Eat Like a Local: Food Tour of Ikebukuro, Akabane, and Jujo

On this food tour of Ikebukuro, Akabane, and Jujo, you’ll be eating like a local! If a couple of those locations don’t sound familiar to you, that’s because this tour starts off in the entertainment hotspot of Ikebukuro, then veers towards the more off-the-beaten-path areas of Tokyo. You won’t find any tourist traps here! During this Tokyo tour, you’ll eat and drink your way through 3 distinctly Japanese food locations: a food basement in Ikebukuro, shopping street in Jujo, and izakaya in Akabane. First, we’ll check out Ikebukuro, a buzzing district with heaps to consume, from food to drinks to entertainment. Here, we’ll visit a “depachika” (food basement) located just outside Ikebukuro Station. Passing by glistening cases of prepared food, immaculately decorated sweets, and perfectly packaged omiyage (souvenirs), we’ll work up an appetite, tasting a few samples here and there, then choose a snack or two to share. Next up is Jujo, a more residential area in Tokyo that is known for its “shotengai” (shopping street). Here you can find everything from piping hot street food to sake shops to miso specialty stores. We’ll also enjoy samples of various sake and shochu at one of these shops. Then, we’ll indulge ourselves in some more tasty snacks and browse local mom-and-pop shops, stopping to chat with the owners. For our last stop, we’ll head to Akabane, a laid back area where you’ll visit niche izakayas that are unknown to most foreign tourists. The word to know here is “tachinomiya” (standing bar), which are casual eateries where you can enjoy a variety of izakaya foods like karaage fried chicken and edamame alongside refreshing beers or fragrant umeshu (plum wine). This Tokyo food tour is run by an easygoing British host who has been living in Japan for 17 years and has accumulated a repertoire of tasty local restaurants and bars to quench your thirst. Come hungry, because you won’t want to miss out on any morsel during this food tour!