It was a typical izakaya that you can find anywhere. The service was quick and the staff were friendly. The food was really delicious. Thank you very much.

As the cold gradually intensifies towards the end of November, Hakata Station is lit up with illuminations to liven up Friday night. I met up with an old acquaintance I haven't seen in a while at an izakaya that I haven't been to in a long time. We decided to go all out with all-you-can-drink! Starting with beer, then highballs, and finally shochu with soda. We enjoyed chicken nanban, chicken skin, and various other dishes without a care in the world. As I get older, I find myself forgetting what I drank... I've gotten used to drinking at home during the long period of self-restraint... Is drinking at home safer and more reassuring?

At "Yokaroumon" in front of Hakata Station, feeling like a tourist after work... Looking for a place to drink near Hakata Station... It's tough because of the state of emergency, with an early time limit, so I managed to slip into "Yokaroumon" at 18:40. It seems to be a tavern aimed at those who come to Hakata on business trips. During the state of emergency, beer costs 390 yen. The appetizer includes mackerel and two small salad dishes. There are various menu items, but in this situation, I went for the Hakata set... which includes pickled vegetables, vinegar motsu (offal), mentaiko (spicy cod roe), and sesame mackerel for 720 yen. Perfect for a solo drink, the pickled vegetables were just right... It's been a while since I've had them. The sesame mackerel had a surprisingly generous portion. The vinegar motsu was just the right amount, and the fact that it comes with mentaiko... this is great value for money. Speaking of value for money, a sake tasting set of three for 600 yen! Featuring Kido from Wakayama, Shiraito 70 from Fukuoka, and Tenpuku from Saga. I remember having Kido when I went to Wakayama... Shiraito is similar to this one, with an elegant and refreshing taste. Tenpuku is more on the rich and aromatic side... I underestimated it at first, but surprisingly, I enjoyed it.

Today, after work, I attended a dinner party with some volunteers while being conscious of preventing the spread of infection in the new lifestyle. The organizer did a thorough research and made a reservation at a restaurant facing a street lined with restaurants in front of Hakata Station. The set menu was 2100 yen, including tax, and a 120-minute all-you-can-drink option for 1100 yen. The set menu included small dishes, a special salad, assorted sashimi (carpaccio style), spicy miso stir-fried pork, simmered yellowtail with daikon radish, fried cartilage, chicken porridge, and dessert - a total of 8 dishes! It was surprisingly affordable and the homemade taste was great. As the conversation heated up and the drinks flowed, we found ourselves needing more snacks. We ordered an additional 20 skewers of chicken skin for 3000 yen, making it less than 4000 yen per person for a night of drinking and eating. Despite the pandemic, it was almost full during peak hours that day, showing that popular places will always be popular. On the back of the shop card I got when leaving, I found out that the restaurant is operated by KI Plan Co., Ltd., which runs brands like Torizen. Thank you for the delicious meal!

It was very delicious. I want to come back for a rematch next time.

I stumbled in. I drank too much, but it was delicious. Thank you for the meal.

I couldn't go this time, but I passed by the store so I'm posting. The price went up by 100 yen, but it is still going strong (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)

All-you-can-drink shochu for 500 yen (plus a set fee of 300 yen and a requirement to order two other items) is too good of a deal! Highly recommended for drinking parties. The old-fashioned Neapolitan pasta is also recommended!

After finishing work, I decided to stop by here while waiting to pick up my wife. I sat at the counter and ordered a beer and some skewers. We had horse sashimi, chicken wings, and grilled hormone among other dishes. The hormone dish came with crispy udon noodles on top, which added an interesting texture. It was delicious. Thank you for the meal!

Today, I came to Hakata Station for a meeting. After the meeting, we decided to go to a social gathering, and a total of 10 people came to this restaurant, "Yokaroumon". At the entrance of the restaurant, it says "Today's special: fresh sardine sashimi for 200 yen". We were guided to a sunken kotatsu table seating area inside the restaurant, and first we purchased "Beer ticket for 10 cups for 3500 yen". Then, we used all 10 tickets to have draft beer. The first appetizer was of course the sardine sashimi, we ordered 10 servings of it. We also ordered things like hormone, chicken teriyaki, etc. Once we finished the beer, we switched to the 600 yen all-you-can-drink option (Satsuma Komibako Black) and had it with water. The menu not only has fish dishes but also plenty of meat options, so you can order according to your mood. It's quite cheap and good. Thank you for the meal~.

It seems like a place similar to ToriZenten. The first thing that catches your eye is the unlimited shochu drinking time for only 500 yen! What? 500 yen? Is that right? The sweet potato shochu comes in a whole bottle. For drinkers, this alone makes the place worth visiting. The recommended sashimi of the day can come out for only 200 yen. The cod milt with ponzu sauce is 630 yen. Overall, it's very reasonable. It would be nice if they also had yakitori. I might start making requests. With the savings on drinks, you can eat quite a bit without hurting your wallet. It's drinker-friendly. You're the best, I'm happy.

I want to eat hot pot somewhere, so I wandered around. It was raining slightly, but all the places were bustling with people. After wandering for a while, I found a slightly fancy looking place and was seated in just a few minutes. I decided to go with motsu (offal) hot pot, which is a must-have. We also ordered some other dishes we liked. The grilled spicy cod roe was delicious. The kimchi pancake, although not their specialty, was really tasty! It had plenty of ingredients, a rich flavor, and was perfectly cooked. The motsu hot pot was packed with vegetables and had a flavorful broth with a hint of garlic. The porridge at the end was also very delicious. The area's specialty might have added some magic, as the presence of spicy cod roe felt stronger than usual.

For lunch, I was curious about the restaurant area under the guard at the Chikushi side of Hakata Station. I wanted to eat fried chicken, so I decided to explore the area. There were several places offering fried chicken set lunches, but I chose this restaurant at the end. I ordered the fried chicken set meal, which included about 5 pieces of fried chicken, cabbage salad, and miso soup. The fried chicken was freshly fried and hot. It was delicious with a firm texture. The presentation had some empty space as shown in the photo, which made it look a bit lacking, but I had ordered extra rice, so I was full. They also had tantan-men, and the person next to me was eating it, which caught my interest. I might come back next time to try the tantan-men.

At night, my friend tried to take me to a famous hot pot restaurant, but it was fully booked without a reservation. Not wanting to walk around in the cold, we ended up going to this nearby restaurant instead. According to my friend, it's an izakaya that focuses on fish dishes. The restaurant was quite lively, and as there were only two of us, we were seated at the counter. They provided a basket for our belongings and took our coats, which was very kind. The menu was extensive, ranging from fresh fish to meat to Italian dishes. We started with a beer (for my friend) and a Shandy Gaff (for me), which cost 450 yen and 550 yen respectively. The appetizers were two dishes - simmered squid and daikon and kimpira (although the menu listed it as 200 yen, we were charged 300 yen). We ordered the following items: sweet potato tempura (480 yen), pickled oysters (580 yen), pickled pork offal (390 yen), salt-grilled local chicken (680 yen), assorted sashimi (980 yen), sesame mackerel (780 yen), and a Cobb salad (680 yen). For drinks, we had two draft beers, one plum wine, one Shandy Gaff, and one juice. The total bill came to about 7500 yen. The highlights were the sweet potato tempura, pickled pork offal, and salt-grilled chicken. The chicken was tender and juicy. The pickled oysters were tasty but too small. The sashimi platter was disappointing for its price. The sesame mackerel was flavorful but also seemed overpriced. The Cobb salad didn't quite meet expectations. We later noticed hot pot options on the menu, which we would have liked to try. Overall, the restaurant seemed moderately priced for an izakaya. They offered a 1980 yen course meal and a 980 yen hot pot option, which could have made our meal more affordable. They also had a 500 yen all-you-can-drink option for two types of shochu. The restaurant's proximity to train stations and hotels, as well as its Kyushu-inspired dishes like sesame mackerel and pickled pork offal, could make it popular among travelers. For the record, I only had one Shandy Gaff and got tipsy, so I stopped drinking. If you can't handle alcohol well, it might be a good way to save some money.

After eating motsunabe at the Echigoya restaurant in front of Hakata Station, we headed to the izakaya "Yokaroumon" for a second round. Our flight was approaching but we went anyway (laughs). It's a casual izakaya. We were served two appetizers. The simmered daikon radish was delicious. Um, the goal was not the daikon radish, but to enjoy other Kyushu flavors besides motsunabe... By chance, there was a set where you could enjoy four Kyushu tastes, so we ordered it. It included sesame mackerel, okyuu (not sure what this is), mentaiko (spicy cod roe), and vinegared motsu (offal), each in small portions. Okyuu was a bit confusing, kind of like konjac maybe? It's made from seaweed. Mentaiko is a classic. The sesame mackerel was delicious. It's a type of mackerel with sesame seeds on top. It was fatty and smooth. The vinegared motsu was refreshing. We also ordered Kumamoto-sourced horse sashimi, which I really wanted to try. It was satisfying. Our stay was short but there were so many tempting menu items like one-coin all-you-can-drink shochu and delicious hot pots, and they were affordable! Many salarymen were there after work. I'd like to go back and take my time next time. Hmm, I wonder when "next time" will be... (laughs)