Let’s Enjoy Kameido

Let’s be honest, you might be a bit bored of visiting typical tourist spots in Japan. For beginners, they’re a good entry to know about Japan, I agree with that. Today, for those people who have come to Japan many times, I’ll introduce a bit of a deeper spot instead of such major, high-traffic places like Shibuya, Shinjuku, Asakusa, and Ginza. It is a local vibrant town, which is called Kameido (亀戸) for a half-day trip. Let’s get started!

What’s Kameido (亀戸)? 

First of all, Kameido is the name of the town. Kame(亀) stands for a turtle in Japanese. A long time ago, this area was an island that looked like a hexagon shape, like a turtle shell. So you can find a turtle icon here and there in Kameido. It takes around twenty minutes by JR from Tokyo station. You just changed another JR line at Akihabara. It’s very convenient to get there. 

11:30AM

1. The Unique  Lunch for Yakisoba

It’s not going to lie, Kameido yakisoba is not that famous, but since you have come all this way and are here now, you must eat it. Let’s explain  a little about common yakisoba, first. Yakisoba is fried noodles with onions, cabbage, and pork on a Worcestershire sauce base. Usually, they are sold at many stalls, like at festivals. It’s a popular takeout food in Japan. However, what makes Kameido yakisoba different is adding an omelet (yellow one) and tenkasu (next to the red one and bean-shaped). Tenkasu is crunchy bits of deep-fried flour-butter used in Japanese cuisine, which is used as a topping for many dishes like udon, soba, ramen, okonomiyaki, and yakisoba. This restaurant also serves special yakisoba like Mapo yakisoba and Keema curry yakisoba. When you get a chance, you can try it!

https://twitter.com/newkameyakisoba?s=21&t=8otAb4C9noaSrpUEsZNsVw

12:30PM

2. Have a Coffee Break 

Want to have a break? When you find no long waiting line here, you are so lucky and must go there. It’s called coffee dojo samurai ( 珈琲道場 侍).  It’s a cool thing to taste a cup of freshly-brewed coffee while appreciating Kabuto(兜) and Yoroi (鎧) on the rocking chair. There is usually a long line, and you have to wait for your cool experience. 

https://www.samurai-cafe.jp/en.html

1:30PM

3. What About a Unique Souvenir? 

If you want to get unique souvenirs, why don’t you buy traditional sandals? When you enter the shop, it’s like you’re in the Edo era, around 300 years ago. You can see a variety of sandals. As they are authentic items used in daily life by people in the traditional style. It’s not a toy, so you can feel their craftsmanship. 

https://g.co/kgs/Ud2Jkde

1:45PM

4. Wouldn’t You Like to Have a Beer Break?

Are you thirsty? I know you walked a lot today. Let’s have a nice IPA. For me, it was my first time to drink IPA with roasted malts. The roasted malts go well with the beer. Thinking about it, it’s very natural because the malts are one of the major ingredients of the beer. The owner came from the West Coast in the US, and lives here. They name their beer after the shrine’s name. The bar is a nice and cozy place. If you find vacant sheets there, you shouldn’t have any reason not to go. 

https://kameidobeer.com/home-en/

2:30PM

5. For Every Student, Kameido Tenjin (亀戸天神)

Kameido Tenjin (亀戸天神) was built in 1162, and Michizane Sugawarano (菅原道真) was enshrined. He is considered as god of learning. The shrine’s headquarters is situated in the Kyushu region (九州), which is called Dazaifu Tenmangu (太宰府天満宮), and the shrine is widely renowned for making your academic wish come true. So many students visit here and make their academic wish before their exams. There are beautiful flowers in the precinct in each season, especially when it holds the Fuji festival ( 藤祭り), and the wisteria flowers blossom festival in April. Its history is rich with events from over 300 years. It’s also popular as one of the touristic destinations in Tokyo. There are a lot of crowd on the ground during the season. There is a nice spot to take photos where you can see Tokyo Sky Tree on the small bridge. You can see many turtles in the pond. On a sunny day, they cling to the rock and look like sunbathing. You can grab many snacks there if you’re hungry.

3:30PM

6. Give A Shot Senbei (煎餅)

https://www.instagram.com/ookiya_senbei?igsh=NGhqdnV1Mml4Zmh2

4:00PM

7. What Is Kuzu Mochi?

There is a long waiting line to go to the cafe. The desert cafe is home to the Kuzu Mochi. It is a jelly pudding made from fermented flour. The cafe has been around for over 200 years. It’s already been popular for people who visit Kameido Tenjin in Edo era. Surprisingly, despite it takes 450 days to make Kuzu Mochi from scratch, it lasts only two days. Kuzu Mochi is a fermented food, so it’s healthy for your body.

https://www.funabashiya.co.jp/en

4:30PM

God of Sports Katori Shrine (香取神社)

4:50PM

9. Have a Sake Break

https://www.instagram.com/explore/locations/5665830/?igsh=bmtzeHNtd3hoMncz

5:30PM

10. Holumon (ホルモン)

After sipping a couple of glasses of sake, I’m getting hungry. Holumon (ホルモン) is a kind of Yakiniku dishes, which is organ meat. There’s a variety of parts of them. The taste is vary from part to part. Generally speaking, you can eat Holumon at Yakiniku restaurants all over Japan but Kameido is one of the famous places where the restaurants offer only Holumon. Most famous restaurants have a long waiting line, and you can recognize which restaurant is popular in the blink of an eye. For many years, Holumon has been popular despite their gross looks. This is because it’s said low fat and high protein food. But be careful not to eat too much—moderation is always good for your health, right? 

Here are famous Holumon restaurants in Kameido below

1. ホルモン青木 
https://g.co/kgs/BDMJud5

2. 焼肉ホルモン 木じま
https://g.co/kgs/zV7xDq9
I went here this time.

3. 初代吉田 亀戸本店
https://g.co/kgs/tUDA2Bv

6:30PM

11. Don’t Miss Gyoza (亀戸餃子)

My half-day trip is culminating with eating Kameido gyoza (亀戸餃子). If you come to Kameido, you can’t leave without having this. The restaurant looks like always crowded, but it is worth waiting. The filling of Kameido gyoza has more vegetables than a common gyoza. Plus, adding a special recipe makes it airy and fluffy. That’s why you can eat more than you think. You can order five pcs gyoza per dish. The outside is crispy, and the inside is fluffy and tasty. I’ve never eaten such gyoza that I ate a lot but never felt heavy in my stomach. Well, it’s getting a bit sleepy. Let’s go home! 

How was it? Actually, Kameido offers its unique culture in its own way. I can’t introduce today, but there are Chinese and Indian stores that sell local items. You can feel it mixed with traditional Japanese and international Asian culture. You should definitely go check it out, and you’ll be able to have fun in your own way. Thank you for taking time to read my article to the end. See you soon!