When walking around Kyoto, you come across little shops here and there, which adds to the unique charm of Kyoto. I visited a recommended restaurant where you sit at the counter. It was crowded with customers! You can't see inside from outside, so it's surprising how quiet it is compared to the bustling streets. I heard that the oden is a must-try, so I ordered it. There were two types of oden, black and white. I forgot the difference, but it must be the difference in broth. The black one had a strong miso flavor and the ingredients were well infused. It was so delicious that the daikon easily broke in half. It made me realize once again how different homemade oden is from convenience store oden. I also tried various other side dishes and they were all delicious. Even simple izakaya dishes were tasty. The dashimaki tamago was delicious, and the karaage was naturally delicious too. I enjoyed a delicious night savoring the tasty dishes with some sake. It was a delicious evening.

Located about a 5-minute walk from Gojo Station on the Karasuma Subway Line, this hidden gem of an izakaya is near my workplace. They offer a variety of delicious dishes such as fresh sashimi, seared mackerel, rolled omelette, and beef tongue steak. Among them, the dish that stood out to me was the oden. I first visited this restaurant in early June on a very hot day, but I still felt like having some hot oden. They offer two types of oden: "white oden" made with a rich soup simmered for about 8 hours with chicken bones, and "black oden" simmered in a sweet and flavorful miso broth. I recommend trying both to experience different flavors. They also have a wide selection of refreshing sake to enjoy with your oden. Why not give it a try?

The complimentary miso soup served at the beginning is much appreciated during the cold season. The rich flavor of the miso soup goes well with alcohol. The white cloudy chicken broth with three types of white oden costs 680 yen, the fresh oyster with ponzu sauce costs 1000 yen, and the salt & pepper crispy chicken skin senbei costs 600 yen. All the dishes are generous in portion size. It might be just right to share between two people. The restaurant is relatively empty.

The red lanterns shine on the night road. At the second stop, I felt like having a drink, so I went to an izakaya called "掌" and tried their specialty dish that is hard to find in the market. I wonder what the secret is behind the trusting relationship between the brewery and the owner that allows them to procure such a rare item. The dishes like tofu, corn tempura, and grilled beef tongue with plenty of green onions were delicious and disappeared in no time. I can't wait to go back and try more dishes next time when I'm even more hungry.

It's about a 10-minute walk from Kyoto Gojo Station. The atmosphere is like a traditional Japanese izakaya. We ordered a sashimi platter, black oden, bamboo shoot tempura, 2 types of sake, beer, etc. It cost around 6,500 yen per person. The appetizer was a 3-item assortment. The cost performance was not great. The service was also lacking. The sashimi was disappointing, considering they advertise "Tsukamoto-style." It's been a while since I felt this way. I hope it was just bad luck, and that they usually have fresher ingredients.

During the state of emergency, I visited a restaurant that was only open from 12:00 to 6:00 on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. I made a reservation for an early dinner at 4:00, as alcohol service was only until 7:00. When we arrived at 4:00, we were informed that we could still order from the lunch menu. We ordered a beer, oolong tea, and were offered fresh shrimp sashimi for 300 yen each. We also ordered dashimaki tamago, black oden (miso flavor), fried river shrimp, and a tasting set of three types of sake. The appetizers were delicious and paired well with the alcohol. The fried river shrimp was crispy, the dashimaki tamago was moist, and the black oden was flavorful. The fresh shrimp sashimi was surprisingly large, sweet, and satisfying. Overall, it was a delightful dining experience with good food and a variety of sake options.

Visited in May 2020 with a rating of 3.13 on Tabelog. I had the Chicken Nanban set meal for 700 yen. Due to the impact of the coronavirus, they were offering temporary lunch specials. Today I went to "Sake Sakana Tanagokoro." It seems like this series will continue to shrink and hopefully end next month. I hope there won't be a second wave of coronavirus that would bring back the temporary lunch specials. This izakaya mainly serves seafood and Japanese cuisine, but surprisingly there was no seafood bowl on the lunch menu. Today's special was the Chicken Nanban set meal, and they also had options like Katsudon, Tempura, and Karaage set meals, with an option to add coffee for an extra 200 yen. However, I found out that this lunch special will end this month, as it was written on the menu board that there were only 3 days left. That means today and two more days only! The interior of the restaurant had a traditional Japanese izakaya feel, with an L-shaped counter and a glimpse of a tatami room in the back. I decided to order the Chicken Nanban as it seemed to match my mood. It took quite a while for the food to be served, considering there were only two customers in the restaurant. The meal included Chicken Nanban, three small side dishes like potato salad, hijiki with edamame, and chopped bamboo shoots, as well as miso soup. The potato salad had a nice texture, the side dishes were decent, and the Chicken Nanban was tender, although the coating wasn't as crispy as I expected. The miso soup was flavorful but a bit on the salty side. The portion of rice seemed small at first, but it turned out to be just right to fill me up. The lunch special is available until tomorrow (Friday), so if you're interested, make sure to visit before it ends.

■Visit Date: April 22, 2020■Received Items: Hamburg Steak Set Meal■MEMOI visited on April 23, 2020. Tanagokoro is currently only open until 6:00 PM, and they don't usually serve lunch, so I decided to try it out during this period. By adjusting the lunch time, I was able to avoid crowded places, which was nice. Today, I had the daily special set meal, which was the Hamburg Steak Set. It came with their famous black oden. Whether it's the side dishes, salad, or homemade hamburg steak, everything was delicious. You can truly enjoy the satisfying flavors. It was a relaxing lunchtime chatting with the owner. During this time of the coronavirus, every restaurant is facing challenges, but it really depends on each individual's awareness.■Bloghttps://ay-style.net/?p=7064

■Visit Date: March 13, 2020■Items Received・Assorted homemade smoked dishes・Marinated mackerel・Fried sea bass・Assorted sashimi・Grilled conger eel・Assorted black oden dishes・Udon noodles cooked in oden broth・Pork shabu-shabu salad with homemade chili oil・Spicy boiled chicken with freshly ground sansho pepper■MEMOI visited on March 13, 2020, with my wife after work. This day, the effects of the coronavirus were starting to show, but the restaurant was still operating normally. We sat at the counter and started with a toast with beer. We love the counter seats. We enjoyed the assorted sashimi, smoked dishes, black oden, and other classic dishes while savoring our drinks. My wife switched to sake halfway through, while I stuck with beer. We also had crispy sea bass fry and some meat dishes, all of which were delicious and made us very happy. The atmosphere created by the chef's usual demeanor also made us feel at ease. We finished with a nabe-yaki oden cooked in oden broth.■Bloghttps://ay-style.net/?p=7064

A cozy izakaya near Karasuma Gojo serving delicious obanzai and oden. Located quietly in Manjuji Takakura. They offer a variety of sake, including famous Kyoto brands like Aosora. Perfect for sake lovers. In the cold winter, I had a craving for oden, so I visited this place. The slightly spicy yuzu pepper added a nice touch to the light chicken-based broth. The dashimaki tamago was incredibly delicious, with a soft and fluffy texture. The chef's skill in incorporating the maximum amount of dashi into the egg was evident. The taste was rich and I wished I had some rice to go with it! I hope they offer a dashimaki tamago set meal in the future.

■Visit Date: May 15, 2016■What I Received■MEMOVisited on May 15, 2016 with my wife and mother-in-law, a total of 3 people. We visited after finishing our pre-wedding photoshoot. As June approaches, the heat in Kyoto starts to become more intense, and you can hear the footsteps of the rainy season approaching. Today was clear and dry, perfect for a cold beer toast. We aimed to arrive before the 6:00 PM opening. We enjoyed dishes such as raw north scallops, soy-marinated red shrimp, tempura bamboo shoots, sliced water eggplant, grilled Okinawan bacon, and black oden as appetizers. This is our go-to place for a relaxing time. We sat in a private room and enjoyed the delicious and consistent dishes, indulging in a pleasant buzz from the drinks.

■Visit Date: October 12, 2014■Items Received・Refer to the list below■MEMOVisited Tanagokoro for delicious food and drinks. It was quite busy on the middle day of the 3-day weekend. Here's what I had today. The dishes that bring out the natural flavors of the ingredients are always a delight.①Cheers with draft beer②Appetizer③Homemade duck roast④Eggplant with grated daikon and ponzu sauce⑤Fresh Pacific saury sashimi⑥"Matsumoto" and "Ichinokura" sake⑦Salmon shirako (milt)⑧"Tonbo" and "Bijofu" sake⑨Conger eel tempura⑩Grilled conger eel bones⑪Rice topped with raw egg■Bloghttps://ay-style.net/?p=7064

■Visit Date: August 17, 2014■Received Items: See below■MEMOTwo consecutive visits・The atmosphere is very calming, the owner is friendly, and the food is delicious every time.・Today, I tried the Shiga sake "Tadatada." It had a refreshing taste with a lingering aftertaste, very delicious.①Tofu skin skewers②Marinated eggplant, summer tomato, and mozuku seaweed salad・The eggplant was very sweet and tasty.③Salmon and cheese salad④Corn tempura⑤Grilled yellowtail・The yuzu pepper seasoning was a great touch.⑥Assorted oden⑦Pork ginger stir-fry・Finished off with rice, it was so good.・The ginger stir-fry at this izakaya is amazing.■Bloghttps://ay-style.net/?p=7064

■Visit Date: August 10, 2014■What I ate・Refer to below■MEMOAfter returning from a trip in the midst of a typhoon, I visited this restaurant with my girlfriend. Driving in the typhoon was quite nerve-wracking, so we enjoyed delicious dishes and snacks at a leisurely pace. The food and drinks here are always incredibly delicious no matter when we come.①Appetizers・Young ayu and eggplant②Sand steamed garlic・A delicious dish with well-infused flavors③Tomato and cheese bake④Man'yo Temple and young ayu tempura・Crispy and flavorful, a taste of summer.⑤Oden・Oden with chicken broth base⑥Dashi roll・Delicious!!⑦Alcohol・Had Jun, Aozora, and Sawano Hana. We savored each delicious dish and drink, losing track of time.■Bloghttps://ay-style.net/?p=7064

Meeting with former colleagues from my previous company. I had a lot to talk about, so I requested a quiet yet delicious restaurant, which was a bit of a challenge, but I made a reservation at this place. I had been there once before and it was really nice. We arrived around 7:30 pm, and there were only two other groups of customers, so we sat at the counter. We started with a toast with draft beer to celebrate our reunion. It was a bit awkward because there were some work-related issues that I had pushed onto them. The chef brought out a cold soup as a starter, which was amazing. The flavor of the potatoes was so gentle and delicious. We went for the chef's selection of sashimi, which was fresh and tasty. The shrimp was outstanding. The fried daikon was also delicious, with a broth-infused flavor. As we drank and ate, the conversation flowed easily, and before we knew it, the night had flown by. I must have had at least 5 glasses of shochu on the rocks. Good food makes you want to drink, and good drinks make you want more food - it's an endless loop. Overall, it was a satisfying night at this hidden gem of a restaurant. I hope it becomes more popular, but at the same time, I don't want it to be too crowded when I go. I know, I'm a selfish drinker. But I truly wish for the success of hardworking restaurants like this one. It was a truly delicious experience. Thank you for the meal.

I came across another restaurant that I can visit regularly!

The food is delicious. The cost performance is... okay?

No matter what I eat, it's always delicious, especially the daikon tempura in oden!! I want to try oden next time.

■Visit Date: November 4, 2017■Items Received・Grilled Salmon Milt with Butter and Soy Sauce・Oden Daikon Tempura・Yellowtail Sashimi・Live Octopus Sashimi・Chicken Thigh Tataki・Black Edamame from Tanba・Conger Eel Simmered in Soy Sauce・Kyoto-Style Sanma Tempura (from a separate menu)■MEMOVisited on November 4, 2017. Located near Kogura Manjuji Temple, this izakaya is one of the most frequented places in Kyoto for me. It had been a while since my spouse and I visited together. We sat at the counter, which was bustling with customers on the weekend. The dishes were all consistently delicious. The Daikon Oden Tempura was a unique and juicy twist on traditional oden daikon. The simmered conger eel and Kyoto-Style Sanma Tempura were also delightful additions. The conger eel is a great accompaniment to both drinks and rice. The Sanma Tempura can be enjoyed as a snack as well. We enjoyed the delicious food and drinks, while having a leisurely conversation with the chef. Thank you for the wonderful meal.

On the way to the intended shop, my friend and I were lured by the scent of dashi and decided to change our plans. We were warmly welcomed and ordered oden because we were in the mood for something with dashi. It was delicious! We also ordered the sashimi that the person next to us had, and it was great too. The staff was very friendly and our conversation flowed easily, making the sake taste even better. We talked about how much we like eggplant, and the miso-glazed eggplant we ordered was to my liking! The flavors were elegant and the dishes were meticulously prepared, so I found myself asking for more sake.

■Visit Date: July 14, 2017■Items Received: Squid sashimi, young ayu tempura, raw oysters, etc.■MEMOWe visited on July 14, 2017. Kyoto is in the midst of the Gion Festival season. My boss and I went together. We sat at the counter and toasted with beer to beat the heat. We enjoyed squid sashimi, raw oysters, young ayu tempura, and more while savoring our drinks. The delicious dishes made us very happy. This restaurant never fails to impress. It was still bright outside past 6 o'clock in the summer, and having a beer after work during this time felt so seasonal and enjoyable.