Oh for goodness’ sake, will the stream of amazing restaurants never end? Just when I was getting a bit sick of myself for ordering the same nuta and bitter vegetables and raw fish and finishing with fried food and hot sake, along comes a place with creative food, killer atmosphere, good saki, and great prices, […]
Ikebukuro
- bar
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Kibouan, Ikebukuro (希紡庵 きぼうあん)
Urban hiking. I just love walking in Tokyo. Today I was out for a medium hike, starting in Shin Okubo (just north of Shinjuku) and hiking to Ikebukuro to look for a couple places I had seen online but forgot to get links or addresses for. So you could say I was hiking four stations […]
Miracle Fruits Cafe, Ikebukuro
This place is inside Namja Town, an odd little bit of Sunshine City that’s described in some more detail here. Keep in mind that you’ll have to pay Y300 per person to gain access to the delights of Namja Town, including MFC. Miracle Fruits have gained popularity in the last couple years, it’s fair to […]
Gyoza Stadium, Ikebukuro
Namja? Nanja? This place came to me through several sources, and was the cause of some discord before eventually resulting in a fun visit. A fun and weird visit. And tiring. I felt old (fortunately it wasn’t just me that felt tired and confused by the time we left, so maybe it’s not age. Yet.). […]
- izakaya
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Umibatake, Ikebukuro (海畑)
Last year when I went to Sunny Spot in Ikebukuro, I left my camera on the bar. In fairness to myself, I was away from my seat for an extended period playing guitar, and during that time other people crowded around the spot where I had been sitting, which helped me forget the camera. But […]
- bar
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Sunny Spot, Ikebukuro
Emboldened by success at Rocky Top, I decided to branch out and explore some of Tokyo’s other live country music venues. Sunny Spot is on the west side of Ikebukuro, and turns out to be a smallish, friendly one-room bar in an odd basement that contains at least 3 live-music venues. And a decent sake […]
- izakaya
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Miharukoma, Ikebukuro (三春駒)
I made some early New Year’s resolutions for 2010, and they were as follows: 1. Drink more sake, especially in izakayas that specialize in it 2. Drink more champagne, especially RM or ‘grower’ champagne (grape to bottle by one firm, as opposed to the NM model adhered to by all the famous names) 3. Drink […]