I tend to prefer the Incheon-Narita flights. Haneda-Tokyo has a strong business feel to it, more like popping over for an errand and heading straight back than actually traveling. Incheon and Narita are both big airports with plenty of facilities and things to see, so they are good places to spend the odd bits of time on a trip. Narita in particular now has a cheap and fast way into the city, which has made it a lot more convenient.

After making it out of Narita and reaching Asakusa, I got my errands more or less done and went for a late lunch at tri-R Shibatani, my favorite bakery and cafe in Tokyo. It was opened by a chef who used to run a French restaurant, built around the bread and desserts he had been making as a hobby on the side.

Hot ginger

It being winter, I ordered tri-R’s special ginger tea.

Sandwich

I ordered it as a late lunch, and it was loaded with cheese from Kyodo Gakusha, a brand in Hokkaido that specializes in cheesemaking. The funky, pungent cheese flavor was delicious, but the bread was a bit too hard and awkward to eat. French bread is hard by nature, but I think it would have been easier to eat if they had used bread that was a day or so older.

Kyodo Gakusha cheese

It is a bit pricey, but at this quality it is barely any different from French cheese. It suddenly reminded me of Silver Spoon. Even at these prices they can’t be making much..

tri-R’s orange peel and macarons

It had been a while since my last visit, and the orange peel had become a regular item, and macarons had appeared too. There is no way I could not buy desserts like these.

The special macaron

It is about twice the size of a regular macaron, and rather than being crisp, it is firm like a cookie. The chocolate filling is dense and sticky too, so it fills your mouth with something to chew on. A completely new concept of macaron. It only keeps for a day or two, so it was a shame I couldn’t bring any back to Korea.

Canelé

No further explanation needed, it is genuinely delicious. Still amazing. I will have to drop by again on my next visit to Japan.

Truffle

Like the gateau chocolat at Ken’s Cafe, the chocolate flavor was really intense. A place that does one thing well tends to do everything else well too.

A notice I saw on the way

Apparently the 23 Banchi Cafe is being turned into Sumidagawa Bar and reopening. Hmm.. the beer will taste the same, so I guess it is the snacks and the interior that are changing.. The streets of Asakusa have changed a little here and there too, so on my next visit I would like to focus on the places that are new.

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