Tourist visiting or ex-pat living here in Tokyo and sick of guides like Zagat on where to eat? If so, this blog is for you. Check where locals go to eat.
It's been several years since I uploaded any new articles. I've gotten many requests over the years to continue or want my e-mail address to get in touch, but unfortunately do to my real job I just can't continue or can't interact with people personally. But I have an alternative for you to find out which restos I recommend.
I do daily post reviews in Japanese of restos, cafe, bars, bakeries, sweets on TABELOG, which is like YELP in the states. It's the most popular resto rating website in Japan. My name is Tokyo Rocks there not Tokyo Joe. I have over 600 restos that I posted reviews.
Below is the link of my page. Unfortunately, it's all in Japanese so to have it translate it in your language use Chrome browser and install Google Translate at Extensions. In English, it will only come out about 60% right because the grammar differences between English and Japanese, but it's better than nothing.
http://tabelog.com/rvwr/tokyorocks/
Anything I rate over 3.5 it means the food is good. Highest rating is 5, but my highest rating so far has been 4.5. If my rating is between 3.0-3.4 it means the food is average. Anything below that are places where anyone would say that the food isn't good.
Some of you might have heard that there are many restos in Japan where you can only get a table by introduction only from a regular. These restos don't want to be listed on Michelin guide or even won't allow regular customers to take pictures. It doesn't matter who you are or how much money you have at these restos. I have listed ratings of these restos as well since I have been fortunate to visit them through my personal and business network.
To get a table, you have to find someone who is a regular there and ask him or her to take you. Your hotel concierge cannot help you and also I can't too since these places are usually over $300 or 30,000 yen per person just for the food and I can only visit such places for special occasions or business dinners since I'm not a millionaire.
Thanks for visiting this site, and don't trust the Michelin guide too much since the people they hire to rate the restos are full of it. All real foodies in Japan laugh at their ratings.
Sorry that I haven't been able to post anything for almost a year, but my new gig has kept me away from everything including my better half. Will try to post at least twice a month from now.
Japanese people just love Korean BBQ, but that is Yakiniku (Japanese style Korean BBQ) and I think any foreigner would admit that they love it as well. There are just so many Yakiniku restaurants in Tokyo, but if you are looking for a place where you can use for a date or business dinner and still have top beef, USHIGORO at Nishi Azabu is one of the new trendy Yakiniku restaurants in Tokyo.
You can order a la carte at Ushigoro, but my recommendation is to order their most expensive course called KIWAMI COURSE for 10,000 yen per person. Kiwami means "The Best" and the beef is exceptional for this price.
It starts out with a thinly sliced Sirloin.
It's just cooked for a few seconds and then they roll it, deep it in an egg sauce and you eat at one bite.
Next is Tongue which is also thinly sliced. It's rare to see such thinly sliced tongue.
This is also just cooked for a minute or two.
Various parts of beef are provided. It usually depends on the day, but HARAMI (Skirt), TOMOSANKAKU (Top lound), KALBI (Short plate) mostly served.
Of course, KIMCHI (Spicy pickles) and NAMURU (Light boiled seasoned vegetables) come with the course.
Stomach parts like MINO (Tripe) is in the course and not chewy at all.
But the best part is CHATEAUBRIAND (center part of tenderloin). It is unbelievably tender and juicy. By far, my favorite part of beef at Ushigoro.
At the end, you get to choose from BEEF CURRY and a couple other soup rice dishes before desert.
And of course, just like any Yakiniku restaurant they offer simple deserts like ICE CREAM, and ANNINTOFU (Almond jelly).
For a yakiniku restaurant, Ushigoro has an amazing wine list. I've never seen such a wine list at at yakiniku restaurant. Plus the prices are very reasonable. Make sure you make a reservation a couple of days in advance. It is not down to earth Yakiniku, very modern, but if you are looking for a non-smoky Yakiniku restaurant with top beef and service, Ushiroku is for you.
USHIGORO （in Japanese, うしごろ） Address: 2-24-14 Nishi Azabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo (in Japanese, 東京都港区西麻布2-24-14) Nearest train station: Tokyo Metro Roppongi or Hiroo (10 min walk) Tel: 03-3406-4129 Reservations: Yes Website: http://www.ushigoro.com/jp/ (in Japanese only) English menu: Yes Credit Card: Yes Open: 5pm-12am (Last order is 11pm) Closed: None, but New Years
Prices: Kiwami Course 10,000 yen Other courses from 5,000 and 8,500 yen
When there weren't much restaurants in Shirogane, TOSHIAN was one of few restaurants there and also one of the best soba restaurants in Tokyo.
In the early 90's, one of my bosses brought me here. He was a soba freak and I really wasn't since I'm more of a udon lover, but Toshian opened my eyes to fine soba.
Just like any fine soba restaurant, to know how good they are you wanna try out SEIRO (Cold Soba) for 800 yen. The dipping sauce isn't salty as other soba restaurants and buckwheat aroma which comes out from the soba is classical.
If you want some tempura with it then choose TENSEIRO (Cold Soba with Kakiage) for 1,900 yen. Its a classical kakiage (round tempura) which isn't oily at all.
If you want a fluffier thinker tempura there is KAKIARARE (Think round tempura with scallops over soba) for 1,250 yen. Instead of dipping the tempura and soba into the sauce, you pour the sauce over it.
For soba in hot soup, try KAMONANBAN (Grilled duck breast in soup soba) for 1,900 yen.
They also have authentic starter dishes like DASHIMAKI TAMAGO (Egg omulet),
AIYAKI (Grilled duck breast and green onions) and many other dishes.
Many soba lovers say that the quality of Toshina has gone done, but in my opinion it has stayed the same and its just that there are many good soba restaurants compared to the past. Its authentic soba, building and decor reminds you of 50- 60's of Japan. There could be a decent wait on weekends, but if you are ever in Shirogane area and looking for authentic soba its worth the wait.
TOSHIAN （in Japanese, 利庵） Address: 5-17-2 Shiroganedai, Minato-ku, Tokyo (in Japanese, 東京都港区白金台5-17-2) Nearest train station: Tokyo Metro Shiroganedai (3 min walk) Tel: 03-3444-1741 Reservations: No Website: None English menu: No Credit Card: No Open: 11:30am-7:30pm Closed: Monday & Tuesday (but will open if its a holiday)
Prices: Soba from 800-1,900 yen Other dishes from 500-2,000 yen
When I was growing up as a child, we always had Kakigoori (Shaved Ice) during the summer. Visiting a Japanese sweet cafe was a treat, but now a days its hard to find a good Japanese sweet cafe which has great Kakigoori. But SHIMURA at Mejiro is probably one of the best in all of Tokyo.
What makes Shimura's kakigoori special is not only that the ice is extra fine, but any syrup which used fruit is made out of real fruit. Most popular and my favorite as well is KOHRI NAMA ICHIGO (Shaved ice with fresh strawberry sauce) for 800 yen. The strawberries may look somewhat like a jam in this picture but they are actually firmer, somewhere between fresh strawberries and strawberry jam.
They also have other kakigoori with fruit like KOHRI BUDOH (Shaved ice with fresh grape sauce) for 800 yen,
KOHRI ANZU (Shaved ice with fresh apricot sauce) for 800 yen,
KOHRI TSUBUTSUBU NATSU MIKAN MILK (Shaved ice with fresh summer tangerine & sweetened condensed milk) for 900 yen
They have original flavors like KOHRI CARAMEL (Shaved ice with caramel sauce) for 650 yen,
and also traditional flavors like KOHRI UJIKINTOKI (Shaved ice with green tea & sweat red bean) for 850 yen.
You can also add toppings like vanilla ice cream, Shiratama (chewy small rice powder balls), sweetened condensed milk for 100 yen each.
They also have other summer sweets like HIYASHI SHIRUKO (Cold sweet red bean soup) for 650 yen,
TSUKUMO ICE (Vanilla ice cream with Kinako jelly) for 600 yen,
and REIMATCHA (Cold green tea) for 500 yen.
Of course, they have sweets served all year around like ANMITSU for 700 yen,
and MATCHA ANMITSU (Green tea anmitsu) for 800 yen.
If you want to have kakigohri with fruit syrup this is the place to go. There is no other Japanese sweet shop which serves such great fresh fruit syrup and I always wonder why other shops didn't copy their idea. Mejiro is a residential area between Shinjuku and Ikebukuro on JR Yamanote line, but I guarantee you its worth the stop to just visit Shimura on a hot summer afternoon.
SHIMURA （in Japanese, 志むら） Address: 3-13-3 Mejiro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo (in Japanese, 東京都豊島区目白3-13-3) Nearest train station: JR Mejiro (1 min walk) Tel: 03-3953-3388 Reservations: No Website: None English menu: None Credit Card: No Open: 9am-7pm Closed: Sunday
Prices: Kohri Name Ichigo (Shaved ice with fresh strawberry sauce) 800 yen Kohri Budoh (Shaved ice with fresh grape sauce) 800 yen Kohri Anzu (Shaved ice with fresh apricot sauce) 800 yen Kohri Ujikintoki (Shaved ice with green tea & sweat red bean) 850 yen Kohri Caramel (Shaved ice with caramel sauce) 650 yen Toppings (Vanilla ice cream, Shiratama, Sweetened condensed milk) each for 100 yen Tsukumo Ice (Vanilla ice cream with Kinako jelly) 600 yen Reimatcha (Cold green tea) 500 yen Anmitsu 700 yen Matcha Anmitsu (Green tea anmitsu) 800 yen Hiyashi Shiruko (Cold sweet red bean soup) 650 yen Other dishes 105-1,200 yen
This resto may not be for all of you, but its probably the most famous motsuyaki (roast pork giblets) restaurant and also located at a deep lower middle class area of Tokyo. UCHIDA at Keisei Tateishi is the place where motsuyaki lovers visit from all over from Japan.
If you never been to Uchida, you better start googling on what's available or how to order since there menu on the wall doesn't say what kind of motsuyaki they have. It will only say Motsuyaki 180 yen on the menu.
For drinks, they only have sake, shochu, whisky (all served straight without ice only) and bottled beer, but what almost everyone orders is UME (Shochu wiht plum syrup). It's pretty strong to say the least. Whatever you order, you are only allowed to order 5 glasses since they don't want customers to be completely drunk.
You can have your motsuyaki cooked lightly called WAKAYAKI, well done called YOKUYAKI and some items are served raw called NAMA. If you don't tell them anything, it will be served medium. You can also choose what sauce you want. Lightly salted is called SHIO, normal sweet motsuyaki sauce is called TARE like other motsuyaki restos, soy sauce is called SUYAKI, and they have MISO as well which most people don't order. The above picture is Kashira Yokuyaki Suyaki (Well done cheek meat with soy sauce). KASHIRA is probably the most popular part of all motsu since its actually meat not giblet.
Other motsuyaki's are SHIRO (small intestine), which many customers have it cooked either wakayaki or nama. The picture is Shiro Wakayaki Tare.
NANKOTSU (soft bone) , this is Nankotsu Yokuyaki Shio,
ABURA (fat), picture is Abura Tare,
REBA (liver), picture is Reba Wakayaki Shio,
KOBUKURO (uterus), picture is Kobukuro Nama Suyaki (Kobukuro is actually boiled once before its broiled, so its not actually raw even if you order it Nama)
and then TSURU (penis), picture is Tsuru Tare (Tsuru is also boiled once before its broiled). They also have HATSU (heart).
Other dishes are NIKOMI (guts stew), which most people order,
OSHIKO (pickled vegetables), which you can order just OSHINKO DAIKON (pickled Japanese radish) or
OSHINKO KYURI DAIKON (pickled cucumber and Japanese radish).
And if you are lucky, they have specials like TAN NAMA (Boiled tongue) which only about 10 plates are available daily.
Unless you love motsuyaki, this place is def not for you. But if you do, get there at least 30 min before it opens since there will be a long line of people before it opens.
UCHIDA （in Japanese, 宇ち多゛） Address: 1-18-8 Tateishi, Katsushika-ku, Tokyo (inside Nakamichi Shotegai) (in Japanese, 東京都葛飾区立石1-18-8 仲見世商店街) Nearest train station: Keisei Tateishi (1 min walk) Tel: 03-3697-5738 Reservations: No Website: None English menu: None Credit Card: No Open: Monday-Friday 2pm-5pm, Saturday 12pm-3pm (will close when soldout) Closed: Sunday & Holiday
Prices: Motsuyaki 180 yen Nikomi 180 yen Oshinko 180 yen Shochu 180 yen Beer Dai (Large bottle of beer) 540 yen Beer Sho (Small bottle of beer) 360 yen Seishu Ikkyu (1st grade sake) 280 yen Seishu Nikkyu (2nd grade sake) 230 yen Whisky 540 yen Oolong Tea (Cold) 180 yen Soda (like Sprite) 180 yen
Taishoken created tsukemen and is probably the most well known tsukemen shop, but the most popular with the longest wait is ROKURINSHA right under Tokyo station.
Rokurinsha's owner actually worked/trained at Taishoken, but his broth and noodles are different from Taishoken's.
Noodles are a bit thicker than Taishoken's
and the broth is richer and thicker in texture, but the biggest difference is gyofun (dry fish powder) added when serving tsukemen. Rokurinsha(s owner came up with this idea and many trukemen/ramen shops all over Japan have added this technique. (Its the brown powder, you see in this picture)
Just like any tsukemen, just dip the noodles into the broth and dig in.
Of course, they offer ramen as well, but 99% of customers order tsukemen.
The biggest difference from their old shop is that they serve ASATSUKEN (breakfast tsukemen) for 630 yen as well. The broth is lighter than what they serve during lunch/dinner hours with no gyofun on top.
and noodles are a little thinner and portions are smaller than whats served during the day time.
They offer ASATSUKE SET (continental Japanese breakfast menu with tsukemen) for 810 yen, which comes with rice, natto, raw egg, pickles and several other dishes.
You can add curry on your rice as well, if you stomach is strong enough to take it.
Rokkurinsha use to have a shop in Osaki in a residential area, but more than 300 people waited outside the shop, which created tension between home owners and they eventually closed the shop. After about a year of hiatus, The wait is not as bad as their original shop, but it could get crazy at times. They recently opened a shop in Osaki again, renting a large room where customers can wait and don't need to create a line outside of the shop.
ROKURINSHA TOKYO （in Japanese, 六厘舎 TOKYO） Address: 1-9-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo (Tokyo Station Ichibangai Basement Floor inside Tokyo Ramen Street) (in Japanese, 東京都千代田区丸の内1-9-1 東京駅一番街 B1F 東京ラーメンストリート内) Nearest train station: JR & Tokyo Metro Tokyo (2 min walk) Tel: 03-3286-0166 Reservations: No Website: http://rokurinsha.com/ (in Japanese only) English menu: No Credit Card: No Open: 7:30am-9:45am, 11am-10pm Closed: None
Prices: Tsukemen 850 yen Atsumori 850 yen Karatsu (Spicy tsykemen) 950 yen Chukasoba (Ramen) 700 yen Other Ramens & Tsukemens from 680 yen
Toppings: Butanose (Extra boiled pork slices) 300 yen Butahogushi (Broken boiled pork) 150 yen Ajitama (Seasoned boiled egg) 100 yen Menma (Seasoned bamboo shoots) 100 yen Namatamago (Raw egg) 50 yen Oomori (Extra large noodles) 100 yen Asatsuke (Morning tsukemen) 630 yen Asatsuke Set (Morning tsukemen with rice, natto, egg) 810 yen
Wanna try a different kind of Tonkatsu? There are a couple of places I could think of, but my favorite is KIMUKATSU in Ebisu.
What makes their tonkatsu unique is that pork loin is thinly sliced instead of cut into to one thick piece. 25 of them are stacked and made into one regular size tonkatsu.
Some people call it mille-feuille tonkatsu because of its layers.
You can have the regular tonkatasu, but you can have it with filings and there are 6 of them. Cheese, garlic, kurokosho (black pepper), negi shio (salt marinated green onion), umeshiso (sour plum with Japanese basil and yuzu kosho (yuzu with pepper)). The above picture is cheese.
If you are more than 2 people, you can order 3, 4 or 5 flavors and share it.
Or if you are dining by yourself, you can order the set menu with only one tonkatsu for 2,460 yen.
You can also do takeouts or bring back a KIMUKATSU SANDO (Kimukatsu sandwich) for 680 yen as omiyage (gift) for your family.
Kimukattsu is owned by a large restaurant group. One of its female employees always thought that most tonkatsu were too oily for women and came up with the idea of Kimukatsu. Because of this their tonkatsu are not oily, but juicy inside. It has become very popular and the wait could be long at times, but it you want to try a different kind of tonkatsu, check Kimukatsu out. They have other locations as well.
KIMUKATSU （in Japanese, キムカツ） Address: 4-9-5 Ebisu Shibuya-ku, Tokyo (in Japanese, 東京都渋谷区恵比寿4-9-5) Nearest train station: JR or Tokyo Metro Ebisu (3 min walk), Tel: 03-5420-2929 Reservations: No Website: http://www.kimukatsu.com/ (in Japanese only) English menu: Yes Credit Card: Yes Open: Monday-Thursday, Sunday 11am-10pm Friday, Saturday & Holiday 11am-11pm Closed: January 1st
Prices: Kimukatsu (Pork cutlet) 1,480 yen Atsugiri (Thick pork cutlet) 1,860 yen Nihin Mori (2 choices of pork cutlet) 2,500 yen Sanpin Mori (3 choices of pork cutlet) 3,980 yen Yonpin Mori (4 choices of pork cutlet) 5,400 yen Gohin Mori (5 choices of pork cutlet) 6,800 yen Kimukatsu Course (Appetizer, 1 choice of Kimukatsu, Rice. Miso soup, Pickles Soft drink, desert) 2,460 yen Atsugiri Course (Appetizer, Atsugiri, Rice. Miso soup, Pickles Soft drink, desert) 2,840 yen Takitate Gohan Set (Rice, Miso Soup, Pickles set) 450 yen Kimukatsu Sando (Kimukatsu sandwich) 680 yen Other dishes 380-1,000 yen
Thanks for all the messages to continue this blog. I've been real busy lately and just didn't have time to add new posts. I'll try to add a new post once a week, but if I can't at times, it doesn't mean that this blog is finished. So, here is a new post......
Nakameguro has several great Italian restaurants and if you want some good Naples style pizza and food of Campagna state (located at southern Italy), IL LUPONE is the place to go.
Il Lupone, one of the few pizza restaurants which is authorized as genuine Naples style pizza by Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana. Its not only the taste which matters, but how the pizza oven was made, temperature of the oven, and several other factors.
If you are dining here for the first time, you probably want to try basic pizza, MARGHERITA for 1,500 yen, Mozzarella they use is flown from Naples twice a week and its the real deal.
Another favorite is QUATTRO FORMAGGI for 1,900 yen, a pizza topped with four cheese. Mozzarella, Provola, Gorgonzola and Parmigiano Reggiano.
If you prefer not to have pizza, their CALZONE for 1,700 yen is good as any other Italian restaurant in Tokyo.
For antipasto, HAM RUI NO MORIAWASE (Assorted Hams) for 1,500 yen,
MADAKO TOH CELORY NO SALAD (Octopus and Celery Salad) for 1,300 yen,
REISEI RICOTTA CHEESE WO TSUMETA NASU NO OVEN YAKI (Baked Ricotta Cheese wrapped with sliced Eggplant served cold) for 1,200 yen,
and when in season, NAMASHIRAUO OLIVE OIL TOH LEMON (Fresh raw Noodlefish with Olive Oil and Lemon) are favorites of regulars.
They offer several pastas and my favorite is RAGU NO ZITI TAGLIATI (Ragu Ziti).
For your main dish, JIKASEI SAUSAGE NO GRILL (Grilled homemade sausage) for 1,800 yen,
HONETSUKI ROSU TOH JYAGAIMO NO OVEN YAKI (Grilled Mochi Pork Chop & Potatoes) for 2,800 yen,
FRANCE SAN HINADORI NO MARUICHIWA ROAST ROSEMARY FUUMI (Roast Chicken in Rosemary flavor) for 2,000 yen are available,
but if you want to have some fish instead there is AQUAPAZZA available as well.
Their antipasto and main dish menu changes by the day, so make sure you ask for today's specials. Because their prices are reasonable, its a hard table to get. Its also popular to Italian's living in Tokyo, which tells you that its one of the top southern Italian restaurants in Tokyo.
IL LUPONE（in Japanese, イル ルポーネ） Address: 2-10-19 Nakameguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo (in Japanese, 東京都目黒区中目黒2-10-19) Nearest train station: Tokyo Metro or Tokyu Toyoko Nakameguro (6 min walk) Tel: 03-5722-6789 Reservations: Yes (must) Website: http://www.il-lupone.jp/ (in Japanese only) English menu: No Credit Card: Yes Open: Tuesday-Friday 6pm-12am Saturday, Sunday & Holiday 12pm-2:30pm, 6pm-10pm Closed: Monday
Prices: Antipasto 800-1,500 yen Pizza 1,400-2,300 yen Pasta 1,300-2,000 yen Main Dishes 1,800-3,500 yen
When I used to work near Shinbashi, once a week I ate at a Chinese noodle shop which served knife-shaved noodles and cooked them right in front of you. These noodles are called Tohshomen and the shop is XI'AN at Yurakucho.
My favorite noodle soup is MAARAA-TOHSHOMEN (Knife-Shaved Noodle in Spicy Chili Oil Soup) for 700 yen. Its not that spicy for real spicy food lovers like me, but if you're not one it will be.
The noodles are flat, wider and shorter than regular chinese noodles or ramen noodles.
If you want something less spicier, but there is TANTAN-TOHSHOMEN (Knife-Shaved Noodle in Szechuan Style Sesame Soup) for 700 yen. Its still a little spicy and is good for beginners.
If you like hot and sour soup, there is SANRAA-TOHSHOMEN (Knife-Shaved Noodle in Hot and Sour Soup) for 700 yen.
And there is PAA-KOH-TOSHOMEN (Pork Rib & Knife-Shaved Noodle Soup) for 900 yen, which isn't spicy at all.
Many customers order ZAHSAI GOHAN (Szechwan Pickles over Rice) for 200 yen with noodles.
For side dishes they offer XI'AN-FU YAKI GYOZA (X'ian Style Pan Fried Gyoza) for 400 yen. These prices are for lunch and all dishes become 150 yen more expensive during dinner hours.
They have various side dishes for dinner time like XI'AN XIAOLONGBAO (Xi'an Style Soup Duppling) for 600 yen.
For dinner, they serve MAARAA-HINABE (Spicy Hot Pot) for 2,630 yen per person. It comes with various meats, seafood and vegetables. The hot pot soup is comes in two flavors. Extra spicy and none spicy. It is the most common eaten hot pot in China.
If you want to have real Chinese style knife-shaved noodles, Xi'an is one of the few places that I recommend in Tokyo. There are multiple locations in Tokyo, so check their website and find one near where you are.
XI’AN （in Japanese, 西安 有楽町店） Address: 1-2-7 Yuraku-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo (in Japanese, 東京都千代田区有楽町1-2-7) Nearest train station: JR Yuraku-cho (2 min walk) or Tokyo Metro Hibiya (3 min walk) Tel: 03-3503-2525 Reservations: Yes Website: http://www.gnavi.co.jp/xian/ (in Japanese only) English menu: Yes Credit Card: Yes Open: Monday-Saturday 11am-2pm 5:30pm-10pm, Sunday & Holidays 11am-2:30pm 5pm-9pm Closed: None
Prices: Maaraa-Tohshomen (Knife-Shaved Noodle in Spicy Chili Oil Soup) Dinner 850 yen Lunch 700 yen Tantan-Tohshomen (Knife-Shaved Noodle in Szechuan Style Sesame Soup) Dinner 850 yen Lunch 700 yen Sanraa-Tohshomen (Knife-Shaved Noodle in Hot and Sour Soup) Dinner 850 yen Lunch 700 yen Paa-Koh-Toshomen (Pork Rib & Knife-Shaved Noodle Soup) Dinner 1,050 yen Lunch 900 yen Xi'an-Fu Yaki Gyoza (X'ian Style Pan Fried Gyoza) Dinner 520 yen Lunch 400 yen Zahsai Gohan (Szechwan Pickles over Rice) 200 yen (available for lunch only) Han Chahan (Fried Rice Half Size) 300 yen (available for lunch only) Maaraa-Hinabe (Spicy Hot Pot) 2,630 yen (available for dinner only) Xi'an Xiaolongbao (Xi'an Soup Duppling) 600 yen (available for dinner only) Other dishes for lunch are between 200-880 yen and for dinner 430-3,380 yen
Nabe (Hot pot) which sumo wrestlers eat daily after practice is Chanko nabe and one of the most famous restaurants which serves this is KAWASAKI at Ryogoku.
The menu at Kawasaki is pretty simple and more than 90% of their customers order CHANKO COURSE for 4,940 yen. It starts out with several yakitori's like SUNAGIMO, LIVER, HATSU (Marinated chicken gizzard, liver and heart),
MOMOYAKI (Salted chicken thigh meat),
and then TSUKUNE (minced chicken meat).
Next you get to choose either TORIWASE (Lightly boiled chicken breast)
or TORI SALAD (Chicken salad)
And next the main dish, which is chanko nabe, which will actually be ready on your table when you arrive.
Kawasaki's chanko nabe is a simple chicken broth nabe flavored by salt and soy sauce, which includes chicken
various vegetables, not seafood or port like other chanko restaurants.
After you finish eating chicken and vegetables, they will make OJIYA (Rice porridge), which is the best part of the meal for most customers.
They only have a few extra side dishes which you can order if you aren't full like HIRAYAKI (Grilled chicken thigh meat),
and TORI TATAKI (Chicken sashimi) for both 840 yen.
There are many other chanko nabe restaurants with a larger variety of food selection, but if you want to experience a traditional chanko nabe in a old Japanese house, try Kawasaki at Ryogokui and make sure you make a reservation before you visit. Its actually close to the sumo arena so if you happen to be watching sumo that day, you may want to have dinner after the match at Kawasaki since the sumo matches will finish at 6pm.
KAWASAKI （in Japanese, 川崎） Address: 2-13-1 Ryogoku, Sumida-ku, Tokyo (in Japanese, 東京都墨田区両国2-13-1) Nearest train station: JR or Toei Subway Ryogoku (3 min walk) Tel: 03-3631-2529 Reservations: Yes (must) Website: None English menu: None Credit Card: No Open: Monday-Saturday 5pm-9pm Closed: Sunday & Holiday
Prices: Chanko Course 4,940 yen Chanko 3,050 yen Yakitori 790 yen Hirayaki (Grilled chicken) 840 yen Tsukune (Broiled chicken meatballs) 840 yen Toriwasa (Lightly boiled chicken) 840 yen Toritataki (Chicken sashimi) 840 yen Tori Salad (Chicken salad) 840 yen Tarusake (Sake in bamboo barrel) 840 yen Sake 740 yen Beer 740 yen
Author:Tokyo Joe
Food, music, and sports is my princess.
Favorite food: Almost anything in Tokyo, Beef in Kobe, Kaiseki/Kappo in Kyoto, Seafood in Hokkaido & Northern Japan, Aranabe in Fukuoka, Udon in Kagawa, Korean in Korea, Thai in Bangkok, Cantonese in Hong Kong, Fishhead Curry & Chicken Rice in Singapore, French in Paris & Lyon, Italian in Napoli & Toscana, Spanish in Madrid & Basque, Brazilian in Sao Paolo, Cuban in Havana, Indian in Dehli, Mexican in Mexico City, and Junk food in States
Dislike: most of the food/restos in the UK, glass of milk, cooked chunks of liver, hoya, Korean dog stew, balut, cow & pork blood, bugs and funky Chinese dishes.
