On the night of my third day in Japan, I set out on an incredible food and drink tour of Shibuya in Tokyo. I did my tour with Magical Trip, a tour service that is available in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and Hiroshima. They take small groups of tourists on a wide variety of food and cultural tours. Best of all, the tours are led by local guides, so participants get the inside scoop on places known only by locals. I couldn’t wait to get started!
My street food tour of Shibuya began on another freezing night at Shibuya Crossing. It’s the busiest intersection in the world! I met up with my tour guide, Remi, and my fellow tour-goers, and we set off on our izakaya (a Japanese bar and restaurant) tour of Shibuya!
At our first place, we started with a wet towel to clean our hands (and in my case, my face) before our meal. Then, we ordered some shochu, a Japanese spirit that’s a lot like vodka. It’s about 25% alcohol and reminded me of rakia. It’s pretty strong!
My first dish was tuna sashimi with shoyu (soy sauce) and wasabi. It was so fresh and fatty. One of the best things about dining in Japan is all of the fresh seafood! Next up was the fried oyster, which was crunchy and buttery and fantastic with the mayo it was served with.
On our way to our next place, we passed by lots of restaurants and stores selling things like shoes, clothing and even lingerie! This area is exactly what you expect to see when you think “Tokyo,” bright lights and a dizzying flurry of activity everywhere you look!
Our next stop was an Izakaya building, where we went up to the third floor and had some sake with ice to start, followed by some wagyu beef that was torched right at our table! I had it with some rice and wasabi. It was so buttery and a little crispy on top from the torch. Fantastic!
Then I had some waygu beef with rice and green onions, which was also amazing! I loved it!
After that, we headed to our third Izakaya, a place called Meat Alley, which offered a wide selection of alcoholic drinks and meat dishes. I started with some plum wine, which tasted like grapefruit juice! I couldn’t believe it was wine, but it was delicious!
After our drinks, we moved on to some karaage, or fried chicken. It was so different, but so amazing! It blows KFC out of the water, for sure! Next I tried some asparagus and mushrooms, which were phenomenal. Then, it was time for bacon! It was super thick and fatty and very flavorful.
I followed the bacon with a super dry, cold sake that had a nice, fruity flavor, and we finished off our night with a quiz based on some of the information Remi shared with us on our tour. How do you think I did?
Wow! What an awesome nighttime tour of Shibuya! That izakaya tour was so much fun and was a great way to eat some food and have some drinks like a local would. I have to thank Remi and Magical Tours for such an incredible night. If you would like to book a tour with Magical Trip, click here!
If you liked coming along on my food & drink tour of Shibuya, please give this video a thumbs up and leave me a comment below. Also, please subscribe to my YouTube channel and I will see you in my next travel food adventure!
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