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Friday, November 30, 2012

SAKURADAI: Akimoto-Ya Yakiton... wow... what a friendly smile.

A good friend of mine had always mentioned this little Yakitori/Yakiton spot in Sakuradai and on a chilly Friday evening we arrived at an early 5:15pm to see the shop nearly half full (opens at 5pm).

We peeked in to see if they had a spot for 2 and Miura-san (the chef) with his stern look said the counter was open... little did I know that this serious face would soon turn to all smiles during our 2 hours there.

The variety! And so incredibly reasonable... starts at 100yen  per stick.

Left most of the ordering up to Kenta.  This is a must... motsu nikomi?  Extremely tender pieces of intestines, white radish, seasoned egg and other things.

The absolute best thing to do is leave it up to your Japanese friend to order... I guess with age I tend to order what I know and never explore too often.

Octopus was great.

Liver and something

Oh man... one of the best.  Miso seasoned stick of beef?  

Japanese guys love this cabbage... with a spicy miso dip.

If they got it I order it... Bon-Jiri (Chicken Butt).  So soft and tender...

Atsukan... hot sake.





Seasonal little beans that come from a yellowing tree this time of year.



Baked onigiri usually ordered to close out the night.

And this is Miura-san.  As soon as the regulars started coming in... key word you will hear is "Mai-dou" (greeting used for regulars).  And he just lit up and smiled the entire evening.

Customers were pouring Miura-san beer~.  A very very friendly atmosphere.




And meet Suzuki-san aka "Su-San".  Big jolly fellow plopped himself right next to me and an hour into dinner we started chatting away.  He's born and raised in Sakuradai.


Kenta gave it a rave review as he is also a die hard foodie.  Atmosphere was cozy, service was spot on, food was Excellent, customers so eager to chat and now I know why people fill this spot all night long... Its Chef Miura-sans charm.  We went at 5pm and it got quite crowded by 6pm but seems there is a second wave of customers around 7:30pm when people start getting off work.  

Shop: Akimoto-Ya Sakuradai Branch
Address J: 東京都練馬区桜台1-4-7
Address E: Tokyo, Nerima-ku, Sakuradai 1-4-7
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