After having breakfast at Pelican Cafe, a directly operated cafe of the long-established Tokyo toast shop Pelican in Asakusa, we spent the morning strolling around Asakusa and shopping. Besides browsing the shops along the Kaminarimon Shopping Street, we had planned to enjoy a Wagyu sukiyaki set meal for lunch at Edo cuisine Asakusa SAKURADA, an Edo-style restaurant in Asakusa.

It had been about five years since we last visited Asakusa Kaminarimon in Tokyo after the pandemic began. The area looked almost unchanged compared with our previous visits, although there were noticeably more tourists than before. Besides buying souvenirs at Kaishodo, we also shopped for clothes at UNIQLO and GU in the morning. After returning our purchases to our room at Hotel Sunroute Asakusa, we headed out again to enjoy lunch at Edo Cuisine Sakurada.

Located along Kaminarimon Street in Asakusa, Edo Cuisine Sakurada is a traditional Japanese restaurant featuring an old-fashioned hearth-style interior. Several groups of guests were already seated inside when we arrived. While waiting outside, we noticed a signboard introducing their rice as rice presented to the Emperor, suggesting that the restaurant takes great pride in serving exceptionally delicious rice.

Soon after, we entered the restaurant. Everyone quietly sat at their seats, waiting for the Wagyu sukiyaki set meal. At lunchtime, the restaurant mainly serves this special set menu. Before the main dish arrived, we were first served a large pot of steamed white rice. This was the special rice presented to the Emperor, with beautifully translucent grains. One pot was more than enough for our family of three to enjoy together.

This was Sakurada’s signature Wagyu Sukiyaki Lunch Set. High-quality Wagyu beef was cooked with a sweet and savory sukiyaki broth. After beating the raw egg, we dipped the tender Wagyu beef into the egg sauce and enjoyed it together with the rice cooked in a traditional Mashiko-yaki clay pot. The combination of the rich Wagyu flavor, the sweet-savory sauce, and the silky egg was absolutely delicious.

The Wagyu sukiyaki lunch at Sakurada was not only a satisfying meal but also a wonderful experience of traditional Japanese cuisine and Edo-style dining culture.