Japan 2012 - Part 7 (Kyoto to Tokyo)

I really need to get a move on and finish blogging my Japan trip, so then I can blog last year's trip to the US! In exciting news, I will be leaving for the US again in three weeks time! So I will have even more travel posts to blog! Considering this is not actually a travel blog, I promise I will eventually get back to cookbooks! But there is just so much wonderful food out there in the world that needs to be eaten!

Thank you for your kind words and thoughts regarding Possum. It means so much to our family.

Our final day in Kyoto dawned, and I has a banana, some packaged sweet potato and some strawberry soy milk for breakfast before heading back to Toji to check out the monthly market. It was huge, full of lots and lots of stalls. If you see something you like there, buy it when you see it, because you will never find your way back to the stall! I am still so sad that I never found the kitty-themed stall again.



I picked up some fried sweet potato chips, thanks to my mum's help to discover what sort of oil they were using. I was expecting a salty snack, but they were actually coated in sugar. Which was OK, but strange.




I stopped by Kyoto Tower for some panoramic views, which included a cheesy tourist photo that I seem to have misplaced, so sadly I cannot share that with you. But Francesca the travel cat will model the tower for you.




Then it was onto the famous Shinkansen (bullet train) to travel to Tokyo. Top tip - the bullet train is not very friendly to people who have huge suitcases, like me. But thankfully we managed to find a space for them! I had a stash of snacks for the trip. The highlight was passing Mt Fuji on a beautiful, clear day so we could see the famous peak.



Our hotel was right next to Tokyo Station. We were both exhausted, so we ordered an early room service dinner. The hotel was super helpful with my vegan needs. I had Wok-Seared Tofu and Spring Vegetables with Soy Sauce and rice, which may not sound too exciting but was like heaven.



The next day, after a morning snack of rice bread, chive pate, fruit and chocolate soy milk, we headed on the subway to Omote Sando and took a walk around the shops. Best shop by far was Kiddy Land! Full of all your favourite characters, this is definitely not just for kids. Miffy!!





We met up with my mum's friend Miranda, who very kindly took us for lunch at Brown Rice Cafe. We ordered lunch sets, which you can see were full of so many delicious things. And I finished up with a sweet little Tofu Tart for dessert. Miranda walked us to the Tokyo store of Natural House, where I stocked up on some more essentials, including more rice bread, a mini-loaf of rye, pate and fruit.




After saying goodbye to Miranda, mum and I walked down to Meiji Shrine and wandered around the shrine and the beautiful gardens, where there is a very famous well. I also left left an 'ema', a small wooden wishing plaque on the tree there.





We caught a train back to the hotel for a break, then headed out for dinner. T's Tantan is a vegan ramen shop that is inside Tokyo Station. You need to buy a Platform Ticket to get there, but that is only 130 yen, plus there are heaps of really fun shops inside the station! But this trip was for eating. Mum ordered the Smile Curry, but I could not go past the Shoyu Ramen with Soy Meat (and a healthy dose of white peper). This was so good, so warming, so delicious. If you go there, order this!



On the way back through the station we found Brown Rice Deli, a mini-version of Brown Rice Cafe that sells ready to go food. I picked up this inari for an after dinner snack. Then it was back to the hotel and fast asleep!