After dinner at the very tasty and historic Otafuku, it was time to stroll around Asakusa. For those young readers just learning about the Rolling Stones and Beatles, this little shop seems to be inspired by the Midnight Rambler and Piggies. But it has nothing to do with Pink Floyd, which you’re not old enough […]
mid-price
- Chinese
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Yunrin, Awajicho (神田 雲林)
In a funny little corner between Kanda, Akiba and Ochanomizu is this triangle holding a bunch of preserved buildings (like the famous Yabu and Matsuya sobas, but also an inscrutable chicken sukiyaki specialist, monkfish stew house Isegen, and a lovely sweets cafe), but also a good Italian, and even a well-rated Chinese. It’s a good lunch meeting point for […]
Yamabukitei, Shiroishi (やまぶき亭)
Once I heard an expression in Japanese that translated as “1,000 regional specialties, none of them good.” I’ve mentioned to a lot of people since then, and no one has ever heard it before. I mention it (again) now in the hope that some will verify it. If you’re at all a regular reader here, […]
Asahiken tonkatsu, Kanda (旭軒)
A couple people have said to me recently, they said, “Jon, how’d you get so funky?” and I had to say “I don’t think that’s what you mean to ask. I think you’re really asking a deeper question about why I go to different restaurants all the damn time, and why I sometimes go to […]
- Other treats
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Haruno, Omotesando (はるの)
Omotesando dining has always presents problems – everyone feels like there are tons of great restaurants mixed with the fancy shopping, but it’s not true. Today in the middle of a walk we wandered into this place; it turned out to be ‘healthy dining’, but not in a bad way, in a stylish room with […]
- Other treats
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Gonroku ramen, Morishita (ごんろく)
Ah, you were expecting…something other than noodles? Well, I expected not to eat ‘year end soba’, so I made up for it by eating ramen all 5 days leading up to the new year. Here’s #3. It’s a tsukemen place that I jog by a lot. Even early in the morning, it smells good out […]
San Facon, Kagurazaka
As mentioned a few days ago, here’s the lunch at this slightly higher-end place in Kagurazaka (KGRZ, to the hip kids). Koala looks very prim demonstrating how to cross the street and enter the restaurant. Walking from Iidabashi B4 is your best bet since this is in the eastern corner of KGRZ. I like to […]
Nagomi, Sendagi (和味)
It bears mention again – there are few neighborhoods better for an afternoon of exploration with someone than Nezu. It’s a place you don’t get tired of – you may have read about visits with Woodsy, McNoonan, and even by myself, twice. The long jog that finally tweaked my knees for the year was a couple […]
- bistro
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Brasserie Nature, Funabashi (ＢＲＡＳＳＥＲＩＥ 菜厨瑠)
Boarding the Sobu line at Tokyo. People were backed up all the way across the platform (most of you have been here – it’s the same as the Narita Express platform), and the train was sardine-packed all the way out to Funabashi. I was traveling out to meet reader Rocky, who recently moved from Alabama […]
- izakaya
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Rokuzou, Shibuya (居酒屋六蔵)
[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 […]