たのちゃん
Last time, I went to a restaurant for New Year's using GoToEat, but unfortunately only table seats were available. When I went to the restroom, I saw a quaint, traditional Japanese restaurant building in the back. This place is called the "Okuzashiki," a historic area where you can make reservations in advance. I decided to go there since they said I could make a reservation for that day. The reservation fee is 500 yen per person. Although I had a reservation for 12:30, I arrived in Asakusa early and was hungry, so I went at 11:40. Surprisingly, they were able to seat me without any issues. The place was not fully booked like it was during New Year's. When I mentioned my name, a waitress escorted me to a separate building through the back door. There was even a small courtyard in this area, and around 9 private rooms were available. The rooms had three types of seating: chairs, sunken kotatsu tables, and traditional tatami mats. You could specify your preference when making a reservation. I requested a sunken kotatsu room, and I was assigned a small 6-tatami mat room. The menu was separate from the regular table menu, and cheaper lunch options or tamagoyaki were not available. This restaurant mainly served meat dishes, and items like tempura or sashimi required advance reservations. Unlike other restaurants like Asakusa Imahan or Ningyocho Imahan, which offer course menus, this place only had sukiyaki sets. I ordered the Special Wagyu Beef Sirloin Sukiyaki set with vegetables, egg, and sauce for 6,600 yen, as well as the Upper Grade Sukiyaki set for 4,500 yen to compare. I also added a rice set for an additional 750 yen, a beer for 600 yen, and a beef ponzu sauce with grated daikon for 1,600 yen. When I was about to enjoy my beer, the sukiyaki set arrived first, which was unexpected. The waitress immediately started cooking the meat on the hot plate and served it with the sauce. Just in time, another staff member brought my beer. The cooking process was delicate, and the quality of the meat made a difference. The top-grade meat was just as tender and had a good amount of marbling. After that, I added the vegetables and cooked them myself. It seemed like the waitress wanted customers to participate in the cooking process. As I sipped my beer, the beef ponzu sauce with grated daikon was served. It was unusual for the main dish to come before the side dish, but it was delicious when eaten like a cold shabu-shabu. Maybe this was their version of shabu-shabu since they didn't have it on the menu. Luckily, the neighboring room was empty, so it was quiet and I ended up staying longer, enjoying sake and having deep conversations. In the end, I added rice and egg to make a porridge with the remaining ingredients. It was a delightful experience, different from dining in a department store. The serene atmosphere was a welcome change from the hustle and bustle of Shin-Nakamise Street.