April 27, 2010

• Tokyo Trip 2010: Kagaya Izakaya

  So after a long day of toy shopping, I met up with andy and off we went to dinner.
  

  Now before I go any further, here is a bit of background. Whenever I go to Tokyo, I always take my friend out to dinner for hosting me. I usually spend a couple weeks beforehand searching for restaurants. Normally these are of the theme variety, so while breakfast and lunch are usually standard japanese fare (ramen, sushi, tonkatsu, etc) dinner is typical japanese fare in a crazy setting. This place, Kagaya, located off the shimbashi exit on the ginza or hibiya line was recommended multiple times as one of the number one weird/fun restaurants to visit. Andy and I called the night before and made reservations, not knowing anything about the place other than this. We were the first ones in the restaurant and for about 30 minutes, the only ones there. Now, in most japanese eateries, you are brought hot towels before the meal
  

  Next, we had to order drinks. Now the entire menu was written in crayon in a childrens sketchbook, but more on that in a moment. From the menu, you had to select first your drink, and then a country (brazil, france, america, england, korea, japan, china) the style of which you would be served. So Andy chose to have some plum wine served from brazil
  
  The reason for the abruptness of the video is because I was definetly not expecting the owner to charge out at me.
  
  Andy enjoyed his pisswater quite thoroughly. Now before I ordered my drink, another young couple entered the restaurant. Both Japanese, the girl, chika, spoke english quite well, so our two table (the entirety of the restaurant) hit it off quite well. Chika asked for her drink french style
  
  Of course what you dont see is him spending 3 minutes frantically sketching and painting, only to ball up the paper, scream in disgust, and throw it away, then begin again for another 3 minutes. After which he kissed it and handed Chika her portrait
  
  
  Next I ordered my drink American style…which apparently begins with a puppet show
  
  We spoke with the frog puppet, who asked if we would like to meet his friend from america, Dick. Of course we said yes at which point the owner came charging out at us again in…
  
  In case you cant here, he is shouting “Attack! Dick Missle! Dick Missile!” At which point he frog roscoes chika and then comes over to do the same to me.
  If you search Kagaya on you tube, you can find all his many performances and costumes. But in case you forgot, we have only ordered drinks! Next it was time for the food
  
  
  You will note the menu has no actual food selections, but instead a short speech stating how hungry you are and what you want the owner to do about it. Initially, I picked the left and Andy picked the right. Then the owner told us that was too much work for him and we would both be getting the meal on the right. You all remember my personal motto, right? “WHAT THE HELL IS ALWAYS THE RIGHT DECISION!” So, we allowed the owner to give us whatever tickled his fancy
  
  Above is a fraction of the food we were served…steamed pickeled daikon, kabocha, tofu, along with some bitter greens, mackerel, chicken teriyaki, and curry rice. Every time another dish was set out I inwardly winced at where I would find enough room for all this great food. And while we were eating it, the owner kept coming by with games for the four of us to play, like an operation type maze where the metal rod cant hit the sides or it buzzes, or a who is fastes game where the last one to press their buzzer gets an electric shock. Andy won a game, so the prize we got was inflatable plastic balloon straws from our childhood
  

  After what was an amazing meal, almost all of which was spent laughing and having a fantastic time, we prepared to say our goodbyes. The owner asked me if I wanted to be like him, and of course I responded absolutely. If I could own a restaurant one day half that fun, I will count it a huge success. So he gave me some bourbon and then
  
  
  
  We had such a good time, I managed to convince Chika and Masa to come do some karaoke with us. Of course, the owner warned us to be careful of ninja, who he said often attacked foreigners. We thanked him for the warning and left.

  Half a block away from the restaurant, he jumped out of an alleyway at us with a plastic sword screaming Ninja! Ninja! He had literally left his own restaurant with two people still inside, to follow the four of us down the street and surprise us.

  Best. Restaurant. Ever.
  
  

  After an hour or so of singing with new friends Masa and Chika, Andy and I caught the last train back to his place is Aobadai, crammed in like sardines on the evening commute rush. Not to bad for a first day, eh? Tomorrow, Nikko and Utsunomiya

  • 9:52 pm
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