Hello, fellow travel lovers!
This time, we visited the hugely popular unagi restaurant in Odawara, “Tomoei”!
What makes this place interesting is…You don’t reserve a seat.
You reserve…the eel!
It’s so popular that you usually have to wait about two months after making a reservation before you can actually eat there.
It felt more like getting concert tickets than booking lunch🤣
The first parking lot was already full just 5 minutes after opening!
We aimed to arrive right at the 10:00 AM opening time.
We got there at 10:05.
…But
already, the first parking lot was completely full!
This place is seriously popular.
So we headed to the second parking lot instead.
But this time, a miracle happened✨
We were seated almost immediately!
One of my friends had visited three times before, and she said:
“The last two times, we waited over an hour.”
Apparently, this was her very first visit with almost no waiting time.
The smell of grilled eel the moment we walked in…
As soon as we entered the restaurant…
That rich, smoky, mouthwatering aroma of grilled eel filled the air.
Instant happiness.
Then one of the staff members casually said:
“We actually can’t smell it anymore.”
What a luxurious problem to have🤣
I guess if you work surrounded by that amazing smell every day, you eventually get used to it.
Upstairs tatami seating
We were guided to the second floor this time.
A calm and traditional tatami-style seating area.
And the little details were adorable.
The love for eel here is serious.
✔ Delicious tea
✔ And of course…a blue eel-shaped chopstick rest!
The love for eel here is serious.
Even the chopstick sleeve had passionate explanations about “blue eel.”
Just reading it made us even more excited for the meal.
Trying eel liver too♪
Before the unaju arrived, we also ordered eel liver:
✔ Sauce flavor
✔ Salt flavor
ordered.
There were three pieces in each dish, so the three of us each tried one.
塩とたれの違いは感じたけど…
I couldn’t really tell what eel liver itself was supposed to taste like🤣
Still, it had no strong bitterness or smell, and tasted very fresh.
Here’s the menu
Honestly…The prices are pretty high🤣
But this is a restaurant with a two-month reservation waitlist.
So we decided:
“Today is our reward trip!” And fully enjoyed it♪
Finally…the unaju arrives!
Here it is!
A huge piece of eel sitting proudly over the rice.
Soft.
Fluffy.
Perfectly smoky.
The liver soup and pickles were excellent too.
…But
The portion size was HUGE!
I couldn’t finish it🤣
But thankfully,
many customers seem to have the same problem.
The staff kindly wrapped the leftovers for takeout.
So appreciated!
Next stop: Yanagiya Bakery!
After our very filling eel lunch, we headed to:
Yanagiya Bakery
On weekends, they sometimes sell out before noon.
Luckily, we managed to get the anpan we wanted♪
And guess what…
Anpan goes into a separate dessert stomach.
It was THAT good.
The kind of delicious that makes you think:
“I’d come all the way back here just for this bread.”
A seaside walk at Miyuki Beach
After eating way too much,we headed to Miyuki Beach for a relaxing walk.へ。
A slow seaside stroll.
Why is the sound of waves always so healing?
And then…the incident happened
Here’s the pier at Miyuki Beach.
The “High Waves Warning” sign somehow looked oddly stylish.
There were people fishing, and the sea looked calm enough.
So naturally, we said:
“Let’s walk a little farther out!”
…And that’s when it happened.
We were taking a photo together with the ocean behind us when suddenly—
SPLASHHHHH!!!
A huge wave crashed over us!
Everyone ran🤣
Our shoes? Completely soaked. Our legs below the knees? Also soaked.
At the time, we laughed hysterically… But honestly, if the wave had been any bigger, it could have been dangerous.
Never underestimate the ocean💦
※The dramatic wave photo is an image recreation🤣
Finishing the day with coffee by the sea
After all the excitement, we stopped by a coffee shop near the coast.
Its name? Simply “Kaigandori” (“Seaside Street”).
The carefully brewed coffee was absolutely delicious.
Drinking coffee in soaking wet sneakers somehow felt strangely youthful🤣
Today’s treasures
✔ Takeout unaju
✔ A small box of pickles
✔ Delicious anpan from Yanagiya Bakery
A perfect happiness set.
The journey continues... Wishing you all a wonderful trip!
＊＊TabiJun＊＊
