We know it’s obvious, but Tokyo is home to the best Japanese restaurants on the planet. Countless thousands of them, in fact.
So many, it’s hard to know where to start. From the outside everything seems so sleek and modern, you feel you could be anywhere.
Behind its modern façade, though, Tokyo still has many restaurants where tradition rules, both inside and out -- in the kitchen, on the table and in that unmistakable ethos that you can only find in Japan.
Here are five all-time classics to try if you want to sample Japan’s true soul food.
If you only ever have one chicken sukiyaki dish, make it Botan.
1. Botan
Botan is legendary. Firstly, there’s the setting -- a stately two-story timber townhouse built in the early 1930s that survived the bombs of war and has been lovingly preserved ever since.
And of course you dine in the age-old style, sitting at tiny low tables on thin zabuton cushions on the tatami mats.
But what’s really remarkable is that there’s only one dish on the menu, chicken sukiyaki (¥6,900).
Better yet, it’s prepared in exactly the same way as when Botan was founded 120 years ago: Cooked in a heavy cast-iron pan over a glowing charcoal brazier set right next to your table.
Most of the actual work is done for you by the waitresses, all no-nonsense, kimono-clad matrons who bustle around ferrying beer and sake.
They get the sukiyaki sizzling, then add just the right amount of the special sweetened soy sauce, and show you how to season the various cuts of chicken with the dip of raw egg. Just the way it’s always been done.
Botan, 1-15 Sudacho, Chiyoda-ku; +81 (0) 3 3251 0577 ; 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. (last seating 8 p.m.); closed Sunday and holidays.
2. Tsunahachi
Down-home and sizzling -- Tsunahachi's finger-lickin' tempura.
For more than half a century, Tsunahachi has made a virtue of serving quality tempura at prices that don’t cost a shogun’s ransom.
The approach has been so successful it’s sprouted offshoots around Tokyo and other parts of Japan.
While most of those branches are smart, bright and modern, the flagship restaurant remains in its original premises, a well-worn wooden building that flies the flag for tradition in the increasingly brash back streets of Shinjuku.
Rather than a single dining room, Tsunahachi offers tables and semi-private alcoves over two floors, as well as several counter seats where you can sit and watch the chefs at work, serving the tempura directly from their deep-frying woks to your plate.
Seafood, vegetables, mushrooms and more, everything is crisp, tasty and piping hot.
Certainly, the batter is not as ethereally light and delicate as you’d find at one of the high-end tempura houses. And yes, the stairs and beams do betray the ingrained patina and aroma of age and cooking oil.
But you can’t argue with the prices. The set lunch menu is great value at ¥1,500. In the evening, count on spending more -- from ¥3,500 a head.
