Shimokitazawa Techan standing bar (Tokyo)

The plastic curtains around the bar Shimokotazawa, Tokyo
This is yet a a couple metro stations outside the Yamanote district, but on the other side of Tokyo : here is a low-buildings neighborhood with lively narrow streets and few cars, the area is residential, thickly inhabited and with its own gentle character. I discovered the place years ago and even though I didn't visit it often, it's one of my favorite spots in this town.
I had called Terumi who lives in the area so that we could go out for a drink and find another casual bar, we had taken a few addresses including a few ones provided by John W. who has a good experience with these, but we actually decided to try this one which was very close to the train station, it was cold and this would leave us with more time with Terumi. She is initially a friend of B. and one of the first friends she made in this country when she settled for a few years in Japan, and I know Terumi is a perfect companion to go to places, she enjoys going out for sure...

The Japanese people are pragmatic and mix tradition with modernity without bothering too much with esthetics, and these PVC strip plastic were protecting so much better from the cold than the traditional Noren shop curtains. They were scratched and worn enough to keep a bit of privacy for the patrons and were doing a good job to keep us warm.

Shimokitazawa is really a gem of a neighborhood, low key with its small street and mostly devoid of tall buildings, the kind of area you wish to live in (mabe at some distance of the most frequented alleys). But some people in the city or region administration have had bright projects for Shimokita and would like to cut through the thickly-built area to open a few large roads, not really something people who love this neighborhood dream of. Some residents, native or not, have grouped together to fight off the threat on their town, and even though the remodeling project has been around for years, no real decision has been firmly taken yet.
Vimeo video on the left was found on likeafishinwater.com (I think you can have a glimpse at Techan at min 6:52)

Toshi at the bar Man, that place was great, we were packed like sardines in there, with the PVC strips in our back, but with the stoves in front of us, we felt like in a mountain refuge after crossing the frozen wastes of Hokkaido. There was this guy on our right, Toshi, he was very nice and cool, he was wondering what a French guy could find here of any interest with all the gastronomy we have in France. Hard to explain him from this perspective but if I had had time and the language resource I'd had tried to tell him that these simple eateries were gold for me and it's not an issue like "the grass is greener on the other side of the fence", but really we don't find easily these light-hearted venues at home.

On the other side of the square counter, a bunch of salarymen were raising their glasses while eating their yakitori. This place opened 9 years ago, they serve sake, beer and wine.

Oden always ready There's nothing like a hot pot of Nikomi on a cold evening of early march. The big pot was kept all the time on the stove under our eyes, a good way to have passerbys tempted to stop a few minutes for a bite and a glass or two of sake.
The guys working in this tachinomi weren't Japanese, it takes a native to spot that because as they're from Asia and we Westerners don't always catch the difference, you need to notice their speaking Japanese with a foreign accent or other details. If I remember well they were possibly from Vietnam or this part of Asia, according to my friends. Yakitoris on the stove These yakitoris were terrific, there were different types of meat including pork skin and intestines, all parts being perfect. The stove is a gem of a restaurant stove, look at how thin it is, like if it had been thought to fit perfectly in the tight surface of this eatery. There's something I appreciate when dealing with interior architecture, that's ergonomy and economy of means, and here is a perfect example of well-thought design and sizes. The manager could handle all these skewers on this minimalist electric stove, plus the boiler.

A few prices for the food :
Plates of chicken (105 Y), fried tofu (105 Y), saussage (105 Y), pork ribs (210 Y), Nikomi (tripes) 315 Y, boiled egg 105 Y, Yakitori 105 Y each (chicken, skin, heart, liver etc...), plain tofu 315 Y, fried tofu 210 Y, saucisson 315 Y, plus other yakitoris (duck, mutton etc...) at 315 Y each.

Filling the glasses Filling our glasses of sake. I don't remember what Terumi asked to drink butif I remember we took different sorts of sake so thaty we could taste from the other glass. I'm looking desperately for some notes about the sake we got but found nothing, I'll just try to get some menu translation with prices.
Notice that the small plate under the glass (not really a masu, not as deep) was also overflowed with sake, but it won't add much when you put it back into the glass. But this sake was good. Guy with a cigarette and beer This man was having a cigarette and a beer and I asked him if I could make a picture, and he nodded friendly. He was standing like us between the PVC Strips and the narrow counter and with this picture I realize that we were reallystanding on the street itself (rather an alley), but we weren't annoyed, this was a side alley with sometimes a bicycle and otherwise pedestrians. By the way, I haven't yet provided a map link for this venue, so here is a video of mine showing the way to this place from the train station, the alley being shown at min 1:53 and the tachinomi being right hand there.
There were these two girls sitting along the counter and at one point I think one of them took our picture with her cell phone. Sake bottles Here are the different sakes they were pouring that day, There was Ai Heisan on the left, also Yamatano Orochi, means snake heads, I'm not sure which bottle it is on this picture. I had also a Tamano Hikari (I think it's the bottle on the right). I can't read my writing clearly for which bottle is which, but one of them is the Yamatano Orochi and comes from the Shimane prefecture, and the one on right is a Kahiro Roku shu from the Akita prefecture.

Here are a few prices for the drinks : Sake Sawanoi 600 Yen a glass; other Nihon-shu (sake) : Tai Heizan 410 Y, Yamanato Orochi 525 Y, Tamano Hikari 525 Y.
Red or white wine : 410 Y a glass. Ebisu beer, 525 Y; Hopi (shochu mixed with drink) 315 Y; Shoukoshu (Chinese sake) 215 Y; 5 different types of regional shochu (quite trendy these days) 525 Y;
If I remember we paid each about 1200 Y (8,45 € or 11,6 USD) for two glasses of sake and some shared plates, a pretty good deal.

They're after me !

Techan standing bar Shimokitazawa station Map directions : first alley on right after ikon From Shinjuku : Odakyu odawara from Shibuya : Keio Inokashira line Take north exit, go down street, turn right after Peacock store Metro map (Shibuya & Shimokitazawa on lower left)