Tokyo is my second favorite city after Paris and it’s because the Japanese are the most similar to the French in their love of gastronomy and beauty, from the beautifully presented food in individual dishes or lacquered bento boxes to the intricately-wrapped packages in the boutiques and food shops. When I was at Le Cordon Bleu, it was always my Japanese classmates who perfected the pastry pratique as they were naturals at recreating the glazing and decoration on the gateaux et patisserie. Their attention to detail is present in their day-to-day lives and this is seen everywhere in Japan.
I had been to Tokyo for the first time in 2014 and explored the city on foot with my friend Rumi. This time around, we chose to spend a week over the easter holidays with the kids to experience Tokyo during Sakura season (cherry blossom time). Spring in Tokyo is usually rainy but mild and it was a nice change of weather from tropical Singapore.
We walked all over the city from Ginza for shopping and eating to admiring the architecture and window displays in Omotesando Hills. We went to Midtown and walked around the beautiful green oasis of Hinokicho park where we saw our first cherry blossoms then headed over to nearby bustling Roppongi. We also visited the peaceful Shinto shrine Meiji Jingu located in the middle of a 100,000 tree forest near Harajuku and Omotesando.
We also explored the basement food halls of department stores Matsuya and Mitsukoshi in Ginza which had an amazing selection of both local and imported food for takeaway. Despite having spent a week in Tokyo, I still felt that we had only scratched the surface on what the city had to offer in gastronomic treats which just means that I’ll be gong back sooner rather than later.
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Meiji Jingu
1-1 Yoyogi-Kamizono-cho,
Shibuya-ku,
Tokyo 151-8857
*Open daily from sunrise to sunset (opening and closing times change depending on the season)
Travels with a Gourmet 