Tokyo, Japan: Yoshinoya, Ginza, Tokyo Imperial Palace, and CoCo Curry


Brian, Francis, and Dave in Yoshinoya

On our fourth day in Japan, we started the day by walking to the other side of Shinagawa station to try Yoshinoya for breakfast.


Ginger container in Yoshinoya

The beef bowl itself was exactly the same as what you’d get at any Yoshinoya here in the USA.


Beef at Yoshinoya

But the service… very different. Very Japanese. 😀


Son's meal (rice, beef, pickles, fish, miso soup) in Yoshinoya

Then we went on our way, back through Shinagawa station to catch the train to our first destination of the day…


Shinagawa station against the flow of morning rush

… and nearly got trampled in the process. Holy cow. The morning rush hour stampede is ridiculous… and almost dangerous!


Ginza station? Stained glass


Son and I outside the small market

The guys decided they wanted to go to Ginza… because they wanted to visit an Apple store. *sigh* A waste of time, if you ask me… it wasn’t much different than any Apple store you’d find here.


Apple Store in Ginza


Horse procession

So those of us who weren’t shopping decided to leave, and see what there was to see in the area. We were supposed to go to the Tokyo Imperial Palace later that day, so we found a nearby park to hang out at for a little while.


Foreign dignitary

On the way there, suddenly traffic was stopped, there were cops all over the place… and a fancy horse-drawn procession came down the boulevard. It seemed to be some sort of foreign dignitary, perhaps?


Procession leaving


Procession leaving


Government building?


Crosswalk


Dave outside the park


Me outside the park

We found the park, which had a beautiful (manmade?) cliff overlooking a little lake, complete with cranes, turtles, and several cats who appeared to live there (not strays, though… they appeared to be well-fed, happy, taken-care-of cats, that belonged to the park.)


Lake in the park


Crane eating a fish


Stone path marker?


Flowers

We had a couple of meat buns for lunch in the park, then, thanks to some misunderstandings and confusion, ended up sprinting the mile or so to the Tokyo Imperial Palace.


Moat view from Tokyo Imperial Palace


City view from Tokyo Imperial Palace


Corner building at Tokyo Imperial Palace


Closer view of corner building at Tokyo Imperial Palace


Leaving Tokyo Imperial Palace

Which was… meh… a waste of time, especially if you’re like me and really not much of a history buff. Not much to see there, and it was a very short tour.


Crossing the street to our hotel

After the tour, we headed back to our hotel… where I crashed. Meanwhile, the guys went out to get some dinner at CoCo Curry… and my wonderful boyfriend brought back a plate for me.


CoCo Curry!

Wait… CoCo Curry… does that sound familiar?

It should. 😀

And yes, it was just as good (better, even?) than the first time we had it. Why is there not one of these in Los Angeles? I could eat it every day! 😉


CoCo Curry!

Don’t forget, just a few more posts to enter the contest to win a package of nori and a sushi rolling mat from Japan! Just leave a comment on any of my posts about my Japan trip (I’ll count one comment per person per post), and I’ll pick two winners at the end.

15 thoughts on “Tokyo, Japan: Yoshinoya, Ginza, Tokyo Imperial Palace, and CoCo Curry”

  1. Arina -

    oh nice! I love all those food pictures you made! 🙂
    have you eaten a bento lunch there yet? sure curious how it looks and all 🙂

    grtz

    love your site btw!

  2. Monica -

    Thanks for sharing your trip to Japan (for those like me who haven’t been there – yet). 🙂 Curry…. yum!!!

  3. Karen Swim -

    The architecture and landscaping are gorgeous! Japan truly sounds like a rich sensual experience, a feast for the eyes as well as what sounds like the delicious foods. The amount of people is astounding, and seeing your pictures brings home the reality of the population numbers. Sheesh, I thought LA was a mass of people but I don’t think I would enjoy a rush hour commute in Japan, lol!

  4. Sheila S -

    What did you mean by the service at Yoshinoya was very Japanese? Sorry, I’m a bumbling Northern (MN) American and do not have exposure to this.

  5. Japan Australia -

    Great pictures and story as usual. I remember Yoshinoya as one of the late night snacks of choice with ramen from my time in Japan. I also loved CoCo ichiban Curry House for thier cheap but tasty curries. Thanks for the memories.

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