Gonpachi Nishi-Azabu | Akasaka, Tokyo, Japan

If you’ve seen the movie Kill Bill, then you’ll see similarities in this restaurant. Apparently, it was the inspiration and model for the “House of Blue Leaves” restaurant in the film. I have my friend Kimberlina to thank for this last minute recommendation. It somehow came up in conversation shortly before our trip to Japan and I quickly made a reservation on their website. Gonpachi Nishi-Azabu is very popular with tourists and it was quite obvious when we showed up for our reservation. We were in Tokyo during the Rugby Worldcup so the place was full of Australians in town to support their team. Usually, Markus and I try to avoid the more touristy restaurants and sites, but there was something about Gonpachi Nishi-Azabu that we couldn’t resist.

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much from the food and that the real draw would be the ambiance. I’m happy to say that I was very pleased with the meal. Markus and I both ordered two different courses one at 3,500 yen and 5,500 yen (about $35 and $55). We enjoyed an assortment of dishes ranging from yakitori, sashimi, tempura and soba noodles. It was a nice mix of food and I felt like a good value for the price. The more expensive set came with miso glazed cod and tempura shrimp and those were two of my favorite things we ate. I’m glad we decided to go, because I really enjoyed our meal and time at the restaurant.

Shimokitazawa | Tokyo, Japan

The first time Markus and I visited Tokyo in 2013, Shimokitazawa was a vintage heaven. I bought way too many clothes, accessories and jewelry. I was very excited to go back again and spurge on anything I saw. Unfortunately this time, I wasn’t so lucky. The area has always been popular with the youth and tourists, but it’s amazing in six years how much changed. It was a bit too touristy and the stores were similar to ones that you would find in Wicker Park in Chicago. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I wanted the hard to find vintage items that you don’t see in America. Markus did finding rare Ultraman cards and a pin in a vintage shop so that was really cool. Even though, I didn’t find anything, I still enjoyed our afternoon in Shimokitazawa!

Shining Moon Tokyo - Sailor Moon Restaurant | Tokyo, Japan

As a child of the 90s, I loved Sailor Moon. I remember rushing home to watch episodes after school. It was my favorite show in middle school. I always loved Lita or Sailor Jupiter. I didn’t really connect with any of the other girls. Ironically, I grew up to be like Rei or Sailor Mars. Everyone knew I loved this show and was completely obsessed. I wore my hair like Lita almost every day and had posters of the Sailor Scouts all over my walls. I even used up all the ink in our printer to print all the cool illustrations from Japan. Back in the day ink was hella expensive, so I definitely got in trouble for printing that stuff out. My eldest brother Chris bought me so many bootleg VHS tapes of the non-dubbed episodes and movies.

When I found out that a Sailor Moon dinner and a show was opening only a couple months before our trip to Japan. I knew we had to visit Shining Moon Tokyo. I read online that the food was something left to be desired, so we didn’t have high expectations for that. To be honest, this was one of the greatest experiences of my life. The show and production was incredibly and really well done. The language barrier is not a problem at all. It’s mostly dance and action so you can easily follow what’s going on. It’s an all female cast, which I loved very much. The actresses were all so kawaii (cute) and really get into character. I loved seeing Usagi (Sailor Moon) and Mamochan (Tuxedo Mask) in real life being so cutesy. I can’t even describe to you the pure elation I felt during the two and a half hours that we were there. If we are ever back in Tokyo, I would definitely go again, I loved it that much!

Izakaya Toyo | Osaka, Japan

If you’ve seen the Netflix show Street Food, then the man in the middle should look very familiar. In the Osaka episode, they focused on Izakaya Toyo and it’s unique owner and chef Toyo. Just from that one episode, I knew that we had to go no matter what. Our schedule for Osaka was pretty jam packed, but I somehow fit into our first day. We took a bus and a train from Kawaguchiko that was about a 3-4 hour journey. After we checked into our hotel it was around 3:00 pm. We hoped that since it was an off time, there wouldn’t be too many people. We were wrong, there was a line of about 15-20 people and we waited for 40 mins, but it was worth it.

The seafood was so fresh and delicious and Toyo is exactly how he was in his episode. He was loud and boisterous and so sweet. He brought out the torch multiple times and everyone clamored over to get video and photos. I didn’t bother because I could always see it up close and personal on Netflix. They were unfortunately out of uni the day we went, but everything else was really delicious and the perfect afternoon snack. After our meal, we walked away and I was a little sad that we didn’t get a pic of Toyo. We ended up going back because Markus forgot to get video footage. When we got back, he was standing in front and we were able to snap a quick selfie. He was so tiny and cute and said thank you to us for visiting. I’m so glad we were able to fit a visit into our schedule and it was definitely a highlight of our time in Osaka.

Around Town | Fujiyoshida, Japan

One sunny and hot morning, Markus and I put on one of our multiple matching outfits and set out to try and get a holiday photo. There’s a really famous street in Fujiyoshida that has a great view of Mt. Fuji and we tried to take a photo there. Unfortunately, the photo didn’t work out. There were way too many cars, people and the lighting wasn’t right. It’s okay though, because as you know, we got the perfect photo in Osaka.

Even though the photo was a bust, Markus and I had a great time in the small town. It was like being in one of those Godzilla movies from the 1960s. They had speakers all over and sirens and announcements kept going off. I’m sure they weren’t emergencies but it still felt surreal. We ended up finding a cute little cafe that was open since 1935. They had all the french sweets that I like. We ended up taking a little break and ate a matcha cake roll and my favorite, a Mont Blanc. I love anything with chestnuts and the first time I had a Mont Blanc in Paris, I died. Any time I see it on a menu, I have to get it. I’m happy to say that this cafe delivered and it was the perfect spot for a break.