The sign saying Highball for 199 yen and draft beer for 299 yen was indeed true. The previous name of the restaurant was "WaMin," a chain izakaya that had been a topic of conversation a few years ago. Due to the subsequent rumors and negative impact, the restaurant struggled and changed its name, as well as revamped its menu. It is now known as "Za-WaMin," "MiraiZaka," and some parts of "WaMin" still remain. MiraiZaka, meaning "izakaya of the future," was born with the slogan in mind. I invited a friend who works nearby to come with me to this restaurant, which is very close to my workplace in Honmachi. I am curious to see if the change is just in the name or if the content has also been altered. However, I have only been to WaMin once when there was a branch in Kita-Shinchi, and I had no negative impressions. Let's drink and eat, my friend. First, let's start with a beer! The fact that Premium Malt's "Fragrant Ale" is only 299 yen is a pleasant surprise. Cheers! Let's face the harsh reality but continue to live without turning away, my friend. Currently, the biggest concern for restaurants is the shortage of staff. Large establishments with good conditions or large commercial facilities can attract staff with high wages. Therefore, small or popular restaurants have a hard time securing staff. This restaurant has implemented two measures to address this issue: hiring foreign staff and introducing tablets for ordering. Orders are placed using the tablet devices placed on the tables. Once you are taught how to use it, it's easy. Even an old person like me can easily place orders. Let's put it into practice. - Edamame for 350 yen - Bonjiri grated with ponzu sauce for 499 yen - Clear stream young chicken, one whole glove-fried for 999 yen - Specialty motsu nabe for 699 yen - Fluffy snow melt pudding for 350 yen The young and charming staff cuts the fried chicken into bite-sized pieces. It's delicious! The fried chicken is more like karaage than tempura. The beer goes down smoothly. The motsu nabe is the restaurant's signature dish. The soup magically appears in the pot as the vegetables release their moisture. The chicken bone salt soup has a subtle but delicious flavor. The fatty sweetness of the motsu and the fresh taste of the vegetables are a perfect match. The tofu is a nice alternative to rice. Lastly, the fluffy snow melt pudding is a delightful dessert. I ended up ordering four drinks that day, totaling just over 8,000 yen. The 199 yen Highball and 299 yen beer are attention-grabbing items. Other drink and food items are priced similarly to other izakayas. The Asian staff's earnestness and good customer service, along with the efficiency of ordering with tablets, help reduce costs. The quality of the food is not compromised, and the dishes are served at the perfect time. The fact that the restaurant is smoke-free is also commendable. I hope this izakaya that leads to the future will continue to thrive. Thank you for the meal.

After finishing work and on my way from the office to the station, a colleague messaged me with "困ったヒトですね" (This person is troubled). I replied with a contradictory response, and we ended up at a great value chain izakaya called "Mirazaka." My colleague mentioned that it used to be a "Wadamini," to which I responded with surprise. However, what caught my attention was the drinks priced at under 200 yen, making it a great deal. Feeling guilty for drinking more than my colleague, I suggested trying some sake. The server brought us a bottle and glasses, and I enjoyed watching the sake overflow. As I started feeling a pleasant buzz, I decided to order the "thick tonkatsu," which was just as described - thick and delicious! Thank you for the meal!

I went to have dinner alone. As usual, I opted for a non-alcoholic beer to be mindful of my health. It was great that it was in the 300 yen range, which is quite cheap. I think it's a bit much to charge over 500 yen for a non-alcoholic drink. I looked for something not too greasy on the menu, but there were a lot of fried items. I decided on grilled chicken skewers - gizzards, thigh with salt, and minced chicken with grated ponzu sauce. I also ordered a rolled omelette with broth, which was quite filling. The grilled chicken was decent in taste. It was my first time trying minced chicken with grated ponzu sauce, and it was good. The portion sizes were also satisfying. It was nice that the total bill came out to just over 2,000 yen.

Visited on a night off. It's an izakaya in Honcho. I had already eaten dinner but felt like having a drink. I ordered chicken skin with grated daikon and ponzu as a snack, and it was delicious with shichimi as a nice accent. Thank you for the meal!

Visited on August 29, 2020 for the first time. I tried the white peach forest fruit which was rare and found it easy to drink. I ordered freshly squeezed grapefruit, and it would be great if they also brought a hot towel. The eel dish felt like a good deal!!!

I met up with my coworkers after work and decided to grab a drink in Honmachi. Since our hotel was in Honmachi that day, we met up with my coworkers after work. We didn't have a particular place in mind, so we ended up here. I was a bit skeptical since it's part of the Watami chain, but we went in anyway. In short, it's just your average chain izakaya. The staff were overly energetic and the food wasn't particularly delicious. It's a good place to chat and unwind. I think it's better suited for a second round of drinks. The fact that they have grilled eel skewers for 100 yen is pretty impressive. I wouldn't necessarily choose this place on purpose, but it's a decent option when choices are limited.

I visited on a regular night. The Foodlog rating at the time of visit was 3.02. This day was the second bar I visited. At the first place, I was already full from sushi so I didn't order any food. I had a beer and four highballs with the potato salad that came as a complimentary dish. The potato salad was tasty with a good amount of saltiness from the tuna. Ordering was convenient with the touch panel. However, the interior of the restaurant was oddly noisy. The prices were cheap, and it was a convenient izakaya near the station. Overall, it was a good experience!

I visited for the first time after 10 p.m. and ordered a lot of dishes like Chicken Nanban, Karaage, Dice Steak, Yakitori, Cucumber, and French Fries. All the dishes were delicious, and the staff's service was really good, making it a pleasant place to dine. ☺️

Let's go to a post-event party in Honmachi, Mirazaka-san. It seems to be one of the Watami Group restaurants. This was my first time here. We chose the 2nd party course for 2500 yen with all-you-can-drink option. We started with a toast with a highball. They served edamame, bean sprout namul, and even potato fries. The specialty seemed to be the fried chicken drumstick with a sweet and savory sauce. It's a great place to drink within a budget, perfect for salarymen. Thank you for the meal!

This is a izakaya located in the building just east of Osaka Metro Honmachi Station. We used it for a company welcome and year-end party, where we were able to order individual items instead of a course meal, which was great. The seating was quite spacious, which was also appreciated. Prices are all listed excluding tax. They offer cheap drinks like Suntory's The Premium Malt's "Fragrant Ale" draft beer for 299 yen and Jim Beam highball for 199 yen. You can order from the menu or use a tablet to select items, which also allows you to check your order history, current payment amount, and split the bill. We started with a toast with draft beer and then tried drinks like Yamazaki Distillery's roasted barrel plum wine and Mio sparkling. The food we ordered included a Caesar salad with 3 kinds of vegetables, Hokkaido cherry mozzarella caprese, a sashimi platter with 3 types of fish, salmon sashimi, Island ham cutlet, dashimaki tamago, a special garlic-grilled bone-in chicken dish, cheese-stuffed chicken meatballs, and freshly cooked chicken rice using special chicken meat. The chicken rice dish took 30 minutes to prepare, but it was worth the wait. Overall, it was a comfortable and reasonably priced izakaya with enjoyable tablet ordering system.

Caesar salad, ikura sushi, crispy shrimp crackers, teppanyaki grilled leeks, assorted grilled chicken skewers, assorted chicken meatballs, teppanyaki dumplings, fluffy and creamy grilled yam and cheese, mentaiko dashimaki tamago, tantan noodles, and various other delicious dishes were all so tasty!

Compared to other chain stores, I feel that this store has a good selection of items and good value for money. The store is relatively clean as well. However, depending on the seat, you may feel a bit cramped, so it might be better to be cautious when going with a large group.

We were guided to a spacious private room because we made a reservation for a large group. The Genghis Khan (grilled lamb) was consistently delicious, and it was my first time trying hot pot but it was also very tasty.

A typical chain izakaya. It seems like they don't have private rooms, but it's relatively spacious and bright. Draft beer is 299 yen. Located across from Tsuruya Golf.

The Southern Barbarian dish is voluminous and delicious. It costs 599 yen.

I think the best thing about this place is that highballs are 199 yen, draft beer is 299 yen, and the drinks are cheap! It's a great place where you can enjoy a little snack and drink for a reasonable price.

The menma was delicious and had a rating of 3.675.

The drinks were not mixed.

On this day, I had plans for a drinking party in the neighborhood, so of course, we had to pre-drink, right? So, I wandered around the area looking for a place to drink. The candidate restaurants had long lines or were not open yet, so I ended up going to this place. It's a common food blogger thing - whether to write about a restaurant or not - and I was leaning towards not writing about it, but ended up reflexively taking a photo of the entrance sign. In the end, I decided to write about it! The restaurant is located underground and the interior is very spacious. It was around 6 pm on a weekday and there were already customers having a party. We were seated at a table towards the back. We didn't do the traditional food blogger toast because I didn't feel like it at that moment! The ordering system was through a touch panel. We ordered the spicy cold tomatoes and deep-fried mozzarella cheese. The cabbage appetizer was unexpectedly expensive at 600 yen per person, and we were surprised when we saw the bill later. The cabbage had a crispy texture and came with miso for dipping. The spicy cold tomatoes had a kimchi flavor. The deep-fried mozzarella cheese was accidentally ordered twice, so we ended up with two servings. The cheese had a chewy texture. I had beer and whiskey highball, while my friend had two highballs. The total bill was 3,124 yen. The drinks were cheap, but the appetizer was a bit pricey. Just be careful when using the touch panel to order, as mistakes can lead to ordering the same item twice. Overall, it was a good experience. Thank you for the meal!

On a rainy Sunday, I was looking for a place near the station and stumbled upon Mirazaka, which used to be a different izakaya. I decided to give it a try. It's a chain restaurant, and if you're dining with a group, I highly recommend the all-you-can-drink party course as it's a great deal. One must-try dish at Mirazaka is the "Seiryu Wakadori Globe Age," which is a giant piece of fried chicken made from bone-in thigh meat. You can either bite into it or have the staff cut it into bite-sized pieces for you (they'll ask). It pairs perfectly with beer. The highball is also recommended, but the main highball here is made with Jim Beam, so it may not be to everyone's liking. As a drinker, I was a bit disappointed that while the base alcohol is reasonably priced, the options for sake and whiskey are a bit on the pricier side (compared to other casual izakayas). However, it's still a good place for a quick drink.