Our first shop is the restaurant in Imperial Hotel known as Parkside Diner, which has more than 130 years of history to its name.

To maintain the diner tradition of easy availability in Imperial Hotel-style, the restaurant has extended hours and is open from 6:00 a.m. in the morning to 11:00 p.m. at night. This place also has a reputation for offering quickly-made cuisine when requested by customers, which adds to its popularity.

Over half of the customers in the restaurant are foreign visitors during breakfast time, so the food menu is available in English and Mandarin Chinese as well, and customers get to enjoy free Wi-Fi as they dine. The restaurant offers a vegetarian menu and gluten-free bread options for those who need them. This amazing flexibility is yet another reason why they're so popular!

We highly recommend going with a "Parkside Breakfast (3,850 yen, tax included)" to start your day with. This is a prix fixe morning meal that allows you to pick and choose your favorite combination of breakfast foods for maximum enjoyment!

Parkside Breakfast
1) Pancakes or eggs & toast
(Choose between omelet, scrambled, sunny-side up, boiled, or poached for your eggs)

2) Drink
(Choose between fresh orange juice, apple juice, grapefruit juice, tomato juice, or Fuji mineral water)

3) Side
(Choose between ham, bacon, sausage, or mixed berries)

4) Coffee, black tea, or herbal tea

For this time, we went with the following combination:
- Pancakes
- Bacon
- Orange Juice
- Coffee

The most charming part about Parkside Diner's pancakes is the irresistible golden brown color. It takes much skill and technique to ensure the color remains beautifully uniform throughout the entire pancake and rumor has it only the most experienced chefs are allowed to handle the pancake orders.

Each pancake starts as a secret mixture of eggs, wheat flour, and other ingredients. After preparation, the mixture is made to sit for a little while, then poured into a cast-iron pan about 3 cm, or 1.1 inches thick that is used exclusively for baking delicious pancakes. This is how every Imperial Hotel pancake is traditionally made.

The pancakes are served with a side of whipped cream butter made from margarine and butter, with enough maple syrup to pour on the pancakes to enhance their taste.

The pancakes have a soft texture and an extremely fine taste. Every bite simply melts in your mouth. The combination of natural sweetness from the maple syrup and mild saltiness from the fluffy-looking butter spread is a delectable match made in heaven as well. The triple-layered pancakes are solid enough to fill up your tummy, and trust us, they'll be in there before you even realize it yourself!

The Imperial Hotel has offered these original pancakes ever since Western culture flourished in Japan after World War II. They were first served in the hotel's Garden Bar during the early 1950s, then inherited by various other restaurants in the hotel over the years. The taste of these pancakes is almost like a tradition in itself!

These long-selling pancakes have grown into a beloved dish among gourmets of Japan through the years since World War II, and visitors keen on trying them out should definitely make it a point to drop by the Imperial Hotel during their trip!

Yayoiken is next on our list. The concept behind this eatery offering traditional Japanese teishoku, or set meals is "the best sort of ordinary". This is, in fact, one of Japan's leading teishoku chain restaurants and it has a strong international presence as well. Locally in Japan, the franchise has more than 600 shops under its belt.

Looking overseas, Yayoiken has shops in Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, the United States, Australia, and many other countries. Their goal is to acquaint the rest of the world with Japan's tasty teishoku culture.

The Ginza 1-chome Yayoiken is designed to look chic and feel modern, making it a very calm and pleasant place to hang out in and enjoy your teishoku meal. We visited the store during a weekday morning and saw plenty of businessmen who work nearby sitting at the tables, enjoying their morning meals peacefully by themselves before heading off to work.

The ticket vending machine at the 1-chome store comes with English and Mandarin Chinese instructions as well. Select your preferred course, insert the money into the slots, and take the dispensed ticket to the store staff to finish making your order.

If you're wondering which item to try for breakfast, we recommend the "Salmon Broiled with Salt Teishoku (540 yen, tax included)", because this set meal is as close to an authentic and traditional Japanese breakfast as you can get. It comes with freshly cooked rice, miso soup, salmon broiled with salt, natto, fried seaweed, and a raw egg.

The well-cooked and lightly-salted salmon meat is still dripping with oil and tastes flavorful as a result. The slice of lemon that comes with it is a classic side item that aids in neutralizing the heavy taste of salmon oil.

Few of our international friends will have likely ever tried a raw egg before, so here's a tasty recommendation from us: Mix the bowl of raw egg with some light soy sauce that can be found at every table, then slather it over the rice to turn them into an exquisite "Egg Over Rice" dish.

The egg's original mellow taste goes well with the light soy sauce and will make your rice so tasty, you'll feel like going for more than one bowl of rice!

The most appealing part of "Salmon Broiled with Salt Teishoku" is the various side dishes that enhance the original sweet taste of the warm white rice. While white rice is tasty enough on its own, a moderate dash of saltiness can go a long way in satisfying your food cravings and helping you kickstart your day with the best mood possible.

Also, since there are so many interesting food combinations you can try, you're likely to keep you eating until every last scrap is polished off. This is truly a mainstream teishoku packed with all of Japan's favorite side dishes that you simply must try so as to have a taste of what a traditional Japanese local breakfast is like!

The last restaurant on our list is Eggs 'n Things, a store that has enjoyed enduring popularity among local residents. This is a Hawaiian casual restaurant that had its beginnings in Hawaii's Oahu island in 1974 with the idea of providing all-day breakfast meals to customers.

When Eggs 'n Things first started, fishing was the bread-and-butter of many in Hawaii, and so there were many fishermen who had to set off to sea to fish in the early hours of the day. These fishermen often weren't able to eat a proper breakfast. The restaurant was thus established with the goal of providing breakfasts that were hearty enough to keep the fishermen powered up for the entire day.

The Ginza branch of Eggs 'n Things features a classic Hawaiian interior decor that has a calming effect. Each table is situated quite a distance from the other as well, and the comfortable space goes a long way in making all customers feel at home. Being in Ginza, you'll find that the shop is patronized by diners of all ages, giving it a different vibe from its Harajuku branch, for example. The restaurant also has an outdoor terrace area where you can gaze at the streetscape of Ginza while enjoying your meal.

The breakfast item we highly recommend is the "Eggs 'n Panwich (935 yen, tax included)" set. The main course of panwich (a portmanteau of pancake and sandwich) comes with a side of potatoes and a drink, making it a pretty good deal at that price! This item is part of their Special Morning Menu that's only being offered from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on weekdays.

As you can see, inside the folded panwich is a generous helping of ham and cheddar cheese. Maple syrup bottles are available at every table, and needless to mention, slathering the panwich with the syrup before digging in is part of our recommendation as well!

The chewy texture of the panwich is the dish's main feature. The ham and cheddar cheese adds a moderate layer of saltiness to the overall taste, which goes incredibly well with the natural sweetness of maple syrup. The pancake looks simple and unimpressive at first glance, but that all changes once it touches your tongue and goes down into your tummy, satisfying your taste buds and hunger pangs all at once.

The restaurant's characteristic "Kona Coffee Blend" goes smoothly down your throat despite its sharp and bitter flavor. The sourness is kept to a minimum, so the taste is never overly thick. This makes it the perfect palate cleanser to a meal of pancakes covered in sticky-sweet maple syrup!

Don't forget the potato chunks that come with the pancakes as a side! They're freshly made, served warm, and more importantly, absolutely delicious! Some customers visit the restaurant specifically for the potatoes, and you'll definitely understand why once you bite into one!

Eggs 'n Things has put in much effort to support multiple languages in their the restaurant. The menu is available in Japanese, English, Mandarin Chinese, and Korean. Basic communication with the staff can be done in English if so desired. The restaurant is equipped with free Wi-Fi to make all feel at home - including international guests!

Besides their regular menu, Eggs 'n Things also offers limited time items made from seasonal ingredients available during the different seasons of Japan on a monthly rotating basis. This special menu opens you up to a lot of flavors that are uniquely Japanese, so do check it out as well to see if something tickles your fancy!

And there you have it! Three incredible places in Ginza where you can find great-tasting breakfast meals to get a good start to your day. The fact is, Ginza and its surrounding areas are full of shops offering breakfast meals worth trying.

Most of these meals are only available during breakfast times as well, so if there's a dish or two that catches your interest, don't hesitate and make definite plans to head down and try them out today!

Written by: Sayaka Narikawa, Dali Corp. English translation by: Huimin Pan