Japan Day 1: We came for the ramen


View from our hotel room

Day 1. Our first full day in Japan. We woke up to find we had quite a lovely view of Hamarikyu Gardens from our hotel room.

Since we weren’t able to get our JR Passes the previous evening when we arrived in Japan, off we went to Shinagawa station, where there was a JR Exchange Office.

And back we went to our hotel room, because someone (we won’t name names, but it starts with “S” and ends with “on”) neglected to bring their passport, and we couldn’t exchange our JR passes without it. (They wouldn’t even take a photocopy! Boo.)

But we weren’t totally empty-handed – since the first time we were in Japan we stayed across the street from Shinagawa station, we became quite well acquainted with the curry pan from a bakery in the station. Obviously, we couldn’t walk by and not get one.


Curry pan

Do you have any idea how impossible it is to resist buying a cream puff when you can smell them, freshly baked, the scent wafting through the train station? It’s like going by Krispy Kreme when that “Freshly Baked” sign is blinking, or In N’ Out when you can smell french fries cooking from across the street. Or smelling bacon, anytime, ever. Instant cravings.


Beard Papa's Display

Yeah, so there’s a Beard Papa’s shop in Shimbashi station, right near the entrance to the JR station. And Son has a coworker who’s OBSESSED with Beard Papa’s (hi, Victor!), so of course we had to stop by and see how the ones in Japan compared to the ones in the US.

All in the name of research and being a good friend. Yup. That’s our excuse, and we’re sticking with it.


Beard Papa's Ice Cream Puffs

No comparison. None. At all. Even just the plain custard-filled cream puff blew our minds. (Which unfortunately is, I’m pretty sure, the only one we had there that you can actually get in the US. Come on, US Beard Papa’s! What’s your deal?!) Best. Cream puffs. Ever.


Beard Papa's classic cream puff

So, after a quick jaunt up to our hotel room to retrieve aforementioned someone’s passport, off we went to Tokyo Station to exchange our JR Passes. (Tokyo Station is in the opposite direction of Shinagawa Station, a little bit closer to Shimbashi Station so cost us less, and also has a JR Exchange Office.)


Tsukemen

After attaining our JR Passes, we decided to walk around Tokyo a bit. (When I say Tokyo, I mean the area around Tokyo station.) By then our stomachs were starting to grumble (a curry bun and a cream puff, shared between the two of us, does not make for much of a breakfast.)


Tsukemen noodles

Mind you, neither of us read or speak Japanese, and we’re only somewhat familiar with certain parts of Tokyo. So when it comes to finding a good place to eat… we’re pretty much useless. After a bit of wandering, we ended up at a ramen place with a line out the door for lunch – always a good sign.


Tsukemen soup

I got the tsukemen, which is similar to ramen, but the noodles are served on the side and the broth is thicker than normal ramen.


Gyoza

Son had the miso ramen, and we shared an order of gyoza.


Tsukemen noodles

The tsukemen was ridiculously good. The weirdness of squishing into a table across from a couple of businessmen was worth it for that tsukemen.


Eating the tsukemen

Son’s ramen and the gyoza weren’t bad either, but we were both in agreement that my tsukemen was the winner of that meal. (The meal came out to 997 yen – about $12 – such a deal!)


Miso ramen

After lunch, we walked around a bit, then headed back to Shimbashi station.

We couldn’t help but stop by Beard Papa’s again – more research, of course.


Tully's

We also stopped by the Tully’s inbetween Shimbashi and Shiodome stations (on the way to our hotel).


Allison in Tully's

Hoping for a taste of home, and unable to resist buying boba milk tea (me, an addict? Nah…), we stopped there for a second, and then sat down in the courtyard outside.


Boba milk tea from Tully's

We were so, so sorely disappointed.


Beard Papa's cruller

In the boba, I mean. The cruller-type pastry we bought from Beard Papa’s (filled with the same sort of pastry cream as the regular cream puffs) was fantastic! Quite possibly even better than the original cream puffs.


Boba

But that boba… ugh. Such a waste of 150 yen.


Huge crowd near Tully's

After a quick nap – jet lag had us utterly exhausted by that time – we took the train over to Harajuku.


Harajuku

We walked around Harajuku for a bit, then through Yoyogi park – one of our very favorite parks in Tokyo. This time it was too late to see the Rockabilly dancers or visit food stalls, but it was still nice, a moment of calm in the middle of a busy city.

We searched for the Sword Museum on the other side, but it ended up being closed by the time we got there.


Sword Museum sign

So instead, since we were in the area, we took a train to Shindaita station and walked to Bassanova – the ramen shop where Keizo of Go Ramen works.


Boom and Keizo making ramen at Bassanova

We got to meet Boom, another Japanese-American who began working at Bassanova after Keizo mentioned on his blog that they were looking for more employees.


Boom and Keizo making ramen at Bassanova

Son got the Tom Yum Ramen, a spicy Thai-style ramen. It was fantastic. Seriously, we haven’t had anything here that wasn’t amazingly good.


Son's Tom Yum Ramen

But that wasn’t what I was here for.

I came to Bassanova looking to get my Green Curry Ramen Soba fix!


Allison's Green Curry Soba

Ooooh, baby. That’s some freaking fantastic soba.

I’m still working on convincing Keizo to open a branch of Bassanova in LA, so I don’t have to travel all the way to Tokyo to get my fix!

I swear, it’s like a drug.

And 1800 yen (about $23) for 2 bowls of ramen makes it a very affordable drug.


Tom Yum Ramen

After hanging out at Bassanova with Keizo for a bit, we took the train to Shibuya to walk off all that ramen.


Walking around Shibuya

Then back to the hotel to pass out. Day 1 was a ramen-filled success!

3 thoughts on “Japan Day 1: We came for the ramen”

  1. Sam -

    I had no idea that Beard Papa’s was a Japanese company. I always thought their branding was rather weird (in a good way). Now I understand!

    If you haven’t eaten at Daiwa Sushi in the fish market yet…make sure you do! It’s one of my best memories of Japan.

  2. Allison -

    Hehe yeah, I totally understand. “Oh, that’s Japanese? Never mind, I get it now.” 😉

    Aw, man! Next time for sure. We didn’t have much sushi this trip, unfortunately, and (as you’ll see in a future post) didn’t end up making it out to Tsukiji at all this time.

  3. Phil -

    I was just wondering, if it’s possible, could you come up with a recipe for the green curry soba? It looks very yummy, and I’d like to make it, seeing as I probably won’t get to taste it directly from Bassanova!

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