Teahouse
The Hamarikyu Gardens in the Chiyoda Ward of Tokyo, offer a bit of peace in the middle of the busy city. In stark contrast to the skyscrapers surrounding the garden, Hamarikyu is a beautiful oasis where you can enjoy a stroll along the pond or a bowl of matcha with sweets at the traditional teahouse.
Akihabara at night
Akihabara, aka Akihabara Electric Town, is the otaku cultural center of Tokyo. What is otaku? A Japanese term for people with obsessive interests, commonly anime and manga. Akihabara is also a shopping district for gamers and gadget enthusiasts with many shops selling video games (like Super Potato) and consumer goods. We couldn’t wait to visit and end our evening with the best tonkatsu in Tokyo!
Entrance of the Tsukiji Fish Market
The Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo is the largest and busiest fish market in the world. The market opens most mornings at 3AM, so it’s recommended to visit when you first arrive and are still jet lagged. So we headed to Tsukiji for a sushi breakfast on our first full day!
Tokyo Ramen Street on the right!
Koen and I arrived in Tokyo early in the morning, so by the time we settled into our apartment for the week we were ready for lunch. One place we were excited to visit was the Tokyo Ramen Street in the Tokyo Station. We first saw it in Mind of a Chef with David Chang and then read about it on various sites about the best ramen in Tokyo.
Fong Mei
To celebrate my birthday a bit further, I organized a Dim Sum and tea brunch at Fong Mei with family and friends on Sunday. Dim Sum is especially fun with a big group, ordering a lot of dishes you can share with everyone! We’re lucky to have such a great Chinese restaurant closeby – Antwerp is actually the only city in Belgium with an official Chinatown.
Otomat
I’ve been really fortunate the last few years to celebrate my birthday abroad – last year in Copenhagen, the two years previous in New York City – but with our upcoming trip to Japan, this year we kept it low key.
Stedelijk Museum
Luckily I was able to see Christina one more time before she headed back to the States. It doesn’t matter where we are – America, the Netherlands, Belgium – nothing beats a girls’ day. This time we were in Amsterdam!
Marcel
We finally made it to Marcel. After passing the restaurant many times and saying we should eat there one day, we finally did!
Empire Biscuit
Day Six was our last day in Scotland before heading back home. We started the day with a coffee and breakfast from Riverhill Coffee Bar. I finally tasted the Empire Biscuit – a cookie I had seen everywhere during the trip – and it was so delicious!
Island of Jura
Day Five in Scotland began very early with the morning ferry at 6:30 am! We had a beautiful view of the sun rising over the island of Jura.
An American in Antwerp 