Tokyo with Zg Day 4, Shinjuku, Tsunahachi, Tokyo Metropolitan Building Observatory

Day 4 was incredibly wet and rainy. The sky was dark and gloomy for the entire day and while we hoped that the rain would stop in the afternoon, it never did. We were stuck in Shinjuku the entire day (only because it was close to our hotel) but that turned out to be pretty interesting too!

We headed to Tsunahachi for tempura during lunch. It was pouring so we decided not to search for the main outlet in Shinjuku. Instead, we made our way to Keio Department Store for the Tsunahachi branch there. We sat at the counter so we could watch the chef at work.

The tempura was fresh, the batter was light and crisp, and I loved how the chef served the items one at a time when they were fried. He did not just toss everything into the oil and fish them out at once. Instead, he took the time to fry each individual tempura separately.

We explored all the major shopping centres in Shinjuku such as Lumine, MyLord, Keio, Takashimaya and other random shopping malls. When we were tired, we found ourselves window seats at Dean and Deluca in Lumine and watched the pedestrians hurry along

We walked everywhere around Shinjuku, got lost in the rain many times because our GPS screwed up, were horribly wet and cold, and got bored of opening and closing our mini umbrella. I decided that we should buy one of those plastic transparent umbrellas that everyone was holding and join in the crowd. So I went into Comme Ca and grabbed a transparent umbrella with a pink handle. Such a life saver!

When it was dinner time, we decided that we were going to do yakitori on this cold dreary night. We were still lost and were not sure where would be a good yakitori place nearby. I spotted some Japanese salary men heading down a flight of stairs with the sign below and decided we should just follow where the locals go. 

Yakitatsu-Zen was a small hole-in-the-wall yakitori place. There was a counter which could sit about 8 and maybe 4 other tables that could sit 4 each.

3-25-10 Shinjuku

We ordered the Chef's Special which came with 5 sticks of yakitori, a starter, a salad, and a soup. The amazing thing was that we did not know which were the 5 sticks of yakitori. We were completely at the Chef's mercy and the yakitori he decided to give us. We also ordered some hot sake because we were so very cold.

This was the first yakitori and it took us a long time to figure out that this was Hatsu, otherwise known as chicken heart. Oh my. I'm not a fan of innards of any sort but I have to admit that the chicken heart was pretty good. Chewy, well-grilled, with only a faint bloody taste. 

The rest of the yakitori were more suited for us. We had chicken meat, chicken rump, chicken cartilage, and chicken with leek. All were extremely well-grilled, juicy, and incredibly tasty. They were also very salty. I went back to the hotel and guzzled two bottles of water subsequently. 

Clear chicken soup. 

We thought we might need some carbs so we ordered an Ochazuke each. Ochazuke was basically rice in green tea with salmon and seaweed toppings. This was a nice hearty end to our meal and we were so satisfied!

Took a nice stroll in the rain to Kabukicho which was the red light district in Shinjuku. There was nothing much to see because of the rain and we were just desperately trying to seek shelter and stay dry. The temperature was dropping rapidly (a screen on a building stated that the temperature was 9 degrees) and we were not dressed for that temperature so we left in a hurry. 

We ducked into the JR Shinjuku Station and walked underground (read warm) to the Tokyo Metropolitan Building from the South Exit. The Tokyo Metropolitan Building had two observatories and they were free, although only one was opened at night. The view was nice but not exceptionally amazing. It was pretty good for a free observatory though. 

We trudged back to our hotel, practically holding each other in the short walk from the JR Shinjuku Station to the hotel because it was just so cold! Was super glad to be back in the warmth of our hotel.

Read about Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 5, Day 6 and Day 7.