Must-do Activities in Tokyo (Part 2)

Our Part 2 of Must-Do Activities is more of a list of Must-Eats!

Must-do Activities in Tokyo (Part 1)

So you want to visit Tokyo? Great - can we come along?

In no particular order, here are our must-do activities in Tokyo! This is no way an all-encompassing list - we know there are SO many things we haven't done in this amazing city yet so please let us know if we're missing something or what some of your favourite things to do are!

Kingyo

J is done university which is totally to be expected but worth celebrating anyways!
Kingyo
Where: 51 Winchester Street, Toronto, ON
Price: $$$ (Our bill was $72 for 2 people, tax and tip included)
Note: Reserve ahead of time because it can get VERY busy, especially on weekends

Food Adventure from Finch to Union!

This summer, my sister and  I decided to finally check this item off our bucket list

                  ✔Walk from Finch Station to Union Station

But why stop there? We both love to eat so why not make this into a foodie adventure? So we laced up our trainers and decided to embark on our biggest food adventure and hit restaurants, cafes, diners and from Finch to Union Station. We were completely confident that we could walk from Finch to Union in about 2.5 hour - 3 hours since we both go hiking but this trip took 5.5 hours with the multiple food stops we made. 

Originally, we had a list of 17 restaurants we wanted to hit up but unfortunately, it was taking too long as we had to finish by the early afternoon. So, 3 hours and 3 restaurants in, with a heavy heart we cut out almost 12 restaurants :( Oh well, more incentive to do this trip again!

On to all the places we went that day!! 

In the Kitchen: Japanese Curry

Yakitori Kintori

Yakitori Kintori is a compact restaurant that recently opened up on top of its sister restaurant, Kinton. Yes, that's right, this restaurant is the newest member of the Guu/Kinton/JaBistro family. While it holds the same ambiance as its sister restaurants, its main focus is not on fresh fish but on Japanese charcoal grilled Yakitori (skewers).

Yakitori Kintori
Where: 668 Bloor St W
Price: $$, For 5 people, bill was $160 (not including tips)
Notes: Reservations are highly recommended; MUST get the dekitate tofu, sake cheese fondue and kitsune udon.

JaBistro for our 4th Anniversary :)!

We love going to upscale Japanese restaurants, but as university students... visiting them frequently is not financially practical. Thus, we like to save them for special days so we can hit two birds with one stone. Since it was our four year anniversary, we finally got the chance to hit up JaBistro, a restaurant we have been yearning to visit. Before you scroll down, get nice and comfortable and enjoy the tour of our favorite Japanese restaurant to date.

Opened by James Hyunsoo Kim, who brought the popular Guu chain from Vancouver to Toronto, it offers traditional sushi and sashimi as well as aburi (blow-torched sushi) and oshizushi (box-press sushi) which are hard to come by in Toronto. It truly lives up to all the hype and James can add another notch into his belt of successful restaurants. Heading up the kitchen is Koji Tashiro (you can spot him in the kitchen wearing his signature golf-like hat) who has had 12 years of sushi experience in the famous Tsukiji Fish Market (where Jiro gets his fish!) and Vancouver's Miku restaurant. He also worked briefly at Guu Sakabar to gain insight and experience with the Toronto clientele.

JaBistro
Where: 222 Richmond Street W, Toronto, ON
Price: $$$$ (Our meal was $225, including tax and tip)

Aka Teppan

If you've ever visited Hong Kong, then you've been to Pepper Lunch, a popular establishment. They specialize in hot sizzling plates! Similar to Pepper Lunch is Markham's Aka Teppan which features the same sizzling plate type of meal.

Aka Teppan

Where: 3235 Highway 7 East (First Markham Place), Markham

Price: $$ (Dinner for 2 with appetizer: $31, tax and tip included)

Sake Bar Kushi

I bought a Groupon for Sake Bar Kushi, a newly opened izakaya that specializes in kushi (aka. grilled Japanese skewers!). Usually, I don't expect too much from Groupon restaurants but SBK really exceeded my expectations!!

Sake Bar Kushi
Where: 257 Eglinton Ave W (Eglinton Ave/Avenue Road)
Price: $$ (Meal for 5 people: )

Yuzu No Hana

Many of the restaurants we have been to were based on C picking them out or mutual interest. This time, I decided to surprise C with a restaurant hand-picked by myself. We both love Japanese cuisine - especially sushi. We have ventured to many All-You-Can-Eat (AYCE) sushi restaurants around GTA, but I thought it would be interesting if we focus more on the quality rather than quantity for a sushi restaurant. With promising reviews and ratings by other bloggers on Urbanspoon and Yelp, C and I ended up dining at Yuzu no hana; an upscale modern Japanese cuisine.

Yuzu No Hana
Where: 236 Adelaide St W,
Toronto, ON,
M5H 1W7
Price: $$$$ ($150 for 2 people, no wine, tip/tax included

Shiso Tree Cafe

Tucked away in J-Town, Shiso Tree Café is a hidden gem that is easy to miss. It specializes in Japanese-Italian cuisine and boy, does it do a good job! Heaps of steaming hot Italian pasta with Japanese-inspired sauces make this a notable place to eat.

SHISO TREE

3160 Steeles Avenue East

Markham, ON
(905) 479-9319

JYUBAN RAMEN HOUSE

Forgive me if we're wrong about this place...we saw many many good reviews so we came here with high hopes. But we were extremely disappointed.. Bring back Takebashi!!

JYUBAN
Where: 505 Highway 7 East
Thornhill, ON
L3T 7P9
905 882 1188

IPPAI

IPPAI

Found this place out when my friend recommended their ramen. Has been a solid place for noodles since :)!

via. Yelp

IPPAI

Where:  8865 Woodbine Ave, Unit D5

Markham, ON

L3R 5G1

905-470-1688

Price: $$

Inatei

INATEI

Stumbled across this restaurant when we were eating with J's family at Chili Secrets, an oriental restaurant next door!

Where:

9021 Leslie St  Richmond Hill, ON L4B 0B2 (905) 881-9500

Price: $$