You’ve heard of Shibamata, right? Even the most hardened pretend-we-still-live-in-America sort of expat has been told of the “It’s Hard to be a Man” movie series, wherein the main character Tora san hails from a quaint, old-fashioned neighborhood of Tokyo called Shibamata. Then again, they probably don’t discuss such things at TAC. It IS indeed […]
Month: April 2011
- Chinese
- ...
Emmado, Kanda (炎麻堂)
Another lunch, another chain store. Only this was the last day before Golden Week, and I felt festive. Really wanted ramen, but didn’t find anything, and when I saw a mapo tofu specialty store, I was hooked. Spicy is almost as good as ramen, and sort of healthier if you neglect to mention the pork […]
- Kanda
- ...
Morihachi, Kanda (森八 室町店)
It’s always tempting to think you’ve tried something great and unique; I was pretty happy that I finally went in to Morihachi, but it was pretty apparent that it wasn’t a family-run operation. Not that this is a terrible thing. There’s little difference between this place and a family shop – the old woman at […]
- curry
- ...
Crown Ace Curry, Kanda
Very indecisive today. That can tend to happen, either because I’m genuinely indecisive on the day or because I feel like going somewhere new and end up going to an area with few unexplored options left. In this case I rounded a corner after 20 minutes aimless wander, saw ‘curry’ and thought ‘bing!’ Plus, ‘Crown […]
- Kanda
- ...
Tsukesoba Aduchi, Kanda (つけ蕎麦安土)
Walking to work this morning I was reflecting on the near-miss of almost living in Kayabacho Tower when I moved to Japan 7 years ago. Never a big fan of moving, I’ve been in the same apartment in Mon-naka since I got here. And I still think Kayabacho would be a lousy place to live, […]
Mus-mus, Marunouchi
As you may have heard, I tend to go to a new restaurant for lunch every day. Working in the greater Otemachi area allows an incredible range of choice – for example the Shin Marunouchi Building is 5 minutes walk but has 45 dining options. I haven’t exhausted them all, especially the ones up on […]
- izakaya
- ...
Tsuki Maru Umi, Koenji (旬の魚と炙り焼 月○海)
We were on the hike now, walking between Nakano and Koenji. The original plan was to start while it was light and get to Asagaya around dark, but there was the crap weather, with the wind and the rain and the darkness. Once we spent an hour in another izakaya, the whole walking-outside thing wasn’t […]
- izakaya
- ...
Ajiyoshi, Nakano (酒道場 味吉)
Ahhhh, Japan. People always talk about how quirky it is, but they’re only focused on the maids and the Alice in Wonderland bars and the dancing rockabillies and costume kids in Harajuku. Actually, that’s more than enough. But the real quirks are sometimes beneath the surface. Take this place – it would be all too […]
- Other treats
- ...
Kyokin soba, Morishita (手打そば 京金)
Years it’s been that I’ve been jogging by this soba place on Kiyosumi Dori thinking it looked good. I mean, it was there long before me – over 100 already, while I’ve only put in 7 – but it still looks good. Somehow I neglected a picture of the outside, which is much the best […]
Echigoya Wakasa, Morishita (越後屋若狭)
Some time ago, I was idly perusing the tabelogz as I like to do on many a quiet afternoon. Looking at the top 20-rated restaurants in Tokyo, I spotted an oddity. It was on my side of the river. One of Tokyo’s best 20 restaurants out of 160,000 listings? An easy walk from home? And […]