Maisen Tonkatsu in Omotesando

 

This was actually the reason we went to Omotesando. It was so cold outside that I had spent most of the morning, cozy in my hotel room, "Whatsapping" with friends in Manila. They were telling me what to do, where to go, what to see, what to buy...

Before I knew it, it was 2 pm and B was back from his meetings. I'm not much of a shopper (specially in Tokyo where everything is so expensive) so I was content to stay indoors. I can hear it already.."whaat? you wasted a day in Tokyo in the hotel room?!"

But now I was hungry and I also wanted to go to Kiddyland. I don't know why I even wanted to go to Kiddyland. It's a building full of Japanese character toys and stationery sets which my girls are not even fond of. I do have very good memories of this place because mom used to leave us to browse for a whole afternoon. In the end, we would go home with new pencil boxes, pencils, erasers and stickers. My kids don't get thrilled with cute pencils, erasers and stickers the way I used to but I still wanted to look for small things for them.

Here I was in one of the nicest shopping streets in all of Tokyo, and all I  wanted to do was go to Kiddyland and to eat at Maisen, the tonkatsu place. I don't think B realizes how lucky he is!

We walked the small streets behind Omotesando and found signs to Maisen. It was almost 4 pm by this time, and the place had a few diners also having a late lunch--or maybe an early dinner. The first time we came here was more than ten years ago, during lunchtime, and the place was packed.  My friend Christine, who was living in Tokyo at that time, introduced us to this place.

"In Tokyo, when you want to eat sushi, you go to a sushi place. When you want tempura, you go to a tempura place. The good restaurants specialize in only one thing," she told us. For tonkatsu, we had to go to a tonkatsu house, and Maisen is one of her favorites. I wondered what the big deal was since I'm not a fan of deep fried breaded pork. But after having a proper tonkatsu the Maisen way, I changed my mind.  Over the years I've recommended it to other friends.

They handed us the Japanese menus and  everything looked the same so we asked the server her recommendation. She pointed out Tonkatsu Rosu and another one. The difference? One had more fat than the other. I ordered the lean one since I don't like pork fat anyway.

It's served with a specially-made tonkatsu sauce. While most people douse their whole cutlet with the sauce, I like to dip my tonkatsu right before I bite into it. This way, the breading remains crisp and light as it touches my tongue.

The order comes with all-you-can-eat shredded cabbage, rice, miso soup and come pickles. I ate slowly, savoring each bite. Tonkatsu is not exactly a "wise food choice" (when it comes to the maintenance stage of my diet), but at least it's a very high quality "unwise food choice."

I liked this red bag--and discovered it was made with the same leather they use for baseball gloves, and made in the Philippines!

After Linner (That's what my niece, Regina, calls a meal at 4 pm), B had another meeting to attend so he headed back to the train station while I walked off the meal browsing the little shops around Shibuya. I also walked down Omotesando going in and out of shops. I took my time walking around that by the time I got to Kiddyland at 9 pm, it had closed. Hmm...too bad, but there is still tomorrow.

 And this is considered a "short" queue

I also chanced on a restaurant called Eggs n Things, which looked very popular with the locals. I checked what the fuss was all about and was surprised to see a menuboard featuring American-style breakfasts! They a lining up in the rain for this stuff? A little googling revealed that this restaurant is originally from Honolulu and as popular there as it is here. But when the Japanese like something, they can be really obsessive, so the lines and waiting times are even longer here. Between unwise food choices of waffles or eggs and tonkatsu? I would happily fall in line for tonkatsu.


I wasn't about to spoil the memory of a delicious Linner by having a late dinner, so I grabbed myself a yogurt from a convenience store and headed back to the hotel. Considering I'm always running around from one place to another in Manila, this was one lazy but luxurious way to spend a day in Tokyo. 

Ladies' Room in Omotesando

I walked into the ladies' room on the 4th floor of Tokyu Plaza in  Omotesando and was pleasantly surprised to find a creative vanity area. The toilets were basic--if you count those high tech bidet toilets of Japan "basic"--so I didn't take any pictures there.

But the molding of the doorway from the vanity to the toilet area was interesting also. Too bad I didn't have my camera (only my phone) and couldn't take nice detailed closeups.

I love how they used these mirrors. Right away it gave me ideas for powder rooms.

They are nicely backlit, and even if you try, you can't see the bulb at the back.

The vanity walls are covered in gold paint, and some parts are peeling. I don't know if it's supposed to have that effect, but it I also liked it. The only other lighting come from rimless pinlights on the ceiling.

This rotating disco ball is what you see as you enter the ladies' room.  Maybe I should put a disco ball in the girls' bathroom. That will be a fun touch! What do you think C?

Christmas Lights in Roppongi, Tokyo

We walked through this beautifully lit street in Roppongi on our way to dinner. It's was a very, very cold and windy walk.

But look how beautiful it is. There are blue lights mixed in with the white lights.

In Roppongi Hills, there is this giant egg made of firefly lights too. People just walked through it and took pictures. There's nothing inside--it's just a walkway.

Here's the famous giant spider scultpure of Roppongi Hills.

I hope it's a bit warmer tomorrow. I didn't bring the right clothes for walking around. Maybe I should just stay indoors and shop.

National Children's Castle, Tokyo

The National Children's Castle or Kodomo no Shiro is another place just for children. It's very close to the Jido kaikan, and near the Omotesando mall. This place has a number floors also with lots of things to do--workshops, computers, book and video libraries, open playgrounds, large halls, theaters and more.

The kids spent most of the time playing with two expat kids in the mini-kitchen on the third floor while their moms chatted away with each other. Across the hall on the same floor is the Fine Arts Studio. Here again they spent a lot of time painting on this long white board with different colors of poster paint. I thought this idea was ingenious--a very simple idea, but with maximum impact on the kids. Imagine the freedom of being able to splatter all kinds of paint on a wall--they were thrilled.

Also in the same room was the 'project-of-the-day', creating simple masks. Behind this creative room was a room full of computers with video games. We spent our last remaining minutes here until closing time, leaving still a big area of the Children's Castle unexplored.

When we talk about Japan, the kids mention the Jido kaikan and the Children's Castle (aside from Disneysea of course). I know they will always have good memories of Japan, having experienced special places created specifically for kids. 

Jido Kaikan, a Kid's Wonderland in Tokyo

The girls loved this place in Tokyo--the Jido Kaikan or the Tokyo Municipal Children's Hall. There are five floors of fun for them, but since we only had a couple of hours left before it closed at 5 pm, we stayed on the fourth level which had the arts and crafts stations and the music room.

 one of the projects they made

Everything here is in Japanese but we were able to figure out what needed to be done by just looking at the very clear step-by-step visuals.

In this floor, there were lots of craft stations, each prepared with materials for different projects. The staff was on hand to teach the kids how to create more complicated projects.

Being artistic and creative like, ahem, their mom (okay, and also their dad)  they really liked hanging out here and I had to drag them out of the fourth floor to continue exploring other areas. There are science and computer games in another floor, woodworking areas, ride-on toys for smaller kids, and on the roof-top, yet another playground.

It seems that there is only one Jido Kaikan in Tokyo, although other areas have what they call Jido kans, or "children's halls"--none of them are as big as the Jido kaikan. I saw a lot of moms here, chatting with each other while their kids played, so it's also a moms' gathering area.

This can easily be a whole afternoon affair. You can probably bring the kids here in the morning and they'd find something that will keep them excited for many hours.

Between floors, there are eating areas with tables and chairs. I think there are a couple of restaurants in the building but they were closed when we were there. There are a few vending machines with drinks and ice-cream. The best thing about the the Jido Kaikan is it's absolutely FREE! It's a state funded and run establishment open to all children.

Getting here is easy; we took the subway from our hotel to the Shibuya station, then walked a couple of blocks until we found it.  After the place closed and we were walking back to the Shibuya station, we passed by what looked like a cooking studio.

The women were having a cooking lesson! A quick thought passed-- If I had planned better, I could have brought the kids earlier to the Jido kaikan, left them with the hubby, and then taken a cooking lesson (ok, ambitious travel planning, I know).  I'm sure that the cooking class was all in Japanese, but I'm sure I could've just watched and learned, just like in the Jido kaikan.

At least I have a smattering of a plan, for the next Tokyo trip.

Tokyo-to Jido kaikan 1-18-24 Shibuya -ku, Shibuya, Tokyo

Miracosta Hotel at Tokyo Disneysea

 

My Tokyo friend told me that Disneyland is the number one dating destination in Japan. The young people don't mind waiting hours in line for ride--in fact, the longer the line, the better for them! Not for us, who need to get as much done in one day.

On one Tokyo trip with the whole family, we spent our last night at the Miracosta Hotel right in Disneysea.

 

We got there right after lunch, checked in and then explored the park, which by that time was swarming with people. Since our hotel was right in Disneysea, the folks could go back and rest when they were tired. When it got dark and the crowds thinned, we had the whole park to ourselves.

We did the rides over and over again...and then again! And when we had our fill, it was nice to just walk back to the hotel instead of taking a long train ride back into Tokyo. The next morning, we enjoyed Disneyland before the crowd got in too.

The Miracosta opens out right into Disneysea. Our room had two double beds, one which even had a trundle --so four of us fit comfortably in one room. Our group got three rooms, two of them connecting to each other. I was still renovating the house when we stayed here so I took lots of photos of interior details.

On other trips, we did Disneysea and Disneyland only for the day, so we went by subway and then took the train. It's about an hour commute. It's very efficient, but we just have to plan our return well so that the kids are not too tired for the trip home.

Staying at a hotel in the Disney area rounded off our Disney experience and helped us maximize our park visits. Glad that our schedule allowed us to do that then.