Japanese Food Bites: Indulging in the Taste of Summer

Sunday, May 24th, marked the end of a two-day rain period, and we celebrated with a visit to the Tofu factory. The Tofu Factory was only a five-minute walk away from the Superhotel in Ikebukuro, tucked through a zigzag of side streets. The factory was small but stood the test of time, having been around for over 20 years. Our tour included learning how to make tofu, tasting it, and a few of us even got to make it ourselves. I had only tried tofu once and was excited to experience it the traditional Japanese way. The tofu was jiggly and smooth on the tongue, tasting clean and faintly of soybeans. Personally, it wasn’t for me, but many students loved it. 

After the tofu factory, we had a free day. A pop-up pottery mart near the Ueno Zoo caught our attention, so a group of us decided to attend. The mart was crawling with people; rows of shops lined the zoo entrance, shelves covered in pottery of every shape, color, and texture. Everything was delicate, the kind of thing you pick up carefully and set down even more carefully. We browsed for a while before deciding to head into the zoo. A collage of pottery decorated the shelves, ranging in colors, shapes, textures, and uses, but all were delicate. We shopped around for a bit and decided to head into the zoo. 

The Ueno Zoo blew our expectations away; it had animals none of us had even seen before. The zoo had the typical animals, elephants, giraffes, and tigers, alongside polar bears, red pandas, and the incredibly rare shoebill bird. The tiger commanded everyone’s attention; it was powerful and pacing, completely unbothered by the crowd. Then there was the shoebill bird, standing perfectly still and staring blankly. The polar bears were the real highlight; I had never seen one in the wild, and it was interesting to see one. It was pacing back and forth, to which we assumed it was waiting to be fed. In its presence, words of awe and gasps could only be heard. The zoo had a lot to offer besides the animals: swan boats, multiple shops, and places to eat. If you are in Tokyo, the Ueno Zoo is definitely a visit. 

Hungry after the zoo, we found an exit and, outside, food stalls. One stall was serving takoyaki. It looked very appetizing, with the takoyaki balls dressed in all sorts of sauces. My friend Huong bought some and watched them being made right in front of her, the squid, ginger, and dough sizzling on the grill. Her first reaction was that they were moving (due to the bonito flakes). She could taste the freshness of the ingredients through the chewy texture. She called it a ball of goodness, and she was wrong. The takoyaki was crisp on the outside but soft and gooey on the inside, and I immediately tasted the tentacles of the octopus. 

The takoyaki was a snack, and we had bigger plans. That evening, we headed to Shibuya for an all-you-can-eat hotpot and ended the night taking photos at the Shibuya crossing, the buzzing city around us in every direction. It was the kind of day that packed many memories into a few hours, and the perfect way to spend our last day in Tokyo before we return.