Utopian is an izakaya restaurant which is within walking distance from Yoyogi station and Shinjuku station.
The word of the shop name is consits of "utopia" and "an" which means "hermitage."
There are many kinds of Japanese sake for sale here, and today’s special is a bargain at only 500 JPY.
But you should first of all definitely drink a beer!
Eda-mame (green soybeans) and Tori-no-karaage (Japanese fried chicken) are also a must.
The "Obachan" waitress (for a senior woman, like an aunt, we say OBACHAN in Japan) said that "we recommend all of our menu! If not, then we wouldn’t have run the diner for 31 years!"
However, I didn't catch it all and asked her again,
"How long have you been in business?"
"Look at the wall over there. It's written on the paper!"
She shouted at me.
In recent times, it has become less common to be scolded.
In one sense, despite risking an angry response (we say GAKU-GIRE in Japanese), scolding someone is sometimes seen as another way of expressing "love."
Utopian must be a utopia for those people who feel lonely because they have nobody to scold them.
Utopian is far from stylish, but it provides a certain Showa era nostalgia.
悠杜比庵 Izakaya Utopian (Yutopian)
1 Chome-58-７ Yoyogi, Shibuya City, Tokyo
