At retro Uehommachi Hi Hi Town (うえほんまちハイハイタウン), a Japanese underground food hall (地下飲食店街) connected to Osaka-Uehommachi Station (大阪上本町駅), is Tenzankaku Hihi-yokocho (天山閣ハイハイ横丁), a Japanese izakaya famous for Japan’s longest 30-meter long countertop.
Tenzankaku Hihi-yokocho’s 30-meter long countertop.
Tenzankaku Hihi-yokocho’s menus: drinks (left), odens (middle), and food (right).
Tenzankaku Hihi-yokocho’s menus written in pop and affable Japanese typography show the Japanese izakaya reopatore. Food items are from 150 yen. Soft drinks are from 191 yen. My dinner companion and I started with a 264 yen red wine.
264 yen / $2 red wine (ワイン(赤)).
Chilled tomato slices (トマト). 300 yen / $2.30.
Potato salad (ポテトサラダ). 300 yen / $2.30.
Surume dried squid tempura (スルメ天). 380 yen / $2.90.
Oden hot pot (おでん). 150 yen / $1.10 for an egg (たまご). 180 yen / $1.30 for a daikon (だいこん / white radish).
The prices are incredibly reasonable. Some of the dishes looked like they were mass-produced somewhere else and arrived in a better presentation thanks to Tenzankaku Hihi-yokocho’s kitchen. We totally appreciated the efficiency and affordability.
We tried to order dashimaki rolled omelet (出し巻卵) which is the king of izakaya starter items (like nachos at a Mexican restaurant or any other American restaurant) but we had to give up because our waiter told us that they ran out of it. We knew it was coming. It could happen occasionally at downright local izakayas since dashimaki is a labor-intensive dish. But still, they are usually happy to make it because they are usually happy to make money also. But here at Tenzankaku Hihi-yokocho, it seemed like I needed to speak the lingo to get one. A seemingly regular customer who sat after me asked for dashimaki like at a speakeasy, and the waiter said “We can do it.” Guess my posh Kyoto Japanese bothered them (Kyoto Japanese to Japanese people sounds like British English to American southerners, sort of).
Tenzankaku Hihi-yokocho (天山閣ハイハイ横丁) | Uehommachi Hi Hi Town B1F, 6−3−31 Uehonmachi, Tennoji Ward, 〒543-0001, Osaka, Japan
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