I will be in Tokyo May 8th (evening) through the 11th (possibly 12), and again May 24 - 25. When is a good time to go to Shinto Gangu? Does anyone want to meet me there? I'll have a pretty busy schedule, but it'd be great to meet some SBers if possible!

I lived in Japan for 4 years (& now work for the Japanese consulate) but haven't been back since 2004. I'm so excited about this trip!

Ha, so close! I'll be in Tokyo from May 2-8, but i'm leaving the morning of the 8th.

Personally, I think the best time to go is either Wednesday or Friday. The shop is opened from 6-9pm, Wed thru Sunday only. Get there by 6pm or so when the shop opens. If you keep that as your target, you have plenty of time to get lost riding the subway.... But get there before 8pm if you want to chat with Mori-san....at 8pm he starts taking phone orders, and the phone rings off the hook for an hour straight typically.

Also, there is a GREAT yakitori place that Mori-san knows which you can hit up for dinner, ask him to show you the way or write a little map, its not far...and fantastic. Not sure if engrish is spoken there....but you really can't go wrong.
(unless you order the raw chicken accidentally)

Thanks for the info! If I can get through the f'n buta flu screening at Narita in a timely manner (big if), I'll be at Shinto Gangu this Friday around 8. If not I'll try to go on Saturday. Maybe I'll see someone there!

chicken sashimi...my friend was trying to find a place that served this so I could try it. Lucky for me, she could not remember where it was.

Bert, apparently the chicken sashimi is prepared from a special kind of chicken, one that is very muscular, so that the taste is much different than say...regular grocery wrapped chicken. But its still freakin' raw, so its still "no fucking way" for me!

yeah...that's what i heard too...but it isn't true sashimi. from what i heard, it's acutlally cooked but not fully cooked...sort of like a rare steak. yakitori toto in nyc used to have it but i was not able to go when it was on the menu. pulled from the menu due to it being unpopular (unpopular...really?)

I've seen it made (on tv) being 100% raw, but it had to be killed that day in the back from the owners personal stash of chickens he raised. I think it was on "No Reservations" when he hit Tokyo. I'd eat it in that case. If the chef was confident enough, I would be too.

The raw chicken is in so much lemon juice that there isnt much to worry about. I ate it on my first trip to Japan, first night.
It was tastey.
Let me know when you can try the Funazushi. I've developed a craving for the stuff.

Funazushi? Raw, and then fermented fish? Yikes.

Ya... fermented for 3 years Tangy fishy cheesy good