I have written at some length about how one does not have to spend a lot of money to eat well in Japan. But there is a flip side, and that is that you can easily spend A LOT if you want to. For example, last night I went to dinner with my friend Ahmed at a restaurant called “Inakaya.” Inakaya is located in the Roppongi district of Tokyo, which is the nightlife part of town that foreigners tend to gravitate to. Inakaya caters to foreign celebrities and the proprietors of Inakaya showed me a photo album of the glitterati who had been in the restaurant, including, Matt Damon, Stephen Spielberg, Tom Cruse, Edward Norton and Gwynneth Paltrow. Add to that illustrious list Brad Kelley and Ahmed Al Zahrani. They didn't take our picture, for some reason. They were quite busy and probably forgot. Anyway, the concept is simple. You take a seat at the counter and artfully arrayed before you are the contents of Whole Foods produce and meat sections. Whatever you see that looks good you point to. They take some, clean, skewer and grill it, plate it and pass it to you on a long-handled paddle. There is no menu. It is truly “If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.” But let me give you an idea of what Saudi Oil (ARAMCO) paid for our dinner. 1 grilled giant prawn:$36. 2, 5-inch skewers of (delicious) beef: $47. 2 asparagus spears: $9. 2 skewers of chicken: $11. 2 shitake mushroom caps: $9. etc, etc. The atmosphere is fun and lively. I don't want to know how much the meal cost. As I got off the subway returning to my hotel I dropped into the convenience store for desert. A Haagen-Daz ice cream bar for 200¥. Equilibrium was restored!
INAKAYA http://www.roppongiinakaya.jp/en/shop.html
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