Tokyo and Kyoto in Mid-July

[bmdaniel]

My wife and I are planning a trip to Tokyo and Kyoto for about 8 days in mid-July. It’s our first time in Asia at all, and we are very excited about it! Whenever we travel, food is probably the number 1 priority, and so we are trying to have a broad, spectacular dining experience. Our budget isn’t unlimited, but shouldn’t be the main constraining factor either. I’ve tried to approach making a dining plan by thinking about all the categories we want to try during out trip, and then seeking out the best sounding options in each one (then trying to layer that on top of our day by day plans). I apologize in advance for the length of the post, but maybe it will be helpful to others planning trips as well. I’ve split our list up by category.

Sushi

Sushi Dai

Sushi Miztuani*

Pastry

Shinjuku Isetan (Probably try to hit all the highlights here – are there any standalone shops worth visiting in addition)

Tempura

Kondo*

Tenyou (Kyoto)

Yakitori

Fuku

Tonkatsu

Butagumi*

Kaiseki

Yuzuya Ryokan (Staying here in Kyoto)*

Kikunoi Roan*

Haute Cuisine Non-Kaiseki

Quintessence (Lunch)*

Also considering Tapas Molecular, Aronia de Takazawa and Les Creations de Narisawa

Izakaya

Aburiya Fudo: Azabu-Juban

Ramen

Menya Kissou

Udon

Omen (Kyoto)

Soba

Yabu Soba

Tofu

Tofuya Ukai

Kobe Beef

Dans de la Nature*

Cocktails

Bar Tender

Apologies again for the long list. I’d love suggestions about better choices in each category, or major worthwhile categories I am leaving out. Our schedule is pretty full to hit all these places, so if we add somewhere new it means dropping something – please keep that in mind as well. In Tokyo we will be staying in Minato, but plan to be pretty mobile. Also, for places that need reservations I want to go ahead and try to start getting on lists before it’s too late – I’ve starred above the places I think I need reservations, so if I’ve gotten that wrong it would be very helpful to know as well.

Thanks in advance!

[rarerollingobject]

Check out Radio Bar in Harajuku for cocktails. Have also heard it referred to as Bar Radio. Either way, it's amazing.

I also highly recommend Restaurant Yonemura in Ginza for amazing, "haute cuisine non kaiseki" food.

If you haven't already seen it, this post from Chubby Hubby's blog is a great starting point, and covers just about every category you're looking at. link

He also has a similar post on Kyoto here.

Keep in mind that finding any specific address in Tokyo can just about do your head in, and that a large part of the joy of eating there is just wandering around and finding amazing places - my point being that don't get too invested in planning every meal at a specific restaurant, because chances are you won't be able to find it anyway. (My routine now is to look it up on Google Maps Streetview in advance, then position the streetview pointer at the nearest train station, and "walk" myself to the restaurant's address so I'll at least have some sense of the visual landscape and the right direction for when I get out of the station). Or, even better, a phone with Google Maps and inbuilt compass. If you haven't already, research the nearest station and if possible, best exit, for each place you want to go.

Your categories look good - maybe a specialist unagi place too?

Edited April 11, 2010 by rarerollingobject (log)