Mombetsu was not what I imagined it to be.
We arrived at the Mombetsu Prince Hotel at about sunset. I was led there by the GPS it the car, but the hotel's name was written in Japanese. I was not sure if it were the hotel.
It was. I checked at the front desk, and then checked in.
It was dusk when we walked out to find dinner. According to Google maps there were eateries within two blocks or so. We walked.
Trust me. I don't trust myself driving at night. Heck! I don't even trust myself driving during the day!
Anyway, we walked down a small street which, according to Google maps was supposed to be littered with eateries.
It was almost deserted. We trailed a couple of men, who strode with familiarity into what we believe was a bar. Or an Izakaya. Which is a Japanese-styled bar. So, same thing.
The restaurants, bars, and shops along that street were like many shops in cold climes with light human traffic had their doors closed against the cold. But there were welcoming signs indicating that the establishment was open. We passed a few. Uncertain as to where to go. If there were a crowd of people, we might be tempted to follow the crowd. They can't be wrong, right?
Except... there was no one.
Mombetsu was another quiet town.
But we were hungry.
And it was Japan.
It's not like we were going to be murdered for barging into a Yakuza's secret AGM innocently, right?
[Inside joke: On 28 May 2012, we were at Kawaguchiko which has a good view of Mt Fuji. We weren't very hungry so we delayed our dinner until dark. Which was about 7 or so. Then realised that there were NO RESTAURANTS. We thought an establishment was a restaurant, and opened the door, to see a family (?) having dinner (it still looked like a restaurant to me. Possibly.) The diners turned wordlessly to look at the interlopers (us), and waited. We apologised and backed out. Later I would joke that perhaps we had intruded unknowingly into a Yakuza's meeting. I can't recall why I might have said that. I have no reason to believe that except for their absolute silence and composure.]
Anyway, we finally studied the menu outside what was an Izakaya, and we were hopeful as there were some English on the menu. So we walked in. It was a small, dim, cosy Izakaya with a bar with about 4 patrons, and maybe three dining tables. We sat down at one and the single staff (owner-proprietor) scurried to get us an English menu, when I asked for one.
The Izakaya was festooned with toys - figurines, trucks, cars, dinosaurs, monsters, heroes, etc. My daughter was enchanted!
And when my wife brought my daughter into the (very clean) washroom, my daughter was tickled to see toys there too!
As I was not driving anymore that evening, I ordered a Sapporo. It is after all an Izakaya. It would be rude, if not outright offensive NOT to order a beer. Especially when he had a special price of just ¥650 (IIRC) for a large bottle.
The Otoshi (quick nibble, appetiser) was scallop sashimi. I have never ordered scallop sashimi before. But we should always try new things. And I now am a fan of scallop sashimi! That was very nice. It had a sweetness that was refreshing.
And it gave me something to wash down my beer with.
We ordered tori karaage (fried chicken), yakisoba (fried noodles), cha gohan (fried rice), and in case the kid would not eat anything else, buttered corn for her.
The bill came up to about ¥3400.
Which was VERY REASONABLE!
That Izakaya seemed like a one-man operation. At least we did not see anyone else. Which means that he took order, cooked the food, drank with his regular patrons, and billed us when we were ready to go.
Impressive.
We arrived at the Mombetsu Prince Hotel at about sunset. I was led there by the GPS it the car, but the hotel's name was written in Japanese. I was not sure if it were the hotel.
It was. I checked at the front desk, and then checked in.
It was dusk when we walked out to find dinner. According to Google maps there were eateries within two blocks or so. We walked.
Trust me. I don't trust myself driving at night. Heck! I don't even trust myself driving during the day!
Anyway, we walked down a small street which, according to Google maps was supposed to be littered with eateries.
It was almost deserted. We trailed a couple of men, who strode with familiarity into what we believe was a bar. Or an Izakaya. Which is a Japanese-styled bar. So, same thing.
The restaurants, bars, and shops along that street were like many shops in cold climes with light human traffic had their doors closed against the cold. But there were welcoming signs indicating that the establishment was open. We passed a few. Uncertain as to where to go. If there were a crowd of people, we might be tempted to follow the crowd. They can't be wrong, right?
Except... there was no one.
Mombetsu was another quiet town.
But we were hungry.
And it was Japan.
It's not like we were going to be murdered for barging into a Yakuza's secret AGM innocently, right?
[Inside joke: On 28 May 2012, we were at Kawaguchiko which has a good view of Mt Fuji. We weren't very hungry so we delayed our dinner until dark. Which was about 7 or so. Then realised that there were NO RESTAURANTS. We thought an establishment was a restaurant, and opened the door, to see a family (?) having dinner (it still looked like a restaurant to me. Possibly.) The diners turned wordlessly to look at the interlopers (us), and waited. We apologised and backed out. Later I would joke that perhaps we had intruded unknowingly into a Yakuza's meeting. I can't recall why I might have said that. I have no reason to believe that except for their absolute silence and composure.]
Anyway, we finally studied the menu outside what was an Izakaya, and we were hopeful as there were some English on the menu. So we walked in. It was a small, dim, cosy Izakaya with a bar with about 4 patrons, and maybe three dining tables. We sat down at one and the single staff (owner-proprietor) scurried to get us an English menu, when I asked for one.
The Izakaya was festooned with toys - figurines, trucks, cars, dinosaurs, monsters, heroes, etc. My daughter was enchanted!
And when my wife brought my daughter into the (very clean) washroom, my daughter was tickled to see toys there too!
As I was not driving anymore that evening, I ordered a Sapporo. It is after all an Izakaya. It would be rude, if not outright offensive NOT to order a beer. Especially when he had a special price of just ¥650 (IIRC) for a large bottle.
The Otoshi (quick nibble, appetiser) was scallop sashimi. I have never ordered scallop sashimi before. But we should always try new things. And I now am a fan of scallop sashimi! That was very nice. It had a sweetness that was refreshing.
And it gave me something to wash down my beer with.
We ordered tori karaage (fried chicken), yakisoba (fried noodles), cha gohan (fried rice), and in case the kid would not eat anything else, buttered corn for her.
The bill came up to about ¥3400.
Which was VERY REASONABLE!
That Izakaya seemed like a one-man operation. At least we did not see anyone else. Which means that he took order, cooked the food, drank with his regular patrons, and billed us when we were ready to go.
Impressive.
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