290 yen restaurant!

Last night John, a few friends and I decided to check out the 290 yen restaurant. Everything they serve, with the exception of some premium foods is 290 yen or about $3.80. Prices this low are almost unheard of in Japan. The restaurant is on the 8th floor and we ride up a very small, very packed elevator.

When we enter the restaurant we are required to remove our shoes. This is not unheard of in traditional Japanese restaurants. We put our shoes in a cubby marked with a number so we can remember where our shoes are located. We follow a waiter back to a completely secluded booth. It's almost like having a private dining room. I raise the window shade to see night time Yokosuka skyline. The restaurant was crowded and loud but we really didn't notice as all the booths had four walls separating them from each other. We're a little nervous because we don't really want any dinner. We wanted to have a few drinks and some good conversation.

We start ordering by viewing a touch screen menu at our table. They had the menu items in English, so it was easy to pick out a few drinks we wanted. They had a selection of drinks made from fresh fruit. The guys tried a kiwi drink and they were each brought half a kiwi which they juiced and added to their drink. I had a peach drink with real peach slices in the drink and an orange drink with a whole tangerine included.

We ended up staying at the place until they closed. Total cost for four people (we ended up ordering 15 items total, which included some food and beers) was about $70. This is almost as low as American prices! Additionally we had a great time talking and catching up with our friends. After we paid the bill we were given a coupon for 10% off our next visit! Oh, and we also got free edamame....which I'm coming to understand is like the bar peanuts of Japan. In almost every Japanese bar, if you stay there long enough they'll bring you freshly cooked and salted edamame. It is indeed delicious.

Here's some pictures from our night:

The touch screen menu. It was hand held so you could pass it around the table.

John E. selects his drinks.

The kiwi drink after it had been juiced and added to the drink.

Hmmm....I WOULD eat salted squid. Not so sure about the guts.