Photographs from a small group of islands
As far as decent restaurants go, Tokyo is definitely not lacking, with more than enough diversity to keep the most avid foodie frothing at the mouth for as long his or her chubby little chops could wish for.
Yet for the diner more concerned with cost rather than culinary credentials, it’s fortunately not all expensive eateries and mouth-watering meals — not by a long shot. In fact, one or two Tokyo restaurants are actually happy to openly advertise the sheer averageness of their offerings.
The constraints of space and increasingly time in Tokyo make the notion of ‘convenience’ the norm rather than something noteworthy; however given the added option of either cut-price cost or comfort, the former always seems to be favourite.
As far as convenient food to go with a cup of coffee is concerned, the Japanese introduction of bread in a can a few years ago seemed to cover all bases, being little, light and long-lasting.
Yet believe it or not even this has been bettered by the arrival of bread, in a can,
in a vending machine.
Lunch and light snacks may never be the same again.
Update: Now available in a limited edition anime version. Yes, I kid you not.
Tokyo, it has to be said, is not exactly blessed with greenery, but in neighbouring Yamanashi Prefecture, they have a veritable glut of the stuff.
Although thankfully for the purist, there is a generous enough smattering of concrete accommodation to give it at least a hint of that traditional Tokyo-like topography.
Somewhat surprising however is that a large amount of the colouring comes from grapes, with this part of Yamanashi in particular positively bursting with them. A crop that, considering the Japanese love affair with packaging, thankfully comes complete with wrapping — or at least a preliminary part of it.
Such an abundance also means that the region is blessed with wineries, making the thought of a trip all the more worthwhile. But despite the use of foreign names,
and complicatedly carved barrels,
the end product could be politely described as poor, unpalatable even. The labelling of one particular tipple as ã™ã”ㄠワイン (great wine) arguably taking optimism to previously uncharted territory.
And then some.
Japanese snack maker Meiji has recently released its latest comically named chocolate product, Panky.
Yet despite Mao Inoue appearing in the promotional campaign, there’s hardly even a hint of any ‘hanky’.
A wasted opportunity if ever there was one, with the somewhat bizarre accompanying commercial offering little in the way of compensation.