Piss Alley
15 Nov
A lot has been said of this famous Tokyo icon — Piss Alley. It’s a labyrinth of tiny yakitori restaurants that can seat only up to 10 people at a go. I’ve been here twice already. The first was with Sue when she was in town and last Sunday, we met up with my friend Paul and his wife Serena, who were in Tokyo for two nights. They were touring Japan for two weeks. I’ve never met his wife but she’s a great gal to chat with. Mr. D enjoyed talking to Paul.
I met Paul at a Channel 12 pow-wow yonks ago when I was working for a certain women’s magazine. Trapped near the coffee counter, I was dying inside of boredom because I didn’t know a single person, except for a rival magazine’s editor, who was in a snappish mood. As I shifted my weight from foot to foot, a friendly voice said, “Hi, I’m Paul from Canadian Pizza. Nice to meet you. You are?”
It started from there. We kept in touch loosely and talked about our partners. It’s rare to talk to someone who is not girlfriend and we hit it off quite well. Once in a while we’d meet for lunch and before I knew it, he’s in Tokyo with his gal and we’re laughing and talking in a tiny hole-in-the-wall Japanese eatery in Shinjuku.
Can I say I love yakitori. The buffet of barbecued meat chunks and mushies on sticks make me drool. You can choose teriyaki or salt and pepper marinade – I prefer salt ‘n’ pepper where you can savour the real flavour of the food. My top faves are golden mushrooms wrapped in bacon, chicken wings, chicken with leeks, emperor mushrooms, lady’s fingers and quail eggs. Paired with plum wine soda, I was a happy bunny. At 5,000 yen a head, it was a bit expensive. I probably wouldn’t go back there often for yakitori but it’s also the experience of the dark, smoky alley that bustles with tons of peeps.
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you know, to hear a guy say “hi im so and so from Canadian Pizza” could be a really weird pick-up line or a cheesy line from a B-grade movie…but this paul fella is quite interesting and his wife looks fun too. im envious of all those who have visited u! i wanna go too! urge me urge me!
and btw, i imagine every one of the yakitori sticks in my mind and they look good!!!
argh i’ve been slack in maintaining this blog. sorry for the late reply dear. please come to japan and i’m sure by then i’ll know even more good eating places
hey, it’s great to find someone writing something about omoide yokocho, i love that place. eventhough it’s commercialised according to japanese standards, i find the alley charming and embodies a soul. i feel transported back to the postwar days whenever i go there. i think the shop that you went to is ichigo? you should try their omolette, it’s good! you must go back there to try it. i have seconds all the time when i’m there. i think the lady in the background is Xu-san from shanghai. I totally agree with you that they charge an arm for what they serve, but that place is just too cool to miss out.
I know – I love the atmosphere too. I always try to take friends who are visiting to indulge in some yakitori there. I didn’t know they served anything else besides yakitori and pork soup at the shanghai lady’s shop. Thanks for the tip