Had to work today, afternoon meeting plus some cleanup that finished around 5:30. After that, went up to Asakusa and discovered that it was Sanja Matsuri on the day, one of old Edo’s big 3 festivals. Another of them is Monzen Nakacho’s Hachiman Matsuri, which is so f-in awesome that it’s only held every 3 […]
sushi
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 […]
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Tsukiji
Have I mentioned before that the outer market at Tsukiji is fun? I mean, the fish parts are cool and all, but the market part is great. It’s like an open-air market in southeast Asia, but with higher quality stuff, more variety, and hygiene. Fresh wasabi, in quantity, at low prices. Can’t beat the fresh […]
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Uogashi Sushi, Tokyo (魚がし鮨)
Uogashi, I confess, sounds terrible to me as a word. Let’s leave it at that. But the concept, ‘riverside fish market’ is appealing. This is the place on Kitchen Street in Tokyo Station that I’ve avoided for months and months and months because I wasn’t in the mood, and then when I was it turned […]
- Kanda
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Kofuku, Kanda (後富久)
Were you getting as worried as I was? With only one new restaurant for lunch so far this week (one repeat, 2 bentos), I was starting to think that I’d never dine out again. Fortunately today’s inaugural ‘language practice’ lunch with my colleague You saw us visiting one of his favorites, which was new but […]
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Sushi Ichiban, Tsukiji
I’m really unsure why we didn’t just eat inside the market rather than going to this place in the outer market where they pre-slice the fish and one of the chefs chuckled when we ordered inside-out salmon rolls. At least they’re open 24 hours and are pretty cheap. You can do better. 03-3549-1452
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Hanezushi, Kanda (羽ずし)
Marketing themselves as a ‘sushi izakaya’, this place may meld the best of several money-making worlds. By limiting counter space (to about 4 seats) and focusing on tables (with about 150 seats), they can streamline production (I think the fish was pre-sliced), accept larger groups, and build a more festive (drunk) atmosphere. Good call, I […]
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Kawatake Sushi, Niigata (河竹)
Did we do anything on this vacation except eat? Sure. A little. But mostly it involved being boiled. More on that when we get to tonight’s dinner (and an exhaustive look at the incredible onsen where we stayed). But first, it’s Niigata sushi! As I mentioned in an earlier post, sushi is viewed as a […]
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Sushi Ryubi, Niigata (柳美)
As I learned when I went to Maebashi and Morioka, there’s not a lot going on in country towns outside of the Entertainment industry. That probably means that your best bet for finding dinner, should you not have been aggressive enough to book something, is to hit those areas, ignore the clubs, and look for […]
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Sushi Daizen (大前)
Daizen is a somewhat famous place – it’s right under the rail tracks in Yurakucho, meaning you have to push your way through thick clouds of chicken-grilling smoke to get there. It’s very small (9 seats?), cheap, and offers great cost performance. This is why you’ll need to book well in advance (seriously). Inside is […]