Japan's Lawson's

Ok ok - last post about Japan.

It's actually pretty cool at Narita airport.  That includes a Lawson (another convenient store).

Fun fact: Lawson actually was originally from Ohio.  As they expand and expand they reached Japan.  But as they merge and merge in the States, they slowly blended into the other brands.  But the ones in Japan got incorporated on their own and became its own brand. 

Like 7-11 in Japan, they are just as competitive in their offering, bill pay, tax refund, ATMs...etc.  Oh yeah, bread, drinks, cold food, sandwiches.

Rice balls, prepared dishes, and the variety is huge. 

What Lawson is most famous for, however is their fried chicken.  You can find that right next to the cashier counter, and those were definitely better than any airplane meals.  How you get it on board it's on you!  

One kitsch thing to get at Lawson, it's their striped stocks.  It's very grandpa ish, but still hip!  They run specials in the stores, keep an eye out!

This time I got the fruit sando. 

Another fun fact, if you want a plastic bag, they do have an up-charge for that.  If it's not because I had my hands full, I would've just carried it, but alas...

Since I had time to kill, I went up to the observation deck to enjoy my sandwich. 

At the airport, they have their own lego store.  Which I always think it's odd.  How you're on a plane, though have hours to kill.  But if you are missing a piece while putting the thing together, it's not easy to get.  But it's a cute store nonetheless.

The other thing you will find in both airports in Tokyo.... it's Pikachus EVERYWHERE.

Not just merch, game, upgrades, and stuff.

They are all around the concourse, directional guide and signs even.  Good thing they're cute.

Alright, this is my last post about Japan.  We'll be back to Houston food next week!

Lawson's

https://www.lawson.jp/en/

 

Japan's 7-11

Japan is a very neat place, when you get out of the subway station:

You turn one way and see towering modern buildings.  That one over there looks like poop on top.  Actually, it's supposed to be beer foam, but it looks like golden poop to me. 

Turn to another way, you get traditional temple and shops.  But what is more important and fun, going to 7-11!

It has so much offerings.  Ready to go sandwiches.

Prepared side dishes

Prepared meal that all you have to do is to heat it up.

Rice balls that goes on for days....

Just the variety and there's so many different dishes and styles. 

And yes, they do have frozen meals too. 

But let's see what I got (note: I did not have all of these in 1 setting, this is all through out my visit):

This looks cute - no idea what it is.

It's an egg custard flan. 

Fresh juice.  Fun fact: they cannot show picture of real fruit if they do not have real juice.

I love baumkuchen - it's a German cake, but leave it to the Japanese to make it better. 

They called this chocolate crepe, but it's really chocolate crispy.

Chocolate covered banana chips - it's actually not as good as it looked. 

Another fun fact: whatever size they are on the package, it's also a real size of the food inside. 

This is the Salty Rice Crackers - this one, I would stock it all up next time I'm there.  They are just rice cracker, but the salt was not too salty and it's right.

Also found this gem.

It's a mont blanc, and I'm a sucker for anything chestnut.

It came in pudding-like form.  And it doesn't taste as good as I'd thought it'd be.

This is the ever so popular egg salad sandwich.

I know people dog it back home, but it's actually pretty good and it's a stable for our group.  It has protein, tasted good, and it a great on-the-go kinda food.  The first day I was there, I brought on on the way to Disney, and while we wait in line it was a good and easy breakfast.

Another thing that I buy on the repeat: diced apple.  Again, they cannot show a picture of a real fruit, if the content inside it's not from the real thing.

It's all clean and diced, very little oxidation.  And on the back of the bag for ingredients, and they even list the region where the apple is from.  I have never loved knowing where my food came from so much.

At their local 7-11, they can handle your bills, event tickets, shipping your luggage.  They have copier, ATM (fun-fact, a lot of times it's cheaper than other financial institutions fee).  Besides food, drinks, bill pay, they also have small amount of medicine, household goods, change of clothes.  BUT! My favorite of then all, they sell a cup of frozen fruit, you pay for it, then put it into the machine next to cashier and it will blend the smoothie for you.  All for less than $2USD.  They also have a similar machine for coffee drinks too.  See, we don't have those here. 

Japan's 7-11

https://www.sej.co.jp/in/en.html

 

Daimaru - Japanese living

Growing up I used to live across the street from Daimaru.

For all intents and purposes, it's a fully fledge department store.  They have brand names on one floor, clothing for women one, clothing for men, household goods.  But most importantly in the basement.... food.

You have fresh cut fish, and it's sushi grade.

There's fish and fish for several counters. 

There's meat and salad too.

There's prepared food, cooked and ready to eat.

Or even lazier, they have prepared bento boxes.  From looking at it, it's pretty big and definitely good for couple of meals for me. 

But hey, there's more!  There's dessert and they do a damn good job with all kinds too. 

Not to mention, they have fresh squeezed juice and smoothie.  So dinner is taken care of. 

Why is it significant enough to deserve a post? I think those of us who lived in Asia understand that this is an important part of daily life there.  Yes, you have supermarket, but we don't have say a store like Central Market where you have fruit/veggie/fresh fish/meat/dessert/ prepared foods and gazillion of sparkling water in one place.  Grocery store typically are small, which means it's limited in some ways; either it's limited in variety or limited in the number of offerings.  That is where department store basements are for.   For families with 2 working parents, it's hard to prepare meals and get your family in order in the short time you have at night.  That is no different than families here in the States.  Since their living space is small, meal prep for the entire week for multiple people in the family is not as easy as here.  To make up for that, you buy less but go to the store more frequent, and on occasion you can afford a bit more, you can buy better quality and still have a good meal at hone with your family.  It's very unique kind of setting.

Daimaru

inside Tokyo Station

https://www.daimaru.co.jp.e.md.hp.transer.com/tokyo/

 

Sushi 57

On my way to the airport, I decided to catch the early lunch.

It's only apt to have sushi.

So Sushi 57 is actually originally from Sapporo, another region in Japan.  The entire country has alot of facet dealing with fishing and related businesses, so it's no surprise that different region is trying to take a dip into this metropolitan, a chance for other regions in Japan to expand their reach.

First up: I had salmon & medium fatty tuna

Their version of tamago - which has a tint of sweetness to it.

Arabesque gre - the cut does look a bit like an arabesque design. It reminded me of a yellowtail kind of texture. A tad saltier than the others. 

Conger eel - which is supposed to be largest eel around.  They span 6.5ft long. 

Broiling Mackerel - much like mackerel that I know. 

Keiji Salmon - that cost extra because these are 2-3 yr old salmon found in Russian rivers.  They found their way back to Japanese water to spawn by around 4-5 years old.  I came upon it not even knowing.  It was just a YOLO thing for me, but apparently it's the ever elusive thing that sushi lovers were chasing after.  How serendipitous. 

Obviously the first difference I spotted is the color.  It's muted than the fresh orange that we're used to seeing on salmon nigiri. It's lighter in texture and flavor.  Is it better?  Hmm, I can't tell, to be honest.  But it is different and I was treating it as another kind of fish. 

I was quite lucky to have gone in early, because as the lunch crowd started, the seats fills up of people working nearby and travelers who also had the same idea.

Tip: if you have your luggage with you at Tokyo Station and you want to go shop and eat, go to the several luggage storage places and park them there for a few.  It's much easier than trying to hunt down a locker and also lockers that fits what you need.  For a couple hours, the fee was nominal.  Also, because they know you'll be back in a short time, they line you up close to the door for easy in and out.  I would say it did not cost me more than $20 for 3 suitcases and a carryon bag.  That way, it free you up instead of worrying about walking around with your bags.  Also, since the place can get crowded, it's keeps the flow of traffic easier for everyone around you. 

Sushi 57

Tokyo-to, Chiyoda-ku, Marunouchi 1-9-1

outside JR Tokyo Station Yaesu North Exit ticket gates, Gransta Yaekita Kurobei Yokocho B1F

https://www.ssf57.co.jp/shop/

 

Sushizanmai

While walking around Tsukiji, we kept seeing ads for Sushi Zanmai

Mainly, you've seen the owner/chef on alot of documentary about the fish market.  Because he's the one that breaks down the tuna and sell the pieces to you on the spot. 

Naturally, his restaurant is all over Tokyo. 

I like sitting at the sushi counter to see the action.  The chefs are so busy and their speed of making the dishes is crazy fast.  They're constantly bringing fresh rice from the back so they are ready to go as the order goes in. 

Starting with an iced green tea, because we're in Japan.

They give you a miso soup to start, and then here comes dinner: 

For 2980 yen, which is about $21 USD, you get 15 pieces of sushi.... all fresh.

Here's a few from the selection: Tuna roe, Tamago (egg), scallop, squid, Kani (crab), shrimp, Fatty Tuna 2 kinds, salmon, anago, and tuna sushi roll.

When I walked in, they were so swamp that the staff were running around.  And since I'm in a very touristy area, having English speaking staff was not difficult.  Even though they're busy, the service was still fast. 

Sushi Zanmai

Building B1F in front of the TOKYO Akasaka, Minato-ku 3-9 Akasaka Station

https://www.kiyomura.co.jp/