As many of you know, December 24th is the most romantic night of the year in Japan. It’s the night when all good men should be taking their women to fancy dinners, which are typically lobster, beef and truffles at horrendous prices. I am against this (cooking dinner is a better demonstration, no?). Braving the […]
washoku
Hirosaku, Shinbashi (ひろ作)
Baron Destructo. Deliberately ignoring the basic research that would remind us where this nickname came from (and he came pre-named; it’s not an EOITwJ thing), let’s just say it’s been in a year since his last visit to Japan. He’s maintained, errrr, contact, with things Japanese in the interim (sorry) and here we are again […]
- izakaya
- ...
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 […]
Uemura, Arakicho (四谷 うえ村)
This became a really long post, so I’ll spare lazy readers and say up front “Excellent. Good value if you’re an enthusiast for this style. Book 3-7 days ahead.” Arakicho is a neat place, tucked in between Shinjuku and Yotsuya, full of back streets and dark stairs and clubs and Japanese and French and everything else. […]
Chinju, Marunouchi (大志満 椿壽)
Just got back from another business lunch at an area hotspot. I say that to be clever and ironic, because one doesn’t have business lunches in hotspots. And Japan’s definition of hotspot is maybe a little different. A little cooler. And less spotty. Spotless even. Compared to last week’s business lunch, this was cheaper, fresher, […]
Uoju, Kodemmacho (魚十)
Tokyo has a garment district, did you know that? Loads of cheap-looking clothing stores, and of course fabric and whatever bits ‘n’ bobs you need to, y’know, make clothes. (If you want to check it out, it’s in Bakuroyokoyama; you could walk from Kodemmacho on the Hibiya line or else there’s a direct stop on […]
Osakaya, Monzennakacho (大阪屋)
Ahhhhh, Osakaya. When people say ‘Monzennakacho’, they’re always thinking of bargain fish specialist Uosan or else they’re thinking of Osakaya. This is probably because it features in various guide books (including the Gauntner sake book, which is in English). It’s not what it used to be, which doesn’t mean it’s not nice. Just…different. The […]
- Otemachi
- ...
Lunch Trucks, Otemachi
Yet another place to tick off the list, and in this case it’s really a ‘place’, not a restaurant by another name. In front of the Sankei building, which is just diagonal to my office, there’s a series of lunch trucks parked every day along with tables for eating their takeout. The number varies by […]
- izakaya
- ...
Gassan, Hatchobori (月山)
My work dinner finished early – awfully early, in fact, since the guest of honor had a separate dinner plan that we didn’t know about. That left me mildly fed and, having already written off the evening, not in the mood to go home. Naturally that led to a random cruise around some odd neighborhoods, […]
Tonpu, Marunouchi (とん風)
18 months into the game, there are still plenty of restaurants to try out there, and this day featured a mixed cast of characters including Koala, Ponkan and Zoner; rare to see them all together, eh? This is one of the ones on the 5th floor of Shin Maru that just never quite appealed enough […]