On Friday at 5:40 pm, 10 of us visited the restaurant with a reservation. We were seated in the basement, which was a first for me. I didn't take many photos, but the pickles were excellent. The grilled chicken skewers were also delicious. The famous red sausages could be a bit softer in my opinion. The coffee shochu was really good when mixed with soda. This restaurant has a wide variety of menu options, so I won't get bored anytime soon. I haven't been using this place much lately, but I want to try more dishes and visit more often.

This is a restaurant with memories of a senior colleague. He was like a big brother, like a father figure. When I said I wanted to start playing golf after turning 30, he would take me out almost every week. It became clear how close he was with his wife when I went to pick him up in the morning before our weekly golf outings. I didn't really improve much from being a mediocre golfer who just hit the ball randomly, but he was genuinely happy when I got my first birdie on a par 5 in my second year. Our work conversations were always serious, but once alcohol was involved, those serious talks would turn into funny and amusing stories. Our favorite bar, "Kushawakamaru," was filled with such fun memories. We often used to drink together in Ikebukuro. Our habit was to always order red sausages and fried horse mackerel here, sitting at the back of the narrow and elongated shop, hunched over with multiple glasses of Hoppy. My senior colleague preferred the seats on the second floor. Every time he entered the shop, he would point upwards to check if there were seats available before going in. I must have seen his playful gesture of tilting his head and asking "Is it open?" from behind countless times. By the third year, I took on the role of taking photos for Tabelog and posting them online. I wonder if I can teach someone golf. If not, at least I can try to become good at telling funny and amusing work stories.

First visit. Sat at the underground seats! Started with a draft beer and then had coffee shochu (Jinro)! It was quite good! The dishes were tasty, especially the pickles which were excellent.

Today's recommended sashimi is Matsutake mushroom tempura! Unfortunately, it was not good! The batter was too thick and not like tempura at all! The Matsutake mushroom tempura was also disappointing, so I couldn't even reach the skewer... I left the restaurant!

It was a second party event. I had been wanting to go to this restaurant after reading reviews, but I actually went there about 6-7 years ago. Back then, I didn't quite like this type of restaurant, but now I find it super fun! After having delicious fish at Hanahachi, I ordered lightly. The cream stew croquette for 400 yen and the tsukune for 200 yen were popular choices, but the bean sprout stir-fry for 380 yen that I wanted was sold out. The special spicy miso sauce to dip the cabbage appetizer in was incredibly tasty. Just that alone makes you want to drink alcohol (laughs). The cream stew croquette was super hot!!! Just as the name suggests, it's a croquette filled with cream stew. It's impossible for it not to be delicious. I could order just one tsukune. I thought it might have been overcooked, but it was actually tender and tasty. Maybe because it was close to closing time, the foreign staff seemed a bit intimidating... But with such a wide menu, I will definitely come back and not be discouraged!

I felt like eating delicious tsukune, so I went to Kushimaru in Ikebukuro East Exit. I sat at the counter, started with a draft beer (430 yen), gulped it down, and ate the cabbage appetizer with the special miso on the table. For grilled items, I ordered the top 3 popular items: tsukune (200 yen), liver (130 yen), and chicken skin (150 yen), each grilled with sauce. The tsukune was especially delicious, with a soft and flavorful texture. The liver, being chicken liver, had a mild taste and was tender. The chicken skin, on the other hand, was a bit of a mixed bag, with some parts being too chewy. I also ordered a lemon sour (350 yen) and towards the end, I ordered the beef tendon stew (450 yen) as an additional snack. It was delicious and collagen-rich. As I enjoyed the snacks, I also had another round of hot sake (500 yen). The warm sake made me feel a bit sentimental. The place was getting crowded, so we decided to move to another restaurant. The total bill was 2530 yen. Thank you for the meal.

The atmosphere feels like going back in time to the Showa era, with a nostalgic exterior and a retro interior. The walls are covered with menus, and the prices are quite reasonable. The food is decently tasty. My favorite is the junky-looking red vienna sausages in the photo. When you order shochu with water, it comes in a 2-liter PET bottle, which is unique. It's a lively place where you can drink without any pretense. The seats are close together, so when it gets crowded, you end up sitting tightly packed. Not recommended for those looking for a quiet place to drink leisurely.

After a party with 30 people, three of us went to a second party. They advertised yakitori, but it was just a regular izakaya. The appetizers were cabbage and edamame, and the three of us ordered those. At this point, we decided not to order the thick fried tofu and stopped eating the yakitori. It was clear that the grilling skills were lacking. Eating yakitori here would likely be sacrilegious. We will not be revisiting. However, the atmosphere was lively.

Located about a 2-minute walk from Ikebukuro East Exit. It was my second visit, so I couldn't order much, but the atmosphere was like a casual yakitori izakaya. It felt like going back about 15 years. The food we ordered was quite ordinary in taste. The staff were mostly foreigners with an Asian vibe. It's the kind of place you can casually drop by or visit as your second or third stop, and it's conveniently close to the station.