Tokyo Food Page
★Yamanekoya/
Hamamatsucho:
Okinawan
▼5472-3608
▽Data
Many Okinawan res-
taurants in Tokyo
seem intent on re-
creating that
holiday-at-the-beach
experience for their
patrons. They're
easy to recognize -
with their loud,
bouncy folk music,
colorful staff cos-
tumes, cans of Spam
on the counter, JTB
travel posters and
seashells in the
bathroom. Yamane-
koya, on the other
hand, takes a more
sophisticated ap-
proach. The atmos-
phere is urbane, and
the decor is modern
tropical - bamboo
blinds and earth-
toned adobe-style
walls, soft lighting
and giant black-and-
white murals of
island scenes. Most
important though,
the food is first-
rate, and the awamo-
ri selection is
serious enough to
bring in connois-
seurs from all over
town.
Awamori - a type of
spirit distilled
from Thai rice using
a special black
yeast - is unique to
Okinawa, and it
seems to be a major
attraction here. The
drinks list is im-
pressive - over 60
awamori varieties,
including a dozen or
so premium kusu
(aged at least three
years) and a handful
of Okinawan rums
made from black-
sugar cane. If the
choices are too
overwhelming, you
can start off with
the house brand,
which comes in big
earthenware jugs
decorated with the
shop's cute
mountain-cat logo.
And for the faint of
heart they also
serve Orion beer and
a nice strong iced
jasmine tea (here
called sanpincha).
The food at Yamane-
koya is refined in
flavor, suited to
better appreciation
of the subtleties of
the awamori. The
goya champuru (a
stir fry with bitter
gourd and tofu) is
less bitter and less
oily than usual for
this dish, with big
juicy chunks of
fried tofu. The
rafti (stewed pork)
is tender and very
flavorful, but
served plain rather
than swimming in a
rich sauce. The
marinated tofuyo is
sweet and pungent,
and the peanut tofu
is some of the best
we've had - pleas-
antly glutinous and
much more peanutty
than expected. We
were also pleased to
see a smattering of
seasonal dishes,
including an excel-
lent rakkyo (shal-
lot) tempura and
crunchy pickled
papaya slices.
As might be expected
from the Hamamatsu-
cho location, the
crowd is made up
mostly of after-
hours office work-
ers, but with more
diversity in age and
gender than at a
typical drinking
spot. Maybe it's the
subdued lighting, or
the comfortable
seating, or the
tasteful decor, but
Yamanekoya seems
more like an Aoyama
"dining bar" than an
office-district
izakaya. The kind of
place where you can
settle back and
spend a leisurely
evening with a few
friends. Fortunately
the prices are far
lower than the Aoya-
ma range, so a lei-
surely evening here
can also be an af-
fordable one.
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▼Map for AU phones
▼Map for DoCoMo
◎Shiba-Daimon 2-3-
6. ◎Open 11am-2, 5-
11pm daily.
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