Gottsuan Sakaba Ryōgoku — Restaurant in Tokyo

We found this restaurant by chance on Google maps when looking for traditional Chanko. The restaurant is located in a residential neighborhood, and probably not too many tourists eat here as they looked slightly surprised when we walked in. We took our shoes off and were directed to a room, where our hostess quicky came to meet us. She was the most welcoming, warmest person, with a kind smile and very eager to chat. She only spoke Japanese, but between gestures and Google translate we were able to communicate well. The meal was delicious and rich, including: 2 starters: cucumber with some type of kimchi sauce and the most delicious fried chicken with cabbage the house special Chanko - the hostess recommended we get 1 for both and I'm glad she did, as the portion was huge! The broth included fish, chicken, mushrooms, tofu, sliced pork, pork meatballs, a lot of vegetables (cabbage, onion, carrots) and noodles, and we got 2 refills of broth and 1 of noodles. The taste was unbelievable, the broth particularly tasted so good. 1 pudding home made by the hostess' son, who I think was the chef - can't fault it, tasted very good. With 2 beers and 1 tea, we paid 3000 yen each, which we felt was a really fair price. We even had a VIP experience and got introduced to a former sumo wrestler, Kyokudōzan Kazuyasu, who gave us the most beautiful autograph and took a photo with us. The whole experience was unforgettable, not only due to the delicious food, but more importantly, the best hosts we could ever hope for. Highly recommended this restaurant if you want to try a traditional...

Delicious food!! This is a mom and pop shop, hole in a wall, highly recommend for those who want something light, healthy, and tasty. The dishes they make are food of the sumo wrestlers. Me and my boyfriend are staying around the area, didn’t get a chance to see the practice because it’s out of season but saw reviews to come here for amazing sumo food but also possibility to meet the retired sumo wrestler- which luckily we were able to meet! They charge per person, about $3000/pp starting and you can add more if you want.

They have a specialized yuzu citrus paste to season the soup as well making it spicy and yuzu tasting. Which is def 100/10.

You may miss it when walking down the residential area, but don’t worry, there should be a sliding door that has a press to open option that opens to the restaurant.

It’s a shoes off place, the owner is a retired sumo wrestler who does come and greet his guest and offer photo ops.

All the staff are super friendly! Even got an autograph, would definitely come back and visit!! We got the original and it’s definitely...

Wow! Thank you. Our experience here deserves 10 stars. It was both the culinary and probably cultural highlight of our 2 weeks in Japan. The food was incredible and the service impeccable.

We came here after going to The Sumo Experience to have an authentic sumo meal (Chanko Nabe). This was our first meal in Japan with a group of 7, including 3 kids. Everyone loved it, especially the spicy chanko nabe.

More than the food, the service and experience was delightful. The waitress was beyond kind for a group of foreigners and the owner - a former top Sumo wrestler - came in to meet with us. He showed us pictures, wrote our names in calligraphy, and was a truly gracious host. He also spoke with my dad in his 40-year rusty Japanese.

While that experience may not be the same for everyone, it is indicative of the type of the experience here. Even at half of the experience, it still would've been one of the top food experiences in Japan with the sumo ties. We...