While walking around, I came across the capsule toy shop gashacoco and was drawn inside before I knew it. After carefully considering my options, I tried the Moomin tabletop mini alarm clock series. The quality is quite good, and it costs only JPY 500, making it a nice decoration for the office. I also accidentally got a Snoopy umbrella charm. Although it really is a useless little trinket, it's still very comforting. Don't forget that you can also redeem a beautiful pair of chopsticks here!
gashacoco Ikebukuro | Review by Linda Liao
Other Reviews by Linda Liao
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Onigiri Bongo
This onigiri (rice ball) specialty shop is set up with counter seats, much like a sushi restaurant. Each onigiri is made to order, so you get freshly-made onigiri with crisp nori and warm rice. Their large onigiri, which are packed with plenty of fillings, are very popular.
看到電視節目的美食介紹，選了一個平日下午來訪。這家「飯糰店店面小小，但門口總有排隊人潮，假日更為可觀。好吃的祕訣在於老闆堅持使用高級的新潟米製作，口感Ｑ彈飽滿，配料多達50幾種可以任意搭配，創意無限、怎麼混搭都沒問題！因為當天晚上還有約不敢吃太多，點了一顆飯糰過過癮，搭配一碗熱騰騰的味噌湯，份量十足且餡料誠意滿滿。
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Shirakawa Joshin Main Store
Shirakawa Joshin Main Store, located near Nagoya Castle, is a long-established restaurant famous for its hitsumabushi-a renowned Nagoya specialty featuring grilled eel, cut into small pieces and served atop rice.
I specifically added Shirakawa Joshin Main Store to my itinerary just to try the eel rice I’d been looking forward to for so long! Watching the chef repeatedly brush on the secret sauce passed down through generations and grill the eel until the skin was slightly charred, crisp, and fragrant while the meat inside stayed delicate and tender made me hungry just looking at it~
Once it’s served, don’t forget to try the classic “three ways”: first, enjoy the original flavors of the eel and white rice; second, add toppings like nori, green onions, and wasabi to experience different layers of flavor; finally, pour in the dashi broth to turn it into a light, easy-to-eat ochazuke. Each of the three ways has its own flavor. The meal was very satisfying and became one of the most memorable meals of the trip.
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Yamanami Highway
The Yamanami Highway is the nickname for Prefectural Route 11, which runs from Beppu in Oita Prefecture to Ichinomiya in Kumamoto Prefecture. The route offers a refreshing drive with sweeping views of the majestic Kuju Mountain Range and other stunning scenery.
Taking a trip to Aso is, in my opinion, a great way to get to know Kumamoto. It doesn't take too long to get there from the city—after about an hour, the scenery outside the window gradually begins to change, slowly shifting from familiar city streets to endless green grasslands and mountain views, as if you've entered another world. The scenery along the way is soothing and relaxing, making you want to slow down and fully take in Aso's natural beauty. Looking down from the mountain road, the cars traveled neatly one after another along the winding road, looking as cute as little Tomica cars from a distance! We also happened to see a helicopter flying across the sky in the distance. Together with the traffic on the ground, it created views from different heights. I imagined that looking down from the air at Aso's magnificent volcanic terrain and grasslands must be beautiful too.
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