Unagi, daigaku-imo and age-nasu

Tokyo visitor guides tend to emphasize how the city is more experiential than monumental; that wandering the neighborhoods is the best way to take it in. The neon stoked parts of the city, like Ginza with its overkill of shopping, are definitely worth experiencing.

Go crazy.


 

Or you can try to find your way out of Shinguku Station, purportedly the world's busiest train station, and go to the the New York Bar at the top of the Park Hyatt Hotel and channel your inner Bob Harris from Lost in Translation.

It's Suntory time! They also offer Coppola wine.

The narrow lanes that survived WWII bombs and post-war rebuilding make a nice counterpoint. Yanaka Ginza is a perfect example. It took a little wandering to find it because it's hidden in a nest of other crowded streets that are also pretty interesting. It doesn't help that Tokyo isn't big on street signs. But you know when you finally stumble on it.

East entrance to Yanaka Ginza.

It's a working shopping street for locals and I arrived just in time for the evening rush. What made it fun for me was the street food being served up by every three steps.

Preparing my eel on a stick.

First stop: barbecued unagi, freshwater eel. It's not like chicken, but also not like fish. Maybe more like snake? I don't know. It's good though. 

Sticky sweet. Seriously, super-glue sticky.

Next: daigaku-imo, deep-fried yams smothered in a kind of simple syrup only different and sprinkled with black sesame seeds.






 
 

 

Greasy goodness.

Last and perhaps the best, age-nasu: deep-fried japanese eggplant. This version was stuffed with spicy ground beef and dipped in tempura batter before frying. That is some mighty fine dining.