At least once a week, Dan and I get dinner at a delicious ramen house called Fukujyu. It’s a two minute walk from our apartment next to our grocery store.
The menu isn’t too varied, but if you’re a ramen fan like Dan and I are there’s plenty of new things to try. Some of the more popular menu items are pictured on the walls
Normally we come in and they seat us right away. They bring us water and an appetizer, usually some edamame, salad or cucumber. I shouldn’t even need to say it now, but in traditional Japanese fashion everything is tiny. Our water glasses are about 4-6 oz, and that appetizer of edamame is about 4-5 soybeans. I don’t mind the smaller portions, but when eating something as salty as ramen I wish I had a lot more water! Since it’s a little restaurant run by a nice lady (we guess it’s her and her daughter, not sure on that one), they have gotten to know us, and have started bringing us a pitcher of water to share. She must have got tired of us saying, “mizu onegaishimasu!” (water please!).
I usually order the gyoza and ramen combo, and Dan will order the same or sometimes get fried rice.
Delicious gyoza! As you can see, I don’t get too creative with my sauce, just plain soy sauce (shoyu). Dan is always mixing and making new sauces out of the chili sauce, hot sauce and soy sauce.
Not too long after gyoza goodness is presented, they bring out our giant bowls of steamy ramen. Noodles, beef, radish, onion, mushroom, celery and green beans in hot broth. Also pictured is Dan’s fried rice, which I often steal bites form 🙂
We both gorge ourselves for about $15, which is pretty good around here. The lady running the restaurant is incredibly nice and has conversations with Dan. She definitely doesn’t understand any English whatsoever, which is a welcoming challenge for Dan. For the price, quality, quantity, and proximity to the apartment, this is definitely one of our favorites 🙂
I am contemplating opening my blog up to other things in my life, such as dishes I cook at home, projects Dan and I are working on, crafts, etc. It would give me much more to blog about, but may also take away from the “Japan” experience the blog currently presents. I’d love to know what you, as a reader, thinks! Drop me a line or comment and let me know if you just enjoy reading about our Japan outings, or if you’d like to read more about typical days here in Tokyo. I have also contemplated a second blog for all those mundane things, but that seems like more of a hassle for readers. Thanks!
I think the day to day stuff is just as much of your experience as anything else 🙂