居酒屋 小麦 — Restaurant in Fujikawaguchiko

Tl;Dr A really laid back old style izakaya, with almost perfect meal sets that leave you warm and toasty even with the Yamanashi winter at its frostiest. Highly recommended.

Dropped by with a few friends after freezing our balls off at the nearby pagoda tourist spot. Was an awesome decision in hindsight.

The proprietess doesn't speak English but has a well laid out English menu. We ordered the sea houtou, roast beef don, gyutan set, conger eel + ebi tempura set, and a bowl of mapo tofu don sans the rice (much to the proprietess's confusion).

I'm not sure I actually got gyutan, and the roast beef was a touch bland, but otherwise the meal was filling, warming and perfectly matched, with what was probably the best ebi tempura I've ever eaten. I swear they added magic to the batter.

Did I mention the atmosphere? It was like we were transported to 60s Japan, with comfy enka playing in the background. It was a perfect match for the dinner, and we had a great time.

They forgot our tea though... but...

We were basically ignored while standing waiting for 20 minutes, even though the people in front of us were immediately seated at 7pm and got to place their orders. Only after my brother actually went up to a waiter did we get a table, although the people in the kitchen were arguing briefly. No one came to take our order or even see if we needed help, despite many people coming in and out of the kitchen. One of the workers walked directly next to our table and still ignored us. After 45 minutes of being ghosted, we gave up and left. Such a shame that no one had the courtesy to simply shoo us away in the first place. One of the more upsetting experiences I’ve had in a restaurant in quite some time. Can’t imagine how they can be so rude when their building is literally in front of a large resort in a touristy town! Stay away. P.S. One of us spoke Japanese....

Walked a journey into this restaurant. Although the proprietor don't speak much English, she manage to take our orders well and even catered to our special order for a Mapo tofu with no rice.

The meal blew our mind, the Conger Eel and Ebi Tempura is fresh and marries the batter well with the seafood. The Hotou of the Sea is rich in Umami and the chilli condiment adds even more to it.

The Mapo tofu turns out to be a hit as well, it's spiciness isn't as strong but makes it up in the aroma, bringing the oily flavor down and makes you want to go with a bowl of rice with it.

Overall fantastic meal and...