In the meantime I decide to head to Maisen, a pork Tonkatsu restaurant nearby that is supposed to be one in the best in Tokyo. I've got a map that shows the direct route from the gallery to the restaurant but it's in my backpack so I decide I can figure it out on my own since I have a general sense of where it is located.
As I head north from the galley I am looking for the first right hand turn. Unfortunately the road I am on doesn't seem to have a right hand turn for about half a km. When I finally do turn right I end up on a narrow uphill street running through the back of a residential complex.
I have the sense that I'm going further and further in the wrong direction as there are no longer any stores or commercial properties and I can't even see any well travelled streets.
I should say that I have been walking around all day with a large camera and back pack and that this wandering in the wilderness is getting to be too much. I'm hungry and tired.
Since I know where the restaurant should be I do attempt to course correct by taking the next right I come across. It's another narrow dark street but the street at the end does appear to be better lit.
When I reach the new street I can see that it's definitely more lively. There's a Family Mart and some other well lit storefronts. Pleased that I have managed to return to civilization I continue down the street all the while trying to figure out how to make it back to where the restaurant is supposed to be. So lost in thought am I that I almost miss the fact that I'm suddenly standing right in front of it.
It's a good thing that the restaurant is so prominent and well signed because I might have walked right past it.
My directional sense was good but I had made a wrong turn to start and as a result I had walked more than twice the distance that was actually necessary in order to get from the gallery to Maisen.
Thankfully, the kurobuta pork loin cutlet dinner that I had for 2100Y was as good as its reputation. The cutlet was melt in your mouth tender. Right from the first bite I knew that I would want to come back here again before the trip was over.
The Panko encrusted cutlet also comes with a miso soup (with pork in it), rice, pickles and a massive pile of shredded cabbage. You pour one of several Worcestershire sauces of varying taste and texture over the cabbage which you then eat in tandem with the pork cutlet. There's a nice Yuzu sorbet at the end as a palate cleanser. Amazing dinner. Well worth wandering in the wilderness.
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