Tokyo 2022 (Part 9~Soup and Sake~)

Decided that this will be the final Part of my Tokyo 2022 saga. I surprisingly haven't gotten sian of documenting what is now an old trip, but gotta wrap up coz of practical reasons (next adventure coming soon - in about 24h!). More importantly, I think what I wanted to cover here would be worthy of an ending. 

Solo trips are great since I value personal freedom a lot. Literally can do whatever I want and move at my preferred pace. (This doesn't mean I don't enjoy going on trips with people haha.) But anyway, I'm rarely alone for the entirety of my solos since I've almost always had some fate to meet friends overseas, whether new or existing. All these planned or semi-planned or completely impromptu meetups also rank very high on the list of things I deeply enjoy while travelling. Amidst the abundance of me-time, there's something about having a familiar/similar person to chitchat with over a meal in a foreign country. It's like a special activity! 

In Tokyo, on top of my very fulfilling itinerary, I got to spend quality time with 2 friends. That's what truly made it feel like a trip of good fate for me.

The first friend was M, the fellow SG ELF who also attended Utage, with whom I had dinner on both concert nights. We might not have known each other for very long before that but seems like a group of Korean guys is a very effective social glue hahaha. So of course we spent a great time squealing about the concert and the wider world of SJ, but there were other things too. Turns out we were both involved in fighting the same huge fire called covid, just at different fronts. Everyone had to adapt to varying degrees, but it was something else to do work totally born out of the mess. The key sentiment was that while we would never want to go through 2021 again, having this sort of work experience in our youth was something to be glad about. 

I learnt from her to pay more attention to recent reviews when looking for good food. But both our meals turned out to be at randomly chosen restaurants which turned out to be quite nice:

This was back in Tokyo on 2 Nov where everywhere was crowded though it was getting late. The waiter went into some explanation of the various components on the tray which I unfortunately can't remember, but the most memorable one was the cold milky cucumber soup at the top right. Sounds strange but it wasn't bad to me!

On the 3 Nov, we decided it might make more sense to find food in Tachikawa before going back, and stumbled into an izakaya after a sushi restaurant we were aiming for turned out to be closed (despite being "open" on google maps). Looking at the mismatched stuff in the photo, I clearly chose things that appealed to me the most on that cold night haha: hot tofu soup, sashimi and a highball. Btw, this meal cost all of S$20.

As for the second friend, it was someone from my uni days whom I hadn't seen in years. But first imma share one bit of background that I'd been waiting for a proper place to cover. My original travel buddies (aunt+uncle) couldn't come since aunt was struck by covid right before they were due to fly. This led to the huge blank at the end of my itinerary since my plan was literally to follow them around xD. The misfortune really >.< There was just one precious day of overlap in our itineraries, which itself only came about after I had to delay my return flight by one day. In short, covid was a hell of a troublemaker.

But at least for me, fate wasn't done working yet. There was still time to think of something to fill the gap. So I proceeded with the rest of my plans and was so awed on the first day that I even bothered to post some instastories. I received a particularly unexpected reply - an "ohmo welcome to Tokyo" from S, who was happily available on my blank day for a meetup! 

The plan was at first just Japanese desserts (something I also wanted to eat) in the mid-afternoon. But along the way, I asked a simple but important question: "do you drink sake?". No desserts alone could've sustained an almost 5h catchup, which could've gone on even longer if she didn't already have dinner plans that night. Just writing this brings a smile to my face :)

On 5 Nov, we met up at the basement of a Roxy Square-like building for desserts. It took some hard searching before I located the shop and joined the little queue filled with little old women (seemed like a good sign haha).

Was quite intrigued by the mask of a smiling woman above the traditional entrance.

S had an ohagi/oden set (which would prob have been a full lunch for me) and explained that ohagi was like a reverse daifuku haha. After being torn between everything that looked good, I selected a bowl of mixed shirafuku and jellies.

After desserts, we moved to another building nearby in search of a bookmarked izakaya... which turned out to be closed. Tokyo was so generally on top or over the top of things (like how their google maps directions even recommend the most convenient train doors to use) that it was surprising how this didn't apply to simple shop opening hours. So that was a bummer, but at least there were a few other choices nearby. We ended up in an izakaya specialising in miso-flavoured food (coz it seemed interesting - a running theme of that meetup) and there began one of my favourite parts of the trip. 

Thought to start off by listing the names of the drinks we had, just to illustrate a point:

1. 天使の誘惑 (Temptation of the Angels) - A highball, since it was recommended to start light and I went for the coolest name on the page (rather than the usual hakushu, chita, yamazaki).
2. 生日本酒 (literally Raw Japanese Alcohol, but at first there was me and my brain wondering what was "birthday 本酒" xD)
   
3. 花の香 (Scent of Flowers) 
4. 九頭龍 (Nine-headed Dragon)
5. 飛露喜 (Gleefulness) - At least that's how papago translated it. We read it as "flying dew happiness" back then haha. It was between this and 冬花火 (Winter Fireworks) which sounded cool in its own right, but I decided I preferred a name with "flying" and "happiness" in it ^^

Cool names right? This was my first izakaya experience, and I was pretty awestruck by the huge variety of sake and other drinks available. Since I could (semi-)read the chinese characters, it opened up another fun dimension in the drink selection process. In fact, this was the tie-breaking method between drinks of similar flavour profile. It was so so much fun and we laughed so much along the way xD

But first, S took this noob through the basics of sake-drinking and the info on the menu other than the intriguing names. We ordered sake in a measurement called "go" (about 180ml). Every order was one "go" and came either in a sort of funky bowl for cold ones or the more recognisable sake flask for hot ones. Each large bottle of sake was about 4 "go"s and the emptied bottles were lined up in a beautiful rainbow around the shop (unfortunately I have no picture, was enjoying myself too much to bother). As for the menu, the key info to observe included the distillery name, pure/processed rice percentage and most importantly, the flavour profile. Each bottled sake was profiled based on a light(軽い)-strong(重い), sweet(甘い)-dry(辛い) quadrant with hot/cold variants.

Taste-wise, we covered the profiles rather evenly. Unfortunately, since some time has passed, I can't really describe the different flavours in detail any more. But what I definitely remember was that each drink fell in line nicely one after the other, all of them were great in their own way, and the final sake (strong, dry, cold) was the perfect ending. 

Oh yes, and for almost every sake, we were offered a selection of sake cups to choose from and every one was different! It was just one drinking session honestly, but there were so many different things in it that sparked fun and joy. So here's some photos and more details:

1. 天使の誘惑 (Temptation of the Angels), the shochu-based highball I started with, in contrast to the usual whisky-based ones. As highballs are, it was light and refreshing. 

2. 生日本酒, a raw sake. This was something unique that I didn't mind trying before moving into the more "crafted" sakes. What I can remember was that it tasted fresh and somewhat "bright", really like something pure. 

3. 花の香 (Scent of Flowers). Yikes, I was probably enjoying myself too much and didn't take a photo of the actual drink. But luckily I got the menu page. The "希少日本酒" at the top literally means rare sake, so better order something from this section haha. Anyway as a light, sweet drink (sorta befitting its name) served cold, it was very easy to go down and would prob be a safe choice for exploratory drinkers.

4. 九頭龍 (Nine-headed Dragon), the only drink we ordered hot. Nothing to do with the dragon (cool as it was!), it was just the next sampling profile. IIRC, this sake was recommended by S but she hadn't tried it hot before, and so we did. The combi of strong, dry, hot made for a more mature kinda drink. I was using a metal cup just before this and swapped out to an inverse Mount Fuji to avoid burning my fingers haha. 

5. 飛露喜 (Gleefulness aka our Flying Dew Happiness). Ahh the grand finale and IIRC, my favourite one. This was also a strong, dry sake but served cold instead. Since we could compare with the immediate preceding drink, I kinda remember that the sake felt both richer and easier to go down when cold. All in all, a very satisfying way to cap off the meetup.

I wasn't expecting to go through a highball and 4 types of sake in one sitting hahaha (still way below my limits anyway). But sake is truly the perfect drink for sampling over an afternoon catch up! Don't like wine enough, and beer is too filling to sample that many types of.

It wasn't all drinks of course heh, we had some bites and a wide range of conversation topics to go along with it. I got a sumptuous download on Japan-living, from corporate culture to the transport system to general Japanese civic mindedness. One thing I definitely didn't know before that was that every transfer between rail lines owned by competing companies constitutes a new trip (no distance-based charging) D: On one hand it's amazing that all these competitors managed to fit their lines around each other and pack into a tight, interconnective system... But no wonder it took me more than S$100 just to getting around on public transport over those few days. The other thing was about hierarchy and after-work drinking culture (which seems to be a v East Asian thing). In fact, there happened to be a corporate drinking session going on at another table and it was rather rowdy haha. Before the trip, I'd always pictured the Japanese as a very quiet and civilised people but between this group and the hordes of kids I met along the way, I could see how they let loose at times xD.

These were the nibbles we had throughout the afternoon, very prettily plated. It's not necessary for me to eat while drinking but I couldn't stop picking at these haha. Wanted to point out the left-most one. The three coloured splotches at the bottom left corner of the plate were different types of miso pastes with different strengths.

At the time, it happened to be within the last month of S's stay in Tokyo before she moved to another city for work. So wow, it was a close shave. I was quite keen on sampling sake on the trip but would've been extremely lost without a Japanese-speaking companion. See the whole menu was in Japanese... my low level of recognising chinese words could only get me so far and image-translation didn't work very well in general. Therefore, I genuinely have S to thank for reaching out over insta, and bringing me on one of the single most enjoyable experiences on all my travels so far. 

After that, I went back to Odaiba to catch the night views upon S's recommendation (throwback to Part 1!). A contrast to the beginning of the trip, and a fitting end.

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Well, we've come to the finale after lots of blogging over 9 Parts xD I think everything worth sharing has been shared, so it's time to round up. I definitely did most of what I planned to, save for some changes here and there in the itinerary in favour of greater experiences, and enjoyed everything immensely. 

On this trip, nothing felt unreasonably expensive (prob thanks to the great exchange rate!). And after all that running around and buying whatever caught my fancy, I was surprised to see that I spent less than projected, so that was a bonus! I also enjoyed every single meal, whether out in restaurants or back alone at my hotel table (dabao-ed/conbini food). My only small regret was not getting a chance to eat a proper cold soba (my favourite Japanese food). I ran out of time/meals and thought I'd be able to find it at the airport. Alas :') Well, there's still the rest of Japan for future trips, but I feel like I'll be back in Tokyo at some point, one way or another. 

For good measure, since this final Part is almost a food post xD These were my hotel table meals. Half were breakfasts before starting the day, and the others were dinners after exhausting myself in the vibrancy of Tokyo. Even if it was conbini food, I never saw it as a "last resort" to dabao back and eat quietly, more of a comfortable option. It was more important that all the food tasted good anyway, wherever they came from! And yes, I tried their macs since there was a branch just opposite my hotel, and a full meal cost about S$7. In contrast to paying S$10++ for a special meal here in SG :o

Ah one last thing. I blogged this trip by Parts since I had lots to say about it. But it definitely had to compete for time with other things in real-life haha, especially in 2023 so far where time has just been zooming by~ I'm quite sure my immediate next trip will be just as worthwhile as this one was, but will have to see if I can spare the time xD

With that, I sign off on the not-last trip of 2022, but one of the most significant ones for me, and look forward to what's to come!