Ginza - Japanese food

Mushu Mizuki (夢酒みずき) - Sake restaurant ****

Address - 東京都中央区銀座6-7-6 ラペビルB1
Opening hours - Mon-Fri from 17:30 to 23:30, Sat-Sun-Hol from 16:00 to 22:00
Telephone - 03-5537-1888
Menu - In Japanese with English translations, with some pictures
Credit Cards - OK

This was a place that was recommended to me for the choice of nihonshu they are offering. And indeed, the selection of alcohols, be they nihonshu, umeshu or shochu, is really impressive. Sake are served in wine glasses, as in the best sake places, and the menu focuses on dishes that allow guests and enjoy the drinks even more. They use for example a lot of goya, a typical vegetables from Okinawa, that goes perfectly with shochu.
Nihonshu lovers will want to try the Juyondai (十四台) brewery from Yamagata-ken (1200 to 1500 per glass). Their sake selection is sorted by types of flavour, so it is a great place to discover new tastes. The umeshu menu is also incredible, with more than 20 to choose from. As I am not a shochu specialist, I can't comment on the selection, which was however filling about 8 pages of the menu!

The food is more expensive than in a regular izakaya, and portions are rather small - but for Ginza, it is not that surprising. It is also the price you pay for the variety, and such tsumami (small portions) are nice to enjoy with drinks, anyway. Try the kujira tare, a fantastic whale preparation where the meat is dried in tare for 1 day before being cooked - from Chiba-ken.

Overall, count on 7000 yens per person for serious drinkers. The restaurant is full most of the time, so reservation is recommended. Check gnavi web site for a valuable coupon : r.gnavi.co.jp/g107800/map1.htm

Uoya Sobei (魚屋宗兵衛) - Izakaya ***
Address - 東京都中央区銀座7-2-17 不二家本社ビル2F
Opening hours - Mon-Sun from 17:00 to 23:30 (23:00 on Sat, 22:00 on Sun & Hol), also Mon-Fri during lunch - L.O. 1 hour before closing
Telephone - 03-3574-0357
Menu - In Japanese
Credit Cards - OK

Finding a cheap izakaya around Ginza can be quite challenging! This place is a relatively inexpensive restaurant, with a food that is not very different from the usual chain izakaya, but in a comfortable setting. The restaurant is on the second floor, and is decorated with many bamboo trees and large stones.
We were especially pleased by the nihonshu; the selection is limited, but they have a nice jizake well worth a try! Dishes costs typically between 800-1200 yens. The kamaboko is excellent, while the maguro kamayaki was a little to greasy, and quite expensive considering its size...

Note that if you are searching another restaurant, you can just walk on the street - the opposite side of the street is filled with restaurants located just under the highway, and going up to Shinbashi

web - www.tsuiteru.com/gr/uoyasobei-ginza