Niku Shokudou

Niku Shokudou is a small restaurant near the Takadanobaba Station that specializes in sizzling hamburger steaks. A set meal consists of rice, salad and a sizzling hamburger steak costs around Y800.  

What amazes me is how you cook the burger patty. There's a small round black metal on your plate where you can put a piece of the burger and wait until it cooks. Brilliant isn't it? Most of us are having trouble getting the correct texture of the meat we order: some like rare, medium-rare or well done. Having this small tool right on our plates solves the problem right away. We won't have the right to complain if we don't like the texture of the meat because we cooked it ourselves. ;) 

  

To get there, take the JR Yamanote Line and get off at Takadanobaba Station. Go to the Waseda Exit and find Becks Coffee (right beside the JR ticket office). From Becks Coffee, cross the street and walk straight ahead towards a long line of restaurants and cafes. Walk for a minute or two and you'll find the restaurant on your left side. Be careful though because the entrance to the restaurant easy to miss because it's so small and hardly noticeable. I posted the photo of the entrance above as your guide. The restaurant  is on the basement of this restaurant. It's quite small with only a few tables and chairs.

TIP:
For the hungry wolves though, this is not the place to go because preparing the order and cooking it might take a long time. But if you have time to spare for a good talk with a friend or a few laughs with the stranger on the next table, waiting will not be so bad.

Where to Eat Ramen in Tokyo: Ippudo

Entrance of Ippudo

Ippudo is a chain ramen restaurant that can be found in a lot of places in Tokyo like Shibuya, Shinjuku and Roppongi. There is also a branch in Takadanobaba, a station along the Yamanote Line. Because of the shop's proximity to Waseda Univeristy, there is always a long line of students waiting their turns during lunch time. Ippudo does not only serve delicious tonkotsu ramen, it is also very affordable.


The interior design of the restaurant is mainly made up of wood - from the tables and chairs to the chandeliers, as well as the condiments holders and table accessories.


The shop offers a bowl of ramen for around Y800 depending on the type you are ordering or you can get a set meal with rice and gyoza for a few more hundred yen, which I must say is super worth it. I always order this spicy ramen set that is perfect for a cold winter evening! 

Where to Eat in Tokyo: Magokoro Soontofu

authentic korean spciy soup

Magokoro Soontofu is a chain of restaurants that you can find in several places in Tokyo, there are two in Takadanobaba, a block away from each other. One seat meal costs around Y800. If you find Korean food too spicy for your taste, you can adjust the spicyness of the food. The restaurant will ask you the level of spicyness that you can take.


The interior of the restaurant is pretty small. It just has one round counter inside, not ideal for a group of friends who want to chat and talk to each other for a long time. There are also hangers on the wall where you can put your coat.

Astroboy in Takadanobaba

A lovely mural otuside the station

If you go out of Takadanobaba Station and take the Waseda Exit, here's what will greet you a large mural especially dedicated to the anime genius, more popularly known as the "God of Anime," Osamu Tezuka. But for a fan like me, he's lovingly regarded as "the father of Astro."

Take a stroll along Takadanobaba and you'll find a long stretch of restaurants, cafes, pachinko shops and convenient stores one after the other. If you go straight ahead Waseda Dori, you'll eventually end up at Waseda University, one of the most prestigious private universities in Japan. If you say you're studying in Japan, people will raise an eyebrow and say, "wow." Try to wow people too by visiting the campus, it has several museums and libraries that you can explore. You can even go to the cafeteria and just people-watch.