Restaurants in Gotanda (blogging from Tokyo)

Tokyo is truly a megalopolis. When you "go to Tokyo", you generally choose an area of Tokyo where you plan to spend the bulk of your time. For visitors to the big multi-city city, this generally means Shinjuku, Shibuya, or perhaps Akihabara. Occasionally I get called away from little Susono on business that puts me in the "unfashionable" area of Shinagawa and Gotanda. These last two days were just such an event, and so now I sit blogging from my hotel lobby.

Personally, I like Gotanda; it is a cute little district with plenty of good restaurants and places to stay. What it doesn't have is too many people and no young people. This suits me very well as both nights after work I was able to walk into a restaurant and get a seat. I actually did not have to wait in line, and I did not have to keep moving from place to place only to be told that there was "no room at the inn". I did not have to settle for a 7-Eleven burrito!

Both nights I stayed in Gotanda and dined not far from my hotel (The Route Inn Gotanda). I love this hotel - the twin rooms are spacious, there is a huge public bath on the roof, and it's very cheap for Tokyo. And it has two free-access pcs in the lobby).

Night one I went with a friend for a burger at Kua Aina, a burger and sandwich shop. They have several locations, but I personally love the Gotanda one. Because, of course, it is close to the hotel I stay at when on business here, but it also just has really good burgers. Kua Aina is located between Gotanda station and Yamanote Dori, on the right, just across from the AM-PM. Click here for a map (http://www.kua-aina.com/map/gotanda.html)

And tonight, I went by myself to Rak Thai, a small Thai restaurant not too far from the burger place. I'd noticed this restaurant a few years ago but hadn't eaten there. So tonight I gave it a try, and it was good. The Tom Yam soup was a bit more lemony than lemongrassy, but still, the service was good and so was the atmosphere. Run by Thai expats, you can't really go wrong as this is the unfashionable Gotanda, isn't it? Here is their map (Japanese) (http://www.rakthai.jp/7/index.html).