wow, its so surprising to me that people are asking you where to find local restaurants because i use google maps so much and have over 500 restaurants saved on there. really easy to find english-friendly and local restaurants there. also john you mentioned 3.8 being the cut off but i'd bring that down to maybe.. 3.4? local chains like nakau, matsuya, sukiya, shinpachi, yayoiken are sometimes rated around 3.4-3.8 but they're definitely worth going to as well. i go to a yayoiken in shinjuku and it's rated a 3.5 despite being super clean, modern and having nice staff. of course the food is delicious too
What seems obvious to you and me isn’t for everyone - I learn that by reading the comment because everyone is at different experiences and levels of travel and we shouldn’t (or I shouldn’t) take that for granted. Thanks for the feedback here!
Some of the most memorable restaurants we found in Japan were because we opened Google Maps while in the neighborhood. When we search in the US it tends to favor the places listed in English, but some of our favorite local haunts were only listed in kana or kanji and they wouldn't come up. Once we were in the area we had a lot more to pick from on our map.
Thanks for the tips, John. I've been to Japan a few times and the problem of being a tourist in Tokyo is finding the restaurant addresses if we do research ahead of time. And most of the time after walking around Tokyo we ended up looking for a place to eat when we were already starving. But one thing we learned is to Never Never trust those people with restaurant signs in Shibuya and other tourist places. They usually take you to tourist traps with bad food and high prices
I see, doesn’t Google maps and GPS solve that? Yes - don’t trust touts on the street. Their goal is the fill empty restaurants! They probably get a commission or something.
Two of the most famous places that my wife and I go back to time after time are 鬼金棒 in Ikebukuro and 麺屋武蔵 武骨相傳 in Ueno. Always worth the 45 minutes to an hour wait.
yessss! thank you 🙏❤️ more context behind my question: although we added many in advance, we didn't end up going there because they were not nearby when we needed them. so we were using Google Maps in English on the spot, and all the recommendation ended up being too internationalized and tourist oriented :/
John, in the early to mid-70s when I was a kid, our parents often took us to Sunshine City in SHINJUKU. The top three floors are all restaurants from Japanese 🇯🇵 eats, Chinese 🇨🇳 foods, American dishes, …etc. Not sure if these restaurants still exist in SHINJUKU … 🤔
Greg from Life Where I'm From has done some great videos about ramen, pizza, kissaten and lots of other eateries. I find his channel is (somewhat surprisingly) a great resource for food. Tokyo Llama is great, looking forward to that video.
The first question was really good, even though it might seem amusing given how many restaurants you find on every corner in popular areas. However, in my experience, there are just as many mediocre places as there are good ones, and it's easy to walk away feeling disappointed. I tried visiting places recommended by TH-camrs, but I’m convinced they were paid to promote them because the food was bland and the service was terrible. In central areas, if you see a long queue, that’s usually a good sign. An empty place is likely empty for a reason. However, this doesn’t apply in less-known neighbourhoods, where the food might actually be much better.
So what your saying is....the only in japan food challenge is coming soon? You are somewhere a while back with your friend and the food was huge. Itbwqa kinda like at a rest area restaurant. Id love to see more stuff like that
Aloha John, I hope you're doing well! I know tipping is frowned upon, so I was wondering about giving gifts instead. We’re planning another visit next month (our fourth trip since last spring), and we’d love to bring some Hawaiian-themed gifts for a few hotel staff members and local shop owners we’ve enjoyed interacting with in the past. I want to make sure that the gifts are appropriate and don't put anyone in an awkward position. Any advice on what might be best? We're thinking of a Hawaiian gift bag with some local chocolates and coffee?? Mahalo!
That’s a great question! I think I’ll make the next one of tipping and gifts. People appreciate it but they’re just doing by their job, which they’re paid for. It’s just not the culture and gift giving is popular in Japan but as you’ll never see the server again it’s a little odd unless you made friends with them and there was some special connection with the service. In general, it will make people feel uneasy as they do not have a gift for you. You’d give a gift 🎁 when you move into a home as an apology for future disturbances and the hassle of moving in on the neighbors, also to say hi - and in business. But for servers, it is best to say thank you 😊 and pack light. A smile and praise is actually much appreciated as well as eating all your food. Haha! Don’t waste it.
![⭐️( ลอยกระทง 2024 ) Ver. แดนซ์ Remix BY [ ดีเจกิต รีมิกซ์ ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/rMWOLhgXUHc/mqdefault.jpg)
wow, its so surprising to me that people are asking you where to find local restaurants because i use google maps so much and have over 500 restaurants saved on there. really easy to find english-friendly and local restaurants there. also john you mentioned 3.8 being the cut off but i'd bring that down to maybe.. 3.4? local chains like nakau, matsuya, sukiya, shinpachi, yayoiken are sometimes rated around 3.4-3.8 but they're definitely worth going to as well. i go to a yayoiken in shinjuku and it's rated a 3.5 despite being super clean, modern and having nice staff. of course the food is delicious too
What seems obvious to you and me isn’t for everyone - I learn that by reading the comment because everyone is at different experiences and levels of travel and we shouldn’t (or I shouldn’t) take that for granted. Thanks for the feedback here!
@@onlyinjapanGOGreat perspective and awareness on this subject!
I just go to a place that’s not to busy, I prefer it quiet. I’m not standing in line for food no matter how good it may be.
That usually means it’s off hours or no good 😂 so eat lunch before 11:30 or between 1:30 and 6:00pm.
Some of the most memorable restaurants we found in Japan were because we opened Google Maps while in the neighborhood. When we search in the US it tends to favor the places listed in English, but some of our favorite local haunts were only listed in kana or kanji and they wouldn't come up. Once we were in the area we had a lot more to pick from on our map.
Thanks for the tips, John. I've been to Japan a few times and the problem of being a tourist in Tokyo is finding the restaurant addresses if we do research ahead of time. And most of the time after walking around Tokyo we ended up looking for a place to eat when we were already starving. But one thing we learned is to Never Never trust those people with restaurant signs in Shibuya and other tourist places. They usually take you to tourist traps with bad food and high prices
I see, doesn’t Google maps and GPS solve that? Yes - don’t trust touts on the street. Their goal is the fill empty restaurants! They probably get a commission or something.
Two of the most famous places that my wife and I go back to time after time are 鬼金棒 in Ikebukuro and 麺屋武蔵 武骨相傳 in Ueno. Always worth the 45 minutes to an hour wait.
yessss! thank you 🙏❤️
more context behind my question: although we added many in advance, we didn't end up going there because they were not nearby when we needed them. so we were using Google Maps in English on the spot, and all the recommendation ended up being too internationalized and tourist oriented :/
John, in the early to mid-70s when I was a kid, our parents often took us to Sunshine City in SHINJUKU. The top three floors are all restaurants from Japanese 🇯🇵 eats, Chinese 🇨🇳 foods, American dishes, …etc. Not sure if these restaurants still exist in SHINJUKU … 🤔
I was there last year
Do you mean Ikebukuro?
Greg from Life Where I'm From has done some great videos about ramen, pizza, kissaten and lots of other eateries. I find his channel is (somewhat surprisingly) a great resource for food. Tokyo Llama is great, looking forward to that video.
What is the name of the main channel i can’t find it
Only in Japan John Daub
The first question was really good, even though it might seem amusing given how many restaurants you find on every corner in popular areas. However, in my experience, there are just as many mediocre places as there are good ones, and it's easy to walk away feeling disappointed. I tried visiting places recommended by TH-camrs, but I’m convinced they were paid to promote them because the food was bland and the service was terrible. In central areas, if you see a long queue, that’s usually a good sign. An empty place is likely empty for a reason. However, this doesn’t apply in less-known neighbourhoods, where the food might actually be much better.
I went to Miyajima Island in June. There is a shop having a tip jar next to the cashier. It’s so wrong having that thing in Japan. 😂
So what your saying is....the only in japan food challenge is coming soon? You are somewhere a while back with your friend and the food was huge. Itbwqa kinda like at a rest area restaurant. Id love to see more stuff like that
Aloha John,
I hope you're doing well! I know tipping is frowned upon, so I was wondering about giving gifts instead. We’re planning another visit next month (our fourth trip since last spring), and we’d love to bring some Hawaiian-themed gifts for a few hotel staff members and local shop owners we’ve enjoyed interacting with in the past. I want to make sure that the gifts are appropriate and don't put anyone in an awkward position. Any advice on what might be best? We're thinking of a Hawaiian gift bag with some local chocolates and coffee??
Mahalo!
That’s a great question! I think I’ll make the next one of tipping and gifts.
People appreciate it but they’re just doing by their job, which they’re paid for. It’s just not the culture and gift giving is popular in Japan but as you’ll never see the server again it’s a little odd unless you made friends with them and there was some special connection with the service. In general, it will make people feel uneasy as they do not have a gift for you. You’d give a gift 🎁 when you move into a home as an apology for future disturbances and the hassle of moving in on the neighbors, also to say hi - and in business. But for servers, it is best to say thank you 😊 and pack light. A smile and praise is actually much appreciated as well as eating all your food. Haha! Don’t waste it.
I heard something about if a Restaurant has a English name, it caters to tourists instead of locals?
Yayoiken. That's all you need.
35:50 @kong here banh mi ngon ngon in okubo
Hope the floods and rain don’t get you!
Thanks, we’ll be okay. If they do, I’ll be back online 😉
. 👍👍👍👍
I like how you mention ramen noodles I like ramen it’s very good and also sushi
Hallo