KANTO
Tsukishima, Tokyo
Travel journal from Tsukishima, Tokyo, with 10 notes on the places I ate, the dishes I cooked and the sights: Tsukishima and Tsukuda, Sumiyoshi Shrine, Tsukuda, A shitamachi breakfast: grilled salmon and tofu miso soup, Omurice.
Journeys: 2 · Notes: 10
Journeys
6 Best Cherry Blossom Viewing Spots in Tokyo and Amazing Sakura Views at Shikoku Shiudeyama
Chasing the cherry blossoms across spring Japan
I'd assumed Japan's cherry blossoms start in Kyushu, but the first Somei-yoshino open in Tokyo.
Film published 2024.04.06
Tokyo's traditional old town and local life
A downtown table in a Tokyo row house
I woke up in an old row house in Tokyo's shitamachi, the old town east of the Yamanote Line.
Film published 2022.12.26
01
Cook the local flavors once more
Dishes made in borrowed kitchens, and how each one connects to the land.
Chuo, Tokyo
A shitamachi breakfast: grilled salmon and tofu miso soup
Tsukudani was born in neighboring Tsukuda.
From: A downtown table in a Tokyo row house
Chuo, Tokyo
Omurice
One story has it that omurice was born in the mid-1920s at a Western-style restaurant in Osaka, where the owner wrapped ketchup rice in a thin omelet for a regu…
From: A downtown table in a Tokyo row house
02
A little of each town’s story
Sights, specialties and how the towns came to be: small cultural notes beside each journey.
Chuo, Tokyo
Tsukishima and Tsukuda
Tsukuda was built as a fishing village by fishermen from Tsukuda in Settsu Province, brought to Edo by Tokugawa Ieyasu, and is the birthplace of tsukudani.
From: A downtown table in a Tokyo row house
Chuo, Tokyo
Sumiyoshi Shrine, Tsukuda
Founded in 1646 with a spirit brought from Tamino Shrine in Tsukuda, Settsu Province, the home village of the fishermen who built Tsukudajima.
From: A downtown table in a Tokyo row house
Chuo, Tokyo
Tsukudani
A preserved food of small fish, shellfish or seaweed simmered down in soy sauce and sugar.
From: A downtown table in a Tokyo row house
Chuo, Tokyo
Monjayaki
A shitamachi specialty: a loose batter of flour and water cooked on a griddle with cabbage and other fillings.
From: A downtown table in a Tokyo row house
03
Places we stopped along the way
What we ate and bought, with shop details checked against published listings.
Chuo, Tokyo
Tenyasu Honten (tsukudani)
Founded in 1837, this is the oldest tsukudani shop still standing in Tsukuda.
From: A downtown table in a Tokyo row house
Chuo, Tokyo
Takayanagi Tofu Shop
An old-fashioned neighborhood tofu shop on a back street in Ningyocho.
From: A downtown table in a Tokyo row house
Chuo, Tokyo
Rojiura Monja Monkichi Honten
A popular monja shop in a back alley off Monja Street (Tsukishima Nishinaka-dori), its storefront covered in photographs.
From: A downtown table in a Tokyo row house
Chuo, Tokyo
Ameyoko Shopping Street
A shopping street of more than 400 shops packed into about 500 meters between JR Ueno and Okachimachi stations.
From: A downtown table in a Tokyo row house
Other places in Kanto
Kanto
Asakusa
Tsukiji Outer Market, Sumida River Line water bus, Kachidoki Bridge
Journeys: 2 · Notes: 25
Kanto
Kamogawa
Kamogawa, Namero on rice, Sauce yakisoba
Journeys: 1 · Notes: 6
Kanto
Kamakura
Ryukoji Temple, Kamakura-Kokomae Station, Kamakura Farmers' Market and Kamakura Central Food Market
Journeys: 2 · Notes: 19