Friday night, at the Izakaya
Flashback...
My godfather visited Japan last week, with his wife and kids. The initial plan was for me to tag along and play local guide, but dates didn't work out as my work event in Malaga aligned with the only remaining week in their packed summer calendar. It did not matter though, I created a
few condensed guides of our Tokyo highlights (Kamakura, Shibuya, Asakusa, Odaiba) and spoke with him almost on daily basis. Somehow his words would always transport me back in time, to various different experiences throughout the years and visitors.
We spent summer 2017 in Seoul and reserved took a long weekend to visit Tokyo. A very emotional experience as Enrique had not came back since we left in April 2014. In 3 super packed days together, we did a nostalgia journey to our favourite things -
you may move out of Japan, but deep in your heart you never really move on from Japan.
Friday night, our friend
Tomomi booked a table in a popular izakaya near her job. Eventually she got tangled at work -
which is why you can't see her pretty face joining us at the table - but gifted us with an amazing opportunity to revive one of the best parts of
our salaryman life, the Friday escape.
Japan like Korea, is a country with an
amazing cultural heritage. Beyond arts and temples, one could highlight the high morals, taste for perfection, pride on a work well done and honorable behavior, which turn
the tourist experience into the most amazing on Earth but the daily life into a high-pressure endeavour. A
double-edged sword of all sorts.
When Friday comes, salaryman run to the
izakaya - sometimes followed by the
karaoke, like we did once... Get some skewers, secure cold beers or high-ball (coloured soda with whisky) and let the packed tiny space become noisier as their faces turn red. There are some famous places - like
Ebisu Yokocho - but I find more interesting the real ones, that only those who work in the surroundings know well.
... and culinary advice
People planning their vacation sometimes contact me, asking about good restaurants, which I try to
capture here. When it comes to Tokyo, the FAQ revolves around sushi places. The spectrum of Japanese cuisine is broad, with an unbeatable price for value and null chances of food poisoning. We always brought guests to experience sushi at
Katumidori but in general, my overall recommendation would be to would rather aim to use
food joints in Japan to get a taste of the local lifestyle.
Restaurants in Japan are "themed" meaning that they often revolve around
one single thing they excel on
e.g. ramen, sushi, katsu-don (beef rice bowl), unagi-don (eel rice bowl), but you cannot have something else and definitely, you cannot change the menu options (swapping rice by greens is NG).
Given my culinary preferences (raw, green, wine) and my fascination for cultural nuances,
izakayas aka the Japanese tapas bar are my favourite pick. Here you are almost expected to get drunk, while ordering from a picture menu illustrating a wider variety - grilled fish, chicken skewers, gyoza, salad, sashimi... If you come in a group, it is often possible to book a separate room to hang out with your friends, where you are allowed to spend as much time as you like - but hey if you have nobody, just grab a seat at the counter and chat with the other loners (pictured above).
Below
two are authentic izakaya where my local friends took me during my visits to Tokyo last year. Hopefully you can squeeze them in and catch a glimpse of salaryman cooling down.
石志水産品川店 Shinshimizu Izakaya (near Shinagawa station) [MAP]
〒108-0074 Tōkyō-to, Minato-ku, Takanawa, 3 Chome−26−３３ 京急第10ビル
03-5475-2533
魚真 渋谷店 Uoshin Fish Restaurant (near Shibuya station) [MAP]
2 Chome-25-5 Dōgenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tōkyō-to 150-0043
03-3464-3000
Tras esto, se hornean para darles más consistencia y ese color oscuro, como muestra el resultado final!
