RIP, Oinalian.

Oinalian.

Toward the end of 2022, a small walk-in restaurant opened on a street near my house. It was called Oinalian, and sold a very narrow menu of Okinawan food: inarimeshi, garlic fried chicken, “pop chicken” (popcorn chicken), and “vinegar drinks” (sour fruit juices). It was the only restaurant of its kind in Tokyo, I believe, so its novelty factor was very high. For a while, anyway.

RIP, Daily Yamazaki 平和島店.

While I don’t live in a major urban center of Tokyo, I’ve found my apartment has easy access to a large number of convenience stores, with all the major names represented. Until 2024, that is.

RIP, Asian Night Market New Hanoi (and welcome, Tsurukame Shuka).

I had two Saturday shifts in Yokohama this month. On the 11th, I went straight home, but on the 18th, I decided to get some free food.

RIP, Japan Official Travel App.

When I first got to Tokyo, my work trainer recommended downloading Hyperdia, the leading travel app in Japan. It was pretty useful, giving me train times when I needed them. I used it for a few years, but there came a time when it started to get unreliable; it would sometimes refuse to work unless restarted.

Farewell, R Becker’s.

Café time, bar time, anytime.

When I first started working in Tokyo, my main school was just outside Tamachi Station, which sits squarely between the business district of Mita and the residential district of Shibaura. Naturally, there were plenty of places to eat and drink nearby that catered to post-work businessfolk looking to socialize. One bar on the Shibaura side, for exmaple, had a distinctly Rocky Balboa-looking mascot, while on the Mita-side, standing-only izakaya Yamatoya used an innovative payment system. However, inside the station gates was my favorite place: R Becker’s.