Coffeesmith

On our last day in Busan, the rain decided to greet us with a plentiful arrival. Our original plans for outdoor activities were scrapped, and we decided to take it easy and walk to a local juk place for lunch.

Ippodo

After checking into our hotel in Kyoto, we decided to walk towards Honke Owariya for lunch. On the way there, we planned to just pop inside Ippodo to check the offerings…

Ippodo
Location: Teramachi-dori Nijo, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-0915

Avec El

I had seen beautiful photos of lattes topped with a slice of fruit, and even attempted my own throughout the years. As we were planning our latest trip to Seoul, I decided to hunt down the original cafe that served these lattes.

Avec El
Location: 서울시 용산구 후암동 41-1
41-1, Huam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Ekibenya Matsuri

When we first confirmed that we would be riding on the Shinkansen, I immediately looked up train bentos, and found Ekibenya Matsuri at Tokyo Station.

Ekibenya Matsuri
Location: 丸の内1-9-1
東京駅改札内 セントラルストリート1F
Chiyoda, 東京都 〒100-0005
1-9-1 Marunouchi Central Street 1F, Chiyoda 100-0005 Tokyo Prefecture

Gion Tsujiri

We couldn’t go to Kyoto without a sampling of matcha; on the way up towards Kodaiji, we passed several shops selling matcha soft serve, but we were all too full to partake.

Gion Tsujiri
Location: 東山区 高台寺ねねの道 京・洛市「ねね」
Shimokawaracho, Higashiyama-ku
Kodaiji Nenenomichi, Kyoto 605-0825, Kyoto Prefecture

Spotlight: CoCo Ichibanya Hamburg Curry

The first meal in Tokyo had to be Coco Curry, and thankfully there was one close to our hotel. I made my way over after dropping off my luggage, and though I hadn’t intended on it, the Hamburg Curry caught my eye once again.

Spotlight: Street Food in Osaka

Our trip to Osaka wouldn’t have been complete without sampling their street food. We’ve learned and evolved since our last visit to Asia, and now we try to balance street food with actual meals, so while the quantity of items tried may have shrunk, we made sure to try items we really wanted.

Takoyaki: the night market classic back home, this rendition was a lot gooey-er as it came hot off the press, just cooked through.

Cafe Onion

Cafe Onion made its initial impression due to the oddity of it, as well as the beauty of the original warehouse-like location. Having expanded to a total of three stores, the Anguk location is arguably one of the most popular, located in a traditional hanok setting.

Cafe Onion Anguk (카페 어니언)
Location: 146-1, Gye-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul
서울 종로구 계동길 5

Soon Tofu Gelato

Having heard Gangneung was known for its soft tofu in my research, I stumbled upon Soontofu Gelato, and instantly added it to my list. While sharing my plans with my travel buddy, many upturned noses and resounding no’s were heard leading up to our visit to the city on the east coast of South Korea.

Soontofu Gelato
Location: 강원 강릉시 초당순두부길95-5
354-4, Chodang-dong, Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do

Honke Owariya

After arriving in Kyoto, we spent a morning wandering some great shops on our way to our lunch destination. As we approached, we saw the inevitable line-up outside of Honke Owariya.

Honke Owariya
Location: 322, Niomontsukinukecho,
Nakagyo-ku Kyoto-shi,
Kyoto, 604-0841, Japan