Simply TokyoA couple of my Hong Kong and Singaporean friends had a trip down to Japan at the same time as I did, and it seems like we were all there for the same reason – trying to get a glimpse of the Sakura bloom! My friends had better timing, arriving a few days earlier and getting a better look at the bloom than me.
Anyhow, I was still excited to be in Tokyo together with my husband for the first time in a few years. We have constantly been travelling back to Japan, but our timings never matched up with one another. When I was there for work, he was in Hong Kong, and when he was in Tokyo, I was in Singapore.
So what do we do in Tokyo? Eat and shop!
A lot of my friends often ask me for recommendations on where to go in Japan, so here we go:
For dinner on our first night together in Tokyo, I really wanted to go back to this Yakitori restaurant my husband and I always used to go after work. Both of us worked at the same building at Roppongi Hills, and the Yakitori restaurant is right across it, offering very local and authentic Yakitori.
The restaurant only has one table and about 10-12 counter seats. Customers often have to squeeze along the counter, with strangers sitting right next to you. For some westerners, it may feel a bit uncomfortable sitting so close together, but this is the authentic Japanese way of having Yakitori. If you are looking for a good, reasonably priced Yakitori place where we locals go to, this is it!
When we lived in Tokyo, our work hours were hectic, and we had no work-life balance whatsoever. On Friday nights, we would both be exhausted, finishing work at around 12am. At this hour, most decent restaurants would be closing, but we still wanted good and healthy food.
And this is would be where we always end up after a long day of work. Simply because…
- It has very good yakitori, together with other healthy Japanese food.
- It is opened until 1.30am on weekdays! Even at 12am, the restaurant remains lively and gives you energy.
- Prices are reasonable.
- A very friendly owner!
As you can tell, the restaurant is usually crowded, and that night was packed! The owner noticed us and told us to wait while they added in some chairs for us to squeeze in. The seats were tight, but no one minded as this was what usually happens anyway.
And here we are, back to our favorite place. I think we ordered:
- 2 glasses of sake
- 6 glasses of beer and
- probably 35-40 pieces of Yakitori,
which cost us about USD 150.
You may not be able to tell from the pictures, but this restaurant serves a wide range of yakitori. You can also have some organic vegetables and beer while you wait for your yakitori to be served!
The yakitori was so juicy and nice I forgot to take some pictures except for the one below! This is the Ume shiso maki, and it was simply delicious!
I really wanted to order the Chicken Soup and Yaki Onigiri, my usual final meal after my yakitori, but I think I had too much of the yakitori and did not have space for more food. If you ever have the chance to go, have these dishes at the end of your meal – they are yummy and satisfying!
Roppongi Kushiyaki Ganchan
Tel: +81-3-3478-0092
Address: Tokyo Minatoku Roppongi 6-8-23
Average price per pax: $40-45 USD (as long as you don’t drink too much!)
Contributed by Simply Tokyo.
Be sure to hit up this restaurant if you are visiting Tokyo!
