Ryoma is a really comfortable spot to relax after work, and anything you try here is bound to be good. The free-range chicken is wonderfully tender; try wings, tails, tsukune (mincemeat) served with raw egg, or Ryoma-yaki-thigh meat with red bell peppers, the special recipe here. In addition to chicken, the menu offers pork belly, shrimp, a few different kinds of salad, chazuke or zou-sui (different kinds of rice porridge); and there are additional daily-changing specials written on a board. The specials are written only in Japanese (there is an English version of the regular menu), but if you don’t speak Japanese ask the chef, Saito-san, and he will do his best to explain them for you. (A few Americans, such as yours truly, show up here regularly, so Saito-san is very anxious to make them feel comfortable. He came to a customer-service English workshop I taught recently, offered by the city for people like him who care, and was the most energetic one there. So come and give him a chance to practice!)

You can find further description of several menu items, as well as an access map, on this English-language Yokosuka area information website we are working on at the city hall: http://sukaichi-e.com Ryoma ni Omakase is in the category Pubs & Bars (though personally I’d say it’s a place more about the eating than the drinking). Click next on the subcategory Yakitori, and Ryoma is the one item we have up so far.

The name of the restaurant is the name of a drama about the life of Sakamoto Ryoma (1836-1867), a samurai who was influential in the Meiji Restoration, and a charismatic historical figure who still has a lot of fans today. There is Ryoma paraphernalia all over the restaurant, as well as countless other miscellaneous artworks and oddities given to Saito-san by his loving customers.

If you want good food and drink at a place where you can get locally connected, this is really it; you might even make friendships that will go beyond the restaurant. If you give Ryoma a try, I promise you won’t be disappointed.

I’m lucky enough to live just a couple of minutes’ walk from these two delicious ramen places on Route 16. To get here from either base gate, follow Route 16 around the curve and past the city hall, and go about 5 walking minutes farther. You will come up to these two shops on the left side of the road, facing a 7-11 on the right side. (To get here from Yokosuka Chuo Station, go out the east exit and follow the big road straight ahead, which after about 3 minutes will T into Route 16, at which point turn right and go for about 3 minutes.)

The ramen shops in the picture, Tajima Ramen on the right and Ryuo Ramen on the left, both serve pork ramen. They are also both foreigner-friendly and possessed of English menus. Tajima Ramen is a good place to eat alone, with its wide-open feel, friendly staff, and TV always turned to something entertaining. There are soy sauce, salt and miso-based ramens, starting at 600; there is also a good variety of fancier versions with different special toppings, but just the basic items are so good that I tend to go here when I’m in an everyday-delicious mood. It’s worth coming just for the noodles themselves, handmade and extra-slim.

Ryuo Ramen, to the left in the picture, is a quieter, more indoor-feeling spot. Here, too, the basic ramens are very good, and come with a free mini-bar of toppings. But I tend to come here when I am in a splurge-y mood, and pig out on the big special, Ryuo Ramen, 980, made with white miso and with four big chashu slices and a chunk of kakuni-a high-quality piece of pork deep-boiled until it is luxuriously soft. This ramen, fit for a king, is probably actually big enough for two people. Ryuo Ramen has a bunch of special combination sets pasted up all over the walls, which I should also try sometime. Everything is rich and gorgeous here, down to the gyoza.

One more ramen adventure along Route 16 lies about three minutes closer to the base, on the same side of the road. This place is called Katsu Kichi. Here there is no English menu, and you’ll need to order by buying a ticket from the machine (only in Japanese). But this delicious place has chicken ramen as well as pork-something a bit more unusual, and after trying it I can’t recommend it enough. I just discovered Katsukichi recently and all I’ve had so far is the chicken “red” ramen, but it was delightful and I’ll be back soon.

Everyone will tell you to go to Kamakura for the temples, and they’re right, but Kamakura holds other pleasures as well. Head out the station’s east exit, and you’ll find to your left a street that leads, eventually, to the Tsuruoka Hachimangu Shrine…and on the way, holds enough delicious food samples to make a meal of. My favorites are the vegetable delicacy shops, with pickles in many exotic colors, and samples of all available. You can also buy a wide variety of gourmet misos in these shops. After trying misos of many colors and flavors, I settled on a yuzu miso, of a beautiful mustard color and delicious enough to eat straight.

There are plenty of sweet treats to choose from too-local varieties of yokan, a thick, jellied sort dessert that is cut in blocks; sweet potato treats, many kinds of soft cream and more. And don’t forget Kamakura ham-gourmet sausages that may be a bit expensive, but once you try the samples you will be convinced.

Kamakura’s traditional crafts are deeply impressive as well. The picture is from a bamboo weaving shop that had everything from tasteful everyday dishes that cost only a few dollars, to handsome flower baskets, to huge works of art costing thousands of dollars.

You will also see many shops selling Kamakura-bori, or dishes made with a traditional technique of carving and lacquering original to Kamakura. The process of making Kamakura-bori is extremely involved; if you visit the Kamakurabori-Kaikan you can see a video on what goes into Kamakura-bori and browse a museum of masterpieces. (After you make it down the shopping street to Hachimangu, return down the large street that leads directly to the gate and has a median lined with cherry trees. You can find the Kamakura-bori Kaikan on the left side of the street as you return from the shrine.)

Kamakura also has a lively café culture as well. If you leave the station out the other side, the west exit, and follow the tracks to the right for a couple of minutes, you will find Song Be Café, a lovely café with Vietnamese and other Southeast Asian food, delicious sweets, lovely exotic teas, charming décor and a busy live music schedule.

I’ll be checking out the Kamakura scene more soon and reporting back!

photo credit: SpecMode

So this time, a partial list of well known destinations you can get to on the Yamanote loop line ….. which means you can get there from Yokosuka with just one transfer.

Get off the Keikyu Line at Shinagawa and get on the Yamanote Line heading toward Tokyo. Here are some of the places you may want to check out:

Tokyo itself: The old station building is famous, and there’s some great high-end shopping to be done here. I love to go burrowing into the huge Maruzen bookstore in the gigantic Maruzen department store.

Shibuya: A youth fashion spot. This is a hip but not too expensive area. Wander the Shibuya 109 building if you want to see where everyday college-girl fashion comes from. Shibuya is a place with a great feel, lots of odd little shops and restaurants you will want to wander into. If you’d like to buy English books, go to the top floor of the Tower Records Store here.

Harajuku: The great youth fashion mecca. I couldn’t quite figure out where the good stuff was the first couple of times I came, however: I went out the larger Omotesando Exit, and did successfully find the huge Meiji Grand Shrine in the park on the right. But heading down the big street on the left, Omotesando-Dori, I found mostly expensive brand-name boutiques, nothing all that crazy-looking. What you have to do is get off into the side streets on the left of this big road, OR, when you leave the station, go out the smaller Takeshita exit. There is indeed fashion inspiration to be found here, and a world of quirky galleries and cafes as well.

Shinjuku: The nightlife spot. If you haven’t been to Shinjuku yet, you’ve missed the Grand Sleaze Era–when I visited in late summer 2007 the place was a jaw-dropping slimefest full of unbelievably pushy hostesses and pimps –but apparently it had a drastic cleanup before summer 2008. Now it’s just an area with a lot of great bars.

I am, however, told that Shinjuku is still a risky spot for shady semi-legal bars that lure you with prices that sound reasonable, only to hit you up a couple of hours later for thousands of dollars. The majority of places aren’t like this, of course, but take care – stick to bars where you can get a peek in from the outside to feel out the price range, and don’t talk to the big guys in the street.

Another bookstore note: There are two huge Kinokuniya stores in Shinjuku; the south branch is the one that has all the English books.

Akihabara: If you are shopping for electronics, whether for the newest and most expensive models or the best bargains on used items, this is the place. If you are an otaku, this is your pilgrimage spot. Even if you are neither of these target audiences, your eyes will boggle at the latest cell phones and robots, as well as at the otaku culture. Try a maid café or get some photos with cos-play enthusiasts.

Ueno: Ueno Park is one of the most famous parks in the country, and Tokyo’s most renowned hanami spot. With cherry blossom season upon us, right now is the time to head to Ueno Park to see not only the flowers but the salary-men dancing in rings, arms linked, spilling beer late into the night…

Any time of year, of course, you can visit the Ueno Zoo or the museums–the Tokyo National Museum, the Ueno Royal Museum, the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, the National Museum of Western Art, and the National Science Museum…all in the park. There’s also a shrine and a huge lotus pond-you could spend days just in the park, and the whole surrounding area has a good feel as well–Ueno is one of the oldest parts of Tokyo.

Places on the Yamanote line that I haven’t been to but want to hit up soon include Kanda, a deeply historic area; Tabata, which has an “Artists and Writers Village” where a bunch of greats have lived; and Ebisu, which apparently has a lot of good things to eat.

In addition, there’s Yurakucho, a high-end shopping district; Okachimachi, a place with super-cheap bazaars; Sugamo, called the “Old Ladies’ Harajuku”; Ikebukuro, a major downtown spot; Mejiro, a college-town spot with several universities packed into a small space; Takadanobaba, which seems to have a lot of live music going on; and Shin-Okubo, where there’s a large Korea town.

I’ll try to get to some of these areas soon and report back here!

photo credit: Hyougushi

If you’re heading into Tokyo on the Keikyu Line, Shinagawa will probably be your transfer point. The rapid limited express (快特, green) takes just 45 minutes from Yokosuka Chuo to Shinagawa, and from there you can get on the JR Yamanote line, which goes around in a loop to several main Tokyo spots.

Many people don’t seem to be aware that there’s anything worth getting off the train for in Shinagawa itself. There’s the shinkansen station, a huge fancy hotel, and a lot of foreign businessmen walking around, and that’s about it-or so it seems at first glance. But stroll around the station area a bit, and you’ll find that Shinagawa is full of wonderful things to eat!

One collection of goodies lies in the atré Shinagawa building. To get here from the Keikyu station (go out through the one real exit, the Takanawa exit-don’t go through the non-exit gate that leads directly into the JR station) and turn right. You will go up some stairs and through the huge JR station building-passing first the regular train gates, then, after you go through a passage, the shinkansen gates. Over here, at the Konan exit, you will find the atré Shinagawa building.

In this building, along with several other restaurants I haven’t had a chance to try yet, is the Oyster Bar: http://www.oysterbartokyo.com/ Here you can try oysters from various countries, along with other seafood delicacies. It was about 3,000 yen per person for lunch, and worth every yen of it-a can’t-miss for oyster lovers.

This building also contains a branch of Dean & Deluca, a New York-based gourmet store which now has several Japan locations: http://www.deandeluca.com/ You can eat a lovely little lunch here or shop for luxurious cheeses and olive oils to use at home or as gifts.

Now go back to the Keikyu station exit and out the left side this time, and cross the street to the Wing Takanawa West building. (The Wing Takanawa East building is directly to your left when you exit. There are some good import items and such to be found in the basement grocery area here-for that matter, there is also an import-laden grocery store in atré Shinagawa and another by its lone self in the station building-but nothing vastly differing in nature from the selection of import goods available in Yokosuka.)

Over here is a wilderness of restaurants. Recommended spots include the Akita Bisaikan http://www.akitabisaikan.jp/, both a store and a restaurant. Here you can find all kinds of foods from Akita prefecture, famous for its rice and rice wines, soba and udon, and exotically colored pickles of all kinds.

And one last place I’d recommend to homesick Americans: Anna Miller’s, an American home-cooking restaurant/café, with an extensive menu of Pennsylvania-Dutch pies. This place is not expensive or high-brow, but it’s genuine. Here’s the gallery of pies for you to browse (I loved the pecan pie): http://www.imuraya.co.jp/brand/anna/. Anna Miller’s also delivers!

Happy eating to all! Next time, places you can visit on the Yamanote Line!

I came to Yokosuka six months ago to work for the city government on contract for a couple of years, and it’s been an extraordinarily easy place to live. Wherever I go next, I already know how much I’m going to miss my eighth-floor apartment with a view of the sea and of tiny, green little Sarushima or “Monkey Island,” where you can take a ferry on weekends and holidays. Lucky enough to have a comfortable place in “Chuo,” or “Central” Yokosuka, I have at least 10 restaurants within a 2-minute walk from my front door. (Mini-reviews to come soon!)

Five minutes’ walk away is Keikyu Yokosuka Chuo train station, where you can get on a fast train that will take you straight to Yokohama and Tokyo. In the station area there are many more restaurants well worth a try: must-eats in the area include local fish, local beef, and the many foreign cuisines available, some surprisingly authentic thanks to the large foreign population here.

The American naval base lies a 10-15 minute walk from my neighborhood. The base area is gorgeous and full of Yokosuka’s rich history: on one side of the base is Mikasa Park, where you can tour the Memorial Ship Mikasa, preserved from the days of the Russo-Japanese war and considered one of the three great preserved battleships of the world (the other two are the USS Constitution and I think the HMS Victory). Mikasa Park is also where you will find the boat for Sarushima.

And on the other side of the base, after you pass a huge shiny shopping center there is Verny Park, featuring hundreds of varieties of roses and named after French architect Francois Leonce Verny, another name in Yokosuka’s collection of historical diplomatic milestones.

Yokosuka’s other main train station, JR (Japan Railways) Yokosuka station, is on the far side of Verny Park. For me this station is a bit too far for everyday use, but if you’re closer to it than I am you will find it provides the best access to certain destinations. In particular Kamakura, the small and deeply historic town nearby full of temples and famous for its giant Buddha statue, is just a few minutes away on the JR line.

Other day trips out of the city are limitless in variety. Just a bit to the north are Yokohama (30 minutes) and Tokyo (45 minutes, nearest hub), with more things to do, see and eat than I could describe in ten years of blogging. On the other hand, go about two hours west to the opposite edge of Kanagawa Prefecture, and you will find Mt. Fuji and Hakone, one of the top traditional hot spring towns in the country. South of Yokosuka on the tip of the Miura Peninsula is Miura City, a seafood paradise.

Yokosuka itself is a fairly large city, with a population of about 420,000, and the southern limits of the city stretch well down into the Miura Peninsula. Sights requiring a bus or train ride from the city center include the Yokosuka Museum of Art, Kurihama Flower World, and Kannonzaki Lighthouse-to provide just a few teasers for future entries.

Here are a few links to browse for more general info about the city…

The English version of the city website: http://www.city.yokosuka.kanagawa.jp/english

And Yokosuka Ichiban, a site we are working at the city hall that provides info and coupons for local shops and restaurants. This site is brand new and content is constantly being added: http://sukaichi-e.com