Future Food Adventures: Japan!

I am excited to announce that my next holidays will be taking place in Japan! In a month! If you’ve been paying attention you’ll know that, for me, formula number one for a successful vacation is a set of terrific food experiences. Here’s what/where I hope to be eating:

Sukiyabashi Jiro: Jiro dreams of sushi at his original Ginza location or his son’s branch in Roppongi Hills. The meal can take as little as 15 minutes, costs 30,000 yen ($300) and is adjacent to a metro station. But the sushi is supposed to be incredible. So good, in fact, that it is the subject of an entire documentary.

Planetarium Cafe: Could anything be better than drinking under the stars in a climate-controlled environment? How about drinking surrounded by exotic fish? Or in a vampire cafe? So many options.

Square Watermelons: What a cute, clever idea, Japan! However, now that it’s been confirmed that they are $80+, I’m not sure I’ll be buying one any time soon. But I definitely at least want a photo of me stacking them, Lego-style.

Owl Cafe: Just like the cat cafe only…with owls. Some cafes even have owl-themed snacks! But, um, the restrictions for holding the animals are a little different:

Wriggling Squid: An experience I declined in Korea but I think I might try it now. The squid is still wriggling as you eat it…

Fugu: I’ve never started dinner with a warning before, but if they slice the pufferfish the wrong way, you can die. Challenge accepted!

Japanese Beauty Drinks: Hyaluronic acid and collagen are important ingredients in anti-aging beauty creams, and in Japan you can get them in drink form for a not-that-bad price. Perfect skin will be mine!

Cafe Anniversaire: Seems like one of those trendy, traditional cafes with good coffee and drinks: like Cafe de Flore in Paris, or the fancy Bosco Cafe at GUM in Moscow. Perfect people watching.

Streetside Ramen Houses: After reading a lot of Murakami, nothing sounds better than going to one of Kyoto’s many ramen shops to eat noodles, listen to jazz, or just reenact this futuristic scene:

Bento Box: Damn, all I want in life now is a Totoro bento box! Is there a restaurant I can go to for this? If not, I may have to find myself a Japanese mum. Apparently, in Japan, your child’s lunch will ideally consist of five+ colours. If it doesn’t, other children will ridicule their ugly lunch and comment that their mother clearly doesn’t love them. Please note that the lunch below has not five, not six, but TEN different colours!

Japanese Coffee: Specifically, Kyoto slow drip coffee. I’ve heard Blue Bottle Coffee in the States uses this method, and there may be others in North America too. But I can’t wait to get my hands on the real deal. And look how beautiful those glass kettles are, too.

Anything else I should eat in Japan? How delicious (or not) is fugu? Which coffee shop should I head to first??

Photos: Eater Magazine.ro, Kotoku Japan, Домашняя Еда, Kotaku Japan, Pogogi, Cosmos Magazine, The Beauty Junkee, TimeOut Japan,KineCritical, HongKiat, NYTimes Diner’s Journal

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