It has been a month since my last post. I went to Tokyo for the Cherry Blossom festival and then to Bangkok for the Songkran festival. I am starting to post my gourmet exploration during the trip by back tracking from the beginning of April.

I arrived in Tokyo quite late at night and the first thing I wanted to eat after the long rocky journey was of course sushi, one of the main reasons I came to Japan, and one of the main reasons I chose to stay at a hotel near the Tsukiji market, the famous fish market in Tokyo, for the first 2 nights. It’s 11 pm. my chance to find a sushi restaurant that still opened at this late hour was very slim. However, there is a sushi restaurant chain that is open 24 hours called “Sushi Zanmai”. They have many locations near the Tsukiji market, probably 6-7 restaurants. I knew one closet to the hotel and I went for that.

Here we go: The first proper meal in Tokyo.

WHERE: Sushi Zanmai

If you walk on Shin-Ohashi Dori from Shitomicho Station to Tsukiji Station you will walk by one on Shin-Ohashi Dori (on the same side of the street as the market and temple). If you walk to the Tsukiji outer market then you get a few more. I ate at the one on Shin-Ohashi Dori. This is the phone number 03-3524-9833.

This is a sushi place that wouldn’t mind if you mix wasabi in to soy sauce (shoyu). Keep following if you do not know the “proper” sushi-etiquette. I will write about that next.

This chain has over 30 locations in Japan. If you read Japanese, you can find the location on their website. www.kiyomura.co.jp

WHEN: Opened 24 hours/day 365 days/year

WHAT: Seasonal fish nigiri sushi is recommended (Omakase, or the chef choice)

Tuna tempura.

The chef choice of the day. It’s approximately about ¥3,000 or around $35-40, consisted of fatty tuna(o-toro), red snapper (tai or madai), tuna (maguro), squid (ika), bloddy clam (akaki), raw shrimp (amebi), horse mackerel (aji), salmon roes(iKura), sea urchin (uni), snow crab (kani), young shoot Japanese scallion (menegi), sweet omelette (tamago) and sea eel (anago).

This is another Tuna set approximately ¥1200 or $15 consisted of chopped tuna belly with scallion (negi-toro gunkan-maki), tuna (maguro), tuna belly (chu-toro), fatty tuna (o-toro) and tuna steak (aburi toro)

The first set already included this amazing “Anago” or Sea Eel sushi.

I took this picture the next morning before we went to the fish market. The model is my sister.