135. Tokyo - No Mo' Nomihodai for Me / 半兵ヱ 飲み放題 (Tokyo: Shibuya-ku, Dogenzaka / 東京都: 渋谷区, 道玄坂)

Nomihodai (飲み放題) means all-you-can-drink in Japanese.  Sometimes offered in conjunction with tabehodai (食べ放題), it is usually an option that many izakaya (居酒屋) in Japan offer as a way to eat and drink... for cheap.  Ken and I joined his local Japanese friend Reina at Hanbey (半兵ヱ), a hole-in-the-wall izakaya in Shibuya for some all-you-can-eat-and-drink festivities.  For only about 2,500 yen (about 25 USD) per person, we were treated to unlimited biru, sake, and fried food for two hours.

Normally I would post a plethora of food pictures, but the food at Hanbey, like many all-you-can-eat Japanese izakaya, is pretty terrible.  It was a good thing that there's plenty of cold beer to wash the food down with.  Despite the terrible food, what attracts people to these all-you-can-drink establishments is the warm ambiance and fun environment that makes for good times.  This particular location of Hanbey required navigating through a labyrinth to our table.  We sat down next to the open air kitchen so that we could see the chefs at work.  The walls were decorated with old movie posters, and they echoed with the cheerful noises of friends and co-workers toasting each other after a hard day's work.

After the many rounds of beer, the two hour eating and drinking party comes to a close when the staff brings the check and a complimentary order of bread to the table to help mop up all the alcohol in everyone's stomachs.  I guess it's the restaurant's way of saying, "You ain't gotta go home, but you gotta get the hell outta here!"

After one experience with nomihodai, I know I don't want no mo'.  But who would say know to friends, fun, and all-you-can-drink? Until then, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

半兵ヱ センター街店 / Hanbey Town Center Store
東京都 渋谷区 / Tokyo Metropolis, Shibuya Ward
宇田川町 31-4 / Udagawacho District, 31 Chome 4
井ノ頭通り / Inokashira-dori Street 
シノダビル2F / Shinoda Building, 2nd floor

ML - 20130626