We fulfilled a bucket list item for the wife by watching Kabuki at the Kabukiza Theatre in Ginza. Was more interesting than I expected though a little long (almost 4 hours).

As a reward, we had dinner at Maisen Tonkotsu in Shibuya. Yet another Tokyo institution I had to have again. This time, I tried the Tokyo X Pork which I paired with a nice shochu made from soba. The cutlet was juicy and tender on the inside and perfectly crispy on the outside with no heavy greasiness associated with deep fried foods. There was even a special tonkatsu sauce specifically for the Tokyo X! A little thin for me but the taste was sweet and tangy with what I believe was grated apple mixed in. My favorite is still the thick tonkatsu sauce which I ate over the pork, cabbage, and rice! Will be dreaming of this tonkotsu until the next time we come to Tokyo.

Back in Tokyo and wanted to grab a quick bite after getting off the train. We decided to hit some “fast food” and luckily there was a CoCo Ichibanya near our hotel. It should be said that Japanese chains are still high quality places. Even the convenience stores have great food.

I ended up getting a chicken burger with soft boiled egg curry. Paired it with some okra and mountain yam. Finally had to order the beef croquette to complete the meal. So comforting on a cold night.

We headed back to Tokyo after our time in Kyoto. We'll miss the city, the food, and our friends. Of course we took the shinkansen again (love that JR Pass!).

Instead of doing bento on the train, we had time to grab lunch at Kyoto station. The station itself is massive. Imagine a large shopping mall attached to one of the busiest train exchanges in Japan. There were too many high quality restaurants to choose from so we just ended up going to a place that had a little of everything. Tagoto @ The Cube (the big department store in the station) mainly has soba but pairs it with other dishes. On the 11th floor of the building, it overlooks the Kyoto station below for an amazing view. We got one with unagi rice and another with sabazushi which is an older style of sushi with pickled mackerel wrapped in kombu. It was a simple and quick meal which was delicious. We boarded the train happy and satisfied for the ride back to Tokyo!

The main reason for our trip to Japan was for my daughter to see her favorite animal - DEERS! Nara Park was on her wish list for a while because it's where hundreds (maybe thousands?) of deer are allowed to roam free with no fear. We took the one hour train from Kyoto and made our way to the park. All the iconography in the city are deer related, including street signs, buses, and even manhole covers!

Once you enter the park, you are immediately swarmed by deer looking for you to feed them deer crackers (can be purchased from vendors throughout the park for 150 yen). It went from cute petting zoo to aggressive head butting quite quickly! For those who plan to take small kids, just be aware that these are wild animals and many are not docile. I was butted quite often when I had crackers in my hand and even nipped a couple of times. The deer will leave you alone if you don't have crackers so if you don't want the attention, just don't have any in your hand. With all that said, it was an overwhelmingly positive experience for us to be so close to the deer.

Aside from the deer, a big highlight of the park is the huge Buddha statue at the Todai-ji Temple. The temple itself is huge and beautiful. The large statue of the Buddha is a site to behold. Be sure to walk all the way around and see the statue from all angles.

On the way back to the train station, we stopped by a tuna restaurant called Maguro Koya. It's tucked in a side alley and looks completely unassuming from the outside. Inside, is no different with a simple setup for the husband and wife establishment. As the name suggests, they serve mainly tuna and it does not disappoint. We got meal sets of maguro, chutoro, and otoro. No fancy presentations, just sliced supremely high quality tuna served with miso soup and rice. If you are a tuna sashimi fan, this place will exceed expectations.

We're heading to Nara Park today and stopped at Komeda's Coffee for breakfast. Another favorite of ours for the egg salad sandwich. Have not been able to find an egg salad sandwich in the US that is as fluffy and delicate. Plus the fresh baked bread is outstanding. Perfectly toasted!