Japanese Food Bites: Indulging in the Taste of Summer

We started the day off as any other day in the hotel breakfast, which I have honestly come to love. I’ve started to take the stairs down each morning, as I’ve grown very impatient with the elevator, and it’s honestly nice to walk on the stairs outside in the morning and see everyone out and about, getting their days started.

As I walked through the door and into the lobby, I was met with the same familiar aroma that I have now gotten accustomed to. I honestly never thought I would find myself enjoying grilled fish and miso soup for breakfast, since I often stick to my eggs and oatmeal in the U.S., but I am forced to be a little bit out of my comfort zone, and I’m okay with that. I filled up my tray with a little bit of everything, a couple of little pieces of fish, some salad to try and get some veggies in the morning, and a little bowl of yogurt with honey and granola to give my stomach at least a little bit of familiarity. It technically is dinner time back home in NY, so maybe it’s for the best. I sip the warm miso soup clouded with tofu and green leaves, and am jolted awake from the burning sensation in my mouth, but it’s also pleasant at the same time. The fish is simple, just grilled and salted, and honestly, all I want in the moment. It falls right apart as I bite into it, and the slimy skin rips off, my favorite part. I quickly eat the salad, which could have been skipped, but I wanted to try and get some veggies in. The big pieces of lettuce barely fit in my mouth, and it honestly tastes like nothing without any dressing. Lastly, I drink a small cup of coffee, my first coffee of the day and most definitely not my last. We take our usual route to class, which I have become pretty good at navigating. We reach our destination, and of course, have to make a stop at our favorite place, 7/11. I am a little ashamed to say that we have probably been to 7/11 more times than I can count, but it truly never disappoints. I leave with a water to hydrate me, a coffee to caffeinate me, and a vitamin C drink to “keep me healthy”. By this time, our 7/11 trip has honestly become muscle memory, and we are in and out of there in under a minute.

We shortly arrived at the University and sat down for writing class with Professor Ito. We read some very well-written restaurant reviews, and did some exercises to practice writing our own. What made these reviews so special was that it wasn’t just reviews but a story about the whole experience of visiting the restaurant and not just about the food. After class, I had to walk down to the cafe and grab another hot, steaming latte, which I always seem to burn my tongue on to the point that it’s numb and blistered, but worth it to wake myself up, I feel, no matter how long it’s been, I am still fighting the jetlag each day.

We then had our guest speaker, Brandon, who came with his wife and daughter, the cutest little girl I’ve ever seen, her little hand waving at us as we walked into the classroom for her dad’s presentation. Brandon took us through the ups and downs of his life, from talking about School Refusal, which I had never known was an actual thing in Japan, to his journey with food and testing out different diets. Overall, after trying to be a vegan, vegetarian, macrobiotic, low-sugar, low-carb, and even being a fruititarian for 3 whole days, he came to the conclusion that simply listening to how his body feels and reacts to certain foods is the simple yet difficult answer. Last but certainly not least, we got to learn about and even try his amazing vegan pizza, which was special to him because it’s something that he loves to eat, but he was able to make it in a way that is still good for you and also makes you feel good.

The pizza was definitely a little unconventional, being that it was a piece of sourdough bread with red sauce, and this white grain sauce on top, and lastly these brown grains that were supposed to resemble beef, but it was honestly delicious, and not at all what I was expecting.

We definitely all still had space in our stomachs for lunch, so we walked on over to the cafeteria, excited to see what would be on the menu today. I decided to go with the tuna rice bowl. I would never consider getting tuna at a cafeteria anywhere in the States, but the quality here is so much better, and when I saw it come out, I knew it was gonna be good. The cafeteria was bustling with many other Ochanimizu students, and I struggled to find a seat for a second, and then sat down next to Sora. I sat down to eat my rice bowl, accompanied by a little bowl of miso soup. The raw tuna was scooped in a perfect round circle, like a scoop of strawberry ice cream, sitting on a mound of rice, with just a sprinkle of green onions. The unassuming rice bowl turned out to be delicious, the soft tuna melted in your mouth, and the punch of flavor from the drizzle of soy sauce gave it that salty kick cushioned by a bit of rice in each bite. I washed it all down with some warm miso soup, and I was perfectly content.

Once lunch was over, I walked back over to class for our Biology class with Professor Young, and enjoyed a very lively explanation of how a neuron sends a signal through a synapse, allowing our brain to communicate different signals to and from our body.

Professor Young made sure to get everyone involved and demonstrated the positive sodium ions moving through the ion channel. We finished off our class learning about fungi, and their important role in the fermentation process of many Japanese foods.

After class, we made our usual commute home and had to make another stop at… You guessed it, 7/11. I got a tuna mayo Onigiri, which I couldn’t believe I hadn’t tried yet, and the berry acai smoothie. I got to use the little robot-like contraption in the front of the store to blend up the smoothie, and it was ready in less than 30 seconds, a perfect little refreshing drink to supplement all the fruit that I haven’t been eating.

A little rest after class, and then it was back to the subway we went. Amelia and I wanted to do a little more shopping before our dinner reservation. We had been in Shibuya the day before, and it was honestly really overwhelming, and we were on a mission to find more vintage/thrift stores. Walking through Takeshita Street, we were barely able to move with the crowds of people, but once we made it to the first thrift store we had been recommended, we found ourselves in this quaint, quiet neighborhood, tucked away from the noisy, crowded, and overwhelming streets of Shibuya. It was honestly a really nice change of pace.

Each street had another new store for us to explore, and so many cute little cafes, I would’ve gotten another coffee if it wasn’t already 6pm at this point. We shopped and walked around for a bit, coming across many different stores, each with its own vibe. There was a lot of Y2K style clothing, then some California beachy, baggy style, lots of designer bags and wallets, and even a large variety of kimonos in one store.

I’m a little sad to say the only store I found any success at was the 4-story Brandy Melville, but that is the truth; I just couldn’t resist the simple white baby Tee with Tokyo written across it in sparkly pink lettering since they “don’t have this anywhere else.”

After we were all shopped out, we headed on over to the rooftop that Amelia had booked for Annika, Calvin, her, and me, since we all had been wanting to experience the city from a rooftop, and it definitely did not disappoint. We got to the restaurant and immediately asked them to move us outside when we saw we were seated inside, so we could truly take in the view and soak it up each second we were there. Seeing the city from that high, especially at night while the sun was setting, was honestly unreal. I still can’t believe how the buildings just seem to go on forever in Tokyo, and there are so many buildings clustered on top of each other so close together.

The dinner was what you’d expect from a view that could stand on its own. We got beef carpaccio to share, and it was covered with so much Parmesan cheese that it was honestly all I could taste. I also got their fish of the day, the snapper, which was good, but nothing too special. We waited over an hour for a little side of fries, which was probably the best part of the meal. The fries were crispy and flaky, and cut as thin as possible. Overall, we agreed that the view on its own was definitely worth it to come, but the food and service could have been better.

Going from the humble cafeteria at Ochanomizu to a rooftop in the Shibuya skyline, the lesson of the day wrote itself: price has very little to do with quality here in Tokyo, and maybe everywhere else too. The tuna bowl that cost next to nothing melted in my mouth. The carpaccio buried in Parmesan at the skyscraper restaurant barely registered. The best bite of the fancy dinner was a side of fries. It’s the unassuming places and the unexpected dishes that keep surprising me most — and honestly, I think that’s my favorite part of this city so far. A very packed day, and I can’t wait to do it all over again tomorrow.