Obana - Arakawa City

#Lunch at #Obana #restaurant. Established at the beginning of the #Meiji Era, this #eel restaurant draws customers from afar. #Unagi Obana certainly has charm, with its sizeable #Japanese style gate, premises home to an inari #shrine and Japanese-style architecture. Step inside to a large #tatami mat space, where I felt nestled among the many other diners. Choose from three different portions of eel priced at ¥3,000, ¥3,500 and ¥4,000. Each meal is made to order, so I was prepared for a 40 minute wait before it reached my #table. Other #menu choices include koi no arai, koi koku, #umaki and #yakitori ? all of which come with the good taste and popularity to be expected from such a long-standing establishment.

You have to come early for this autenthic place,because you will make a line first,and you have to aware with the open and close time of this rest.cause they will close in the mid day (2pm) then open again in the afternoon until 6pm. the location is inside the alley house of native people, so you will need google map to reach it. The taste it's good, so fresh,and I really looveeee the Chawan Mushi(steam egg dishes) it's seasonal though. So I came at right period.

Visited again on a weekday in April. Reached the restaurant at10:45 and saw 10 people already waiting. They are open during the Golden Week. Best Unagi. Shirataki is a must try. The place is open from 11:30 but be there by 11am. Unagi can be sold out if you go too late. Cash only.

You need to be there at least 30min before opening time and that won't even guarantee if you can get in on the first round. For us, we arrived 40min before opening and we got lucky to be included in the first round! We still needed to wait for another 30min or so after ordering as they cook your eel *after* receiving your order. As a result, we also ordered carp (yes, carp, and they were like sashimi but not really), pickles, and Shira-yaki (no rice, no sauce version of eel; just simply grilled) which added quite a bit of $$$ to the total cost. Una-ju itself was really delicious. Their sauce wasn't too sweet either and it didn't bother me too much despite the fact that the rice was covered with sauce (which is the way I like it but sometimes it gets too sweet in the end). I would definitely go again if I didn't need to wait too long every time...

It's a small restaurant seating no more than 20 at once so get there at least 30-60 minutes before it opens if you want a seat. After you join the queue, the restaurant will take in customers in 2 batches. If you're part of the second batch, it'll be another hour of waiting time while the first batch eats before you're let in. Altogether, expect to spend 3-4 hours here waiting and eating. As far as the food, there are probably better options for unagi especially at this price range. The rice and the eel were both a little too soft, bordering on soggy. Portion sizes were fairly small as well. Expected better given the hype and price.

Best eel restaurant in Tokyo. They don't accept booking. So if you want to go there, you have to wait more than 1 hour before opening time. Even though you do to 1 hour earlier their opening time there re long queues. But I believe it's worth lined. They don't precooked. After you ordered they will start cocking. If you order una-jyu which is marinated eel over a box of rice, you have to wait more than 30 minute until it will be served.

Super good unagi in the outskirts of Tokyo. The thing with the unagi at this place is the meat is so soft, it's unlike your regular unagi restaurants around Tokyo. I can explain how perfectly cooked the eel is. There's likely a wait, I waited for an hour. They only have about 15 or 20 seats inside. In October 2018, they redid the seating so you don't sit on the floor any more. Note that they also close very early, last order is at 7, you probably don't want to come for dinner.

Details for Foreigners (a bit tricky). Exceptional Unagi with soft texture and great services. Highly recommended by my Japanese Friend. Directions: I took the Hibiya Line to Minami-Senju station and head towards south exit. Once you are out of the exit: 1. Turn right , walk to traffic light (do not go up the bridge which is on your left). 2. Cross small road ahead, cross again to your left fo the opposite side of road 3. Turn left (Google map will ask you to Turn right) and walk down street (building on your right, road on your left). You will pass by a Worship statue named (吉展地藏尊）before the zebra crossing. 4. At the zebra crossing, turn left and walk straight about 1 min and you are at your destination! Instructions: 1. Opening time 11:30am. I reached 10:50, already second seating. After me, another 6 pax and lunch queue is full. Suggest to come at 10:30am. 2. The lady will ask you for number of pax and wait. 3. 11:25am, everyone starts to go inside and once 1st batch is full, lady will ask you to wait at the bamboo seats beside the entrance. 4. Lady will come and ask you for your Unagi (only) order in Japanese menu. The first one the list is the eel box, 2 prices (medium $5600 large $6300). Second one is eel with sauce only and Third is steam eel. I can’t recall the rest. The other orders are made when you are seated. The lady asked us if we want English menu once inside. 5. I waited until 12:30pm to be seated. 6. Server will come with English menu and take order. Hot green tea is provided in the meal. 7. I recommend you order Yakitori and Omelette to start with as the eel will take a while. 8. Toilet is located at the right corner of the shop when you enter. 9. Once you finished, take the number tag given to you and exit. When you wear your shoes, the cashier is beside. Food 5/5. Excellent soft Unagi with skin easily peeled off. The rice on the eel set is not too sweet, just nice. The steam eel with wasabi and soy sauce is out of the world! My favourite! The yakitori (comes in a pair) is juicy and tender! As for the omelette, its good but not the highlight. The liver soup is a clear broth. Nice but I don’t like the texture and taste of the liver. Service 5/5: It started drizzle and the lady attention to details amazes me. First, she brought out insect repellent (scented) and placed 3 at various bamboo seats . Second, she offered 2 couple who sat outdoor umbrellas. Third, the drizzle stop and it was sunshine, she brought out fans in a bucket and place outside the door for us to fan! Amazing! Price 3/5: JPY17,2xx Expensive but worth it. Ordered the rice box (large), steam eel, small bowl of rice (Gohan), omelette, yakitori and eel liver soup x1.