What is it? Izakaya!

We have ducked into a few little bars, where drinks and snacks are served. They are habitually very small, with drinks primarily beer and scotch, although sake is no doubt on offer and might be other options.

Our first Izakaya we happened along as we passed under the railway tracks. These spaces are used a lot for small cafes and bars, and this one looked fun, particularly as there was a photo of yakitori out front (meat on little skewers). We tossed back a beer under the rumble of trains passing overhead and tried a few yakitori and beef ribs. surrounded by old coca cola ads and early 1960s pop in the background. We felt pretty smug finding this fun spot, Manpuku  Shokudo, until we went home and found it was in the Lonely Planet guide!

Shinjuko is a wild place of bright lights and activity, and we found another Izakaya that specialized more on seafood on a busy side street. As we sat down among the young Japanese businessmen there for happy hour, a small dish of delicious cold pork in sauce landed in front of us, much as a dish of roasted peanuts might land in front of us in a bar at home. Another beer and a beautiful little box of sashimi each: salmon, tuna, snapper, mackerel, octopus and eel (we think). Others used braziers set up on their tabletops, and fried crab and what looked like sardines.

Our last evening in Tokyo for awhile saw us in a busy little place not far from our hotel, near the train station Shimbashi. we walked all through the area trying to decide on the right place, and we finally dove into a small place with bright red tables, choosing this time to do our own snacks on a brazier that was lit while we decided what meat cuts we would choose. This time we had mugs of Suntory whiskey high balls, whiskey watered down a lot with perfectly square cubes of the clearest ice imaginable and soda water, with a slice of lime. Perfect of a combination of chicken, pork and beef cuts, sliced thin, that we cooked ourselves and topped with a zingy sauce.

I could get used to this!