If you want to eat yakitori (chicken/veggie kabab) in a spot reminiscent of classic Japanese cinema, go to Tori-Masa near Ohtsuka station, on the JR Kanjo line, Tokyo, where Shohei Imamura's film crew used to hung out. Otsuka is indeed the town where Imamura grew up. In fact, the person in the white cap sitting at the counter in the pic below is someone very very close to Shohei Imamura...

 

At Tori-masa, you won't see any alphabets but a smile of the chef behind the counter. No need to talk. Just point out a kind of skewer you like (you know how chicken meat looks like, right?) you see in the glass case on top of the counter - like a sushi bar. And sit back and recall the scenes from Imamura, Ozu, or Kurosawa films. It's a hidden place not yet on the Lonely Planet or Rough Guides... not even many Japanese know about. A good old Tokyo's taste.
 
   
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