I went out last night with a good friend of mine and we visited an old yakitori joint that we know. The oba-chan and her son run the place, and like many yakitori shops it is a tiny time-worn place filled with smoke and old creaky furniture. It is hard for a 6ft 3in man to sit comfortably in one of these places as your knees while sitting tend to be higher than the table you are eating upon. When we arrived, the smell of cooking food was everywhere. Several similar shops lined the road next to the railroad tracks. Opening the sliding door and ducking under the cloth awning we stooped our way inside. The little place was packed with students and businessmen. Nevertheless, spying an empty table next to the toilet (figures), my friend and I courageously edged our way through the room and attempted to look comfortable. Now, although the shop is called yakitori, that doesn't mean the only food is chicken. Everything, however, comes on a stick. I saw green soybeans on a stick, which was a first. The best was cherry tomatoes wrapped in white cheese and thick Japanese smoked bacon. They also had whole grilled garlic buds with a miso paste dip. The menu was rather extensive. We stuck to cow tongue, grilled mushrooms, negi (green onion) wrapped in bacon or with chicken breast, the cherry tomatoes with bacon, and of course the garlic. A big "jocki" (a large mug) of ice cold Kirin mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

The menu is actually wooded or paper strips with the name and price written on it in Kanji or a mix of Kanji and Hiragana. How 2 men ate $120 worth of food and beer is beyond me........hick!

God I miss this place already.