西武多摩湖線
Today is the last holiday of the year, and I had various things I wanted to do and places I wanted to go. However, with light snow falling, I had to give up on those plans. It seemed like a waste to just lounge around at home on the last day of the year. So, I decided to walk to a nearby restaurant where I could fill my stomach with yakiniku (Japanese BBQ). I had known this place since its previous incarnation as Yakiniku Mankura, but it had now transformed into Chifaja. I had only been there once before and never returned. I thought it was a family-friendly restaurant with toys from ONE PIECE, but now it looked like a bungalow from the South Pacific. In the center, there was an open kitchen-style grill. Surprisingly, they had changed their ordering system to using tablets similar to iPads. I ordered the beef buffet (1500 yen including tax) and was amazed to see that I could order grated garlic and fried garlic for free. They even changed the grill for me. I remembered that in the past, they used grooved iron plates, and there were tongs and kitchen paper in the corner of the table for us to clean up ourselves. Next to the open kitchen space, there were salads like shredded cabbage, potato salad, and daikon and cucumber kimchi. There was also rice and curry, which seemed like it was more than enough. Additionally, desserts that used to be charged separately were now available for sharing, including two types of cake and vanilla, mixed, and chocolate soft-serve ice cream. As for the meat, the marinated kalbi was flavorful, the salt and pepper kalbi had frozen meat, and the pork would become tough if you took your eyes off it while cooking. But, it didn't matter as long as I could eat the meat. People who prioritize taste over quantity might be disappointed, but you shouldn't expect that here. All the staff were working with smiles on their faces. Nowadays, it's hard to find staff for restaurants, especially ones like this, but everyone here was lively and working happily. It made me happy just to see that. The restaurant is located by the Katsura River, and on a cloudy winter day like today, I would love to sit by the river and enjoy the view. This is not sarcasm - the restaurant has truly become an enjoyable yakiniku place. I will definitely come back, even if it's just by myself.