01 · negima
Thigh & spring onion
Salt or sweet tare, brushed on the second turn.
Skewer2 tokens
Field guide · Lantern Row, Kawabata Lane
Follow the steamdown Lantern Row.
Forty-eight stalls, one narrow lane under the old rail viaduct, eleven autumn nights. Bring an appetite and a cheap umbrella: the dumplings are pleated at the counter, the skewers go over white charcoal until the fat spits, and nobody pulls a shutter before one in the morning, rain or not.
夜店
No. 01
Left side · under the red lanterns
Auntie Wen pleatstwelve folds, every time.
Three bamboo steamers, one rolling pin worn to the shape of her palm. When the top lid lifts, the whole queue takes one step forward.
No. 02
Kōji's skewers,over white charcoal.
Binchotan burns hot and clean. Kōji fans it with a paper uchiwa and turns everything twice, never three times.
02 · butabara
Pork belly, yuzu salt
The one that makes the charcoal flare.
Skewer2 tokens
03 · shiitake
Shiitake, soy butter
Caps down first so the juice stays in.
Skewer2 tokens
04 · mochi
Rice cake, miso glaze
Blistered, chewy, gone in three bites.
Skewer2 tokens
05 · hatsu
Chicken heart, tare
For the regulars. Ask, it is not on the board.
Skewer2 tokens
06 · tōmorokoshi
Charred corn, shoyu
Half a cob, blackened at the edges.
Skewer1 token
22:30 · Chapter two
The rain gets serious.The queues don't.
No. 03
Left side · under the blue sign
One pot of broth,never allowed to cool.
The viaduct noodle bar's pork-bone broth was started on the first of October and has been topped up every night since. Six stools, a cloud of steam, and a queue that shelters under everyone else's awning.
0stalls, one lane
0nights, rain or not
0paper lanterns lit
00:00last orders
No. 04
Right side · the pink one
Sugar & steam,for the walk home.
Fish-shaped taiyaki with red bean to the tail, warabi mochi rolled in roasted soy flour, and stone-baked sweet potatoes sold in newspaper cones that keep your hands warm.
No. 05
Eleven nights.One lane. Look up.
- Fri 2 OctOpening night. The lanterns are lit by hand at 18:00.
- 3 – 9 OctEvery night, 18:00 – 01:00. Rain covers are up.
- Sat 10 OctLate night. Kitchens stay open until 02:00.
- Mon 12 OctLast night. Leftover lanterns go home with you.