[Jan 2011: Just had a thought that ‘Rokuzou’ could be interpreted as “Let’s Roku!” in Japanese, and that could be interpreted as a katakana version of “Let’s Rock!” in English. And I liked that thought.] Shibuya at the end of the night. It’s not often that I need a sanjikai destination at those times; usually […]
- bar
- ...
Bar Children, Jiyugaoka
Pat said it best. Walk around Japan for a while, especially quiet suburbs like the outer reaches of Jiyugaoka, and you’ll see confusing places like this. In the picture it looks like a house, as it must have been just over a year ago before becoming a bar. It wouldn’t be surprising to find the […]
- izakaya
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Shibamatsu, Midorigaoka (ドスコイ酒場 ちゃんこ芝松)
Going to meet Jimmy Dean for an early opener at a chanko place that someone suggested near his residence, I thought I’d go for a bit of walk to build hunger, exercise the legs, see some sights. Once in a while a restaurant listing pops up in Hatanodai or one of the other stations on […]
- Other treats
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Aji no Machidaya, (味のマチダヤ)
No great service is being visited on the world because I’ve visited Aji no Machidaya, but it was pleasant to walk there from Ochiai station, then backtrack and ‘urban hike’ over to Mejiro for dinner at Le Mont. This little liquor shop has featured in various online writeups over the years, but I saw it […]
- Kanda
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Iroha Sushi, Kanda (いろは鮨)
This was sort of a standout lunch – not really recommended, just all manner of surprises. Everyone has walked by the place since it’s right in the middle of the Kanda west-side shotengai. I’ve avoided it for years now because it looked like it would be cheap and tired. OMG, I’ve worked in Otemachi for yearS now. […]
Restaurant Miyahara, Iidabashi (レストランミヤハラ)
One time I read that the technique used by sumos to gain weight was to eat one massive meal per day – and only that. I’m not going to say I’m there, but with small breakfasts and dinners, a lunch course like this one feels enormous. Makes me wonder how I used to eat a […]
Méli Mélo, Iidabashi (メリメロ)
Quaint exterior? Bio-dynamic wines? Decent cooking? Good prices? Yeah, I can think of some people who would like that. It would be too pat to say “And I’m one of them!” because I’ve gotten out of the habit of drinking wine, or in fact of going to wine-oriented restaurants for dinner. The pendulum will swing […]
- beer
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American, Shibuya
‘Tis the season, folks, and nothing says FESTIVE to me like a baby plastic tree in the stony lobby of a Shibuya-crossing mid-rise! Our merry crew was practically chorusing in the aisles as ve valtzed to the elevators for round 2 of this forget-the-year party. But hell, it got even better when we got upstairs! American […]
- izakaya
- ...
Sakanatei, Shibuya (酒菜亭)
Hey hey, it’s the first year-end party of the year-end. I would have just called it a party, but Journey was in the holiday spirit already, and we all have plenty to forget, so it was billed as a year-ender (which is traditionally and literally ‘forget-the-year-meeting’). With Jimmy Dean, Carter of Mars and Woodrow also […]
Kanako Hannosuke, Nihonbashi (金子半の助)
Full disclosure: Our assistant somehow picked up free lunch tickets for this place that opened mid-November. You may have noticed that I like trying new places? I like free things too. A lot. So do other folks. When You and I assayed this place last week, we found a good 20 of them in line, some of them […]