Sukiya

Rating: Very good
Meal:  Lunch
Price:  650 yen
Payment:  Cash only
Dishes:  Sesame dressing pork don with tonshiru (pork soup)
English Menu:No
Smoking:No

Sukiya is one of several gyudon (beef bowl) chains in Japan.  We think it is the best, but everyone has their personal favorites.  Even though I list it as Very Good, this is very much a relative rating, and I mean it is Very Good compared with the other chains, and for the price.

Although there is no English menu, the pictures are pretty easy to figure out, so I wouldn't let that scare you away.  There is no ticket machine here, just menus and a button to press when ready to order.  They always bring you a brownish cold tea drink, which I absolutely love.  I think it's mugicha (wheat tea).  We used to call it "dirt tea" because it has a nice earthy taste.

Although Sukiya is primarily all about beef bowls, there are usually some additional items or specials depending on the season or promotion.  Currently there are still remnants of the big unagi push from earlier in the summer, and there's also a big curry section.  New to me was a "pork bowl" are on the menu, so I figured I'd try that.

I got the "set" with the meal which includes miso soup, which you can upgrade to a "tonshiru" (pork soup) with lots of hearty vegetables in it.  I love that stuff.  It also came with a pretty big block of tofu with ginger and shredded negi on top.  This was a nice bonus!  The little bowl has something tasty in it, but I have no idea it is.  It was quite a bit of food for only 650 yen, though I wish I had ordered an ontama (soft-yolk boiled egg) to go with.