Noodle and matcha tour

On Kyusik and my 5th trip and the boys’ 4th trip to Japan, we tried to focus on having a bunch of ramen that we missed the last time. On the evening that we arrived, we walked from a hotel Kyusik had intentionally chosen near the Tokyo station to a ramen place known for making their noodles to order. We tried 3 different types, 3 with broth and 1 without and chose a large portion of noodles for each bowl, which we could barely finish. The next morning we were all up by 4:30 am so decided to go to the same sushi place at Toyosu Fish Market to get in line for 6 am sushi. Fortunately we got there a few minutes before it opened and barely waited. We were pleased to be seated in the same place as 2 years ago and had the same sushi chef. Afterwards we walked around Tsukiji Outer Market before heading back to the hotel to get our stuff before picking out bento boxes for the 2 hour Shinkansen or bullet train ride to Myoko, where we got picked up by the Lotte Arai resort bus for the 30 min ride to the hotel. 

This was the first time we stayed at the fancy ski in/ski out hotel, because it was pretty much the only option. We were very pleased to finally have a ski locker, as well as access to the onsite onsen and were pleasantly surprised by the Japanese breakfast buffet, complete with 2 types of rice, red and white miso soup, and many other items. Although it was about 20-30 degrees warmer than normal the first 2 days, which made for slushy conditions, it did snow on the 3rd and 4th days. The best was the last day when they opened up a lot more terrain, including the big bowl that you had to hike up to. Lunch on the mountain is also very affordable and delicious at about $12/meal for an ahi tuna egg rice bowl, ramen, or pork rice bowl with a side of pickles and miso. 

Upon returning to Tokyo, we stayed in the Shibuya area, which is centrally located for many of the places we wanted to go to eat and shop. We returned to our favorite bakery, department store so everyone could pick their own lunch, and did a lot of shopping so we could take home pickles, miso, tea, and other goodies. The evening that we retuned to Tokyo from Arai, we went to a tsukemen ramen place famous for its house made noodles that you dip into a thick shrimp based broth. When you are done with the noodles, you then dilute the thick broth using dashi (seaweed and fish flake broth) so you can drink the soup. After the Akomeya shopping trip that both boys complained about, we left them in the hotel in the afternoon to head to a matcha tea store, where we first had to sample the teas, which you eat with various mochi desserts called wagashi.

The last dinner we had was at a restaurant that rolls out the udon and then fries up fresh tempura to accompany your meal. I had cold noodles I dipped into broth, while Kyusik had a hot white curry udon soup, and the boys shared a hot udon soup with fried chicken on the side. On our last morning, Kyusik and I left the boys in the hotel to head to a breakfast place where we had abandoned the wait when it was too long the prior day. This time we got there 30 min before it opened at 9, missing the first seating and having to wait an hour for the pleasure of sitting in the 10 seat restauraht where they hand shave dried katsuo (fish) into bonito (fish flakes) that they use to top the rice. We opted to get the raw egg and umeboshi (pickled plum) on the side, along with an order of the the katsuo karaage (fried fish chunks). The meal is served with a few sides and miso soup on the side. You also get a mug into which you can pour as much hot tea as you’d like. We were glad to have tried it and bought some bonito to take home. They typically run out of bonito by lunch time. We are looking forward to going home, but I’m sure we will return again before long!