creek, a park with tennis courts, people walking dogs, sunshine on our backs, etc. Very fond memories...

You hit the nail on the head! We had a very memorable and fabulous time in Japan. Of course you folks are only hearing about the food side of our trip, in order to stay on topic, so you'll have to take my word for it that the between meal adventures were outstanding.

I think she's really a foodie at heart. I'm not sure "picky" is the right word to describe her food habits. It's more like "particular." She's the type of person who notices if you switch brands of cream cheese. I think she could be quite well-respected for her discriminating nature once she's mature. This was our experience too. Our dinner times were generally more utilitarian than lunch times, at least in spirit, due to the tiredness factor. The 13-hour time difference had a lot to do with it, for all four of us! Very true. We had to make a couple of tough judgement calls with regards to our itinerary due to her illness. At her age, she was very aware of what was at stake as well. She did not want to miss out on anything, nor did she want to keep anyone else from their sightseeing. I told her that it was more exciting to be sick in Japan, than it was to be sick in Florida. And that there was no place I'd rather be in the whole world than caring for her when she was in need.

Yes, it's those little things that really contribute to a family's own personal culture. We have a can of Hot Vitamin C here at home as a souvenir. The quest for that drink became a fun game as we roamed the streets of Tokyo. Besides checking each vending machine that we passed on foot, we'd crane our necks looking for it on the train platforms as we pulled up to each subway station. My son loved it when I told him that if I spotted it outside a train, that I'd hop off for it and meet him at the next station. It never actually happened that way, but he loved the idea, and it made the Hot C game quite silly and exciting for him.

One thing I have learned when traveling with children is to just go with the flow. My 3 kids are quite adventurous eaters but on a 2 week trip to Indonesia last year we often found ourselves in McDonald's and A&W. I had a huge list of restaurants I wanted to go to but we ended up at about 1/5 of them. The kids were were often too tired or under the weather. It was far from my ideal trip foodwise but a wonderful trip nevertheless. I ahve to admit the best food I had though was when I left my husband and kids behind and joined eGullet member prasantrin in Ubud, Bali. I planned our upcoming Christmas trip too late this year (yes it is still March ) and we are going to go to Guam instead of Australia, I refuse to make any specific dining plans as I know they probably won't pan out... ←

We took our kids to NYC about a year and a half ago, when they were 8 and 10 years old. Our younger one is picky. As a strategy, we took the little one for a slice of pizza or a bagel before restauranting. It took the pressure off her and us--we respected what she needed and she, in turn, did the same for us. With a full stomach, she was probably more open to "trying" new things than if she was faced with the daunting task of satiating her hunger with unfamiliar foods. For us, we didn't stress at all if she ate or didn't at a new place, if she had eaten something beforehand. The downside is that you have to budget a bit more time for dining if you plan on doing separate stops for your girls. I also want to comment about Ollie's. I know that it is not highly respected as a Chinese restaurant, but we ate there a couple of times and my kids are still talking about it. It was proximal to our hotel in Times Square, and we were all happy enogh to go back more than once. To this day, when I stir-fry chicken with green beans, I tell my kids that we're having "Ollie's" for dinner.

On Day Three, we found our jetlagged kids reading books on the floor of the hotel bathroom at 4am. Daughter was feeling better, and it was early, so we decided it was a great day to go to Tsukiji Fish Market. We picked up lattes on the way (and drank them while walking down the street) . At Tsukiji, the sights, smells, sunshine all contributed to a wonderful morning! Additionally, my son succeeded in his quest for Hot Vitamin C. Even with so many vending machines, this particular drink was not easy to find. He coerced his sister into trying one, but she did not care for it. My husband, son, and I ate a delicious sushi breakfast here: On our way back to the train station, my daughter ate her breakfast: At that point, I had a mental breakthrough and took back every negative thought, word or deed I had ever directed towards McDonald's. It was truly a perfect application of the Golden Arches: when my child was millions of miles from home, and hadn't eaten much in 3 days. Bellies full, we took the train to Mitaka and walked to the Ghibli Museum where we had reserved our tickets months ago. Rather than walking back to the station afterwards, we opted for the shuttle bus so that we could see the town of Mitaka. It was mid-afternoon at this point, and the plan was to find a lunch spot before getting back on the train. Trouble was, we couldn't agree on anything, the kids were tired, daughter's energy was fading fast. We ended up at McD's *again,* where she ate all of 2 chicken nuggets. My son was hungry so he ate a chicken sandwich. Knowing that we were headed back to the hotel to tend to sick child again, my husband and I held out for lunch. Once in Shibuya station, we quickly ran through the Tokyu Food Show and picked up these goodies for our own lunch and brought them back to the hotel room: We had 10 gyoza--pork/chive/scallion, 10 shumai--pork/shrimp, 6 mini inari, and then my husband ordered a bowl of noodles with fish cake and egg from our "regular" shop. I did not eat the noodles (too fishy for me), he did not eat the inari (too sweet for him), and neither of us finished any of these dishes that we bought. Our eyes were bigger than our stomachs, for sure. We spent some time napping, and before we knew it, it was time to eat again! My husband was in the mood for some more adventure, and we made an ill-fated decision to go to Shinjuku at rush hour. The train was hot and mobbed, the streets were cold and mobbed, and the kids were tired and unhappy. After walking and walking and walking past restaurants that we could not agree on, we ended up in a tempura shop. My husband joked that we walked 5 miles for another bowl of noodles. Actually it was quite good. This was my dinner. My son had the same. My husband had rice: My daughter had zaru udon, otherwise known as "Failed Noodle Experiment #2." I had relayed the information I gleaned here about hot/cold/dry/soup noodles before she ordered this. When she tasted the noodles, I asked her if they were cold. Her answer? "Very." Apparently she had interpreted "cold" to mean "room temperature." Like the something out of the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, this food was not quite right! So she had walked 5 miles--cold, sick, tired--and didn't even come away with the noodles. We stopped at a Scandinavian Bakery in Shinjuku Station and she chose some pesto toast. By the time we got to the hotel she was too tired to eat it, but it made a good breakfast the next morning.

On our second day in Tokyo, we awoke to cold rainy weather, and decided to head out to Sunshine City for the morning. My kids had chosen this destination long ago when doing their own trip research. On our way we stopped for coffee at the Starbucks in Ikebukuro train station. While we were sitting there, the Food Show opened for the day and we admired so many beautiful foods. We picked up a few gyoza and pastries and packed them away for later. After a dizzying hour or two of arcade games and carousel rides at Sunshine City, we stopped here: You know you're on vacation when mom says you can have ice cream before lunch. We browsed Gyoza City for some lunch, but it was extremely crowded and we decided to move along instead. We headed out on the train toward Harajuku with Kiddie Land toy store as our destination. At this point our daughter began to feel unwell, but we pressed on, walking down Takeshita street on a crowded Sunday afternoon. It soon became apparent that we needed a break from the madness. All of the restaurants were packed, but we found an empty Thai restaurant on the 5th floor of a building on the corner just up from Kiddie Land. We ordered two dishes: chicken with chilis and basil rice plate, and a wide rice noodle with pork and vegetables dish. Pretty tasty, although the portions were small, and the prices were high. But it was enough food to tide us all over, and more importantly, the quiet space provided us with a respite from the city. Usually I would interpret an empty restaurant as a bad sign, but in this situation it was just what we needed. After buying out Kiddie Land, we walked up through Meiji Shrine. At this point my daughter was feeling quite ill, so my husband took her back to the hotel. My son and I walked back down Takeshita St. to the Daiso 100yen shop and I bought a bunch of kitchen and bento supplies. For dinner that day my husband and son went out for yakitori somewhere in Shibuya. I stayed in with the sick and sleeping girl. The boys brought me food later: yakitori skewers, and an udon soup and curry rice combo from the same little noodle shop near our hotel where we had our dinner on the first night. Of course this was too much food, but it was fun to try a little of this and a little of that. The curry rice was only gravy--no meat or vegetables. Is that common?

- I can't think what you mean. You're supposed to say 'kawaii !!!' when you see things like that Those udon were a brave choice for someone for whom soup is out of the question (Edit: to say I've now read the posts in the 'First night in Tokyo' thread. Sorry not to have picked up on it, but yes, as Kris described 'no soup' will largely keep you away from noodles in Japan). ← Blether, we definitely attuned to the kawaii thing as the days passed in Japan. Very sweet, wish we had more cuteness factor here in the US. Re: noodles, the udon soup wasn't supposed to happen that way. My daughter saw the plastic model of zaru soba in the window, and ordered it. Then, the man at the counter asked her if she wanted soba or udon. She saw that they were white instead of brown, and said udon. Then, he asked if she wanted it hot or cold. She said hot, and next thing she knew, a bowl of soup landed in front of her. She was a good sport about it, at least.

You are absolutely right about Jonathan's. It definitely got the job done. Re: the weather...70F would have been nice! For us, who are acclimated to Florida temperatures, Japan was very cold. We were thrilled to throw open the windows when we arrived home yesterday, especially after a long and messed up journey getting back. More trip reports will be coming as I find my notes, etc. The adventures were excellent, we really loved Japan!

Sounds perfect for her. Thank you for all of your help. It is appreciated!