I went to Japan in January 2023. Covid had pretty much stopped affecting things by then, and if anything the airport felt busier than it did before Covid. Take it easy and turn up late and you could genuinely end up missing your flight..
Inside the airport
It was around 7am on a weekend and there were still this many people. I imagine it’ll stay like this for a while.
Those polka dots..
Louis Vuitton, surely?
Sky Hub Lounge
I thought about dropping into the lounge, but you had to queue to get in, and my flight was so early that I just gave up on it. The thing is, I have a particular airline I like, and I’d come in early because their flight leaves at such an early hour — but it turns out there are loads of alternative flights these days with the LCCs and all.. The mood had changed once Covid was over, and I just didn’t know it at the time.
Goraesa fish cakes
Before boarding I spotted Goraesa fish cakes, so I bought some as a gift, and the quality was decent. Though for a Japanese person the spiciness is on the strong side.. In Korea even the white broth is spicy, after all..
I landed at Nagoya Airport and headed straight to Yabaton, a misokatsu specialist.
A place like this..
Nagoya is famous for misokatsu to begin with, and the most famous of them all has to be Yabaton. “Yaba” is a place name in Nagoya, and “ton” is from tonkatsu, I take it.
The menu
Since I’d come all this way, I ordered the most expensive thing. It’s called the gokujo rib teppan tonkatsu set..
The display
Tonkatsu is the main event, sometimes with miso sauce, and there’s plain tonkatsu too.
Bento popularity ranking
So the big-portion tonkatsu is the popular one.
The table
A few kinds of dressing here.
Gokujo misokatsu
It comes out piping hot.
Rice
They give you plenty of spring onion, too.
Cross-section
It’s thick, well-marbled meat fried in a thin coating, and with ingredients this good there’s no way it could taste bad. I was surprised that a chain outlet inside an airport could turn out this kind of quality. And the price looks steep, but go to any other well-known tonkatsu place and you’ll hardly find one serving rib loin for under 2,000 yen.. so it’s decent value in its own way. That said, the very idea of putting a sweet miso sauce on meat this good is somehow so very Nagoya.. And it’s quite fatty, so I can see opinions being divided. Next time I should try the plain tonkatsu.
Inside the airport
It’s nicely done. Plenty of good places to eat, too.
Food court
This is the other side, and it’s nicely done over here as well.
Pierre Hermé
It’s a fairly upmarket place, so I never expected to see it move into an airport.. Buying dessert here as a Nagoya souvenir is an option too.
Samurai Ninja
Nagoya being the home of Iga and Koga and all..
Local sake corner
It’s pretty well stocked. I end up checking what they have every time I come.
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