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Omakase just means I leave it to you, it's not a type of food or restaurant or anything. This place in Ginza is my favorite fancy sushi, it is not Michelin starred but I like it more than the Michelin sushi places I've been to.
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Apr 9, 2024 03:06
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I guess some other factors involved are that I want to eat at a “suit required” kind of restaurant (I’m getting a suit tailored for the Tokyo trip, so I might as well use it lol) and sit at the counter where it feels like the chef is making the food directly for you. The exact cuisine I’m not too particular on, since apparently the chefs in Tokyo can make Chinese/French/Italian etc food better than you might find in their respective countries.
Teriyaki Koinku fucked around with this message at 17:50 on Apr 9, 2024 |
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Apr 9, 2024 03:30
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Chef making it right in front of you would push you in the sushi direction, to narrow things down. Fancy tempura or yakitori possibly.
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Apr 9, 2024 03:32
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Okonomiyaki. But that's not fancy. And not all places cook in front of you.
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Apr 9, 2024 03:34
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What is the appeal of kaiseki? Is it similar to tapas? I guess it's because they put rigorous amounts of attention into each small dish they bring out? I've also heard that that style of cuisine is exclusively a high-end restaurant treat.
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Apr 9, 2024 03:47
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It's ridiculous amounts of work put into numerous small plates of stuff. I've had it a couple times, I think it's worth trying though it's definitely not my favorite thing. It's always going to be on the pricier side (some places do cheaper versions as lunch specials) though the level of snootiness of the restaurant itself varies. The place I went into in Kyoto was pretty casual. If you stay at a nice ryokan a kaiseki dinner is part of the deal.
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Apr 9, 2024 03:51
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Teriyaki Koinku posted:What is the appeal of kaiseki? Is it similar to tapas? I guess it's because they put rigorous amounts of attention into each small dish they bring out? I've also heard that that style of cuisine is exclusively a high-end restaurant treat. It’s multi-course fancy dining, it’s usually good but traditional high-end dining. I’ve had either at fancy dinners for work or at onsen resorts.
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Apr 9, 2024 03:55
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Teppanyaki steak course, lots of options in Ginza/Yurakucho area, including upscale hotels. High level but casual sushi under the tracks at Kanda station https://maps.app.goo.gl/Tb9AB5HG7yi2LHC5A Fugu and Kaiseki at Shinbashi station https://maps.app.goo.gl/k35TxR9PQKSFTinb9 peanut fucked around with this message at 10:51 on Apr 9, 2024 |
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Apr 9, 2024 04:15
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I've got a trip coming up in September, I don't really understand but what are the chances the yen stays the same until then? I saw today that we're at 100 yen to 1 aud, which is insane. Should I just change a couple thousand bucks now? I've always just used the ATM's over there previously but that's like 20 percent higher than last time i went over.
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Apr 9, 2024 09:14
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Teriyaki Koinku posted:I guess I could peruse tabelog...
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Apr 9, 2024 09:29
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field balm posted:I've got a trip coming up in September, I don't really understand but what are the chances the yen stays the same until then? I saw today that we're at 100 yen to 1 aud, which is insane. Should I just change a couple thousand bucks now? I've always just used the ATM's over there previously but that's like 20 percent higher than last time i went over. If we could predict exchange rates we would all be rich rn. If you think it's good then just go for it, it will probably be the same in September.
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Apr 9, 2024 09:51
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Charles 2 of Spain posted:Why don't you just do this, only you know what you think will be good. I mean, sure. But I'm still trying to figure out how it works since it seems kind of obtuse even in English. Like I don't even know if they sort restaurants by kaiseki or not. I can't see an option for it even under the extended cuisine options. There is this blog that lays out the basics for navigating tabelog, at least: https://www.arishaintokyo.com/tag/tabelog/
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Apr 9, 2024 10:23
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Searching 懐石 works in Japanese Tabelog but I guess you can't do the same thing in the English version. I reckon it's easier to just search "kaiseki" on Google Maps, see if there's something you're interested in and then book it through there or Tabelog.
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Apr 9, 2024 13:35
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Book a stay for a night or two at a higher end ryokan, there's a good chance the dinner they will serve is kaiseki.
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Apr 9, 2024 13:56
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Teriyaki Koinku posted:I mean, sure. But I'm still trying to figure out how it works since it seems kind of obtuse even in English. Like I don't even know if they sort restaurants by kaiseki or not. I can't see an option for it even under the extended cuisine options. Yeah I also found Japanese restaurants quite hard to navigate as a newbie -- not just for booking them, but even selecting in the first place. In Europe, MENA, and North America, you can generally find a good restaurant by just looking for pictures that have nice plating and a nice general seating atmosphere. In Japan, restaurants focus on the food, minimal plating (very well done - just minimalistic), and basically not at all on the atmosphere. Like normally I book restaurants that have floor-to-ceiling glass windows, but fancy traditional restaurants in Japan have like... literally zero windows. I also found Tablelog specifically hard to use, since like a 3.8 is an amazing top of the line restaurant, and there will be reviews like "3/5. Food amazing, service amazing, price-quality ratio very good", making me wonder wtf it takes to get a 5/5 for a Japanese person. I guess kind of the opposite of the West, where any restaurant under 4/5 is catastrophically bad ("2/5, got food poisoning, waiter stole our wallet, then called police on us and got us arrested for not paying the bill. spent night in jail."), but it took some adjusting. We ended up using Guide Michelin (not just stars, but also bib gourmand) which matched better to our Western way of identifying nice restaurants. There were also a couple "fancy, modern, Western style" restaurants, particularly in Kyoto we found several we really liked, including one recommended by someone here that was on a rooftop and served like.. Japanese-Mexican fusion food? Cicon, that was it. Excellent recommendation, thanks whoever that was.
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Apr 9, 2024 15:15
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This might sound a bit goofy, but I kind of like the idea of eating a Michelin starred meal somewhere with a great view of the city. With that being said, has anyone tried eating at Nabeno-ism or Pierre Gagnaire at the Ana Continental Hotel? I know those are both French cuisine offerings, but the food looks good at a price I can still manage (roughly 28k yen). I'll still be eating Japanese food elsewhere on the trip, it doesn’t necessarily need to be so during this potential “high-end dining” outing.
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Apr 9, 2024 17:51
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Go ahead and try and tell us if its good! I dunno, picking a restaurant in Japan is similar to trying one in any other country as a traveller... there is just an insane selection in major cities in Japan tho (due to people being foodies). You know what you want, and if its not then its a learning experience.
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Apr 9, 2024 22:38
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Saladman posted:
ntan1 posted:Go ahead and try and tell us if its good! Charles 2 of Spain fucked around with this message at 22:47 on Apr 9, 2024 |
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Apr 9, 2024 22:43
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My partner is interning at a company in late July for a month, in Chiyoda. We need to arrange somewhere reasonably priced to stay for those 30 days. I guess a hotel that offers a good monthly rate is the best option? Help me, fellow goons!
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Apr 9, 2024 22:54
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LeoPalace does monthly rentals, there's probably other companies which do this as well. https://www.leopalace21.com/en
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Apr 9, 2024 22:59
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Go to Matsuya, Yoshinoya, and Sukiya at least once each then develop an ironic favorite and tell everyone that the other two are trash
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Apr 9, 2024 23:04
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Teriyaki Koinku posted:I mean, sure. But I'm still trying to figure out how it works since it seems kind of obtuse even in English. Like I don't even know if they sort restaurants by kaiseki or not. I can't see an option for it even under the extended cuisine options. If you are staying in a nicer hotel with a concierge? If so, might just try to offload reservation making to them if possible. I bet even business grade hotels in japan will book restaurants for you too, they are just so dang eager to help however they can.
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Apr 9, 2024 23:27
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Charles 2 of Spain posted:LeoPalace does monthly rentals, there's probably other companies which do this as well. This doesn't seem to be working well for me but I'll Google monthly rentals. Thanks for the link. I just wondered if anyone had some cheap recommendations or hacks first!
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Apr 9, 2024 23:52
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extravadanza posted:If you are staying in a nicer hotel with a concierge? If so, might just try to offload reservation making to them if possible. I bet even business grade hotels in japan will book restaurants for you too, they are just so dang eager to help however they can. I’m pretty sure my hotel will have a concierge. Still, when reserving through the hotel, do they require that you give them a credit card or can you give them cash and they reserve on your behalf? I don’t actually have my own credit card (I have a Chinese debit card but it seems like Japanese restaurants don’t accept Union Pay cards, just Visa/Mastercard/JCB/Diner’s Club), so so far I’ve been relying on my British coworker to help place reservations via his Visa card.
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Apr 10, 2024 01:23
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Alan_Shore posted:This doesn't seem to be working well for me but I'll Google monthly rentals. Thanks for the link. I just wondered if anyone had some cheap recommendations or hacks first! Based on my previous searches, monthly rentals are restricted to legal residents, and not available for tourists. Either your company needs to rent it for you, or just use AirBnB which has apartments and "extended stay" hotel listings.
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Apr 10, 2024 01:37
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Oh my dear God, trying to get a Ghibli Museum ticket through the official website/Lawson's is sheer insanity.  Of course it's a weekday for me, so I need to work. I tried doing it immediately in the morning, but it turns out I had to make an account and had to deal with half-width/full-width/transliterate your name into kanji and kana bullshit which meant I had to look after my actual, urgent work first. I keep trying to squeeze in time between editing articles to make progress on the Ghibli ticket thing, but lo and behold the registration page times out after several minutes so I have to start all over again. All the while I can see time slots rapidly selling out. I keep bouncing between my actual work and futzing around with the website until finally I give up and resign myself to focusing on my actual work until my lunch break. But I guess that's when all the other straggler mopes like myself also checked in all the same time, causing the website to crash and display errors. Finally when I get through finishing my account and am able to pay - whoops, now the whole month is sold out. Jeeeeeeesus Christ, how does anyone manage this system?  Also, where else can I go to buy a ticket at obviously scalped prices?e: Also I tried making an account for some e-ticket site to get a ticket for a Delicious in Dungeon expo but I guess there you need a Japanese mobile number so it can call you to authenticate? I guess that's not happening either unless the hotel helps me with it later. Teriyaki Koinku fucked around with this message at 05:32 on Apr 10, 2024 |
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Apr 10, 2024 05:08
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I had an carbonated, white, mildly yogurt tasting drink from a soda fountain at an okonomiyaki place in Hiroshima the other day. It labeled in English as “white soda” and was amazing. I’ve been checking every konbini and vending machine since chasing that white dragon. Can anyone fill me in on what it was?
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Apr 10, 2024 05:32
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zombienietzsche posted:I had an carbonated, white, mildly yogurt tasting drink from a soda fountain at an okonomiyaki place in Hiroshima the other day. It labeled in English as “white soda” and was amazing. I’ve been checking every konbini and vending machine since chasing that white dragon. Can anyone fill me in on what it was? There are a couple possibilities but grab a Calpis Soda first, it's probably that.
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Apr 10, 2024 05:37
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Teriyaki Koinku posted:This might sound a bit goofy, but I kind of like the idea of eating a Michelin starred meal somewhere with a great view of the city. With that being said, has anyone tried eating at Nabeno-ism or Pierre Gagnaire at the Ana Continental Hotel? We went to the Pierre at Intercontinental Osaka and really enjoyed it. Not sure if that's the one you were referring to but I'd go back if I was in town and looking for a fancy dinner out.
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Apr 10, 2024 05:45
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Teriyaki Koinku posted:Oh my dear God, trying to get a Ghibli Museum ticket through the official website/Lawson's is sheer insanity. It’s also insanity to get in Japan too, it’s high demand and tickets come out at regular times for following months so people figure out they have to jump on them immediately.
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Apr 10, 2024 05:47
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Teriyaki Koinku posted:Oh my dear God, trying to get a Ghibli Museum ticket through the official website/Lawson's is sheer insanity. What are your dates? The museum will actually be closed for 2 weeks mid-month. It does usually sell out quickly on the foreign site (Japanese still has plenty of availability, though some days are sold out), but May has less availability than normal.
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Apr 10, 2024 06:25
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Alan_Shore posted:My partner is interning at a company in late July for a month, in Chiyoda. We need to arrange somewhere reasonably priced to stay for those 30 days. I guess a hotel that offers a good monthly rate is the best option? Help me, fellow goons! You guys wanna go to Fuji Rock festival?  (seriously. I get a big group together every year.)
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Apr 10, 2024 06:45
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DiscoJ posted:What are your dates? The museum will actually be closed for 2 weeks mid-month. It does usually sell out quickly on the foreign site (Japanese still has plenty of availability, though some days are sold out), but May has less availability than normal. I'm planning on visiting the Ghibli Museum on May 2. I was able to score a ticket through Taobao (Chinese Amazon basically), but got scalped pretty bad. 50 yuan to 300 yuan lol (so 1k yen to 6.3k yen).
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Apr 10, 2024 07:17
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Teriyaki Koinku posted:I'm planning on visiting the Ghibli Museum on May 2. I was able to score a ticket through Taobao (Chinese Amazon basically), but got scalped pretty bad. 50 yuan to 300 yuan lol (so 1k yen to 6.3k yen). I gotta start doing this sort of thing.
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Apr 10, 2024 07:31
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Very funny that the foreign site makes you do full width/half width stuff. Good bit. It's like making tourists visiting an izakaya participate in some light nomikai hazing as part of the experience.
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Apr 10, 2024 07:37
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The only reason I know the width thing exists is how many Japanese sites require it even for the English version.
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Apr 10, 2024 07:43
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zombienietzsche posted:I had an carbonated, white, mildly yogurt tasting drink from a soda fountain at an okonomiyaki place in Hiroshima the other day. It labeled in English as “white soda” and was amazing. I’ve been checking every konbini and vending machine since chasing that white dragon. Can anyone fill me in on what it was? It could have been Skal, a milk soda https://www.atlasobscura.com/foods/skal-japanese-milk-soda Sounds nasty, tastes surprisingly good
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Apr 10, 2024 10:11
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Doing more research on stuff like Skytree (I guess the Delicious in Dungeon Expo will be located at Tokyo Solamachi which is right next to it), and yeah - I think the final fancy meal to cap off the trip should be at a high-rise with a nice view, like Pierre Gagnaire as I mentioned earlier or 634 Musashi at Skytree. Anyone have recommendations for Tokyo restaurants with a nice view? e: bee posted:We went to the Pierre at Intercontinental Osaka and really enjoyed it. Not sure if that's the one you were referring to but I'd go back if I was in town and looking for a fancy dinner out. They're probably related, but no, the one I mentioned is specifically the one at the ANA InterContinental in Tokyo. Site Teriyaki Koinku fucked around with this message at 10:57 on Apr 10, 2024 |
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Apr 10, 2024 10:45
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I had a calpis flavoured chuhai which loving ruled, hth
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Apr 10, 2024 10:49
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Grand Fromage posted:There are a couple possibilities but grab a Calpis Soda first, it's probably that. It was, thank you very much! QuasiQuack posted:It could have been Skal, a milk soda The first taste was very strange and off-putting. I worried I hosed up big selecting the least familiar thing from the soda fountain. By the end of the drink I loved it and I will never stop calling it cow piss. zombienietzsche fucked around with this message at 10:57 on Apr 10, 2024 |
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Apr 10, 2024 10:53
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