The food was delicious. The obanzai dishes were great, but my favorite was the raw kue. The atmosphere felt like a local place, run by a family. They had a unique system where you could choose your favorite sake cup and pour your own sake. The cost performance was very good. We ate and drank a lot, but it only cost 6,900 yen for two people, which was a great deal.

At the counter, there are various side dishes lined up. I ordered chicken liver. It's a small portion in a small dish for 650 yen. The value for money might not be the best. It has a delicate color typical of Kyoto, with a nice balance of ginger. Delicious. I also ordered grilled conger eel. It feels a bit watery, but it's nice to be able to eat conger eel at this time of year in Kansai. I'm envious. While waiting for the chawanmushi to arrive, I ordered daikon radish in oden style as a filler. It came with green onions on top and was piping hot, soaked in flavor. It's a bit heavy for me because it's cooked with beef tendons and such. The chawanmushi arrived. It's incredibly soft and easy to eat with the ingredients cut into small pieces. It's warming me up.

I came back after a long time. No matter how many times I come, I always like the atmosphere of this local small restaurant. To be honest, everything here is delicious. This time, I ordered the kampyo maki that I learned in Sapporo and the wasabi maki that I learned in Shizuoka, and they were both delicious. I think this place is truly amazing. It's a bit far from the area where I usually wander around, so I can't visit often, but if it's within my range, I would definitely come to this restaurant frequently.

The small adult-style restaurant had a cozy atmosphere, and everything I tried was delicious. The Kyoto-style oden was especially tasty with its light flavor. They had special menu items not listed on the menu, but written on a blackboard outside the restaurant. The cost performance was excellent.

Delicious and satisfying.

They provided very polite service.

I have been taken to this restaurant by customers several times and it has become one of my favorite places. It is close to JR Nijo Station, but it is not an area I usually visit, so I don't have many opportunities to go there. However, I felt like going there and decided to visit. The name of the restaurant is Akiyoshi, and next door is a yakitori restaurant called Okiyoshi, so people who take you there or taxi drivers often refer to it as the place next to Okiyoshi. The entrance leads to a counter and a small raised seating area in the back. It's a small restaurant, but the owner pays close attention to everything. The customers who come in are mostly regulars, making it a true local small eatery. I started with kizushi, which was well-preserved and had a delicious balance of acidity and mackerel flavor. Personally, I love when pickles are this deep in flavor. The nanohana mustard salad was a new experience for me, with a liquid mustard-flavored broth rather than a paste-like mustard sauce. I loved the balance of the broth's umami and the mild spiciness of the mustard, which paired perfectly with the nanohana. The root vegetable salad, with a sauce containing a hint of mentaiko, had a great crunch from the various root vegetables. While waiting for the grilled mushrooms, I switched to the recommended sake. The grilled mushrooms were as amazing as always, with a deeper sweetness and umami brought out by the searing, instantly making me feel happy. I savored this while enjoying the sake. The locally grilled chicken seasoned with red rock salt on the counter was also delicious and went well with the sake. The oden, which had a light Kyoto-style broth, had a strong umami flavor, but the standout was the egg. The egg was a half-cooked seasoned egg, with added flavor from the broth and the slight hint of umami, along with the sweetness of the half-cooked yolk. It was amazing. The pasta was chef's choice, with a combination of fish and cheese for the day. It may sound complicated, but it was prepared in a way that was perfect for ending a drinking session. I love this restaurant and will visit again someday. Thank you for another wonderful time today.

Located a short walk east from Nijo Station on Oike Street, this small restaurant has a counter with about 10 seats and two small raised tatami seating areas in the back (each seating four people). On this day, I dined with a party of four (three adults and one child) in one of the tatami seating areas. In addition to the regular menu, there were recommended dishes that highlighted the seasonal ingredients, which we ordered along with a few other items. While dishes like "Lotus Root Tempura" and "Stuffed Shiitake Mushrooms" from the regular menu were quite traditional, the recommended "Sashimi Assortment," "Simmered Conger Eel and Matsutake Mushrooms," and "Conger Eel in Yanaigawa Style" were delicious and paired well with the seasonal ingredients. The flavors of the dishes were excellent, although one downside may be that the portion sizes were quite small, possibly due to the many solo diners frequenting the restaurant. Dining with a group and trying various dishes may end up feeling a bit pricey. The restaurant offers a variety of drinks, so stopping by alone and enjoying drinks at the counter while sampling small dishes might be the recommended way to experience this place. Despite its appearance resembling a traditional Japanese pub, the staff were friendly, making it a welcoming place for solo diners as well.

Near Nijo Castle, I was exploring and looking for a hidden gem when I remembered there was a Japanese izakaya near the castle. I decided to give it a try. The entrance had only a noren curtain hanging, and there was no menu outside, so I hesitated to enter. But I gathered my courage and went in. The place was clean with only a counter, and each seat had a handwritten menu on washi paper. It seemed promising. I toasted with a beer with my friend and checked the menu. Each dish was around 800 yen, and they all seemed to have that extra touch. We started with the seasonal bonito tataki, which was incredibly delicious. We ordered a few more dishes, but I got a bit tipsy and don't remember the details. However, the chef offered to make a dish not on the menu, "sanma stick sushi," and it was a fantastic surprise. The chef has been running the place for almost 20 years, and it's a beloved spot in the neighborhood. Highly recommended!

There was a menu in front of the entrance, and I noticed that they were offering sazae (turban shell) sashimi, but the price seemed a bit high. The sazae sashimi was listed as starting from 1000 yen. When I entered the restaurant, there was a counter on the right and a tatami room at the back. The staff, two men in their 40s to 50s, took our order for a sashimi platter (1800 yen), horse mackerel fry, and rolled omelette. The sashimi was fresh and delicious. The other dishes were also tasty, but overall, I felt that the prices were a bit high for the portion size. I only had 3 cups of sake because I was short on cash. There were only 3 types of sake available, and I think it would be better if they had more variety. It would also be helpful if they listed the prices of the sake. Feeling a bit unsatisfied, I went back home and enjoyed some chilled sake from my fridge. The restaurant was clean and had a nice atmosphere. Most of the customers were older, in their 50s or above, enjoying a leisurely drink.