Tonkatsu Asai — Restaurant in Nikko

Had the best Rosu Katsu set with rice during my lunchtime after taking a free boat tour on Lake Chuzenji. The meal set comes with thick pieces of pork loin which are very fulfilling. However, my three stars are only for the food.

A couple of elderly and their son run this small eatery. While other reviews mentioned about their warm service for the customer, I experienced different treatment. The couple were very cold toward the foreign customer. Their son was not even responding to my request for water even though had tried to be polite by using “sumimasen”. He rushed calling his mom for that.

Not trying to assume that the owners had uneasy feeling toward foreign tourists but there are some small accidents during my lunch time which could become a tips for tourists who would like to eat here: Strictly no picture inside! I was not aware about this unwritten rule and highly respect the owners decision to stop me from taking picture of the decoration of the eatery.

Avoid playing with your phone while eating! I saw the lady scolded other tourist for this. I believe this is due to the long queue so you need to be quick.

Avoid eating too slow! The owner will stare at you as it also happened to that same tourist. Probably for the same reason for point no.2

The owners mood will surely change quickly when tourists do those things. Even a simple “arigatou” and “sumimasen” will not be respected by them.

For your context, most of the tourists coming at that time were non-Japanese looking and don’t speak Japanese. I’m also an Indonesian and was assuming that the rudeness stemmed from language barrier and not knowing local mannerism. However, if it’s for a “different reason” that would be...

Definitely one of the must-eats if you're around the Lake Chuzenji area, you can find some surprisingly amazing tonkatsu dishes at Tonkatsu Asai.

Run by a sweet elderly couple, this tiny eatery only has capacity for 6 people (although strictly no children allowed) at any one time and only opens for lunch from 11am-2pm or dinner from 5.30-6.30pm. All of these, coupled with the fact that the food is awesome, means you can expect quite a queue at popular meal times. So best to plan ahead and come at an off-peak timing.

For the food itself, these might easily be some of the best tonkatsu that you have ever eaten. The outside is nice and crispy (but not too greasy) and the meat inside is super juicy and tender. Every dish is served with rice, miso soup and pickles. And to top it all off, prices are also super reasonable, especially given...

Best place in Nikko and one of the best (if not THE best) places to eat Katsu in Japan, the place is run by and eldery couple, the wife serves food and the husband is the butcher making the meat fresh 😋, their son also helps them, a great and authentic place. I came there twice, day after day cause it was so good!! 1100¥ for Katsu curry, a huge serving of rice 400-500g, and 2 pieces of katsu, a little bowl of misu soup, and some pickles. They have great sauces. I highly recommend their yellow one (forgot the name). The only 2 cons are that they have very specific opening hours, and they have a waiting line cause there are only 6 sits, but trust me, it's worth the...