ASAKUSA Underground > Family Restaurant Asakusa Juraku
First of all, what is it, a family restaurant?
Is it a restaurant only for families, but not for couples?
Or, is it a restaurant where they serve family-made dishes that are not on the menu at an ordinary restaurant?
When you feel like eating something occidental in Japan, but don't want to go to a place like Chez Paul Bocuse or Chez Alain Ducasse, a family restaurant could be your answer.
A family restaurant is a concept imported from the American consumer society, but by now the idea has been deeply rooted in the Japanese mind.
It is a diner, where they serve less expensive meals.
The word <family> has no business significance.
You can see franchised family restaurants all over Japan.
Some of them have an American origin and others are typically Japanese, but all of them are perky clean and very well standardized.
You can eat the same dishes and receive the same service in a restaurant of the same chain wherever you are in Japan.
For example, there is a restaurant chain called Denny's.
Some of the readers from the United States may know the name of this diner, but don't be surprised when you discover totally different foods on the menu at its Japanese counterpart.
It has exactly the same story as 7-Eleven's.
It has originated in the U.S.
A Japanese company has bought the right to use the name and their expertise.
A few years later, it has been completely Japanized.
Asakusa's modern history could be parallel to that of family restaurants.
(See Asakusa Samba Festival)
Probably, the history of Manga might be similar to it, too.
Have you ever wondered why those Japanese characters in Manga do not have slit eyes?
All of them started with admiration and envy.
Everything occidental was once thought to be better than anything Japanese.
But, soon, the Japanese assimilate it and have forgotten its origin.
Eventually, they develop something uniquely Japanese out of it and consider it typically Japanese.
Now some Japanese tourists are surprised to find a Denny's restaurant in the States.
There they behave as if they were in Japan and forget leaving tips on the table.
In Asakusa, on Shin-Nakamise Street, there is one family restaurant called
Juraku.
Though they call it family restaurant, it has an atypical atmosphere.
Or, rather, it has a typical atmosphere of Asakusa, not Asakusa of nowadays, that of Showa era.
Asakusa enjoys many historic monuments.
Each monument represents the collective memory of its era.
The family restaurant Juraku stubbornly resists the change of the town and quietly tells you about Showa.
[Related articles]
・Must-eat-in-Japan list
Check this list before you leave Japan. You don't want to say, "I didn't try that," once you are back home.
[Reference in Japanese]
http://www.juraku.com/rest/sh_rest_juraku_asakusa.html
http://r.gnavi.co.jp/g095625/
-Family Restaurant Juraku
1-23-9 Asakusa, Taito-ku, Tokyo, zip. 111-0032
Tel. 03-3841-5025
11:00〜21:00 (Order before 20:30) no holidays
many dishes around 1,000 yen
118 seats
To find out the exact location, use diddlefinger.
The site is your best guide when you work in Tokyo or travel in Japan.
Family Restaurant Asakusa Juraku
First of all, what is it, a family restaurant?
Is it a restaurant only for families, but not for couples?
Or, is it a restaurant where they serve family-made dishes that are not on the menu at an ordinary restaurant?
When you feel like eating something occidental in Japan, but don't want to go to a place like Chez Paul Bocuse or Chez Alain Ducasse, a family restaurant could be your answer.
A family restaurant is a concept imported from the American consumer society, but by now the idea has been deeply rooted in the Japanese mind.
It is a diner, where they serve less expensive meals.
The word <family> has no business significance.
You can see franchised family restaurants all over Japan.
Some of them have an American origin and others are typically Japanese, but all of them are perky clean and very well standardized.
You can eat the same dishes and receive the same service in a restaurant of the same chain wherever you are in Japan.
For example, there is a restaurant chain called Denny's.
Some of the readers from the United States may know the name of this diner, but don't be surprised when you discover totally different foods on the menu at its Japanese counterpart.
It has exactly the same story as 7-Eleven's.
It has originated in the U.S.
A Japanese company has bought the right to use the name and their expertise.
A few years later, it has been completely Japanized.
Asakusa's modern history could be parallel to that of family restaurants.
(See Asakusa Samba Festival)
Probably, the history of Manga might be similar to it, too.
Have you ever wondered why those Japanese characters in Manga do not have slit eyes?
All of them started with admiration and envy.
Everything occidental was once thought to be better than anything Japanese.
But, soon, the Japanese assimilate it and have forgotten its origin.
Eventually, they develop something uniquely Japanese out of it and consider it typically Japanese.
Now some Japanese tourists are surprised to find a Denny's restaurant in the States.
There they behave as if they were in Japan and forget leaving tips on the table.
In Asakusa, on Shin-Nakamise Street, there is one family restaurant called
Juraku.Though they call it family restaurant, it has an atypical atmosphere.
Or, rather, it has a typical atmosphere of Asakusa, not Asakusa of nowadays, that of Showa era.
Asakusa enjoys many historic monuments.
Each monument represents the collective memory of its era.
The family restaurant Juraku stubbornly resists the change of the town and quietly tells you about Showa.
[Related articles]
・Must-eat-in-Japan list
Check this list before you leave Japan. You don't want to say, "I didn't try that," once you are back home.
[Reference in Japanese]
http://www.juraku.com/rest/sh_rest_juraku_asakusa.html
http://r.gnavi.co.jp/g095625/
-Family Restaurant Juraku
1-23-9 Asakusa, Taito-ku, Tokyo, zip. 111-0032
Tel. 03-3841-5025
11:00〜21:00 (Order before 20:30) no holidays
many dishes around 1,000 yen
118 seats
To find out the exact location, use diddlefinger.
The site is your best guide when you work in Tokyo or travel in Japan.