WHAT IS THIS THING? | Best Unagi Rice (Eel) in Tokyo, Japan

What a fun day 🙂

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#japan #chiba #japanguide

Chiba is only one hour away from Tokyo and is a less mainstream place but also excellent to visit. I stayed overnight and now I’m heading to the famous eel shop on Naritasan Omotesando. It’s said to be the best in Tokyo, so I’m really looking forward to trying it.

This bridge is called the Kaiun-bashi which translates to the Good Fortune Bridge, and there are several good restaurants in the area before connecting to Naritasan Omotesando. If you walk along you’ll come face to face with this huge bull. This belongs to a popular restaurant: Tanaka Shoten. It is a yakiniku restaurant – a barbeque meat shop.
It’s good choice if you’ve just landed or about to catch your flight back because it is quite close to the airport. The area is around 8 minutes from Narita Station.

👉Narita Kaiunbashi Dori Store
ADDRESS: 736-4 Hanazaki-cho, Narita-shi, Chiba 286-0033
HOURS: 17:00 to 24:00
WEBSITE: http://konishi-shouten.com/

Chiba is famous for their eels, so there’s more than one shop that sells unagi. The one we are going to is called Kawatoyo, a long-standing store that has over 100 years of history. As a famous and popular restaurant, there is always a huge queue outside the shop.
You’ll need get a ticket and maybe go walk around because it takes about an hour waiting time. The number being called will be displayed both on the counter monitor and on their website.

At the entrance of the restaurant where everyone is queuing up, you can see a table and several chefs preparing the eels. The unagi rice comes in a box. I ordered the smallest portion size which consists of two regular pieces of eel and it costs 2700yen – which is about $25. Eel is said to be a stamina-giving food, it is packed with vitamins and in Japanese culture, people eat it to recover from fatigue. Two sizes up you get 3 large pieces of eel and it costs 5100yen – which is about $48. The unagi is really really soft. The inside is extremely moist and juicy, not dry at all. The special soy sauce that it is cooked in brings out the sweetness of the eel very well.

👉UNAGI KAWATOYO
ADDRESS: Nakamachi 386, Narita, Chiba, Japan, 286-0027
HOURS: 10am to 5pm Everyday
PAYMENT: Cash only (credit cards not accepted)
WEBSITE: http://www.unagi-kawatoyo.com
 
In the next shop with the squishy balls – which are facial soaps made with the jelly from the edible konjac plant, which makes this squishy texture possible. They come in many colors and fragrances, and apparently it can purify you and grant your wish. I was so surprised when I touched Konjac soap because it is incredibly soft and honestly, it feels really really good, and it just makes you want to hold on to it – or play with it. I think I enjoy playing with it more. In the shop there’s a huge rock of salt here that looks like its being worshipped lol.

👉 KONNYAKU SHABON
ADDRESS: Naritasan Omotesando Sabon 387 Nakamachi, Narita City, Chiba
WEBSITE: http://konnyaku-shabon.com/

Sugi Bee Garden began in 1946 when the founder Takeo Sugi started beekeeping with only 3 beehive boxes. He said “The best honey in Japan could be made in the flowery city of Kumamoto and he created a honey-making method that produces a top quality honey. Sugi Bee Garden currently produces the most types of honey in Japan.
There are instructions on how to prep the honey, you can make it into a drink or have it just as it is. They have 9 types of fruit juice infused honey. This one here is apple honey and you can order it on their website – they ship internationally. I really like a cup of hot honey on a cold day.

👉SUGI BEE
ADDRESS: 93 Saiwaicho Narita-shi, Chiba-ken
HOURS: 09:00～17:45
WEBSITE: https://sugi-bee.com