続、呼塚の男
Title "A one-night trip to Ito with the Seishun 18 Ticket in January 2022 Part 3, in Shinjuku! Is it really this cheap!?"
On the second day of the Ito trip with the Seishun 18 Ticket in January 2022, it's already time to head back home as it was a one-night two-day trip. For the return journey, I purchased a regular ticket instead of using the Seishun 18 Ticket. In this case, it is cheaper to use both JR and Odakyu lines to travel from Ito to my hometown station, Kashiwa in Chiba Prefecture. It's just a little bit cheaper... I decided to take the Odakyu line back, which allowed me to stop by Shinjuku as well. From Ito to Odawara, I took the JR line, and then transferred to the Odakyu Odawara Line at Odawara station. The departure melody at Hon-Atsugi station was by the band "Ikimono Gakari," which made me smile secretly. I also felt tempted to get off at Machida, which used to be my commuting route, and enjoyed the Odakyu line after a long time. Upon arriving at Shinjuku station, I passed through the underground passage to Alta and headed to Kabukicho. I was wondering if there were any Tokyo Yakult Swallows players there, but I couldn't figure it out. There was a mysterious crowd, which seemed like fans waiting for an artist. For lunch in Shinjuku... I thought about going to Jiro in Kabukicho, but the long line outside put me off. So, I decided to try Jiro on the side street near Kotakibashi, but it was also crowded and felt too crowded, so I ended up back near Alta thinking about trying Hakata Tenjin instead. However, I found a sign advertising lunch for 500 yen! Including tax, it was 550 yen! Is it really this cheap and okay!? It seemed suspicious, but the restaurant was on the second floor, so I climbed the stairs to the second floor. The restaurant was long and narrow, and as I went further back, it opened up. I sat at a two-person table near the entrance. I ordered the grilled beef bowl. It arrived in just 3 and a half minutes! Fast!? Regaining my composure, I rated it out of 10. Pickles: 5 points It was a cucumber pickle. It had a good crunch, but three pieces felt a bit lacking. Soup: 7 points It was an egg soup. The taste was exquisite, light yet strangely delicious. I like this kind of taste. Salad: 7 points It was shredded daikon and cabbage mixed with a ponzu-style dressing. It had a refreshing taste. It might be good as a side dish to drink. Grilled beef bowl: 9 points Kimchi, bean sprout namul, leafy greens, kakuteki, grilled beef, etc. Isn't this bibimbap? I thought, and indeed, there was a "bibimbap" in the same menu with almost the same picture. It looked almost the same, so what's the difference between the grilled beef bowl and stone-grilled bibimbap, apart from the stone pot? It's a mystery, but it was worth it for the price. The meat was slightly tough, and the quality was not great, but for 550 yen, the content was nothing short of a great deal. Although the quality was not the best, it was quite good when mixed like bibimbap. Overall rating: 7 points With this content for 500 yen, and at a location just a 4-minute walk from Shinjuku station, I wondered how they managed to make a profit. Is this menu a strategy to attract customers (like using cheap bean sprouts, priced at 19 yen in supermarkets, as a feature to attract customers and invite them in)? The mystery deepens, but the food was surprisingly good for the price, so there's nothing to complain about. If I were to start commuting to Shinjuku East Exit regularly, I thought this restaurant would be very convenient. Maybe I'd even start a project to try all the lunch menus (laughs). ~Afterwards~ I returned to Kashiwa from JR Shinjuku station via the Yamanote Line and Joban Line in a normal manner. I thought I'd like to see and explore more next time. (January 8, 2022)