Mom and Dad's Night Out at an Izakaya

Our boys were away at a school trip, so we decided to have a night out together. We were looking for a place to eat anywhere up to half a mile (1km) away. We found an izakaya, which is a place to drink and get small dishes. We don't drink, so we just ate. 

The name of it is Sake Rakukyu - Philip says the characters literally mean alcohol, fun, and long time ago. I don't think they get many foreigners...

Seriously, because this was the menu! Had I been alone, I would have had to use translate or left. There was no one else there, so they were patient with us. Philip spoke in Japanese so he asked for recommendations. 

The ambiance was fantastic! 

Look at the background of the above photo. It's hard to tell from the pictures, but we were sitting on cushions on the floor. However, this place had cut outs under the table so you could sit like you're in a chair. We were also required to take off our shoes prior to entering. 

This was made by someone the chef knew. It's Fuiji San (Mount Fuji) with the sky, the sea, and a fishing net catching fish. 

They brought us edamame (soybeans) to start. The white towels are a Japanese thing. It's standard to bring them to customers at eating establishments so they can wipe their hands before eating. Usually they are warm, but this place had them cold! There are also disposal versions in plastic packages that they give you at convenience stores when you buy food. 

We tried some sashimi (raw fish) where the fish had been kept inside some seaweed. The chef showed it to us before we ordered it. To the right, behind the leaves, there is some seaweed to eat. The leaves were edible as well, they were kind of like a palate cleanser. We only wished we had waited to the end of the dish to eat them!

Next, we had an omlete of sorts. The little white things on top were actually fish! They were looking at us, hahaha! The red stuff was pollack roe (eggs). 

The dish on the left was the one we liked the least. The white stuff was daikon radish, it had been very finely shredded-- I was not a fan of the texture, it felt to me as if I was eating cloth. The red bead looking things on top of the radish is salmon roe. They are like popping boba, but salty! To the right of that is cucumbers, which I like, but couldn't finish because Philip wasn't any help since he doesn't like them. The dish on the right is yakitori, or chicken skewers. It was so delicious, with the perfect amount of saltiness!

Our last dish isn't pictured. I guess I was too excited to eat it. It was a chicken filet that was fried in crunchy breading, but it too was soooooo good! A lot of times white meat is so dry, but this was so moist and de-licious! They brought us three sauces: shoyu (soy sauce), a sour sauce, and what they just called sauce. They told us they all tasted good on the chicken (and they did), but to not mix them! They were very reasonably priced, so we will definitely be back!

Afterward we walked around and played Pokémon Go, our legs were getting bit by bugs! 

I saw this shuttered business and thought it looked pretty. 

We had good eats, good company, and a good walk. Pretty much the perfect evening.