Surugamachi's Okonomiyakiya — Restaurant in Nara

My family and I stayed close to the JR Lohas hotel. Following our flight from Sapporo, I craved for okonomiyaki. I discovered via Google that there were many okonomiyaki restaurants nearby, but the most popular ones were quite a distance away. We were exhausted, and I found this cozy establishment just around the corner from our accomodation.

The menu is written in English, which is helpful. We ordered Ebi Okonomiyaki, Ika Yakisoba, Ebi Fried Rice (soft) and a pint of draft beer. All of them were so delicious. The amount of ingredients provided was significant. The squid and shrimp were succulent and fresh! It is properly cooked. There is wok hey (as we Singaporeans like to call it).

The owner has a basic understanding of English. She was surprised that we were from Singapore and started sharing her trip to our country 40 years ago.

She asked us to place a sticker on the world map. We are the 3rd group of visitor from Singapore.

Do try it if you happen to be passing by.

(Total bill 3,150 Yen...

We were looking for a hotpot place to eat and followed google. We thought this small restaurant was the place so we went in without looking at the name and when we realized it's not it, I asked my partner if we could just eat here and he said yes. That was the best decision ever! The place is run by a single middle aged lady that takes orders, cooks, serves and takes your payment. She does her best to explain things too. She's a superwoman! Kudos to this lady. We ordered Pork Yakisoba and an Okonomiyaki Mix and didn't regret it. The food was tasty and we're super glad we ended up in the place. She made us put a sticker to mark where we live in the world map that's hanging. We'll definitely try to go back here if we ever visit...

We came in and were greeted immediately, the lady was very hospitable and friendly, and spoke good English which was helpful as my Japanese is lacking. She helped us through our order, and catered to my being vegetarian. When she served us our okonomiyaki on to the hotplate in the table, she helpfully showed us how to use the tools on the table as intended to eat it, and it was fantastic food. Immensely flavourful and affordable. She also had a map on the wall to add a colourful dot to show where you were from which I enjoyed.

Would absolutely recommend. Great food and great...