This was my third short trip to Tokyo this past year…all happening on expanded overnight layovers either to or from other parts of Asia (hey, you gotta get the most out of your vacation days). But as much as I love this city, it’s culture and the people (despite their lack of English while being so consumed by American culture), I can’t understand how most average Tokyo-dwellers manage to get by. Just trekking around town, picking up a few snacks and drinks along the way, you can easily spend a couple hundred dollars doing what would typically cost you maybe $50-$70 MAX in LA.

Getting a Whiskey on the rocks at the Park Hyatt where Bill Murray drank each night in “Lost In Translation?” Expect to pay about $22 per glass. A little ramen after midnight? About $13 a bowl.

Of course, deals are to be found, but when your Japanese is limited, you’re basically stuck with restaurants that either have plastic models of their food out front, or an automated food-ordering machine with photo buttons. It’s a cool system, and luckily most restaurants have a combination of both, or an open kitchen so you can point to what you want—but it’s those off the beaten path tiny hole in the walls in the back alleyways that still continue to allude me.

After landing at Narita and checking into my hotel near Shinjuku last night, I skipped the whiskey and went straight for the ramen. Luckily, in the Shinjuku area, the alleyways are lit up at night with endless amounts of small Izikayas (Japanese tapas), noodle shops, and neighborhood bars (and even a British Pub if you can believe it).  On a Monday evening, things are pretty slow, but on the weekends, I would compare it to 6^th Street in Austin or First Fridays in Venice on a warm summer night–packed and full of energy.

In my Lonely Planet guidebook, there was a 200 year-old soba noodle places I was trying to find, but it’s either closed down, or the sign was in Japanese so after circling around the supposed block 5 times, I gave up and went to the next crowded restaurant, called Gachi—and it turned out to be incredible! Tsukoman Ramen…it came with a bowl of gravy sauce that you dip your noodles in, awesome idea.

More on the Tsukiji Fish Market later, and then off to Hong Kong!