Yooooooshta. It’s official. I have now been to all of the good sake places in Tokyo. Think you know another? Nope. Not good. This is the last one. Boo-yah! Well good, I’m glad we could all agree on that. And how could you not agree that it’s a good place? Look at that banner! It’s […]
sake
- izakaya
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Besshan, Mitaka (居酒家べっしゃん,西東京市東伏見)
More than once, my friends, I have been accused of completism, photo-phetishism, and other sins. Well, I thought this narrow tunnel, small enough for only one car at a time, was pretty neat. And now I’ve tricked you into reading about it. haaa haaaaa. After a brisk day’s hiking and soaking, we roared back along […]
Yamakou, Monzen Nakacho (鮎の里 山幸)
Yeah, I was disgruntled at work again. Didn’t deal with it that well; stopped off at an izakaya on the way home. It’s a problem with Monnaka – I may never run out of new places to try, even when they’re old places like this. ‘Mountain Happiness’ specializes in ayu, a small river fish that […]
Shukuzu, Ningyocho (酒喰洲)
For a sizable segment of the Japanese population, the definition of ‘heaven’ would be ‘cheap drinks and cheaper fish’. Quality doesn’t necessarily enter into it, and standing up is fine too. So if you can offer decent produce across the board like Shukuzu, that’s a winner. Standing isn’t really my thing, but I was here […]
- izakaya
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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
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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 […]
Mameya, Shintomicho (小料理 まめや)
Shintomi is a funny little neighborhood, and I like it. It’s not obviously charming – the main thing is small office buildings, but there are some nondescript modern apartments mixed in. And here and there, a shop or restaurant scratching out a living. Mameya’s building, an old townhouse built sometime early in Showa, reminds me […]
Izumiya, Jimbocho (神田和泉屋)
Remember a while ago I went to this tolerable-but-expensive izakaya in a really small alley in the fun part of Jimbocho? Since I was in the area for an afternoon’s vacation, I went back to see the store. They’ve been doing it since 1936, and it kinda shows, but not in a bad way. What […]
- Asakusa
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Sake no Daimasu, Asakusa (酒の大桝・本店)
Once in a while I like to mix it up, get funky, keep things fresh…unlike all those fraises. And in keeping with the unfortunate hobby I’ve been submerged in, that means bringing you a liquor shop that I think is particularly good. I go into a lot of shops – all that riding around on […]
- izakaya
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Sasashin, Ningyocho (笹新)
Right in the middle of Amazake Yokocho is Sasashin. While I’ve seen it before, I was never that clear what they do – it’s not explained that well from the outside, nor that welcoming. Actually, it’s not that welcoming inside either; very atmospheric, but a little dirty and desperate By way of illustration, here’s the […]