Tomifuji — Restaurant in Fujikawaguchiko

Read from other reviewers that the elderly couple was rude and rejected them even before they managed to enter the restaurant. To me, it was more of communication issues and unrealistic expectations.

Similar things happened when we were waiting in line. People in front of us and in groups of 2 barely managed to get in while groups of more than 2 were turned away.

As there was only 1 lady who understood Japanese in front of us, the owner spoke to her in Japanese and she kindly explained to the rest of us that the owner did not want a queue to form in front of his shop due to the covid-19 issues so that the shop is not overcrowded. When we were in there, there were sufficient distance amongst the different dining groups. All of the diners could dine in a safe and quiet environment.

From what I observed, the owner does not come out to ask people in line to go in. You have to go in and stand at the door for them to assign you a table. A couple who came in after us, was being told off when they helped themselves to a table without informing the owner. So they went back to the door to wait. Once the owner sent them to the table, i noticed that the owner was actually quite ok - not rude. He did what he was supposed to do - serve tea, showed menu and took orders.

This is a small family owned restaurant, run by an elderly couple. There is a limit to what they can do, given their age. Do go there with an open mind, be respectful, and don't expect extreme friendliness or very good service. They do not seem to speak languages other than Japanese but you can always use a translator to communicate with them. If you're ok with the occasional grumblings or no smiles, then you could consider going there to try.

The elder lady is the main cook while the elder gentleman is behind the counter. The lady is actually quite friendly. The gentleman is a typical Asian stern looking man.

For food, we ordered unagi don and ton katsu set. Both came with the crab miso soup which was absolutely flavourful. I dont usually take miso soup but i emptied that bowl of crab miso soup. The unagi was good and tender. The ton katsu could be more juicier but it was still good enough. All in all, we were satisfied...

One of those spots where you gotta overcome many barriers to get some fantastic authentic local affair, like an obstacle course:

Language for one, because the sole old man working here is amazing but he ain't got time for your stuttered sumimasens. I tried telling him I'm vegetarian (I know) and he shooed me off and so I decided I'm gonna have some shrimp tempura and fresh sushi. We wanted to sit on the nice classic low tables (chabudai) and he just grunted and shoved us to it

The rainy weather of Fujikawaguchiko will try thwart you on your way to here.

Cash only. I was met with another shake of the head and a grunt when I tried showing him my card.

The menu is all in japanese (how dare they do that in japan?) and so google translate is your friend. It's a set menu with a few options but all look great.

We got a couple tempura meals and our amazing old man came out within 10 minutes with an entire feast. Some fantastic miso soup with a big crab in there which I'm not entirely sure I could eat with all the shell. Fresh sushi which could've possibly been caught that morning (in fact, they have some swimming black fishes right next to where we were sitting and a scoop so..). Fresh shredded ginger with the sushi, not the usual fermented slices. Freshly battered and fried tempura with those long shrimpies. Wasabi, actual wasabi and not the horseradish you get in the US, it was earthier but not stronger than what I was used to. Some pickled salad (the cucumbers were fantastic) and of course the tea in a beautiful ceramic mug I wanted to buy from him but I didn't dare after making him...

Came in around 7pm (19/11/22) after some shopping nearby looking for unagi rice bowl and chanced upon some good reviews. When we came in, we were a little taken aback as we were the only ones dining. Made us wonder about the food reviews were indeed as per what we read. Turns out the old couple prepared a really wholesome and soulful meal. We ordered the unagi rice bowl 3500yen, Sashimi+tempura set 2000yen and katsudon 850yen. All meals came with a superb miso soup with crab. Fresh ingredients, side dishes were tasty too. The rice portions were big, we ordered 3 meals for our family of 4, we couldn't finish the rice. They were closing at 8pm, some couple came in ard 730pm and was turned away. Lucky us. Highly...