Day 8 (20 Oct 2018) : Ghibli Museum, Nakano Broadway & Tokyo Character Street
Today, I have planned a whole day of Anime, Manga and J-Pop for DS and DD. This was their day.
Breakfast @ Tsukiji Sushisei, Tokyo Station
We had booked our rooms at the Hotel Metropolitan Marunouchi without breakfast as there are many cheap and good breakfast options at Tokyo Station.
This morning, we planned to eat at Tsukiji Sushisei (aka Tsukiji Sushisay). There are 2 Tsukiji Sushisei outlets at Tokyo Station – one inside the toll gates and one outside. The one outside only opens at 11am. We went to the one inside the toll gates at B1 of Gransta as it opens as early as 7am and serves breakfast. We needed to take a train to Mitaka to visit Ghibli Museum that morning so it worked for us. You need train ticket to get into this area.
This is a small restaurant will limited seating places. There are about 3 tables and some counter seats. At breakfast they serve 4 choices only each ranging from ¥700-¥900.
DS and I had the Ochazuke with seabream sashimi in sesame dressing (¥700) while DH and DD had the Kaisendon (¥850). Ochazuke is a bowl of rice with toppings such as seafood or pickles that is then drenched with tea or a mix of dashi and tea. DS and I loved our Ochazuke. The sesame dressing gave this dish an extra flavour. It was delicious! DH said that the fish on his kaisendon was really fresh too and both he and DD were also very satisfied with their choice of breakfast.
Gransta @ Tokyo Station
After breakfast, as we still had some time, we browsed the shops at Gransta. There were so many interesting and appetizing bentos for those who wanted to grab and go. There was so many variety for the commuter to choose from!
Ghibli Museum
Our train ride from Tokyo Station to Mitaka cost ¥390 and took half an hour. From Mitaka station, we could take a bus or taxi to Ghibli Museum. As there were 4 of us, we decided to take a taxi. It cost ¥570 and took less than 10 mins. Bus would have cost ¥210 for one way or ¥320 for return trip per adult and child at half that price. So for 4 of us, taxi was more worth it and faster. Our return taxi fare cost a little more at ¥730.
When we arrived at the museum, there was already a queue at the entrance. The tickets have a fixed entry time and you need to enter within half an hour of your entry time. There were a few timing options, 10am, 12pm, 2pm or 4pm. We picked the 10am option. We were greeted by the iconic Totoro at the entrance of the museum.
Ghibli tickets are inexpensive at ¥1000 per adult, but it is very difficult to get as it sells out once they are released. For the various ways to get Ghibli tickets, you can refer to their website. We checked out JTB in Singapore and they could sell us the tickets if we book at leave one night accommodation in Tokyo with them or buy the Ghibli Museum tour which included visit to some other places. However, the price JTB quoted for the hotels we wanted was much higher than what I could get. We were also not interested in their tour as it would have been a waste of time visiting places we were not interested in. In the end, I decided to pay a Tokyo travel agent ¥3500 for each ticket. The extra ¥2500 per ticket was the service fee they charged. Yes it was a lot more expensive than if I were to try to camp myself in front of my computer when ticket sale opens every month to try to buy the tickets myself. But I can’t even be sure of getting those tickets I want even if I camp in front of my computer and this was a must visit place high on the priority of DS and DD. Paying someone else to do it was much simpler. The travel agent couriered the tickets to our hotel and they were there waiting for us when we checked in.
Each person was entitled to watch a short animation film in the museum. The films run at 15mins, 35mins and 55mins pass the hour, every hour from opening. Many visitors tend to go for the film when they enter the museum as the theatre is on the ground floor, so the queue for the short film was long when we first entered the museum and the guy managing the entry said that some people had to sit on the steps rather than on the proper seats. So we decided to explore the exhibits first and went back for the 10.55am screening. It worked out just right and we were able to settle down comfortably. This animation film was great! Very enjoyable. So don’t miss it if you visit the museum.
The museum itself was not big. The different rooms show you how traditional animation was made. The concept drawings of the animations made by the Studio were also on display. It was very interesting. So much works goes into producing an animation. Kudos to all the animators!
There was a huge sculpture at the roof of the museum. Not sure what it represented though. But since everyone was taking a photo of it, so I took one too!
The gift shop of the museum was very crowded when we went there at the end of our visit. I suppose it is the last stop for everyone. But do not miss it! It had lots of cute stuff from the Studio Ghibli animations and was a heaven for fans of the Ghibli animations. We spend quite a lot here. We also wanted to check out the onsite cafe. But as it was full, we gave it a miss.
Nakano Sunmall & Lunch @ Aoba
We took the train from Mitaka to Nakano which was one stop before Shinjuku. At Nakano Station we exited from the North exit and right in front of us was Nakano Sunmall. Nakano Broadway was at the end of this shopping street.
But we did not go straight to Nakano Broadway. Instead we went in search of Aoba a well known ramen shop which was just of a side street from Nakano Sunmall. Walking down Nakano Sunmall towards Nakano Broadway, we came to until a MacDonald’s, and from there, turned right into a side street. Walking down this side street and we came to Aoba.
Aoba was a small ramen restaurant with only counter seats. It was the kind of place where you eat and go and don’t linger. We placed our order and paid at a machine. The machine was all in Japanese, but it was not difficult to figure out.
We gave our coupon to the lady behind the counter and took our seats. They were very efficient and the noodles came quickly. The standard was without egg. We all went for the special that came with half a soft yolk egg. DH, DD and I had the Special Ramen. DD and I had the regular size (¥900) while DH had the large (¥1000). DS had the large size Special Tsukemen (¥1050).
The ramen was excellent. The noodles were not like the regular we normally have but were tricker and chewy. The slices of pork were so tender and the broth was oh so tasty! DS loved his tsukemen. Now that we are home, he still keeps raving about it. Tsukemen is a ramen whereby the broth is served separately from the noodles and you dip your noodles into the broth before you eat. DS said the the broth was very very good! Tsukemen broth are generally thicker than ramen broth. It was a very satisfying meal for all of us.
Nakano Broadway
After lunch we headed down Nakano Sunmall and got to Nakano Broadway. Nakano Broadway was an old shopping complex famous for its many stores selling anime and manga collectibles. You will find several Mandarake stores here, each specializing in different stuff.. This was a shopping haven for DS and DD. They said that the manga and anime items here were very extensive and cheaper than in Singapore. They spent their pocket money here. We find in much easier to shop here than at Akihabara as everything was in one complex.
A surprise find here was collectors and branded watch shops. There were several shops here selling branded watches and all much cheaper than the regular retail price in Tokyo and definitely cheaper than in Singapore. These shops carry both used and new watches and these were clearly labeled. One well known shop here was Kamekichi. They have been established at Nakano Broadway for a long time and are well known for their good price. So while the kids checked out the anime and manga shops, DH and I checked out the watch shops! And yes, I bought a watch. It was something I had wanted for a while. I got it for 22% cheaper than the list price in Singapore! So happy! ☺️. In Singapore the max discount given is around 12% or maybe up to 15% if you know the retailer really well as the prices are controlled. So it was really a steal! But it sure burnt a big big whole in my pocket . The good thing about buying here was that that it was a tax free shop for foreigners, so you don’t have to pay then claim back the tax later like in Europe. When I showed my purchase to my friends back in Singapore, they were envious of the price I paid.
After getting my watch, I was dead broke so all shopping stopped (for the day) for me and DH and I went to the cafe on the ground floor to have a coffee and cakes while waiting for the kids.
Before we left Nakano Broadway, the kids went to the basement to get the famous 8 flavours soft serve ice cream for ¥550. You can’t come to Nakano Broadway and not try this. It was huge! The 8 flavours included coffee, chocolate, vanilla, grape, matcha, strawberry, bubble gum and banana.
For the less adventurous, you can always go for a smaller single flavoured optiono.
Tokyo Character Street
After Nakano Broadway, we went back to Tokyo Station, originally intending to rest in our hotel before heading out to dinner. Instead, we ended up at the Tokyo Character Street at Tokyo Station. You can find a Jump shop, Studio Ghibli shop, Pokémon Store, Hello Kitty Shop, NHK character shop, Rilakkuma shop among others.
In the end we didn’t go back to our hotel and headed out to Ginza for our dinner after shopping. Only DH went back to deposit some of our loot for the day.
Snacks from Tokyo Station
We bought more snacks from Tokyo station. DS’s friends from the army requested that he brings back some Tokyo Banana. It is sponge cake filled with banana cream and made into the shape of a banana. You can find it in most souvenir snack shops. But there is a Tokyo Banana Specialty Shop at Tokyo Station that had more options in terms of flavours and also packaging sizes. We bought ours here. Personally I am not a fan of Tokyo Banana as I find it a little too sweet, and also because I just don’t like banana flavoured stuff.
Another snack that we bought was the Yoku Moku cookies. Yoku Moku is famous for its cigarette cookies. They are expensive in Japan, but in Singapore they are even more expensive. So I will buy some whenever I am in Japan.
Yoku Moku’s store at Tokyo Station has another exclusive item – honey comb cookies. These cookies are exclusive to the Tokyo Station Store only. I decided to get one box to try. Didn’t get more as I was concerned that it may be too sweet for our liking. But no, it was not too sweet. Just nice. It has the taste of raw honey, but without the extra sweetness that you normally get from honey flavoured stuff. This is a hard type of cookie, different from its cigarette cookies. It is quite nice too. Something different for a change.
Teppanyaki @ Colza, Ginza
We like the teppanyaki at Colza so much that it has become a must eat every time we are in Tokyo. This, however, is the first time the kids are eating here. As usual, we went for the complete course with Japanese Wagyu, except that DD skip the abalone while DS skip the foie gras. All of us went for the 100g wagyu except DS who went for a larger 150g wagyu.
First came the 2 seasonal appetizer. (1) Marinated sea bream with grain mustard sauce and port wine flavored vinaigrette (2) Ajillo of mushroom. There were 3 types of mushroom, Porcini, shiitake and button.
Next up we had our clams, abalone and foie gras. It was fun watching the chef cook our meal in front of us. He was so skilled in the cutting and slicing and was forever keeping his work space extremely clean.
Then came a salads followed by our wagyu. We had the choice to have our wagyu done teppanyaki or grill. DH, DD and I went for teppanyaki while DS asked for half and half. DS said both were good, not distinctly different.
For our staple, we had a choice of garlic fried rice or rice ball. Rice ball comes in a clear soup. I had always had the rice ball on my previous visits here so this time I chose the garlic fried rice, and so did DD and DH. DS went for the rice ball.
Dessert was teppanyaki ice cream. Dessert is always such a show here. Liquor is poured on the ice cream which are on the hot plate. Then they switch off the lights and light a match over the ice cream. Boom! You have it!
This ended another satisfying and delicious meal at Colza. This meal definitely did not come cheap. Our total bill came up to ¥74,628 for the 4 of us. DS who normally does not take peppers actually ate his in his salad this time because he said the meal was so expensive he cannot leave a morsel behind !
Next up: Day 9 – Pokémon Cafe & Eating around Tokyo Station.
Great write up.. Keep writing