China House Keikarou: Aiba Mama's Restaurant

I have been wanting to visit the Chinese restaurant owned by Aiba Masaki's parents in Chiba so when a window opened in my schedule and a friend was coming to Tokyo, I quickly grabbed the opportunity. It was truly a fangirl escapade.

From Tokyo, take the JR Sobu line to Makuharihongo station. It takes less than an hour from Akihabara. On the train, we were greeted by the happy faces of our boys. Of course, we didn't miss the chance to take a photo with them. It was so funny because my friend and I wanted to take a picture beside Aiba's photo but then an old man was standing beside it for the longest time. We were waiting for the old man to get off the train so we can run to the ad and take our souvenir photo. Fortunately, the man got off one station before our stop so we quickly made our positions and take our shots!


There is only exit at Makuharihongo Station. Take that exit, turn left and walk down this long road up to the stoplight. While we were walking, I wondered what was it like growing up for Aiba in this quiet town. I could imagine him getting of this same station when he was around 16 or 17 after a rehearsal. Kame, Nino and Aiba referred to themeselves as "Sobu Line Team" because they all take the Sobu Line home.

If you go a little further along this road, you'll spot a convenience store on your left side. My friend said that Aiba once mentioned staying in the convenience store nearest his house one time because there were a lot of fangirls outside their house so he couldn't go back home and had to kill time somewhere.


At the stoplight, cross the pedestrian to the other side of the road. Go straight ahead that street until you reach a very quiet residentiala area. After a 3-5 minute walk, you will spot a large signboard saying "Chinahouse Keikarou." It is a very ordinary looking-building can be mistaken as one of the houses. If you peek at the side of the restaurant, you can see that it is attached to large house. It is said that this is the house of Aiba's parents.


When we arrived at the restaurant, I was expecting to find some Arashi/Aiba related displays but to my disappointment, all of the goods were already removed. Previous blog posts stated that there were baby pics of Aiba, a record book where you could write a message for Aiba and other fan related stuff. But now, this Kirin ad is the only remaining Arashi stuff in restuarant. Instrumental versions of Arashi songs were also playing in the background while we were eating. On our way out, we found this other small memorabilia hiding behind the door!


With our limited kanji skills, we decided to order the set meal. The menu is in Japanese so it is quite difficult to order specific dishes. There are also dishes that are for sharing. If you can read Kanji, it is better to order food for sharing so you can sample different specialities offered by the restaurant. Most of the fangirls who had been here recommended the kaarage.

This seafood set meal costs Y1,680. It already includes appetizer, soup, spicy tofu, the main dish, rice, manju with a cute buta face, hot tea and lychees for dessert. i can say that the food is really worth the price. I was so full after eating all of those delicious food!


There are also other Keikarou goods that you can buy as souvenirs. They are not Arashi related but they might still be worth your money - they have jasmine tea, pudding, and manjus.