It’s only been a few months since I’ve been in Tokyo last, but this time it’s only a short 24 hours. It’s definitely enough time for me to roam a bit around the city, eat, then roam around some more, eat… you get the drift.

Let’s talk about some of the roaming first.

The city has been going through quite a bit of urban renewal with the opening of mix-use complexes such as Roppongi Hills and most recently Tokyo Midtown and the Shiodome area, which I reported on not too long ago. Then in areas such as Ginza, which at one point was most well-known for its expensive real estate, many buildings have been remodeled along the main streets; one of these is the Giorgio Armani tower, which just opened on November 6th. The 12-floor building houses many of Armani’s brands such as Giorgio Armani, Emporio Armani and Armani Casa presented with Armani’s minimalistic look. There’s even an Armani Spa, a first for Armani.

But, I’m really here for the food. So let’s move on.

This time I went to a great all-you-can-eat shabu shabu dinner in Shinjuku for less than $25 per person. An $18 all-you-can-eat menu is also available. The only catch is that you will have to finish your dinner within 90-120 minutes, depending on your selection, and drinks are not included. Wished I had taken photos, but I was too busy trying to eat… so these were taken from the shop’s website.

The next morning I went to the famous Tsukiji Fish Market for some fresh sushi. The place that I went to was a conveyor-belt place with truly yummy sushi. My favorite was the anago (saltwater eel) and then the toro (fatty tuna). The sushi was priced by the plate, from 99 Yen (US$0.88) to 695 Yen (US$6.23). It was worth every penny. The best part was when we asked for the bill. The waitress took out this RFID scanner device and just scanned the plates and voila – our bill was ready! None of the manual counting was needed. This was definitely a great application of RFID technology.

After eating, I roamed around some more, and found Krispy Kreme! Apparently people in Japan are lining up more than an hour to get a taste of America. I remember when Krispy Kreme first opened here in California, when we had to wait quite a while just to get a donut. Go figure.

Until next time, Tokyo.

There seems to be this conception that Tokyo is quite an expensive city, but I don’t always agree. There are quite a few bargains to be found here in the city, and the resources are out there for you to find them. Of course, having some Japanese language ability will definitely make that easier.

Ramen at Ichiran: 780 Yen (US$6.50).

This was a recommendation from a friend of mine. Ichiran is actually a chain ramen shop that serves only one thing: ramen. Walk into the store and you will find a machine from which you buy tickets for what you want to eat. Don’t speak Japanese? Not a problem. There are always pictures there to help you out. Once inside the restaurant, look for empty seats indicated by a lighted number and sit down at the corresponding booth number. Your wait staff will then provide you with an ordering form (available in English) so that they may make your ramen to order. Select from the type of soup stock to the firmness of the noodles, then give your wait staff the tickets — and wait for your soup. It’s that easy.

All-you-can-eat Dessert at Dessert Kingdom: 1300 Yen (US$11).

While walking through the train station, my friends and I picked up a coupon book called “Hot Pepper” and found an endless amount of coupons for restaurants around the Shibuya area (editions also available for other areas of Tokyo). The one that caught our eye was “Dessert Ohkoku” (Dessert Kingdom) in Shibuya, which offers an all-you-can-eat menu for just 1300 Yen, and with the Hot Pepper coupon drinks are free (expires 7/31). Note that you only have 90 minutes from the time you enter the store to take advantage of the wide selections of desserts, pastas and sandwiches. Don’t forget to bring an empty stomach! This place will be crowded on weekends, so do plan ahead.

Dinner at Tsuki no Shizuku: 4000 Yen per person (US$33.33).

This is another Japanese food chain that offers a series of tofu-based dishes and more. What’s great about this place is that it’s actually not extremely expensive (drinks included). English menus are readily available for those who don’t speak Japanese, or you can simply order your food and drinks directly off of the touch-panel menu — complete with pictures and prices — in the comfort of your private room. We had quite a few dishes, ranging from homemade tofu, fatty pork, Japanese-style fried eggs to horse sashimi and fresh fish carpaccio. At the end of the meal, all of us were quite stuffed. Remember that you never have to order everything at once, so pace yourself so that you may try more things on the menu.

It’s two o’clock in the morning on Wednesday here in Tokyo. For some reason I am not tired as I really should be from the ten-hour trip. In a matter of hours, I will be reporting great finds at both the International Stationery & Office Products Fair and the Design Accents Expo. It will be quite exciting to see some Asian innovation here in Tokyo after being in Milan and New York. I also plan to showcase designs around the city of Tokyo, so please stay tuned.

In the meantime, I had the pleasure of going to Roppongi Hills to have dinner at a restaurant called Katsukura that specializes in Japanese pork cutlets (katsu). Let’s just say that I ate a lot, but didn’t take advantage of the free refills on rice, miso soup and cabbage salad. The photo below also shows you how much we actually ate, from chicken, wagyu (Japanese beef) and filet katsus to croquettes and fried corn… it was quite amazing. My friend even had a coupon for free drinks for everyone, so the beer was on the house. Total bill for three people: 5,800 Yen (approximately US$48), including all taxes and service charges.

Then it was to enjoy the surroundings of the Roppongi Hills complex before heading back to the hotel, with some shopping in between. Very full (literally and figuratively) evening. More to come later, so please bookmark the site!