Ichidai

Opening its doors from 18:00 in the evening, Asakusa's Ichidai is an izakaya built around yakitori and motsuyaki pork offal skewers alongside a thoughtful spread of bar bites. The counter seats circle the host, setting an unhurried, companionable tempo as orders are grilled directly in front of diners.

A natural place to start is the skewer list, which offers affordable staples ranging from classic chicken yakitori and tsukune meatballs to pork belly and cartilage. For those wanting a broader selection on one plate, the mixed motsuyaki platter gathers pork tongue, heart, intestine, cheek, and liver. Vegetable skewers such as shiitake mushrooms, eggplant, and green peppers make it easy to assemble a balanced order alongside the meat.

Beyond the grill, the kitchen prepares satisfying simmered staples, including beef offal stew, tender beef tendon stew, and niratama—a stir-fry of egg and garlic chives. Clams or enoki mushrooms cooked in butter round out the selection, providing light, savory interludes between skewers.

The drinks lineup covers draft and bottled beer, Japanese sake, and shochu poured with water, oolong tea, green tea, or soda. With select sweet potato shochu labels and umeboshi highballs garnished with pickled plum, the setting accommodates relaxed solo dining as comfortably as casual pairings.