Gassan, Hatchobori (月山)

My work dinner finished early - awfully early, in fact, since the guest of honor had a separate dinner plan that we didn't know about. That left me mildly fed and, having already written off the evening, not in the mood to go home. Naturally that led to a random cruise around some odd neighborhoods, and I wended my way down through Nihonbashi to Hatchobori and Shinkawa. The outlying areas here are very quiet, but there were some little pockets of commerce that I hadn't discovered before.

Tsukiyama wasn't in one of them, it was just in a little street between things. It looked like a restaurant, but there was a hostess-y looking woman standing outside talking on a mobile, and no identifying marks beyond the name. I figured it was going to be kappou-like, and thus I poked my head in...

Finding it much as expected, mildly worn, unadorned, tile-floored, wood-countered. The master working behind the counter, his wife serving. The sashimi section of the menu didn't have prices, which was a bit scary, but the other pages did have prices, and they were surprisingly low. I kept things light and simple since I had eaten a bit already - one sashimi (isaki, pretty good), some boiled octopus (little mizudakos, boiled whole and cut into pieces; pleasant, even the heads!) and a dish of nuta (usually blanched green onions, tuna and white miso-vinegar sauce, but in this case with very fresh akagai instead of tuna; very good, especially for Y400).

The master and his wife are a bit severe and proper, but they knew the other customers and were friendlier with them. I think if you worked up the courage to go once and then showed up for a second visit they'd be pretty friendly...or they might just stay polite for the next 20 years that you'd know them.

Can't really find a site, but I've mapped it properly.
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