The BEST Japanese Food in Tokyo, Japan (Izakaya)

The BEST Japanese Food in Tokyo, Japan (Izakaya)

You ready? 3 2 1 Come on. [Music] We are starting here in Takamaru. This is a traditional Japanese restaurant and the owner actually is a fish monger. So, he gets fresh fish from the Tukuji market every single morning. It’s pretty sweet. Yeah, the vibes in here are immaculate already. We’re starting off with some edetamame. And apparently this they just bring you a different random dish every time you come here. Uh you never know what it’s going to be. It’s just kind of like a little appy to start the time. Um and apparently it’s just a very when you go to a local Japanese place. It’s very common that they just kind of bring you something without requesting it. So we’re starting off with some edamame. I know. You got it. Nice work. Delicious. What was the What was this called again? O N H I Toi. That’s what it’s called. And we have our excellent guide, Nou. Hi, my name is Nou, guys. Very nice to meet you. Yes. Very, very knowledgeable already. Very excited. Hi. Thank you very much. Hi. [Music] Great. So guys, the thing is like a why they all over the sake that’s the meaning of prosperity. Yeah. Like hoping many more things are coming to your life. So that’s why they all exactly. Yeah. So guys, let’s do the ch like how do you say that in Japanese? You don’t know. Okay. So it says Kai. Yeah. Uh-huh. Repeat as me. Kai just for the pronunciation. Kai. Kai. Great job. Okay. Yeah. Okay. So this is for you. Yeah. And then Eric actually like you need to like you can shoot a videos if you want. Yeah. I hope you like it. And then Eric you put your towel on the hand like this. Yeah. Exactly. And then you take it off. Okay. Yes. One, two, three, and then that’s it. Okay, that’s it. Yeah. And then like finally we are kind of like ready for joining Kai. Okay. Yeah. So guys, uh amazing like I hope you enjoy this like food trip until the end. Thank you very much for coming. Kai Kai. Thank you. What a way to start. This is a good food tour already. That’s really good. This is my first sake. Actually, I’ve never had it before. You You never had it before? I’ve never had sake before. Yeah, this is my first. This is really good. And I got plum wine with soda. Japanese people are really fruity flavored drink. So like uh Yeah. Most popular one is like that toy ph like you can do, but also age one. Okay. Like nice. That is yummy. It’s not as bitter as I was expecting. No, definitely not. I feel like a lot of clear alcohol normally. Has a very bitter taste for sure. All right. So guys, like thing is I order three different types of sashimi. Yeah. So what is this? What is this? Is it salmon? Salmon. Salmon. And then this one. Uh starting from alphabets. Y why y Yellow tail. Yellow tail. Amazing. Yeah, you did great job. Yeah. And then this is probably starting from B. Bonito. Okay. Bonito. Yeah. Kate is similar to like uh the tuna. Okay. Yeah. So, right now I try to explain to you how how you enjoy. Okay. So, get ready for the uh soy sauce dishes. Okay. So, guys, like a very easy question. What is the difference between those two bottles? What is that the difference between those two bottles? One of them is regular soy sauce. And then the other one is the It’s like a different spices. Yeah. Kind of like a Yeah. So like the white and gold. Yeah. And this is like a moderate taste soy sauce for moderate taste fish. Yeah. And then this is like a strong taste soy sauce for a strong taste fish. Okay. Yeah. So like we use like these two. Okay. Yeah. Soy sauce for like a uh sashimi. Yeah. This amount is already fine. That’s it. In Japan. Yeah. Because in Japan, we try to enjoy like the uh you know the natural taste of the food itself. So like we don’t add too much uh taste. Okay. Cover it up too much. Yeah. You want to pour for yourself? You trust me? Yeah. I trust I think you can. Okay. Don’t do too much. I always do like a full bowl of soy sauce. So I’m going to do just a little bit. Just like douse it in soy sauce. Yay. Amazing. You did a great job. Just enough. Amazing. That’s just the right amount. I got to learn that for home. I’m always a big bowl of soy sauce gal. Okay, we’re starting with this sashimi and we got to go from the lightest fish to the darkest one. So, we’re going to go salmon, yellow tail, then bonito. Yay. Let’s start with some salmon. Do I one bite it? Uh, depends on you, but like also two bites. Completely fine. But don’t put too much. Just just a little bit. You want to drop on the baby? I’m excited how you react. Wow, that is delicious salmon. Yeah, but that’s saying a lot because we have really good salmon at home. But that is delicious. I need a little bit more. All right, my turn. Not too much. Not too much. No, you can if you want. That’s so good. Oh, that was so so good with the sake as well. The mixture is just incredible. That salmon. [Music] Got a little bit of wasabi. And now [Music] It’s spicy, but it has like a good um also good like set of spices to it. It’s not just the wasabi. Feel like back home like you just taste the really like spiciness of the wasabi, but there’s actually a little bit more to it which adds to the what was it called again? The yellow tail. Hamachi. Hamachi. Okay, next we have a crab cream. Next we have a crab cream proquet. And we’re supposed to put a little oyster sauce on top. Just a little bit. That much. I need more. I’ll be more I say. Okay. Got to make sure I’m getting the sauces right with my hands. No, no, no. I don’t know if I can do that. Don’t Don’t embarrass my chopstick skills. I don’t know how to Don’t worry. Don’t worry. I’m not doing it. You’re doing great. I’m messing up. There you go. I love this one. It’s like even like other restaurants, you can try it. Okay. Places. This one. Oh, this looks so good. Look at the inside of that. It does look creamed. It’s oozing with goodness. I could eat so many of those. So rich. This tastes like it would be a really good comfort food like like a daylight. Oh yeah. Like this would be definitely something that I could see myself just craving. Yeah. Going Eric. I’m drinking from the saucer cuz my cup is overflowed. So yeah, like this. Oh, don’t mess it up. I don’t want to mess it up. You ready? There we go. Round two. Sake. It’s only noon. It’s only noon. I got to eat more food. So good, though. All right, I’m about to try to taku. This is tuna inards with pickled radish. Put a little bit more on top of this one. I’ve cleaned my hands. This is how you’re supposed to eat it. A quick little dip in my soy sauce. And that is delicious. But the pickled radish, I feel like this really brings it out. [Applause] Super good. I honestly am not usually a shashimi sashimi fan at home. Um cuz I just don’t always love raw fish, especially the texture of it. But all three of these have been delicious. And I’m not even just saying that because we’re on our food table. actually are really good. And this makes me rethink sashimi. Oh, I’ve always sashimi. I haven’t, but this makes you rethink it for sure. [Music] I think one of my favorite things about restaurants here is that they often have like displays of all the food that they have and they’re just like these petrified plates that are probably going to look exactly like that. Uh but I just think it’s funny that they have that outside which is it’s it’s super super useful. I just I’ve never seen it before. Real shiny salad. These are so funny. Which one you like more? Okay. So, what can you explain it one more time? Pork. What? Uh, this is like a deep fried breaded pork cutlet. Okay. Mhm. Yeah. It’s called like a tonkatu. Yeah. And sometimes like we put them on like a h rice and then like we eat all together. Okay. Yeah. Deep fried breaded pork cutlet. Deep fried breaded pork cutlet. Yes. With a little mustard on top. Okay. Hold on. I can do this. I can do this. Yeah. Oh, there we go. Okay, you can eat it. And this one with the mustard. Yeah. M. Yeah, it’s good. Yeah. M. Very nice. I want you do these. How often do you do these food tours? Two tours in a day. Wow. And you’re not like a really big person. Yes. Guys, this is like how do you say a private tour? So that’s why like I’m trying to help you the other tours like maybe I don’t like mainly just explanation. Yeah. So Oh, this is so good. Dumpling time. Gilas [Music] with a combo. So, we obviously brought our daughter Juniper here uh with us to Japan. She’s 4 months old and she’s doing so so well. Uh, but it’s moments like this where you’re on a food tour and she starts getting really angry and start to think, did we make the right decision to come here with a baby? I think we did. I think we absolutely did. It’s still doable. Oh, absolutely. Takes a little extra patience. She’s doing she’s doing, like I said, she’s doing so good. I really happy that we brought her here with us. [Music] So, Eric and S and then June, thank you very much for coming to the food tour. I hope you enjoy also the second restaurant of yours. Okay, are you ready? 3 2 1 come. Good job. Hey, nice. Oh, we’re about to get some kyiosa and Nou said that the traditional thing is to get a beer with kyosa. So, I had to get some Japanese beer. Yes. Sree tree. Sun tree beer. Yeah. Yeah. Amazing. But from Tokyo like a Sanre is like located in maybe different area but like I want like a show might also my favorite. Yeah. Yeah. Favorite. This is your favorite. Yeah. Yeah. Also Hey, I love a good beer recommendation. Like this is a soy sauce. Yes. And then like a this amount. Yeah. Uh always like a Well, we try not to put too too much. Yeah. And then this is like a rice vinegar. Yeah. It’s written vinegar here. Yeah. The same amount. Yes. And then Eric Sara, you think like you like spicy taste or not? So like this is like a chili oil. So I say same spicy level with the tabasco. So like I don’t put too much if you don’t like. Okay. Yeah. And damn this is just a little bit. Okay. This is the thing I’ve been most excited for in this food tour. We’re trying guozas. And I love guozas at home. This is always my go-to. I just think they’re the best. So, I’m so excited to finally be trying them here in Japan. And we have our dipping sauce, which is soy sauce mixed with a little chili oil and some rice vinegar. And these are pork and chicken guozas. [Music] Even better than I always dreamed. This is so good. I also have never mixed all three of those sauces together before. I always ate them individually. Either pick soy sauce or chili oil or vinegar. But the mix is very nice because it’s it’s salty but also a little bit spicy. And yeah, it’s just a really good vibe. I also got some chicken wings. These are like beefy. Like I feel like these this part right here like that’s a fat chicken. Ooh, it’s filled with Oh, pork and gyoza stuff. Okay, that’s why that’s incredible. How do they even do that? Wow. He did say that this was like a chicken wing gya. I don’t know what the the Japanese word is for it, but man. [Music] Whoa. It’s like a stuffed chicken wing. Crazy. That is incredible. [Music] I think I say this on every food tour that we go on. It is the best way to start a trip literally anywhere. Going on a food tour, you learn so much about not only the city that you’re in, but the country that you’re in as well. Right now, we have a 30inut sort of walk around with Nou now. And he is just showing us all these different areas in Shinjuku. And um yeah, you just would never really learn about this unless you went on like a walking tour, which I don’t really like doing. But you know, this way we get to go eat a bunch of great food, learn about all the great food and what things I like and don’t like, but also learn about the place that you are. There are many crowds of others. So like when I was high school student, I came over here and then last stop. [Music] Maybe like Eric comes to the side and then like Excellent. Thank you. [Music] Yeah. Does that feel good? Oh, do you just love stretching? We have made it to our last stop. This is a restaurant called Yamaru. And this place only serves Okinawan food and drink. So Okinawa is a an island in Japan and Nou said it’s basically like the Hawaii of Japan. It’s very different. Has its own food, even its own culture in a way, but it is a part of Japan. And I’m very, very excited to try some Okinawan food. Yeah. [Music] Yeah. So, three, two, one. So, what what are we looking at here? What is this? Yeah. So, like this is a steer noodle like a called. Yeah. But like Yeah. I still like don’t share with you like what color of the this black one. Yeah. So, you can just have it and then guess it. Kazua. Mhm. Wait, we have to eat it first. Yeah, you can just take like a noodle just like this. Yeah, is it made of something weird? Is that why you’re not telling us? I I guess like you had it like somewhere like in a just like one. Hey, Sara. Wa. It is so black. Is that going to leave my teeth black? I think it’s okay. Yeah. Okay. Or you go to family morning and then brush your lips there. But uh yeah. What is this? This is what you want to try. You’re scaring me. You’re making it seem like it’s a something weird. Something I should be worried about. Yep. [Music] Oh, Eric’s going for a massive bite. [Music] You know, right or not? It tastes very pretty salty. Uh-huh. So, the answer is Yeah. This is squid ink. Okay. Squid. Okay. Okay. Uh-huh. So, make that. It will make her teeth black. Yeah. Yeah. Your teeth are still Okay. Squitting. That’s crazy. Yeah. Yeah. How do they harvest that? It hurts. Like how do they harvest squiding? They squeeze a bunch of squids. They like milk the squid already. Like they had like a legit uh you know they separated and then put it together. [Music] You can. She’s happy. Oh, that’s good. This is a purple sweet potato croette. Look how purple that is inside. Okay, I got a dip in the sauce. Some people do think like they’re an appetizer, but some people do think they’re not like a desserts because it’s really sweet. It’s very sweet. Yeah. And it it’s kind of deceiving because it looks like I it should be blueberry or something inside. And it it does taste very sweet. It doesn’t taste like blueberry, but it tastes kind of like a dessert a little bit. Yeah. Very very sweet. Sweet potato. Last year we used to see a lot of things made of like this sweet potato like also. Yeah. Okay. While Sarah is feeding juniper, I’m going to have to uh try something else here. This is Goya Champoo. Goya cher. Remind me what’s what is it all? Very bitter melon. Yeah. It’s not a cucumber. Spam. Yeah. Spam and egg and then tofu. Yes. And tofu. Wow. Crazy. That’s good. That is good. Yeah. It’s not too bitter either. Yeah. The melon is quite bitter. Mhm. But with everything else Mhm. it actually makes it less bitter. It’s very good. You said I didn’t take enough last time, so I’m taking a big scoop this time. [Music] It’s good, right? Really dyes the lips. Yeah. You see your your mask here? Yeah. It’s becoming black. Yeah. It’s like lipstick. I don’t even need lipstick on. What happened to you? Just eating some squid dye. What are you like? Maybe still awake. Oh no. She wants to be part of the party. Hi. Who’s that? Time to eat the head. Drink up little fish. Can’t sit. Can’t sit. The head part does contain a lot of oil. Yeah. Mhm. Very oily. Very crunchy. Glad I did it. Probably won’t do it again. Peanut butter tofu. [Music] different from the like a regular tofu. Yeah, it is really good. Okay, last thing we’re trying today is a purple sweet potato ice cream little dessert. Oh, no. Okay, thanks. That’s really tough, isn’t it? I’m not left-handed. Try it out. That is so good. So sweet. Obviously, because it’s ice cream, but for some reason, I thought it was not going to be that sweet. All right. I feel like I’m going to get it all over your head. That is so so good. I love that. Well, that pretty much concludes our food tour here in Shinjuku. And we had such an amazing time. The food was amazing. So incredible. And thank you to Nou and Ninja Tours for such an excellent food tour. This was fantastic. Great way to start our time in Japan. And now I’m excited to retry all these things as we travel through the country. Yeah. Hey, thank you for coming to Tokyo and Japan. Yeah. Hope you enjoy your stay in Japan. Everyone should come and book a tour with No. Book a tour with Nou. Okay. Thanks so much for watching and we’ll see you in the next one. Ube. There you go. Some entertainment for baby Juniper. Yeah. This is so good. It’s delicious. New favorite ice cream. I think ube. Well, like I had never seen like ube ice cream in a convenience store, for example. Yeah. So, you should come back to this. You should have to go to this restaurant. Okay. Now into your leg.

Japanese Izakaya Food Tour in Tokyo Japan.

This is our first time trying authentic Japanese food here in Japan! Tokyo has an amazing selection of Izakaya (Bar food) cuisine that we had to try. Our guide, Nobu, gave us so many tips on what to eat and how to eat Japanese food while we travelled around Shinjuku for the day. We have always been Japanese food lovers but this food tour increased our love for Japan’s amazing cuisine even more!

Check out Ninja Food Tours! https://www.ninjafoodtours.com/

Make sure you check out our other videos from Japan: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_6XgmUHHGge7TpKoHnfxchKMANub2HC0

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Hi! We’re Eric and Sarah, a couple of Canadians currently travelling full time and looking for the best experiences around the world! Our passion is creating helpful and inspiring videos that makes you feel capable and confident to explore places you may have never considered travelling before! And if you’re not a traveller… we hope our videos at least provide you a little entertainment and make you smile as you experience how beautiful the world is 🙂 Thanks for following along and please leave a comment to say hi!

FILMED MAY 2025
#JAPAN #JAPANESEFOOD #JAPANFOODTOUR

CHAPTERS:
0:00 – Tokyo Food Tour!
0:15 – Sake, Sushi, Sashimi
4:05 – How to use Soya Sauce
7:03 – Crab Cream Croquete
9:53 – Pork Cutlets
11:28 – Gyoza and Beer
15:22 – Shinjuku, Tokyo
16:24 – Okinawa Food and Drink