Tsukiji fish market (築地市場) and a great city view (Tokyo, 2014 #3)

Tuna cutting at the Tsukiji fish market

We were definitely in a jetlag. We had seen every hour of the clock and we had to wake up at 6:30 for sushi breakfast at the Tsukiji fish market.

Tuna at Tsukiji fish market

With small eyes and a trip with four different subways, including a really cool electric self-driving train, we arrived at Tsujiki station. You could already smell the fish at the station, which was not very pleasant in the early morning. But once we arrived at the market, we were pleasantly surprised. It’s a huge chaos of (market) cars driving everywhere, people carrying boxes of fish and preparing the fish. There were very big fishes, and very small fishes and everything else that lives in the sea. Normally, visitors are only allowed from 9:00 AM, and we were there around 8:30, so we avoided the big crowds and we did not have to wait in the small sushi restaurant Yamazaki.

Sushi bar Yamazaki at Tsukiji fish market

At Yamazaki, we ate a lot of sushi and sashimi in the early morning. Which felt a bit weird at first, but we loved it. The fish was extremely fresh and smooth. The place slowly filled up with other people who wanted sushi for breakfast. The service was very friendly. Next to Yamazaki, there were very large queues of people for the neighbouring sushi bars. We thought this was very strange, because the one that we visited was very good. We rate this bar with a 8.5 out of 10.

Address: 5-2-1 Tsukiji | Tsukiji Market Building 6, Chuo 104-0045, Tokyo Prefecture

View from Dentsu building Tokyo 46th floor, Tokyo

To the 46th floor of the Dentsu building (電通本社ビル):

After our sushi breakfast, we went into Ginza to watch the Nikagin Capsule tower. The building was quite old and not in a good condition, but it was still fun to see. In the Dentsu building, we took the elevator (for free!) up to the 64th floor. There is a small observation deck from which we had a stunning view over Tokyo. The glass elevator goes really fast, which was a bit scary but the experience and views were awesome.

Address: 1 Chome-8-2 Higashishinbashi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo International Forum

Tokyo International Forum (東京国際フォーラム)

Our next stop was the International World Forum Building. It’s an impressive building with a roof that looks like the ribcage of a gigantic dinosaur.

Address: 3 Chome-5-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda, Tokyo 100-0005, Japan

Pastries at Hidemi Sugino

Nice pastries at Hidemi Sugino (イデミ・スギノ )

We became hungry for pastries. A 15-minute walk from the Forum building, we found Hidemi Sugino, a chique pastry place. We both had two pastries. We loved the taste, but they were not the best we ever had. We rate Hidemi Sugino with a 7 out of 10. The sugar rush made us in the mood for coffee. And so we took the subway to a coffee place called: Kitsune, which was a tip from a friend who is a barista. The surrounding area is all about fancy boutique shops with a high-end look and feel. The architecture of some flagship stores (for example: Hugo Boss) was very impressive.

Address: 京橋大栄ビル 1Ｆ, 3-6-17 Kyobashi, Chuo, Tokyo 104-0031

Coffee bar Kitsune Tokyo

Coffee bar Kitsune

At Kitsune they served nice coffee. We sat outside in the small garden. The place has a modern wooden interior with a huge mirror and fancy light strips. We rate Kitsune with a 8.5 out of 10.

Address: 3-17-1 Minami Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo

Omotesando Koffee spot

Omotesando Koffee bar (表参道コーヒー)

We found out there was a ‘hidden’ little coffee spot nearby. After a long difficult search and asking around several times, we finally found the spot. And it’s really small, maybe only 3×3 meter. There were very few seats in the tiny garden near the entrance. It’s perfect, and the coffee is nice too. It is not a spot to hang out for hours, but it is a unique little gem. We rate Omotessando with a 8 out of 10.

Address: 4-15-3 Jingumae, Shibuya 150-0001

B-side label sticker shop, Tokyo

4000 stickers

After all this coffee, we were fully awake again and we went hunting for new sneakers in the Harajuku shopping area, a nice area packed with cool boutique shops. We found a sticker shop where you can choose from 4000 self-made stickers. We found some cool sneakers too, but they did not have my Western shoe size.

Restaurant Mimiu, Tokyo

Restaurant Mimiu 美々卯新宿店 (Marketcity, Shibuya)

Shopping made us hungry, so we went to the 4th floor of Mark City (Shibuya station) to restaurant: Mimiu. We had a fixed menu with many small dishes, such as noodles, soup, vegetables and sashimi. It was a fine meal for a good price. The service was friendly too. We rate this place with a 7.5 out of 10.

Address: Shibuya Mark City West, 4th fl., Shibuya Mark City, 1 Chome-12-5 Dogenzaka, Shibuya