Name: Behind the Counter at the ONLY Japanese Monkfish Restaurant in Tokyo
Uploaded: 2025-08-03T17:59:17.000Z
Duration: 17 min 35 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

This is behind the counter at the only Japanese monkfish restaurant in Tokyo.

Transition words & phrases

So today I'm in the Kanda-Akihabara area and I'm taking you to a special behind the counter because this restaurant behind me goes back seven generations and it's the only monkfish restaurant in Tokyo.

I'm super excited to show you this one and it all starts in the morning.

So I'm taking you deep into the kitchen of a one-of-a-kind shop, Isagen, with a generational history.

Once a traditional eel dojo restaurant dating back to the Edo period, it underwent a remarkable transformation under its second owner, evolving into a distinguished monkfish specialty shop.

The very structure of the shop, so steeped in history, it's earned recognition as a protected architectural site by the government that it's meticulously preserved, ensuring its timeless beauty.

Monkfish, aka anko, is considered a premium ingredient similar to lobster in Japan, often served with a delectable hot pot followed up with an irresistible porridge.

Today the shop proudly continues its almost 200-year legacy, serving a distinctive dish helping preserve one of Tokyo's culinary heritages passed down from generation to generation.

So he actually came in a little earlier this morning since he has to go to the Toyosu fish market, but before he does he has to check the reservations for the day.

As a seventh generation owner, he understands that even the smallest tasks he accomplishes throughout the day helps to continue on his family business.

As usual, he was responsible for purchasing ingredients for the shop, not just monkfish, but also vegetables, dried goods, and other seafood.

Although the shop needed items delivered directly, he feels that it's important as the owner to maintain a good relationship with his so he likes to meet with him at the market.

Oh wow, he bought monkfish ovaries and stomach!

Finally, he picks up the monkfish he ordered from their family trusted wholesaler.

Apparently, the winter is prime season for monkfish as the cold ocean water enhances the texture of the meat.

While also enlarging the fish's liver and since the shop runs throughout the entire year, Tachikawa-san is always keen to track the weather conditions in the ocean to help him adjust his purchasing.

On his way back, he stops by the Namiyoke Shrine at Tsukiji to pray at a special altar designated for monkfish.

It was actually built by the family's previous wholesaler over 50 years ago but is no longer in business.

The shrine itself houses many different sea animal altars conveniently located next to the Tsukiji fish market.

After unloading the truck, he makes the shop's secret Edo-style warisuta soup, a crucial element for their hotpot.

The recipe is so closely guarded by the family that I won't be able to show you even the ingredients as this culinary legacy has been passed down from father to son to father to son.

So what's the most important when making the soup?

So, he started working at the shop at 24, a bit earlier than he had planned.

His grandfather's passing and his father's illness left his mother running the shop alone, prompting him to leave his bank job so he could take over the family business.

Meanwhile in the kitchen, the chefs have started their prep.

That's nikogori, monkfish in a gelatin, and that's vegetable for their hotpot.

So, what do you do when you're not working?

So tell me, how do you find the best knife?

Wow, you must be close to the other chefs!

In Japan, aspiring Japanese cuisine chefs typically begin as apprentices at restaurants known as Itamae Shugyo.

Surprisingly, 74% skip culinary school, opting for a direct entry into the industry, as it typically takes at least 10 years to master the art!

Just like her and the other two chefs, there's many long-term employees at the shop.

Tachikawa-san says that their business can't run without their dedicated workers and the support of his loyal customers.

Adding that when he works, he was a bit arrogant, but quickly learned how important his workers were and since then holds a sincere gratitude for each and every one of them.

So, what's the most important thing you learned from your dad?

He also says that his grandfather was totally the opposite, as he was a big-time businessman who poured his heart and soul out trying to spread the love for monkfish.

He feels fortunate that he had the opportunity to see firsthand the different business approaches and he's tried to adopt the best of each in his own business style over the last 16 years as the owner.

Now, it's time for Tachikawa-san to clean the monkfish, a skill he's mastered over the years.

But fair warning, if you don't like to watch fish being cut, skip to the timestamp below. 3, 2, 1.

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Behind the Counter at the ONLY Japanese Monkfish Restaurant in Tokyo

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