Tokyo Station is huuuuge. It feels like you will need a map just to navigate your way around Tokyo Station. Being one of the main stations for not only subways but also shinkansen, Tokyo Station has undergone numerous renovations in the past few years to make it bigger and better.

On a quiet rest day, we decided to walk around the station leisurely…

Tokyo Ramen Street, Tokyo Station

First stop is always food stop! LOL. I think the name needs little explanation, but here goes: you can find heaps of ramen restaurants at Ramen Street, inside Tokyo Station.

We chose a rather popular one called Rokurinsha. It has a visible queue during lunch time, and we waited for about 20-30 minutes before getting a seat.

Ramen Street at Tokyo Station, Chuo, Tokyo, Japan Ramen Street at Tokyo Station, Chuo, Tokyo, Japan

Their specialty is tsukemen, cold ramen with hot and thick dipping sauce. Tsukemen has to be my favourite type of ramen, so I was really excited to try this. The texture of the ramen was bouncy. The soup tasted oh-so-good.

Ramen Street at Tokyo Station, Chuo, Tokyo, Japan

Once we were done with the noodles, we followed what everyone else around us did… We could ask the waiter to add some water and yuzu juice to the soup to make it drinkable. The thick tsukemen based soup suddenly tasted tangy and soupy. It was interesting, not my favourite part of the meal, but I’d recommend everyone to try it anyway!

Ramen Street at Tokyo Station, Chuo, Tokyo, Japan

Was it worth the wait? I think so. I would go back again when I’m around Tokyo Station. Although, with so many other ramen restaurants that I have yet tried, maybe I should opt for variety rather than familiarity, huh?! Either way, you should definitely give Rokurinsha a go! Ramen Street at Tokyo Station, Chuo, Tokyo, Japan

Right opposite the ramen joint was a convenient store selling all kinds of Kit Kat. This was our first sighting (in this trip) and I got really excited! Sadly, since we had so many other stops to make, we didn’t buy any. I really wish we did – those citrus golden blend looked good.

In case you’re not aware, Japan has a crazy amount of Kit Kat variety that you wouldn’t be able to find elsewhere. And some of them are prefecture-specific that you might only be able to get them from places like Tokyo Station and other touristy places. So yup, stock up!

First Avenue Tokyo Station, Chuo, Tokyo, Japan First Avenue Tokyo Station, Chuo, Tokyo, Japan

First Avenue, Tokyo Station

We then walked to First Avenue, a section of Tokyo Station which focused on confectionary & sweets as well as Character Street (more on this later).

First Avenue Tokyo Station, Chuo, Tokyo, JapanFirst Avenue Tokyo Station, Chuo, Tokyo, JapanFirst Avenue Tokyo Station, Chuo, Tokyo, Japan

It seemed like we could find any flavour of Pretz and Pocky in Japan too! They had some really odd ones like unagi flavoured Pretz. Next time, I’ll give them a try…

First Avenue Tokyo Station, Chuo, Tokyo, JapanFirst Avenue Tokyo Station, Chuo, Tokyo, JapanFirst Avenue Tokyo Station, Chuo, Tokyo, Japan

We then walked to Character Street, which had stores such as Hello Kitty, Rilakkuma, Shonen Jump, Ghibli, and more. It was a feast for the eyes… and if you’re in for some shopping, I think you can really waste a whole lot of money here!

First Avenue Tokyo Station, Chuo, Tokyo, JapanFirst Avenue Tokyo Station, Chuo, Tokyo, Japan First Avenue Tokyo Station, Chuo, Tokyo, Japan First Avenue Tokyo Station, Chuo, Tokyo, Japan First Avenue Tokyo Station, Chuo, Tokyo, Japan First Avenue Tokyo Station, Chuo, Tokyo, Japan First Avenue Tokyo Station, Chuo, Tokyo, Japan

We could probably spend even longer at Tokyo Station, however we were really having one helluva lazy day… So we left to find some special dessert.

Hidemi Sugino, Kyobashi

In Tokyo alone, you could find so many French-inspired Japanese patisserie (or is it Japanese-inspired French patisserie?) that are worth visiting.

Hidemi Sugino, for example, is a household name for those who are into French patisserie. I’m not going to pretend to be one, so I’m just going to admit that I don’t know who he is until I started searching online (and was recommended by a friend to give this a try). Hidemi Sugino was trained in France and won the prestigious Coupe de Monde de la Pâtisserie in 1991 before returning to Japan to open his first cake shop in Tokyo.

Hidemi Sugino cakes at Kyobashi, Tokyo, Japan

The shop is tucked away somewhere in a quiet neighbourhood area, although it is only about 10-15 minutes walk from Tokyo Station (but we got lost and it took us a while longer). I’ve heard that you might sometimes need to queue up to get the more popular cakes – those popular ones had to be eaten in store as they were too delicate to be taken away.

Hidemi Sugino cakes at Kyobashi, Tokyo, Japan Hidemi Sugino cakes at Kyobashi, Tokyo, Japan Hidemi Sugino cakes at Kyobashi, Tokyo, Japan

We chose two pieces and brought them back to our hotel. The one pictured above is the Tartelette au Caramel (i.e. caramel tart, for the English speakers). It was to die for.

Hidemi Sugino cakes at Kyobashi, Tokyo, Japan

I would like to do this the Japanese way the next time I visit Hidemi Sugino… Queue up, order to eat in, and really appreciate the goodness of these delicious cakes. I’m not a cake connoisseur, but yup, Hidemi Sugino cakes were gooooood.

If you have other cake/patisserie stores in Tokyo, Japan (or in Melbourne, Australia) that you totally love, please leave a comment below… Because I’d really love to give them a try!