Anime Magazine: Tsukishima Monja

Saturday, July 26, 2014

Tsukishima Monja

If you are travelling in Tokyo then you will want to try some of the local traditional grub. There is small man made island inside Tokyo Bay called Tsukishima [月島[つきしま]] filled with restaurants which serve a dish called Monjayaki [もんじゃ焼き] (sometimes just called "Monja").

If you are going by public transport then just get off at Tsukishima station on the Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line or Toei Oedo Line. Once you get off then just follow your nose!
View location with Google Maps

We head there by car and Mirai joins us.

Mirai is not only part of the business but also part of the family now so you will be seeing her in most of my posts ^^

Parking on the roadside is usually free on weekends.

While Tsukishima specializes in Monja, there are a load of non-monja places like this Izakaya. Izakaya is like a Japanese pub.

Previously designated as an industrial area, Tsukishima was made about 100 years ago from reclaimed land - today Tsukishima has a nice mix of the old rubbing along with the new and is great for a photo walk.

This is the main street in Tsukishima - to get there just ask anybody. Its only a few mins walk from the station and as the island is so small anyway you are going to find it just by walking around.

The restaurants are full of atmosphere. EVen though folks are drinking, you would very rarely see rowdy folks in the area - unlike places like Shinbashi which is the Salary Man area.

By the way, these photos taken on the Sony RX1 - the camera is just amazing!

If you are not sure which restaurant to go for then maybe just choose the ones with folks lining up outside.

Monja, Monja everywhere.

Heading towards our destination for the night.

Most small roads in Japan do not have pavements for pedestrians to walk on - instead you just walk in the road and dodge or jump over cars if they come by.

This is where we are having noms today - Maguroya - copy past following address into Google maps.

104-0052 東京都中央区月島3-7-4
View location with Google Maps

And this is what we are here to eat - its like a pancake that you make yourself - it does kinda look like something that you would see after feeling a bit sick BUT it tastes great ^^

First you get given a bowl of stuff - depending on what you order it could be seafoods or meats.

Next is to pour the bowl of stuff onto the hot plate in front of you.

Then mix it all up.

Create a circular moat with what you was cooking and then pour the bowl of soup that you also received in the middle - wait for a bit and then mix it up again.

There are usually some seasonings on the side - the green stuff in the bottle is dried seaweed and you should certainly try it.

When you go to a Monja place however, be prepared to come out smelling like what you just ate. If you are bringing little ones then stick them in a plastic bag! I forgot to bring one so the best I could manage was this green one ;-;