VAoJ S2023RT Arc: Izakaya「Daruma」- The Third Night (6/29/23)

VAoJ S2023RT Arc: Why are all these people standing in line at 3:50 in the afternoon? Public Tavern「Uosan」(6/29/23)

So why were these people standing in line a few minutes before 4:00 PM, especially on such a hot day?

Waiting to get into the Public Tavern「Uosan」!

I estimate at least 50 people were standing in line (including me). And as the clock struck 4, the doors opened, the noren was put up and the people rushed in to get a good seat.

I had walked by this shop the previous day and it looked interesting. And familiar. Then I realized that it, too, had been featured on Yoshida Rui's program many years ago.

The shop is over 100 years old and has 4 floors. The first two floors have two U-shaped counters each while the 3rd and 4th floors have table seating.

I stayed on the 1st floor. It seemed as there was one staff person for each counter. I tried to talk to the staff person at my counter but he was very busy (and didn't seem to want to talk much) taking people's orders, bringing their drinks and food, ushering new customers into the shop and repeatedly asking the customers to move their stools closer together to accomodate more people. I didn't see any salariman-types in suits (it was only 4:00 after all). It seemed that most of the customers (young and old, women and men) came in by themselves, and so there was not much talking/socializing going on (especially compared to Daruma). I managed to talk to an older man next to me who quickly ate and drank and then took a lot of food as take-out for his grandchildren.

When I ordered I made the faux pas of ordering chu-hai. The staff person matter-of-factly said they did not serve chui-hai. The had beer and sake. Oops/ouch... The sake and food were good, and very cheap. I had three dishes and three glasses of sake, and it was less than 2,000 yen for everything.

I hope to return to this shop in the future. Hopefully, I can build better rapport and take more photographs...

But for now, it was on to my last night at Daruma...

Public Tavern「Uosan」「大衆酒場魚三」@ Yoshida Rui (#373, 8/2/10): https://bs.tbs.co.jp/sakaba/shop/373.html

VAoJ S2023RT Arc: Izakaya「Daruma」- The Second Night (6/28/23)

I got there a little late that night because of my filedwork at Uosada. But they had saved my seat for me! It was another lively night!

BONUS FIELDWORK SHOT:

VAoJ S2023RT Arc: Arrival in Tokyo / Return to Monzen Nakacho and Izakaya「Daruma」(6/27/23)

I bid my farewell and thanks to Yokohama and took a train to Monzen Nakacho in Tokyo. I walked past Daruma on my way to the hotel, and since it was early afternoon, it wasn't open yet.

But I grew concerned when I saw the sign on the door, which read owarimashita, or "finished." What was finished? Had the shop closed? I had sent the owner a couple of e-mails but didn't recieve any reply. Had the shop gone out of business? Had I come to Monzen Nakacho for nothing? I found my hotel (a 2-minute walk from Daruma), dropped off my bags and went for a brief visit to the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum in Meguro-ku (more on that in a later post). I returned to my hotel and officially checked in and rested in my air conditioned room (Tokyo was extremely hot).

Later that evening I left my hotel walking past Tomioka Hachiman Shrine and headed for Daruma, praying it was open.

Approaching Daruma I was releived to see it was open and bustling with customers.

I enetered with my camera, and the owner and her sister were surprised but gave me a hearty greeting. They remembered me from 4 year ago! There were some regular customers I met before and they seemed to remember me as well. The owner pointed at an empty seat at the counter - the same seat where Yohida Rui sat when he featured Daruma on his Sakaba Hourouki (or "Tavern Wandering") TV show in 2007. This was also the seat where a scene from the recent drama, Konya wa Konoji de (or "Tonight Is U-Shaped") was shot (2022). A meshi tero dream!

Daruma is run by two sisters who took over the shop after their father and mother passed away. The older sister, Aya, (in the center) is definitely the boss and her younger sister, Ma-chan, (on the right) does most of the cooking. That evening Aya's 24-year-old son was helping out.

Gregarious regular customers and new friends, delicious food and drink and lots of possibilities for good photography. Since Daruma had been featured on TV and other media so much, they didn't mind me taking photos at all.

Is this any way to order another drink?

Ma-chan makes a bento for a regular customer every evening for his lunch the next day.

A little before 10:00 PM, Aya put the "finished" sign on the door, although that didn't stop a few more regular customer from entering. It had been a long and exciting day. And so I said good night to all at Daruma, but not farewell. There was still much fieldwork to do at this izakaya. As you will see...

Monzen-Nakacho is considered to be a shitamachi. Shitamachi (or "lower town") usually have a large shopping street or arcade and several smaller streets and alleys with izakaya, tachinomiya and other interesting shops. They are associated with common people and have a traditional, nostalgic feel. To me (and many others), this is the real Japan. So much more to explore in this area. As you will see...

Daruma on TV:

Yoshia Rui no Sakaba Hourouki 「吉田類の酒場放浪記」, BS-TBS: https://bs.tbs.co.jp/sakaba/

Daruma @ Yoshida Rui (#226, 12/3/07): https://bs.tbs.co.jp/sakaba/shop/226.html

Daruma @ Yoshida Rui (#226, 12/3/07) video (for educational purposes only): https://vimeo.com/448780349/d78fb8b82b?share=copy

Onna Sakaba Hourouki 「おんな酒場放浪記」、BS-TBS: https://bs.tbs.co.jp/onnasakaba/

Daruma @ Onna　Sakaba (#461, 4/17/20): https://bs.tbs.co.jp/onnasakaba/shop/461.html

Konya wa Konoji「今夜はコの字で」Season Two, TV Tokyo: https://www.bs-tvtokyo.co.jp/konoji2/

Daruma @「今夜はコの字で」Season Two (shop list): https://www.bs-tvtokyo.co.jp/konoji2/location/

Other media sources:

Daruma @ Akaboshi Detective Group: https://www.akaboshi-tanteidan.com/gendaibusiness/dancho/dancho-no51/

Daruma @ VAoJ (2019): https://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2019/08/izakaya-darumain-monzen-nakacho.html

Misc.

"4 Best Historic Neighborhoods to Experience Old Tokyo" @ Live Japan (2020):https://livejapan.com/en/in-tokyo/in-pref-tokyo/in-ueno/article-a0001610/

"The little curiosities of Monzen-Nakacho" @ The Japan Times (8/2/19): https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2019/08/02/travel/little-curiosities-monzen-nakacho/

Tokyo Photographic Art Musuem webpage: http://topmuseum.jp/

Izakaya 「Daruma」in Monzen-Nakacho

My Tachinomiya research has been greatly influenced by Yoshida Rui and especially his Sakaba Hourouki TV show on the TBS networks. Yoshida calls himself a 「酒場ライタ」 or "Tavern writer." In a typical 15 minute show he starts out at an easily accessible train station, explores local landmarks and/or rare shops in the area before arriving at an izakaya or "traditional Japanese pub." Here he drinks, eats, interacts with the owner of the shop and regular customers, typically getting a little drunk in the process. While Japanese TV is full of food shows, Yoshida's approach is interesting/entertaining and real. He then leaves the izakaya with some final comments and then presents a haiku about his adventures that day. Remember, this is all in a 15 minute show. He's been doing it since 2003 and he is still popular. I have called his approach ethnographic, in the spirit of autoethnography and Gonzo Anthropology.

So, before my recent trip to Tokyo I researched the records of all the izakaya that Yoshida has visited in Tokyo. I have never had any luck finding a good place (in terms of good food, good drink, friendly atmosphere) in Tokyo as opposed to my many successes in Osaka. I remembered one episode in particular about a shop called Daruma in Monzen-Nakacho. It was featured on episode #226 first aired on December 3, 2007. It seemed to meet all of my criteria so I went to check it out.

And it was great! All that I wanted! Everyone was very nice and friendly. Lots of regulars were there. The place was packed on an early Monday evening. It was like a big family.

I tried Hoppy for the first time. Hoppy tastes like beer but is considered a nonalcoholic beverage. You are supposed to mix it with shochu (which is usually 25-30% alcohol). Hoppy is popular at izakayas in Tokyo. I have never seen it in Osaka. If you like beer, you should like Hoppy...

I left Daruma both happy and sad. Happy that I finally found a great izakaya in Tokyo and that I made new friends there. But I was sad to leave. I was sad that I didn't go to Daruma earlier in my visit (and then return every night). As I walked to the train station I looked down a few narrow streets and saw lots of interesting looking izakaya, tachinomiya and other shops. As it turns out (I didn't see it during my trip) The Japan Times ran a story about Mozen-Nakacho while I was in Tokyo.

"The little curiosities of Monzen-Nakacho," The Japan Times, 8/2/19.
url: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2019/08/02/travel/little-curiosities-monzen-nakacho/

Monzen-Nakacho is considered to be a shitamachi, an area not destroyed in the war, are associated with common people and have a retro feel. To me, this is the real Japan. So much to explore in this area...

See also "Exploring Old Tokyo: 4 Best Areas to Experience a Different Side of Japan! - Kiyosumi-Shirakawa and Monzen-Nakacho"
url: https://livejapan.com/en/in-tokyo/in-pref-tokyo/in-ueno/article-a0001610/

When I have to return to Tokyo, this is the area where I will stay.