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Kansai Food Culture Research: This is the second installment of a series exploring the relationship between Kansai restaurants and sake with Tokyo-born bar writer Suzuki Nao. We explore how Takara Shuzo's sake "Shochikubai" is loved at Sakabo Matsui, a popular standing bar in Kyobashi, Osaka's leading drinking district.

Kamiishakujii "Harukaen" 10 minutes by bus from Kichijoji Station. Harukaen is a yakiniku restaurant along the Ome Kaido Road that offers a wide variety of excellent dishes devised by a kind mother. The taste goes without saying, but it is also very comfortable. For those of us born in the Showa era, it is THE strong style! ...

Namamugi "Oban" Oban, a standing bar representing Namamugi, has relocated. Prices remain the same at the new location. This time, we'll introduce the new Oban. Fresh, generous portions of sashimi are surprisingly reasonably priced, starting at 350 yen. The homey atmosphere attracts local black-belt drinkers...

Kyoto's "Otowa" Located in the tourist-filled Shinkyogoku area, there is a Kansai sushi restaurant that has been in business for over 100 years. The restaurant's name is "Otowa." Its specialty dishes are sushi rolls, boxed sushi, and inari sushi. It's a casual restaurant, and even though it's in a tourist area, it's often frequented by locals. In winter, Otowa is visited by people from far away...

Higashijujo "Sakadaru" Located near Higashijujo Station, "Taishu Sake Brewery Sakadaru" is located on the second floor of a building and has been in business for over 30 years. The chef, who used to work at a market, sources fresh seafood from Toyosu, and the seafood is renowned for being both affordable and fresh. The service is excellent, and the appetizers alone are quite generous!

Kamiyo Soba, a soba restaurant located near the Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Museum in Matsue City, serves homemade, 100% buckwheat soba noodles in a broth made with locally-brewed sake. It's a long-standing favorite in Matsue. While it's only open during the day, they also serve local sake and Yebisu beer, so...

Okinawa's Stew Culture Okinawa's food culture has developed since the Ryukyu Dynasty through exchanges with China, Southeast Asia, Korea, and Japan. Ryukyu cuisine is so rich in pork dishes that it's said to "start and end with pork." Not only pork meat and innards, but even ears, feet, face, bones, and blood are often wasted...

Located in a residential area about a five-minute walk from Higashi-Mukojima Station, you'll find a lone red lantern-covered restaurant called "Motsuyaki Sakaba Sumida." It's actually one of the area's oldest bars, having been in business for over 70 years. Run by a friendly couple, you can enjoy a laid-back downtown bar experience. Continued...

The famous bar "Mitakaya Bar" has a lot of charm, which I always visit several times a year. In addition to the standard menu items that I always end up ordering, such as the beef stew, there is also an extensive blackboard menu with recommendations that change from day to day. I always end up ordering my favorite dishes, and then I find myself...

Taika is a long-established local Chinese restaurant that has been in business for half a century in an alley off Chazawa Street. The owner is originally from Nagasaki, and the couple has been running the business together. Their specialty dishes include "sara udon" and "champon," which use Nagasaki-inspired seasonings. They also have a wide selection of alcoholic beverages and snacks, so you can enjoy Chinese food in the evenings. Read more...

Yamaguchi Daitei is located in the alleys of Gion, a Kyoto favorite. In this area, lined with some of Japan's finest restaurants, this reasonably priced pub boasts "the same taste and prices as ever." A renowned establishment known only to those in the know, why not experience the "depth" of Kyoto? Continue reading below ↓↓↓...

The first video of the new year on YouTube's "Tama Channel" is a look at our year-end party at the end of 2023. The venue was Yakitori Ikkoku in Tanashi, where the food is always delicious. We invited Kyohei-chan, the "Nikomi Mist," along for a small drink with the three of us.

If you want to have a drink in front of Komae Station on the Odakyu Line, we recommend "Yakitori Meat Station," which was established in 1977. The restaurant is crowded with locals, and the veteran owner, who is still in active service, will cheerfully serve you. The yakitori seasoned with homemade sauce and garlic miso is addictive...

A five-minute walk from the north exit of Akabane Station is the relatively large, smoldering silver public kappo restaurant Tasuke, established in 1969, with a magnificent white-wood counter spread out inside. Its signature dish is fugu (blowfish). However, the restaurant offers not only a luxurious fugu course, but also a 3,300 yen "omakase 5...

Located in an alley in Nezu for over 40 years, Kurumaya is a popular izakaya known to everyone in the area. The third-generation owner, who trained in Japanese cuisine, offers carefully prepared dishes at affordable prices without pretense of being a prestigious restaurant. Their specialty is fresh seafood dishes, including mackerel sushi.

Mitaka, next to Kichijoji, is always ranked highly in the rankings of cities people want to live in. The north exit of Mitaka is Musashino City, and the south exit is Mitaka City. This interesting city boasts the spontaneously formed alleyway "Haccho" at the north exit and the Mitaka-dori shopping street at the south exit, dotted with many long-established shops and new bars.

Towards the end of 2023, I headed to "Ichizushi" in Kinshicho, the restaurant with the most views on "Tama Channel." The atmosphere and flavors were as reliable as ever. It was a pleasant December drink. Tama Channel ↓↓↓ Tama Channel [Ichizushi] 130-0022 Tokyo...