Today the weather was bad as I already mentioned in the previous article. And it didn't get better at noon at all. I have a rainjacket, but it is no fun to wear it at 26°C. You get so wet from your own sweat that it totally beats the purpose. So I didn't go out over noon and afternoon and skipped lunch. Was anyways full from the breakfast. At dusk it had dried up and so I decided to go on my quest for Akita Wagyu Teppanyaki, meaning a cook fries the meat on a hot plate in front of you. But these venues are extremely hard to find since Google maps and also Bing mix up Teppanyaki happily with Yakiniku which is grilling your meat yourself. It seems there is one in this hotel but I asked the concierge and he said all booked out and sent me to a steakhouse? Probably more than one misunderstanding. But be it as it may, I then decided to try my luck in the "bar and restaurant quarter". Yes, Akita has something like that and it turned out to be awesome.
The following pics are far to well lighted again. But you know the drill from the fireworks pics.
On my way there. This mix of completely unrelated houses is so typical.
The restaurant quarter is on the other side of this canal.
Same spot, other view direction.
Reminds a bit of a Yokocho, but with wider streets and real restaurants and bars instead of stalls. This is the official entrance.
I decided on the best rated venue in the vicinity which was a 4.8/5 star Izakaya. I got seated at the counter, vice versa the 2 cooks and asked for an English menu. The boss became all busy and searched through some binders until he found 3 handwritten pages where someone (I guess a guest?) had neatly written the Japanese names and the English translations of the menu items. Unusual, but hey, it works.
All people were very friendly and helpful. It was a pleasure to be a customer there and their rating is well earned. Also with the food.
Amberjack ("Bernsteinmakrele") Sashimi with Wasabi. Very aromatic and very good.
This is Japanese Yam root with Wasabi. I think they pickled it somehow. There was a strong and pleasant Wasabi kick but it was nowhere to be seen.
Fries. Well made.
Basashi (raw horse meat), in this case sashimi of lean horse meat with freshly grated ginger. Both the very north and the very south of Japan and famous for their horse meat. I can buy horse meat on the market in my home town in Germany, but they use long frozen Mustang meat from Canada which I wouldn't eat raw. It is nice for sour roast ("Sauerbraten") though and the sausages are legendary.
Fresh green peppers (the old style ones with a slight bitter note which you unfortunately can only buy in Turkish shops in Germany nowadays) with meat Miso, aka ground pork, fried and mixed with Miso and sesame. I liked it very much.
This was a mistake. I thought it meant Yakitori, so small skewers, but it was more like a complete thigh. But it was grilled over charcoal to perfection. Crispy skin and juicy meat. The vegetables were a nice touch. I need my fibers, too!
One giant Shrimp. Also chargrilled. Shrimp is always good.
I also thought to get a skewer here but it was a full fledged meatball. With the customary raw egg yolk for a dip.
The taste and quality of all items was top notch. After the meal I asked the service woman for her recommendation of Japanese Sake. This is one sentence you should learn by heart when going to a Japanese restaurant without knowing much of the menu. "Ossusume wa nan desu ka?" "desu" is only spoken as "des" the u is mute. It means literally: "What is your recommendation?" You will get a recommendation for what they think is best and not for what the cook told them has to be used up first. Restaurant in Japan tend to get their stuff fresh on a daily basis, so they don't really have aging produce in their freezers.
Anyways the cook and the service woman conferred and showed me 2 different Sake on the menu. I flipped a coin and took the one according to the result. And yes it was a very good Sake. Rich and complex with a long aftertaste, not too sweet but also not dry as dust. Funny thing is that Sake has much more aromatic substances than wine made from grapes. And even funnier is that the aroma gets more complex the more the rice is polished before brewing the Sake. Mystery of the fungus they use for producing it.
The whole pile of food, accompanied by a highball, a beer and the Sake, was under 8000 Yen, Roughly 45 €. A steal.
On my way back it was dark enough so that not even the Iphone tried to fake daytime.
Another restaurant in the district with a fine decortion.
One restaurant and bar after the other. The whole district consists of several parallel streets and their connections.
Some open pretty late and stay open after 1 am. Most close before 23.00h because in Japan at that time the last trains, buses and subways go. Since most try to catch them there is not much business after this time. But Akita is probably small enough that you can take a taxi without ruining your family.
The bridge was nicely illuminated.
A photograph shop "since 1922" and specialized on weddings it seems. Beautiful work.
A shop where you can rent Yukata.
This was actually in the building of the Castle Hotel. A homage to Sake with historic pieces.
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