omotesando & shibuya

on our second day in tokyo, we slept in and woke up to a beautiful view of tokyo tower and zojo-ji, a large buddhist temple. we spotted some cherry blossoms from the temple outskirts and peeked in for a look. i love how japanese architecture is so grand, yet simple.

but we didn't have time to dawdle. first things first - brunch is the most important meal of the day and we were off to bill's, the bill granger restaurant in omotesando. granger achieved stardom for his first restaurant in sydney, which i've not yet visited, though we have visited his shichirigahama and notting hill locations. the restaurant decor is simple, yet decorative; modern, yet country; clean and spacious. the lemon ricotta pancakes are fluffy and light, and while the menu differs from location to location, the food is as we remember it - consistent and tasty.

a big breakfast put us in the mood for a walk so we spent the rest of the morning walking through the meiji shrine park, catching a glimpse of a traditional japanese wedding ceremony, and then a walk through the neighboring yoyogi park. yoyogi park is designed with a large circular walking path surrounded by trees, not too long, but just long enough to stroll and do some people watching. of course, i chose all the shaded routes.

after exiting the parks, we awed at the multiple long lines which wrapped all along omotesandao-dori for garret's popcorn, bill's, and eggs n things. i took kevin down one of my favorite streets in all of tokyo, cat street! when living there, i think my friends and i spent at least 2-3 days each month browsing this quiet little street of small shops. these days, it feels a bit more commercialized and crowded. in the middle of cat street is a coffee shop with the most delicious "new york style donuts" (basically cronuts), the roastery. since we discovered this little haven last april, i've been excited to come back! i picked up the limited-edition sakura flavored donut this time.

we split up in shibuya after coffee: i was off to matsumoto-kiyoshi and kevin was off to bic camera. matsumoto-kiyoshi is one of the most popoular and largest pharmacies in japan, and where i like to go for my grooming, medicinal, and skin products. the breadth of products available at matsuomoto-kiyoshi is breathtaking! from inexpensive drug store brands to luxury department store brands! i treated myself to a few goodies and picked up a few things for my parents, while kevin treated himself to a new g7x. it's been a successful shopping trip so far :)

finally, lunch-dinner at suju-masayuki on the sixth floor of the shibuya hikarie building. it's a delicious spot that our friends brought us too last spring and one of my most memorable meals in tokyo! the lunch setto comes with 8 small dishes, including a fish, a rice bowl, miso soup, a few side dishes, and tsukemono. they also have an english menu for us gaijin - how convenient :D