Nostalgic but chaotic: the yokocho is one of the places of the ancient and goliardic soul of the Japanese cuisine, but also the exact synesthesia of its deeper cultural character. Literal translation of the term yokocho is "alley," "side street"; to this day, however, the word has come to mean not only the narrowest streets, but their entire set of pub izakaya, typical Japanese taverns where you can have a drink while savoring local appetizers. Most restaurants serve the typical specialties of the Japanese cuisine, but there is no shortage of Korean barbecues and Chinese restaurants; every little nook hidden between skyscrapers and stations is packed with people: the narrow alleys lit by a few lanterns represent a real world apart, away from the crowds, although some nights it can get crazy and messy...
Entering a yokocho means eating and drinking close to each other, with few places and regular customers; these places are real treasures for anyone seeking to experience the less sterile and more down-to-earth side of Japanese culture. Spotting them is as easy as it is not obvious: they can be spotted walking near major railroad junctions and often under the train tracks themselves. Cigarette smoke mingles with the smoke of charcoal from grills: the yokocho are the nostalgic fills of ultramodern urbanization, the intersection point where eating and traveling interpenetrate until all boundary lines vanish.
A simple but impenetrable immersive experience
Once seated, the reception will see the reception of a oshibori, a towel for washing hands, cold and sealed in plastic or delivered hot; probably a small appetizer will be served immediately afterwards, or otoshi, for which there will be a small surcharge. Often the menu is handwritten on sheets posted on the walls of the restaurant and not in English, especially in the yokocho frequented more by locals than tourists. In these environments it is good not to expect innovative cocktails; the choices are Japanese standards: beer on tap, Japanese sake, lo shochu, which, typically stronger than sake, is distilled from sweet potatoes, barley or rice, and finally the chuhai, which would be flavored and sour shochu. Although there is a strong tradition, recently, these districts are experiencing a kind of boom and customers of the famous pubs yokocho are no longer middle-aged and elderly gentlemen: young people and women are now a common sight.
3 evocative Yokocho selected in Tokyo
- Ameya Yokocho
Within walking distance of downtown Tokyo, near the Ueno Station (a district famous for its cherry gardens where there are about eight thousand cherry trees!) along a very narrow street, is located the market Ameya Yokocho, literally candy store alley. Ame also stands for America: many American products were available on this street when it was home to a black market in the years following World War II. Currently Ameyoko is occupied by stores selling fish, clothes, flowers, fruit, and jewelry, and unlike other markets, goods here are often sold at fairly low prices. Moreover, while on the one hand, valuable or branded items are priced at a fixed and controlled rate, on the other hand, a rather bizarre dynamic applies to many other items: it is good to know that if the price of tuna is announced with a crippled entry, then it means it is negotiable; also, towards evening it is obviously easier to get discounts on fresh produce. From the stores, on both sides of the street, shouts such as "Only 1000 yen!" can be heard. It seems that 1000 yen is the key word, but in fact numerous products are much more expensive; in fact, the strategy is to motivate people to enter the stores and then lead them to buy more expensive things. During the New Year period, the market changes completely; up to five hundred thousand people a day come from all over Japan to buy festive food, which is sold for up to ten times its price. Many of the clothing or other stores close and rent space to food vendors; the colorful street is so crowded that it takes even copious quarters of an hour to walk it...
- Ebisu Yokocho
A small, colorful sliding door separates underground Tokyo from this lively alley where you can breathe in old Japan: thanks to its trendy bars, good restaurants, and shopping, Ebisu Yokocho is considered one of the most desirable places to live among the locals. Ebisu Yokocho was born out of an attempt to bring a breath of fresh air to an old shopping arcade, and so indeed it was. The most peculiar of the tiny bars/restaurants in the area, it is called Nikuzushi which translates to "meat sushi," and that is exactly what they serve.
- Omoide Yokocho
Omoide Yokocho is a nostalgic place that survives in an increasingly forward-looking city. Indeed, the beauty of this place lies in the paper lanterns hanging in the alleys, the smoky air and the remnants of times past. This yokocho immensely photogenic, he is often referred to as "Memory Lane": the appellation derives from the desire to preserve the memory of a devastating fire in 1999 that completely razed the land and the subsequent reconstruction of it, little by little.
Italian Food Academy's Japanese Pasta & Street Food Course
For some time now, Japanese street food dishes have also begun to depopulate in Italy. In particular, if in Japan the street food is mostly the prerogative of kiosks and stalls, in Italy to offer it are Japanese home cooking restaurants that combine street food with other, better-known delicacies, or even haute cuisine restaurants where gourmet variants can be found. The Japanese Pasta & Street Food Course by Italian Food Academy offers a comprehensive program that respects the traditions and customs of Japanese culture: the course teaches how to prepare oriental-style noodles and countless Japanese street food dishes from scratch, targeting both professionals who want to deepen techniques and knowledge aimed at developing more skills, but also those who carry out management and promotion of events related to the sector "international food" and to fooders, students or simply enthusiasts who have a desire to delve into the true and traditional Japanese culinary art.
Are you intrigued by this reality? Book an interview with Italian Food Academy And let yourself be led into this parallel Universe!
