A shop at the entrance to the Asakusa underground arcade, open since 1964. Its specialty is sauce yakisoba made with thick noodles on the griddle and served on an aluminum plate; a fried egg can be added as a topping. Again this time I had the set of motsu stew and egg-topped yakisoba. In the film Perfect Days, it is where the hero Hirayama has his evening drink after the public bath.
Asakusa Chikagai, 1-1-12 Asakusa, Taito, Tokyo
Sources: tabi-mag.jp press.moviewalker.jp macaro-ni.jp tsunagujapan.com
This moment in the journey
Asakusa Yakisoba Fuku-chan
And the specialty of the underground street is, of course, Asakusa Yakisoba Fuku-chan. Open since 1964, it has watched over the entrance to the arcade for more than fifty years. It's also the place where Hirayama, the hero of the film Perfect Days, has his evening drink after the bathhouse.
Motsu stew, a Tokyo shitamachi classic, and yakisoba topped with a fried egg. The wall is lined with menu cards and there are plenty of other good dishes, but I always end up ordering this combo. Red pickled ginger and a soft fried egg on an aluminum plate; the stew was full of daikon and sliced green onion. Delicious, as always.
Watch this scene on YouTube5:11
More notes from this journey
Taito, Tokyo
Kaminarimon and Nakamise at Senso-ji
Kaminarimon is the main gate of Senso-ji; its formal name, Furaijin-mon, comes from the statues of the wind god and the thunder god enshrined on either side.
From: An Asakusa food diary that begins at an old coffee house
Taito, Tokyo
Asakusa Rokku and the Toyokan theater
The area west of Senso-ji, covering Asakusa 1- and 2-chome, also called Koen Rokku.
From: An Asakusa food diary that begins at an old coffee house
Taito, Tokyo
Asakusa Chikagai underground arcade
Opened in 1955, the oldest underground shopping street still in existence in Japan.
From: An Asakusa food diary that begins at an old coffee house
Taito, Tokyo
Noodles from Asakusa Kaikaro
A noodle maker founded in 1950, in the Inaricho area of Taito Ward.
From: An Asakusa food diary that begins at an old coffee house
Taito, Tokyo
Asakusa Hanayashiki
Opened in 1853, at the end of the Edo period, as a garden of peonies and chrysanthemums, it still operates as Japan's oldest amusement park.
From: An Asakusa food diary that begins at an old coffee house
Taito, Tokyo
Kannon-ura
A quiet neighborhood behind Senso-ji, north across Kototoi Street.
From: An Asakusa food diary that begins at an old coffee house
More notes from Kanto
Kamogawa, Chiba
Namero on rice
Namero is a Chiba specialty handed down along the coast of the Boso Peninsula.
From: Zero minutes to the sea: summer vacation in Kamogawa
Kamogawa, Chiba
Sauce yakisoba
A staple of summer festival stalls.
From: Zero minutes to the sea: summer vacation in Kamogawa
Kamogawa, Chiba
Grilled seafood skewers
The taste of the festival stall, on a small charcoal grill on the veranda.
From: Zero minutes to the sea: summer vacation in Kamogawa
Kamakura, Kanagawa
A little Kamakura drinking set
At the farmers' market near Kamakura Station, growers from around Kamakura sell "Kamakura vegetables," many varieties in small quantities, grown with as little…
From: A hundred-year-old house in the town of the Enoden
Kamakura, Kanagawa
Kenchin-jiru
A soup of root vegetables and tofu, sautéed in oil before simmering.
From: A Kamakura-vegetable breakfast and a walk on Enoshima
Kamakura, Kanagawa
Kamakura morning set with grilled dried fish
Kenchin-jiru made with Kamakura vegetables, with dried fish from the market shop grilled alongside.
From: A Kamakura-vegetable breakfast and a walk on Enoshima