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International
Bamiyan (ばみやん)
A branch of the Chinese restaurant chain in North Tak. It is situated about a block before Shangri-La on the left hand side of the road if you are coming from Takaoka station. Most people regard the food as, and I quote, “gross”. Others find it convenient and reliable, as it is open 24 hours. I guess it’s a question of personal standards.
Big China – BEST Chinese!
The sweetest Sunday afternoon hangover food ever. Near the Brazilian in South Tak (see above). Picture menu and good, cheap Chinese.
Café SCIW – BEST Café!
The best Café in Takaoka, SCIW is also the best place to buy a coffee or a bagel. Cool, friendly staff, including the Café master who owns and runs it, who is one of the warmest friendliest guys you could hope to meet. Come and have a bagel and a Caramel Mocha and let your troubles fall away. They also serve cocktails and larger dishes, and play a fun mix of RnB, hip-hop and downtempo noises.
Pieta – giving SCIW a run for its money
Hippie haven in undergrounds of Tak eki. Look for the Virgin Mary and a whole lot of Mexican Day of the Dead skulls, you can't miss it! Serves a small menu during the day, with a delicious avocado sandwich. Also dishes out delicious tea. Is a wonderful atmosphere to relax and chill with the local hippie crowd, and on occasion take in a live show.
Casserole – BEST All-Round International Food! Located in South Tak, this is probably the best of the foreign bunch in Takaoka, . The food is good and reasonable for what you get. The only problem is that the menu is a little difficult (no pictures and a fair bit of kanji). However, the chef apparently has helped out from time to time. Entrees run from 850 to 1800 yen and the steak,lamb chops and hamburger steak with mustard sauce are recommended. For an extra 500 yen and you can get soup, bread and coffee or tea. Another option is to pay 800 yen for a starter (salmon starter's good) bread, coffee and dessert. This place comes highly recommended.
Getting there: It's on the same street as Saty, about two blocks further towards Daimon (or towards the second-hand store, if you prefer) on the left side. The sign's in romaji.
Da Friends (bar/restaurant)
This is a largish bar, with two rooms. It’s on the covered street, and has a big sign outside – you go up the wooden stairs to get in. At the top of the stairs, the room on the left (the one with tables) serves pizzas, pasta, fries and so on... basically ‘pseudo-Italian’. The pizzas are actually very tasty, but small, so for what you get they're pretty darn expensive. You're paying for the convenience of not having to leave the bar, I suppose. Or just because you’ve been drinking for a while and have suddenly developed an overwhelming need to eat cheese. Hey, it happens.
La Dolce Vita – BEST Italian Food!
Really great Italian place in South Tak and the chef trained in Italy. Just follow the short side-road into the parking lot to the left of the McDonalds at Saty, then follow that road around to the left. It’s two doors down from ‘White Gyoza’. Expensive for the sizes of the portions, but it’s good.
The Four Seasons – BEST View of Takaoka!
This nice hotel restaurant in the New Otani Hotel is a little expensive, but has great views over the city at night. Which means maybe it’s a nice place for a date? If your date likes viewing Takaoka...
Lusso
Straight away from the South exit of the station, to the left, about 3 blocks down. Good Italian food, crepes, and beer, plus, they do karaoke sometimes.
New Otani Hotel
Has a cafe/small restaurant on the 1st (ground) floor. The New Otani has a killer American breakfast buffet starting around 7am. Some people who are pulling a bit of an all-nighter have been known to keep themselves going until 7am to catch that. If you`re not already dead it also has a killer lunch buffet that’s pretty cheap.
Pontao
This Brazilian restaurant is on Route 8 in North Tak, just before the 24-hour Mos Burger, on the corner. The sign's in romaji but it doesn't face the road, so it's a little hard to see if you're going towards the Mos Burger. The food can be considered authentic as it's run by Brazilians and most of the clientele are Brazilian. It's not fancy and the prices are reasonable - around 2000 yen for a meal.
Syu – BEST Steak Resturant!
Syu is the place to go for a very expensive, very tasty steak. You can eat wonderful cuts of beef here, but a Sirloin alone will set you back something in the 3,000 – 3,500 Yen price range, and will come with no trimmings, just some small piles of flavored salts etc. But if you want to know how good the steaks in Takaoka might be, this is the place! They show you the overall cut before they slice your steak off the end, allowing you to approve the marbling, etc. There is also a choice to eat up at the bar, and watch your steak cooking on the table, or if you are in a group take the side room. For great steaks on a budget, buy them at the Brazilian shop and get 5 for 1000 Yen, and cook them yourself. But for the very pinnacle of steakhood, this place makes a great treat.
‘The Brazilian’
A social club in South Tak run by and aimed at Takaoka’s considerable Brazilian community, but friendly to JETs, though they sometimes seem taken by surprise when a non-Brazilian wanders in. They serve a good buffet on the weekend, where you pay by weight. Also, they serve enormous hamburgers, with all the toppings. Absolutely massive.
The Brazilian is near the south exit of Takaoka Station (come out, walk forward till you’re on the main road, turn right, and it’s a short way down on your right-hand side), and it has a green sign outside with Portuguese writing on it.
On a home-cooking side-note, Brazil has a strong tradition of cowboys and cattle rearing, and as such the Brazilian community was always unlikely to put up with Japanese supermarket standards and prices when it comes to red meat. The convenience store built in to the social club therefore offers the best, cheapest steaks you are likely to find – 5 big steaks for 1000 Yen. In addition, they even take orders for turkeys that you can go down and pick up, freshly cooked, on Christmas Day!
White Gyoza – BEST Gyoza!
This gyoza place in South Tak sells the cheapest, tastiest fried gyoza ever. And that’s it. Sure sometimes someone orders steamed gyoza instead. Order a set meal (teishoku), and your gyoza come with a big bowl of fresh chicken soup, a big bowl of rice, and some pickles. The master has very little English. Closed on Tuesdays
Wing Wing
This is the big building opposite Takaoka Station that houses the Manten Hotel. If you come out of the main entrance, it’s right in front of you. As well as housing the hotel, a school, a conference centre and the Takaoka visitor centre, it hosts the following restaurants:
Jacasse (Italian)
On the first floor of the Manten Hotel, opposite the main entrance from Takaoka Station. Re-invented in the past year, Jacasse serves great pizza, with a choice of chili sauces on the side, and some pretty good pasta too. Of the sweets, the ice-cream is the one to go for – you get a lot for your 600 Yen, with bits of banana or chocolate cake sticking out of it, all covered in sauce. Yum!
The Don (Japanese) A ‘don’ is a bowl of rice covered in something, and The Don specializes in them. Whether it’s shrimp, breaded pork, egg, nori (seaweed) or some combination of the above, The Don will serve it hot on a bowl of rice. Sets come with salad and miso soup.
Bon (International/French) A nice, slightly expensive restaurant on the second floor of the Wing Wing Building. This is actually the main restaurant for the Manten Hotel. It’s got a nice relaxing hotel-y atmosphere with leather seats and subdued lighting. It’s also the only place in Takaoka I have found that serves a cheese fondue, for that 70s vibe.
AEON (Mall)
The big shopping mall about 2km south of Takaoka Station. It’s the nicest mall in the ken, and it also contains a number of restaurants and fast food places, including (but not limited to):
31 Flavours (Baskin Robins Ice Cream) tel(076) 626-2231
Probably the best ice cream in the ken. On the 31st of those months that have a 31st, it's all-the-ice-cream-you-can-eat-in-30-minutes for 500, which tends to draw a crowd. They also sell ice cream cakes.
Mr Donut (Donuts)
For all your donut needs.
Capricossa (Italian)
Big tasty portions of Italian food, just what you need after a hard day’s shop.
Garden Fiesta - BEST Deal:(International/Italian Buffet)
1400 Yen buffet, for all you can eat! Seriously, many a JET has put off eating all morning as they knew they’d be in AEON sooner or later. I myself have had trouble walking about after a while spent in here. There’s some sort of time limit, but I think it’s 2 hours. So go crazy! Munch munch munch. Oh, and the little ringing bell tends to mean they’re bringing out some roast beef, or something special like that. So run up and grab some before a queue forms! Ding ding ding.
Kaiten (Japanese)
Hanging out across from the Garden Fiesta, is some great kaiten sushi action.