My dinner, the full tempura set (Photo: Peter Sidell)

Kusatsu Miyataya

A charming down-to-earth neighbourhood izakaya

Peter Sidell   - 1分鐘閱讀時間

A few minutes' walk from touristy central Kusatsu, Miyataya is a friendly, down-to-earth and very reasonably priced neighbourhood izakaya (dining bar), open for lunch and dinner every day except Thursdays.

Single dishes such as tempura or curry, served with udon or soba noodles, cost around ¥550 or ¥650, while full meal sets with tempura, pork cutlet, fried seafood or fried chicken are between ¥700 and ¥1000. By way of drinks, juices are ¥200, whisky or sake ¥450, beer ¥650.

It's more for locals than for visitors, so everything's only in Japanese, but the staff are perfectly friendly, making it a good place to get a cheap, tasty, filling meal in an authentic everyday Japanese setting.

Peter Sidell

Peter Sidell @peter.sidell

I came to Japan from Manchester, England in 2003, and have travelled a lot since then, around Japan and in Asia. When I'm not working, I write satire and perform stand-up comedy in and around Tokyo. Check YouTube for a taste.