Japan Foodie Fix: From Matcha to the Pokémon Cafe

Happy New Year, globetrotting followers! Here we are in a new decade. 2020 is shaping up to be a year full of exploration... Exploring different cultures and more destinations than ever before. Buckle up, because the travel starts... now! 


My mom and I arrived in Japan in the evening, greeted by over an hour wait at immigration in Narita Airport. We hopped in a car and made the 40 minute drive to Tokyo. After settling in and waking up the next morning for breakfast, we navigated Tokyo Station to head on the Shinkansen bound for Kyoto. 

On the shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto.

We picked up bento boxes for the 2  1/2 hour journey. 

Bento box on the train.

When we finally arrived in Kyoto, we made our way from the train station to our hotel located on the banks of the Kamo River. After running into some friends at our hotel, we sat down for our tempura bar lunch. Eating at the tempura bar has become a sort of tradition for us... This is the best tempura we've ever had anywhere in the world. Throughout the entire meal, there is not a single drop of grease on the paper and in traditional Japanese fashion, the tempura is served one piece at a time instead of getting a plate full of tempura like you do in the US. To begin our meal, we received an appetizer of tofu skin with fresh scallops.

Tofu skin with scallop.

After the delicious appetizer, our tempura meal consisted of prawn head, prawn, fish roe, onion from Gunma prefecture, sweet sea bream, Kyoto sweet carrot, radish with roe, anago (eel), lotus root, and shrimp in shiso leaf. You can find some photos below (I was so busy drooling over the tempura that I forgot to take photos of most of it, oops).

The start of our tempura meal.

Radish with roe.

At the end of the tempura selection, the chef brought out Tenchazuke... rice topped with kakiage and bonito broth with Japanese pickles on the side. Kakiage is a type of tempura stir fry, with a combination of fresh vegetables and seafood all chopped and mixed together and then fried in tempura batter. The bonito broth is then poured over the kakiage and rice and you eat the dish with a small spoon. For dessert, we had ice cream topped with walnuts and chestnuts (which are in season now). 

Ice cream with chestnuts and walnuts.

Now extremely full, our room was finally ready for check in. We had a great balcony overlooking the river and in the spring, cherry blossoms can be seen right in front of the window. 

View from the room.

After a short rest, we went to Takashimaya, our favorite department store, to track down some Oh! Baby! Yes, there is a product really called Oh! Baby! Originally, I was drawn to it because of the name, but it has since become my favorite lotion and scrub that you can only buy in Japan. We ended up walking back to the hotel in a bit of a wind tunnel (and without jackets). The following morning, we woke up to a beautiful sunrise. I watched in awe as the sun rose over the mountain range across the river...

Morning sunrise as seen from the room.

After snapping a few photos, we went downstairs to the most amazing Japanese breakfast we have ever had. Because it is winter, the meal started off with hot pot tofu with shiitake mushrooms.

Hot pot tofu breakfast.

You're given a set of dishes with onion, green onion, bonito flakes, miso and ginger which you mix to your liking in a sauce dish.

Set up to mix the sauce.

Close up of my tofu.

After the hot pot tofu, the staff brought a tray with a variety of small dishes. On this day, we had miso soup, Japanese pickles, cooked hamachi, kampachi sashimi, chicken, seaweed, beef, and chawanmushi (a savory, steamy egg custard dish. This one was mixed with chicken). 

Japanese breakfast... Miso soup, Japanese pickles, cooked hamachi, kampachi sashimi, chicken, seaweed, beef, and chawanmushi.

After our breakfast we headed toward the train station to meet my mom's friend. From the taxi we could see Kyoto Tower, Kyoto's highest landmark standing at nearly 430 feet tall. 

Kyoto Tower as seen from the taxi on the way to the station.

Once inside the station, we met my mom's former student from when she was teaching English in Okayama. They lost touch after awhile, and we just happened to run into her on our last trip to Japan when we were leaving the hotel in Okayama! We all took the rapid train service from Kyoto to Uji, a small city situated between Kyoto and Nara. At the height of political power of the Fujiwara clan (Heian Period), buildings such as Byōdō-in and Ujigami Shrine were constructed. While Uji is famous for these landmarks, it is also famous for matcha green tea. Kozanji Temple in Kyoto is thought to be the original site of tea cultivation in Japan, but Uji's tea became better known for its superior quality. Uji is so well known for green tea that it's impossible to walk one block without running into at least a handful of green tea shops. 

From the small train station, we began walking towards Byōdō-in Temple (one of the few sites we haven't yet seen in the Kyoto area). It takes about 15 minutes, or longer if you stop to look in all the shop windows like we did! 

Walking towards Byōdō-in Temple in Uji, Kyoto.

We didn't get far by the time we stopped at Mog Mog Bakery. Looking into the window, the shop appeared to be an equivalent of our 85 Degree Bakery here in Southern California, where you walk around with a tray and select freshly baked pastries from the displays. The shop opened in 1977 and has over 120 kinds of matcha bread. Their "tea pot" is the signature bread often featured in magazines and on TV. The outside is crispy with matcha cookie dough and the inside is filled with matcha haba double mochi and matcha ann. At the time, I didn't know that was their speciality but that's what we ended up sharing between the three of us... and it was delicious! 

One of the many matcha bakeries in Uji.

We continued down the street, munching on our "tea pot", before coming to an intersection with a torii... a sign we were getting close to the temple. 

Torii gate outside Byōdō-in Omotesando (the shopping street leading up to the temple).

We turned down Byōdō-in Omotesando, the shopping street leading up to the temple (in Japan, it's common to have one major shopping street leading up to the temples). We passed more matcha stores before arriving at the temple entrance. 

Byōdō-in's famous Phoenix Hall.

Byōdō-in is a UNESCO World Heritage Site built in 1053 (the late Heian Period) by the Regent Yorimichi Fujiwara. Its Phoenix Hall was modeled after the palace in the Land of Happiness and consists of the Chudo (central hall), left and right wing corridors, and a tail corridor. 

Byōdō-in's famous Phoenix Hall reflects in the pond. Recognize this view? It can be seen on the back of the 10¥ coin.

Looking at the hall from the front, it looks like a bird spreading its wings wide. Since there was a pair of phoenixes on the roof top, people started calling the Amida-do Hall the "Phoenix Hall" around the beginning of the Edo period (17th century) which is what it is commonly called today. The building faces the east, therefore implying that the Buddhist Pure Land is to the west from across the Aji-ike Pond which the building reflects in. 

Close up of Byōdō-in Temple.

Does this building look familiar to you? It appears on the back of Japan's 10¥ coin.

Back of the 10 yen coin.

Inside, the hall displays Japan's oldest existing "Kuhon Raiko-zu" in the Yamato-e style (a painting style developed in the Heian period). Buddhists believe that the Amida Buddha (Amida Nyorai) classifies a person's deeds into nine levels at their death depending on the acts of merit made while alive. These paintings are important historical materials that reflect people's nature, religion, and culture of that time. There's also a statue which can be partially seen from the outside. The principle image of Amida Buddha was created by Jocho who is claimed to have been the best Buddhist sculptor in Japanese history. Apparently, this statue is the only remaining statue fashioned by him that still exists today. It was completed in 1053 and employs wooden mosaic work structure known as the Jocho style. This statue has been referred to as the "True Figure of Buddha", or the most idealistic sculptured image of Buddha. 

Close up of Byōdō-in.

Byōdō-in is also known for its landscape. The garden there has been designated a National Historic Site because it is the oldest Jodo Garden completed in the Heian period. This style flourished during the Heian period (8-12th centuries) and it is known for recreating the Buddhist Pure Land. 

The perk of going early in the morning is that there are hardly any people!

We walked around the Aji-ike Pond, viewing the Phoenix Hall from all angles...

With mom's friend Mihoko san.

... Before heading to the museum. Unfortunately, no photos are allowed inside but the artifacts are beautiful. The museum opened in 2001 as the first comprehensive museum managed by a religious corporation. In other words, it was planned as Japan's first "Temple Museum" to allow the collection of national treasures in a secure environment to be on display. My favorite room was The Praying Bodhisattva (Buddhist Saint) on Clouds, where there were intricately carved statues of Buddhas floating on clouds, each holding a different instrument. 

We then walked back toward Uji station to eat at a restaurant I had found online called Itohkyuemon. Founded in 1832, this shop specializes in Uji matcha green tea. My mom's friend recommended we all eat the cold soba noodles in order to taste the matcha better, so we all got cold soba noodles with tofu skin and fried rice on the side. 

Matcha soba noodles at Itokyuemon along with tofu skin and fried rice.

These noodles were so heavenly, I can't even begin to describe it. Even my mom, who doesn't usually like soba, loved it! For dessert, we shared the famous Itohkyuemon parfait... layered with matcha senbai (rice cracker), whipped cream, mandarin, mochi, red bean, matcha ice cream, black soybean, matcha jelly, agar jelly, vanilla ice cream and matcha syrup. Thank goodness we walked a lot!! 

Itokyuemon's parfait... matcha senbai (rice cracker), whipped cream, mandarin, mochi, red bean, matcha ice cream, black soybean, matcha jelly, agar jelly, vanilla ice cream and matcha syrup. 

After a sad goodbye to our friend in the Kyoto Station, we went to one of our favorite shops and took a leisurely walk back to the hotel. In the evening, we had a sushi dinner starting with tofu with jelly.

Tofu skin with jelly.

We ate pufferfish and survived to tell the tale... If the poison isn't carefully removed, you can have numbness, tingling and even become paralyzed... or die. Even today, half of all food poisoning deaths in Japan come from eating fugu (blowfish). I can definitely say that was my first and LAST time eating that. Yikes. Our meal continued with some pieces of eel, yellowtail, and other sushi. We also had uni with ikura (below). 

Uni with ikura.

Our favorite piece was something we had never had before... toro (tuna) mixed with some kind of Japanese pickles over rice. 

Toro and Japanese pickle sushi.

For dessert I had something even more unusual... Soba flavored ice cream with strawberry compote. The final verdict? It doesn't really taste like soba, but it tastes good!

Soba ice cream with strawberry compote.

After a good night's sleep, we said farewell to Kyoto and took the shinkansen back to Tokyo.

One of the many bonsai trees in the hotel in Kyoto.

After checking into the hotel in Tokyo, we didn't have much time before we had to head out again. Awhile ago, I saw a video on Facebook about a Pokémon Cafe in Tokyo. For those of you who know me, you know I loooove Pikachu. I did some research, and it turns out you need reservations to eat at the cafe. These reservations open at 18:00 (Japan time) 31 days prior to the day you want to eat at the cafe. Counting backwards on my calendar, I figured out I had to wake up at 2am Los Angeles time on December 26 to eat at the cafe on January 26. I did a test run of the online reservation system beforehand, so I knew I'd have to Google Translate the entire page to understand what I was doing. Luckily, my computer translates the page automatically with the click of a button. At exactly 2am, I bolted up from my bed, opened my laptop, refreshed the cafe's page which I already had up, and panic struck... The cafe was almost completely full. I woke up my mom (sorry, mom!) yelling about what time we'd eat there, how the section seating wasn't a good location, etc. Probably annoyed with me, she said just book whatever is available because you're going for the photos. So, I was able to get a 3pm reservation... and you're only given a 90 minute time slot to eat... Which brings us to now. 

We took a taxi to the Pokémon Center. Upon entering the building, you see a ton of characters painted all over the walls leading up to the elevators. 

At the entrance to the Pokémon Cafe (this is the entrance to the elevator... the only way in).

When you exit the elevator, you enter a circular room like a poké ball with characters facing the elevator.

Upon stepping out of the elevator, this is what you see. 

To the right is the largest gift shop I've ever seen, lined with stuffed toys, food, magnets, socks, you name it, they have it. To the left is the Pokémon Cafe. 

Signage outside the cafe.

The staff puts a sign in front when it's time to line up for your seating window. You're handed a plastic card with a letter and number (we got D7) which you hand to a staff when you enter. The staff member escorts you to your table number. 

Entering the Pokémon Cafe.

Everyone at the cafe brought Pokémon characters with them... it was hysterical, and so Japanese. We ended up making friends with a Japanese couple sitting across from us. They had taken the train several hours to eat at the Pokémon cafe and they lined up at least 20 plastic and plush characters in front of them! When they saw we didn't bring anything with us, they told us to each pick one character as a present. 

Placemat featuring some Pokémon a Japanese couple gave to us.

Ordering on the iPad was a bit difficult, as everything was in Japanese (though there were photos of the items) and the menu didn't say what was in each dish. We ended up ordering a fantastic grape smoothie...

Grape smoothie!

The Pikachu plate (obviously) which apparently consisted of rice, salad, tempura shrimp, spaghetti, hamburger, and fried potato. Definitely not the most memorable dish of my life, ha! 

The pikachu plate featuring tempura shrimp, spaghetti, hamburger, french fry, rice, and salad... not the most balanced meal!

We also shared the pancakes with the Pikachu tail...

Pokémon pancakes.

...And the seasonal Pikachu curry dish.

The seasonal dish... Pikachu curry.

At one point, a giant Pikachu came out to greet everyone! You can shake hands with the Pikachu, but you can't take pictures with it. 

Pikachu then comes to greet everyone.

Pikachu walks up and down all the aisles, stopping to shake hands with everyone. It even wiggles its ears! Only in Japan...

You can touch Pikachu, but can't take photos with Pikachu.

While the food wasn't the greatest, I can now say I ate at a character cafe in Tokyo. Was it worth waking up at 2am? Absolutely? Would I do it again for another place? You bet! 

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more! Be sure to hit the subscribe button on my homepage to be notified of new posts as internet can be unreliable. As always, follow my Instagram @elissatitle for more pics.