After reading the review of Shibuya’s Vegan Healing Cafe over on Metropolis.co.jp (I was hunting for vegan options in town using vegan.wikia.com) I decided I had to get myself over there and check it out. The landmarks in the map from that review made it super easy to find and I was very happy to find that the single employee spoke English when I walked in. I was more than happy to just point and smile at the items I wanted but right away the gentleman there started telling me which items on the menu were the most popular and how everything they served was 100% vegan. The menu was also in English which I thought was a great sign. I took his advice and ordered the main course that he suggested as well as an iced coffee. He wrote it down, and ran back to the kitchen. Moments later he brought my coffee and I thanked him.

I was the only customer in the restaurant at this point but it wasn’t long until some other folks showed up. A couple showed up and ordered food and drinks. They were served, and then they ordered desert and were served. I still hadn’t received my order but thought perhaps it just took a while to make my dish. That couple left and again I was the only person in the restaurant. Another employee showed up, a lady this time (perhaps the same woman mentioned in the review but I’m not sure) who went right back to the kitchen. Another couple arrived, ordered, were served and left and I still hadn’t gotten anything. I thought it was getting to the point of being really odd when I realized I’d been sitting there waiting (I was reading so wasn’t entirely aware of the time) for almost an hour. I tried to get the attention of the guy who had taken my order to no avail. And when I say I tried to get his attention, I mean I was the only person there and he kept walking right past my table and I would try to talk to him but he wouldn’t make eye contact and just kept walking. Same with the women when I moved on to trying to get her attention.

At this point I was sure something was up but didn’t know where the line was between being rude and just trying to get their attention so I didn’t get up to chase them around or anything and tried to continue being patient. More people came and ordered some stuff to go, which was prepared and given to them and still nothing headed my way. By now I’d been there for over an hour and a half so I gave up. The coffee I ordered was listed on the menu for 480 Yen so I left 600 on the table and walked out. No one followed me or even looked at me as I left. I’m totally baffled here. Does this make sense to anyone?

Hi Tokyo. I’m in your city for the next week or so and I’m having a blast so far. Normally I’m in Los Angeles, USA but decided I’d wanted to come to Tokyo for too long and not come so so now I’m here. I’m going to try and make a few posts here while I’m in town that don’t sound like a total tourist but I might not be able to pull that off. We’ll see. If you are into the total tourist perspective feel free to read this post from my own personal blog about the trip so far. I’m also posting tons of photos to this flickr set but fair warning there are tons of street scenes and probably things that folks who live here have seen plenty of times and aren’t impressed by any more.

I can say that the trains are not nearly as scary or confusing as I was led to believe before getting here. Everyone I talked to made them out to be completely impossible to navigate and tried to convince me to stay away from them unless I had a well versed guild. Totally not the case, and very easy to use if you know where you are going. Anyway… Nice work with this whole city of yours, I’m enjoying my visit very much!

Japan has to win tonight against UAE or it is basically over, after the disappointing draw against Quatar (New coach Ivica Osim from Bosnia was furious at his boys, calling them “amateurs” which is Eurospeak for $%&# losers). Conceding a goal last minute was sloppy…

The game tonight is great so far, both teams are eager and keen.

21 min: 0-1 Japan’s Naohira Takahara scored a beautiful first, a perfect heading goal!

26 min: 0-2 Nice pass from right field to Takahara, in perfect position, who scores again!

42 min: 0-3 Totally confusing situation when the UAE keeper trips Endo leads to penalty and Shinsuke Nakamura doesn’t miss.

66 min 1-3 Great goal after a long run from mid field – UAE had one man shown off which isn’t always a disadvantage.

OK, everyone, I want to hear your secret confessions…

Mine is – I love summer in Japan. I was born in Sweden, where it gets really really cold in winter, and “summer” is at best one week when the temperature is above 20 degrees. Here in Japan, oh baby, you get humidity, heat (35C?), and it is HOT. I change t-shirts five times a day. There are parts of my body that need soap like all the time. Rule 1: Don’t eat butter (makes you smell) Rule 2: Slow down, you move too fast. Rule 3: Don’t complain, I don’t like it, but I prefer it.

Then there are the typhoons. Storms that somehow gather strength way out in the Pacific. One will hit Tokyo this weekend. It just so happens that this is the very weekend when I will move from my apartment to a nice little house that I found recently. Move. Stuff. Carry. Cardboard boxes. Yikes. Kami-san will help drive the truck from Alishan, but will we be swallowed up by Arakawa River going FLOOD? Hope not.

Internet access just might be slightly dodgy for a week or so, but I promise, I will be back, more stories from Tokyo on their way, and we do love comments here at Metroblogging. Thanks, and domo arigatou gozaimasu!

It’s only appropriate that this article be juxtoposed against an article about a vegan cafe. Really, it’s the only way to maintain journalistic integrity.

By now, those keeping up with Tokyo trends will undoubtedly have heard about Burger King’s return to Japan. Just a little over a month ago, Burger King opened its first store in Shinjuku and shortly thereafter, another store in Ikebukuro. The stores maintain that little taste of home except unlike their NYC counterparts, the food is fresh and hot, while the service is courteous and efficient. As an added bonus, the staff will actually get your order right!

Unfortunately, as with any new “in” spot in Tokyo, you’ll be waiting on line. I can’t believe I just wrote that last sentence. Who would have thought that one day I would be writing about the economical and gastronomical joys of Burger King in reference to it being the latest trendy restaurant?

Regardless, if you are after that taste of home that’s even better than you remember, Burger King is worth the wait.

Official homepage

Vegan Healing Cafe in Shibuya is one of Tokyo’s few vegan restaurants. I ordered this falafel burger with genmai (brown rice) and a light salad. Not a lot of food for one person, but they have desserts too, including apple crumble pie. Yummy. Menu in English.

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Some photos [click!] and a video [click!] of the famous 新宿の目 (Shinjuku Eye) by the artist Miyashita Yoshiko. It can be found at the west exit of Shinjuku station since 1969.
Although it is so “eye-catching” most people just rush by without paying attention to the huge piece of glass art – no matter how hypnotizing the pupil might spin…

I hope you all had a nice Tanabata weekend and didn’t miss the chance to make a wish :)

This weekend there is an Earth Garden Summer event in Yoyogi Park (near NHK) in Tokyo. Fleemarket, organic food, music and a chance to meet a lot of fun people…