Showa Era Style Izakaya in my Town!

Hello my fellow Ibarakians!
Today’s post is about something I rarely write about: izakayas. I have maybe written about three izakayas in all the years I’ve been writing Ibaraki Eats. For an izakaya to catch my attention, it has to be something special.
For those of you who don’t know, izakayas are Japanese restaurants/pubs where salarymen go after work, grab a beer, have a bit of dinner, and then head home. A lot of izakayas follow the same formula and offer similar menus. You walk in, order your drinks, get an otoshi (a starter plate that you didn’t order), and spend the evening drinking with friends while eating karaage and edamame.
Izakayas can be fun, but once you’ve been to one, you’ve basically been to them all.
So when I heard that a new izakaya was opening up in my town of Tsuchiura, my first reaction was, “So what?” But then I walked by the place, looked inside, and immediately told Mrs. Ibaraki Eats that we needed to check this izakaya out soon.
And that is how the two of us found ourselves at Mall 505 Yokocho.

Mall 505 Yokocho

Mall 505 Yokocho is a new izakaya that opened up last month in Tsuchiura City. It is located inside Tsuchiura’s Mall 505.
If you have never been to Mall 505, it is a historic, but somewhat sad, sight. The mall was built in 1985, and I’ve been told by residents that it was once a popular spot in its heyday. But with people moving out of Ibaraki and the addition of Tsuchiura AEON Mall, Mall 505 slowly suffered over the years.
The mall still has that cool 80s look to it, but unfortunately, many of the shops are shuttered, especially on the second and third floors. Still, the mall is slowly making a small comeback, with a few new shops opening up around the area. One of those new shops is Mall 505 Yokocho.
My wife and I decided to head there for dinner and a few drinks on Tuesday. We walked to the mall from where we live, which was easy enough. If you come to Tsuchiura by train, the mall is only about a four-minute walk from the station. If you decide to drive, there are plenty of paid parking lots around the area.
When we found Mall 505 Yokocho, we opened the door and headed inside.

Inside

When we walked into Mall 505 Yokocho, we headed toward the right side of the place. (More on the left side later!) The extremely energetic and friendly owner asked us to sit at the counter.
There are no traditional chairs at Mall 505 Yokocho. Instead, there are old crates with cushions on top that you can sit on. The tables are made from old-style crates as well. Mrs. Ibaraki Eats told me that this setup was in line with the style of Showa-era izakayas back in the day. That is exactly the atmosphere and theme the owner was going for.
If you couldn’t tell from the crate chairs and tables, there are also a ton of old movie posters from that era covering the walls. They are awesome to look at and really add to the izakaya’s Showa-era theme.
The owner talked with us and told us about the menu. I was surprised to find out that he is actually a chicken farmer and uses eggs from his own farm at the izakaya. We thanked him for the information and recommendations and started looking over the menu.

The Menu

When we looked at the menu, it was pretty simple. The menu is entirely in Japanese, and one side lists the alcoholic drinks, including beer, Hoppy, highballs, lemon sours, oolong high, and green tea high.
The food menu has a lot of interesting choices. There is a Tsuchiura croquette, baby octopus, Kasane, ramen, and udon. The small dishes include karaage, edamame, kimchi, and a lot of other options.
What surprised me about the menu was how cheap everything was. The other thing that surprised me was that this place doesn’t charge an otoshi. They do, however, charge an extra 100 yen if you would like a cold oshibori instead of a regular shibori to have before your drinks and meal. There is also a chef’s special menu written on a whiteboard behind the counter with a lot of interesting choices.
On the next page of the menu, there was spicy ramen. This isn’t Mall 505 Yokocho’s menu, it’s Red Chili Ramen’s menu. As I mentioned before, the izakaya is on the right side of the building, while the ramen shop is on the left. Both businesses share the same space.
That’s not all! If you head toward the back of the building, there is also a window where you can order tapioca drinks. So, there are actually three different businesses operating in the same place. If you are sitting in the Yokocho area, you can still order ramen, and the ramen chef will bring it over to you.
That night, Mrs. Ibaraki Eats and I decided to stick to the izakaya menu. Red Chili Ramen will have to wait until next time.
We ordered some nice, cold beers, which were extremely cold and refreshing. Side tangent: a lot of places I’ve been to lately have served me lukewarm beer or just cool beer. It was nice to finally have an actual cold beer!
Then our small dishes arrived.

Chibi Octopus

Dear Reader,
If you are looking at the picture above and feel like you cannot read on, I completely understand. Feel free to skip this part. I know that some people may not feel comfortable eating something like this. As for me, I usually try everything at least once, although I do draw the line at bugs and dog meat (glad to see that is slowly dying down).
When the chibi (which means small) octopus came to our table, Mrs. Ibaraki Eats said that she wasn’t sure she wanted to eat it because she felt bad for it (even though she was the one who ordered it). But she finally grabbed her octopus and took a bite. She said she liked it, and then it was my turn. The chibi octopus is actually a specialty from Oarai so I was interested in trying it.
I bit the head off first, and man, I liked it, but it was definitely a wild experience. When I bit into the head, I immediately got a mouthful of salty, sour, and inky flavors. I’m not sure I even have the words to explain what was going on in my mouth with all those flavors rolling around at once.
The tentacles actually tasted much better, and overall, I did enjoy my baby octopus. I’m not sure if I would order it again, but I definitely wouldn’t turn it down if someone offered me one.

Tsuchiura Mince

Tsuchiura Mince, or the Tsuchiura croquette, is a specialty dish at Mall 505 Yokocho. It is made with minced meat and renkon (lotus root). The renkon comes from a Tsuchiura lotus root farmer who is a friend of the owner.
If you decide to visit this izakaya, please order the Tsuchiura Mince! The minced meat and renkon worked incredibly well together, and this was one seriously meaty croquette. The sauce we were given paired really well with the croquette, and we enjoyed every bite.
The outside had a nice, crispy shell, while the inside was hot, tender, and packed with meat. This was definitely one of my favorite dishes of the night, and I will absolutely order this croquette again the next time I visit Mall 505 Yokocho.

Fried Pork

The fried pork bits are not on the regular menu, but you can find them on the special whiteboard menu. Mrs. Ibaraki Eats ordered them, and after taking her first bite, she said they reminded her of the fried pork she had in Miami many years ago.
Us Cuban Americans love our fried pork, just like many other cultures around the world, including people in South America and the Philippines. So, naturally, I was excited to try this Japanese version.
The fried pork was excellent! The skin was nice and crispy on the outside, and when you bit into it, you got tender, succulent pork on the inside. It was a little too salty on the outside for my taste, but other than that, this was a fantastic fried pork dish.
It is also a great little dish to share if you have a few people with you. Every piece I had was extremely tasty, and I hope I can order this again the next time I visit Mall 505 Yokocho.

Kasane

Kasane is a specialty dish at Mall 505 Yokocho that is available on the regular menu. It is tofu simmered in a rich stew broth that is usually used for meat stews. This Kasane came topped with plenty of negi and konnyaku, all sitting on top of a huge piece of tofu.
When I tried the Kasane, I loved how much of the rich broth the tofu had absorbed. It gave the tofu a ton of flavor. The tofu was also nice and firm, so it didn’t fall apart when I picked it up with my chopsticks.
My wife really loved it since she is a huge fan of tofu. We both enjoyed this incredibly tasty dish while joking around with the owner. If you are a tofu lover, this is definitely a must-try when you visit this izakaya.

Ai-san's Omelet and Rice

Our final dish of the night was a special chef’s menu item that was written on the whiteboard: Ai-san’s omelet and rice. Ai-san is one of the chefs at Yokocho, and I believe she works at both the izakaya and the ramen shop. I saw her moving back and forth between the two places the entire time we were at Yokocho.
When she started making our omelet, she used eggs from the owner’s farm, and everyone in the izakaya started cheering her on. It was incredible to see! Ai-san said she felt embarrassed and nervous, but I think she was having a good time with everyone.
Once she finished, our omelet was ready, and she served it to us. I grabbed a spoon and was the first one to take a bite.
The omelet was amazing. It was extremely flavorful and fluffy, and the eggs tasted incredibly fresh. It was also cooked perfectly. There were no runny parts, just a really great omelet. The rice had some nice chunks of meat mixed in, which I really appreciated.
Ai-san is a great chef. In fact, everyone at the izakaya called her “Chef.” I hope I get to have her cooking again someday. Actually, I’m already looking forward to it!

After we finished our drinks and dishes, the izakaya started getting really busy, with late-night customers coming in to grab a beer. Since we both had to work the next day, we decided to call it a night and head home.
We thanked the owner for a great time and for taking the time to talk with us. We paid our bill and headed home. We didn’t spend nearly as much money as I thought we would because most of the food items are very reasonably priced. I definitely hope I can bring some friends with me next time to try more of the dishes at Yokocho and have a good time. Mrs. Ibaraki Eats is also looking forward to our next visit.

So, if you are around Tsuchiura and are looking for a place with great drinks, tasty food, and good company, why not give Mall 505 Yokocho a chance? Who knows? You might see me there, enjoying a cold beer and a croquette while joking around with the owner.
Enjoy!

For more information on Mall 505 Yokocho, check out their website:
https://www.mall505-yokocho.com/

For the older blog posts, check out the WIX Ibaraki Eats.

https://regaladom24.wixsite.com/website