Arakawa City, Tokyo, Japan｜鳥八

Wonderfully friendly place where we were made to feel so welcome. We had no idea what to order so a tipsy Japanese businessman at the next table helped us out with his recommendation. We were treated to a lovely surprise which we later found out to be 'chankonabe' - a one pot dish often consumed by sumo wrestlers in huge volumes. I had never tried chankonabe before and was so impressed by the vast array of ingredients. It was a delight to both the eye and the taste buds. The food was so fresh and wholesome. If you're in the area, worth a visit as an off the beaten track authentic dining experience.

Nice old couple make nice food, they give us a bottle of condiment as a gift when they know that we are going to buy it.

This Itzakaya style restaurant is a cozy neighborhood joint with the friendliest people. I could tell that they weren’t used to tourists, but that didn’t matter: we had gestures and Google Translate. I stopped in on my way home after wandering through the seedy tourist madness of Shinjuku, and this was the perfect antidote and felt like a real Japanese experience. I ordered the Chanco Nabe, and the ingredients we fresh and abundant. After an hour the owners made me feel like part of the family. They sent me away with leftovers. Couldn’t ask for a better travel experience.