12/11/03 by Jiro Yamaguchi (Japan), Yumiko Muranushi (Japan), Sumika Nishizawa (Japan), and Eri Tsunoi (Japan)

Its hominess makes Takohachi a popular restaurant. Takohachi means “Octopus 8”, which can be said to be a typical “Izakaya”. It is the most popular and common sort of bar in Japan, and it serves many kinds of meals and alcoholic beverages. It is sometimes noisy, but people can enjoy themselves there without restraint. Takohachi also has a good, homey atmosphere and many kinds of home-cooked meals. My group recommends this restaurant to anyone who hopes for such an atmosphere. Located in the International District, it is very convenient to get to because it is near a bus stop. It is also easy to find because of its big, shiny sign of an octopus. There are not many parking spaces, so I advise you to go there by bus.

The restaurant reminds us of Japan, which makes us very comfortable. The concepts of the restaurant are home, friendly and relaxing. We really like the atmosphere because we do not have to dress up. Even, it is fine to wear dirty clothes. Therefore, we can hang out anytime. There are some private spaces, which are surrounded by walls. It is like a booth. So, we can focus on our conversation and eating dinner. The building is an ordinary Japanese style house. The style matches with the food, which they serve us. When we went there, there were so many people; therefore, we thought it is supposed to be a good place for people. If you go there, you can be satisfied with this atmosphere.

When we inquired of a lady, who works at Takohachi, waht the most popular food was there. There are actually many kinds of fascinating dishes which remind us of Japanese family style. Its menu has a lot of foods which we are quite familiar with. For example, Chiri-Nave, pan-food ($ 7.85) that contains soup, chicken, white fish, cubes of tofu, and napa cabbage is simple, although it perfectly creates harmony with seasoned soup. It also serves combo plates in which you can enjoy eating two types of main dishes. For instance, the amazingly crunchy Ebi-fry, deep-fried shrimp and Tori-karaage, tender fried chicken ($7.65) include miso soup and rice which you can also select from normal rice, fried rice, and rice and curry. Naturally their flavors are representative of Japanese home cooking. Moreover, the prices are not as expensive as the other Japanese traditional restaurants which serve dishes, like sushi. You will be satisfied with its quality, flavor, and price!

Even the rudeness in its service helps make Takohachi a restaurant full of hominess. All tables are served by one waitress, seemingly the manager of Takohachi, so that customers have to work to catch the waitress's attention. Also, she is so busy that if a customer asks a question, she answers in only one word and keeps working. But all of these remind customers of a typical Japanese mother from the old days. When the waitress serves dishes, shi puts them all together in the center of the table, so that customers have to set those by

Takohachi