Heavens, how many times have I bemoaned the lack of availability of 720ml bottles of really excellent sake? Yes, far too many times (internally if not in writing or verbally). Well, look no further. It turns out the alley-like space squeezed in next to a Sankus a few blocks from my apartment has an astounding […]
Author: Jon
- bar
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Sound Bar Lip, Shibuya
Have you ever noticed how there are all sorts of funky places hiding out in plane sight in the middle of Tokyo? You have? Everyone knows that? OK, never mind. After leaving Betterave, we flocked around for a bit. This bridal salon was next door, and they were still working on things even at 10:30 […]
Betterave, Shibuya
I had been meaning to call the Peafowl to go out during Golden Week. Specifically I was thinking of the 30th, but I started thinking I should rest between some of the other engagements and never called. Then Peacock called in the morning of the 30th, and with a smidgen of serendipity, all was set. […]
- Kanda
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Mimasuya, Kanda (みますや)
There’s no way you can not love a neighborhood institution, especially when it’s been going since Meiji 38 (1906, methinks), and especially when the neighborhood is Kanda? Even the most casual reader should know how fond I am of Kanda as a lunch destination; it’s something about the way just enough glimpses of the area’s former […]
- Other treats
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Matsusou, Yurakucho (まつ惣)
When Roofie and I agreed to meet for dinner in Yurakucho, visions of cheerful-cheep-chicken excellence at Tonton danced in my head. Unsurprisingly, they had started dancing in the heads of dozens of others long before we got there. This is why I always reserve these days; it’s just not worth the risk. And that’s how […]
Okamo’s Diner, Monzennakacho
Yo Okamo, whassup? You’ve been doing business in my town for years (2), I dunno why I never stopped by. Misguided effort to limit caloric intake on weeknights, I suppose. Okamo is here, hiding below a much bigger sign for a pub. (Yes, a “pub”, if you know what I mean. But not like you’re […]
Bigote, Nihonbashi
‘Bigote’, of course, is Italian for ‘bigot’, so it’s no surprise that the ample signage around the door of this otherwise-pleasantly bohemian cafe proudly proclaims “No Lesser Races”. Of course in the absence of specificity about which races that would entail, they seem quite happy to admit anyone for a pleasant sit on the mismatched […]
- Other treats
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Junren Ramen, Takadanobaba (純連)
Really great weather today, and with no particular responsibilities I decided to wander through the Okubo guitar stores (as well as the little street of Halal food stores, did you know that was there? Opposite the station exit, jog to the left.). The way to Okubo for me involves changing trains in Takadanobaba (or walking […]
- bistro
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Le Mont St Michel, Mejiro
Yves Ringler was a soldier in the Jimmy Cayne mob, running numbers out of Tokyo. They called him “The Wringer” even though that doesn’t really sound like his name if you pronounce it properly. He managed to give up the life a few years ago, showing a good deal of prescience. As you may know, I […]
- Other treats
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Tanakaya, Mejiro
Sure, I feel just a touch guilty posting a post that’s only about a liquor store. But I did buy something there, and I will consume it, so I hope you’ll agree it’s fare gayme (squire). Besides which, it must be the best liquor store in Tokyo. Or Japan. It’s a payle shadow of the […]