I was meant to post these photos two years ago and am only getting around to it now. The information is old, so things may well have changed since — keep that in mind. Motor show season has already come around again..
Makuhari in Chiba is famous for big exhibitions like the Motor Show and the Game Show. Plenty of people in the industry from Korea visit Makuhari to attend these events too. With Chiba Marine Stadium there as well, the place gets insanely crowded whenever something is on, but the rest of the time it is very quiet. It was developed as a sub-center of Tokyo during Japan’s bubble era in the ’80s, and when the bubble burst it turned into something of a ghost town — an ill-fated city.. So there are hardly any long-established, proven restaurants, and since most places make their living off passing customers, sadly there is hardly anywhere you could call a really good restaurant.
Still, for those of you who come all the way from Korea, I’ve put together a list of the places that serve food worth eating.
Budoutei in World Business Garden (WBG)
An Italian restaurant. Lunch pasta is 1,000 yen, and it beats most pasta places in Gangnam in both portion size and flavor by a long way. That’s why the line is a bit long. Either brace yourself or get there a little early. For dinner, around 2,000 yen per person gets you a delicious, filling meal. I remember the paella (^_^) and the desserts being good.
Maharaja in WBG
An Indian curry place tucked away in a corner. Lunch is a 1,000-yen all-you-can-eat buffet. The food is good.
Kaisen Gyoza Junk, a Chinese restaurant on the 4th floor of Plena Makuhari
This was one of my regular haunts, and again the 1,000-yen lunch is good. The noodles topped with dongpo pork are really delicious. Maybe because the spot is a bit out of the way, it’s one of the places where the line doesn’t get too long.
Yakinikuya Kuidon in Plena Makuhari
Again, the 1,000-yen lunch menu is good. Though if you’re Korean I don’t imagine you’d go out of your way for it. This place has a special Motor Show menu with the same portions at 1.5 times the price. -_-
Tonkatsu Wako in Plena Makuhari
Wako is a well-known tonkatsu chain in Japan, too. It has a branch in just about every department store. The lunch set is around 1,000 yen and the taste is above average. Honestly, when you can have Wako for 1,000 yen, going to Rengatei for 1,500 yen starts to feel like a real hassle. On top of that, at Wako the cabbage, miso soup and rice are unlimited.
The display
Mario Gelato in Garden Walk
After a meal you’ve got to have dessert, right? Makuhari has an outlet mall called Garden Walk, and this gelato shop is inside it. For an outlet that close to the city, the Makuhari outlet is pretty decent. Prices aren’t especially cheap, but quite a few worthwhile brands have shops there.
Yoshinoya inside JR Kaihin-Makuhari Station
Yoshinoya is hugely famous all over Japan, but the truth is the taste varies quite a lot from shop to shop. If you want it at its worst, just walk into a branch in front of a subway station in a busy part of Tokyo. This one was among the top three Yoshinoya I’ve ever been to. Every now and then, when I wasn’t hungry ^_^, I’d drop in and have a bowl of butadon as a snack-slash-meal.
Tenya, the tendon shop in front of the station
Tendon — tempura laid on rice with sauce poured over — is on the greasy side, but it’s addictive. If you’ve never had it, be sure to try it.. Tenya varies from shop to shop too, but this one is one of the better ones.
Sushi Yamato in front of the station
The chefs don’t seem to be especially skilled, but they turn over fresh ingredients fast, so the food is very tasty. If you order something like chirashi sushi, where the chef’s skill doesn’t show much, you could be seriously impressed. Prices are really cheap for a sushi place, too.
Yakinikuya Kuidon in front of the station
A little tastier than the one in Plena. This one also offers a special menu for the Motor Show period only.
Bar Volare in front of the station
Not a place for the food.. it’s a bar in this neighborhood that stays open late. If you’re staying nearby, it should be handy when you have nowhere else to go at night.
Carrefour
Carrefour has gone under and pulled out of Japan now, but the store still seems to use the Carrefour name. It’s a supermarket with a fantastic selection of natural cheeses and wines. Drop in if you have time
Pasta Oreaji
If Budoutei is knockoff Italian, this is the real deal. It’s popular, so it’s hard to get a table without a reservation. There’s a course menu for around 3,000 yen.
Doutor in the basement of Makuhari Techno Garden
In the morning they sell Milano sandwiches made with freshly baked bread, and they are to die for.
Besides these, Makuhari has lots of hotels, so there are all sorts of hotel restaurants, but most of them don’t taste as good as their prices suggest. The New Otani hotel in particular seemed that way.. That said, the night view of Tokyo Bay from a hotel sky lounge is truly gorgeous, so if you ever have work in Makuhari, be sure to check one out.