Having worked for a travel company for a decade I have spent countless time at airports around the world. Once my luggage has been checked in I really enjoy the free time before boarding the plane. Airports are great for people watching, and if you are lucky, another opportunity for a nice meal.

Haneda’s international terminal has an impressive selection of good eats in a very cool area called the Edo Market Place. There is often a line at Tsurutontan, the udon noodle shop.

My favorite oden shop in Tokyo, Ginza Ogura, also has a branch here. The oden broth is lightly seasoned, not the intense soy broth that is usually found in the Tokyo area.

There is also sushi, ramen, soba, sukiyaki, yakiniku, kushiyaki, tonkatsu, and yoshoku. And I hate to say it, but I had my first average meal in Tokyo recently at the yoshoku restaurant at Haneda. No matter how good the photo of the omuraisu with the demi-glace sauce looks in the promotional photo in the shop window, it doesn’t taste as good as it looks. Eat elsewhere.

And, do save time for shopping. There is a tiny branch of Ginza’s famous Ito-ya stationary shop, a colorful tenugui and furoshiki shop, and plenty of omiyage shops selling regional foods. We found some of our favorite seafood products from Sato Suisan in Hokkaido at one of the shops. And if you are into Kit Kats, then check out the seasonal flavors, which at the moment includes a wasabi flavored Kit Kat.