Place

Sri Lankan Curry Restaurant “KOTOBUKI CURRY” ～Dish packed with spices, carrying his sterling passion～

Wafting scent of spices greets you there; “Sri Lankan Curry Restaurant KOTOBUKI CURRY”

What you will find is layers of appetizing aroma of spices and a touch of sweetness of coconut milk.

This restaurant that gives strong tropical vibes the moment you open the door is in Naka-aoki, Kawaguchi, along the Chuo-Doro Avenue.

Inside, there are five counter seats and two tables for two.

How I appreciate this coziness of a smallish place with the warmth of wood that makes you feel at home whenever you visit on your own, with friends or families.

◆Meeting a Sri Lankan “Mum” ignited all

It was “Okasuba Curry” in Ohanajaya, Katsushika Ward, at which Mr. Otomo, the owner, first knew Sri Lankan curry.

He was touched by Sri Lankan “Mum’s” curry with full of hominess and love.

“That Mum’s curry had a taste of the plainest ‘Good old home cooking’”

He felt it was his mission to make this taste widely known. After spending apprenticing time at Okasuba Curry, he opened his own restaurant.

A dish touched with ‘The warmth of Mother’s love’ became the base of “KOTOBUKI CURRY”.

◆Mix everything together before savoring; this is Sri Lankan Style

The distinctive features of enjoying Sri Lankan curry is “Mix everything together before you eat”. A plate is colorfully served with several varieties of curries and side dishes.

I ordered “Five varieties’ platter for ladies” on the day I visited.

The platter is served with indispensable duo of Sri Lankan chicken and Dhal, added by a seasonal curry and two types of side dishes.

Bone-in section of chicken wings are used in this staple Sri Lankan chicken curry. Well-boiled meat is tender enough to come loose in the bowl, and the aroma of spices starts to waft in the air.

It is wonderful to discover that Umami-savory and bitter-sweetness of some dishes as Sardine and Mizuna salad, stir-fried Goya-bitter melon, etc., marks well-balanced accents to show different flavor as you eat.

Deliciously grilled light cracker “Papad” is garnished on top of Basmati, fragrant long-grain Sri Lankan rice. I crushed it to small pieces with my hand to enjoy with curry. Crispy texture brought another dimension to the feast.

Every single imported raw Papads are carefully grilled in his restaurant kitchen.

His enthusiasm is gathered on this one plate.

“You know, spices are ‘Herbal medicine’ that get you in good shape. I am giving attention to what I choose as ingredients and how I cook, also wishing every customer will get energized after enjoyed meal here”

Indeed, it is a dish that lightens your mind and body with every bite you take.

◆Beloved food culture in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is a verdurous tropical island located in the southeast of India. It is gross area is about 80 % of that of Hokkaido.

The wind sways coconut trees to send tropical vibes to the street. Curries with plenty of spices are loved by people there as one of their national cuisines. Its distinctive feature is non-greasiness, and lots of cuisines are packed with “the Wisdom of Food” which supposed to get you in shape.

In the country where the world-renowned tea aroma and fragrant spices are harmonizing in daily life. For them, “Eating” is naturally linked with “Healing”.

◆A dish of sincerity with a living courtesy and passion

Once entered the place, I was welcomed with smiles of the owner and staff. Sincerity came out through their well-mannered service.

The owner used to be an athlete who played on baseball fields as a high school baseball player. The courtesy and persistence learned from that experience are clearly shown on every sublimated dish and gentle atmosphere of this restaurant.

◆“Wish to grow in step with this restaurant”; Realizing long-cherished vision

“My wish is that I can grow in step with this restaurant”

True to the oath, his countless efforts began to produce fruits. The restaurant has become that popular with long waiting lines appear on each weekend.

Each dish made by the owner who keeps going forward not only stimulates you with spices, but impresses you with unfeigned warmth that is true to his visions. A tale of KOTOBUKI CURRY has just begun.

KOTOBUKI CURRY

Open　11：30～15：30（Last orders 15：00）

18：00～21：30（Last orders 21:00）

Closed on 　Sun・Mon・Tue

Editor’s NOTE

Wrapped in the aroma of spices, I know I will come back here.

It satisfies your stomach as well as your mind.　

“KOTOBUKI CURRY” is a place you will find such fantastic dish. Even now, having finished this interview, that aroma still comes back to me sometimes. “Human touch” behind spices must be the quintessence of this restaurant. 　（TOMO）

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Okinawan Cuisine Restaurant “Simajouri”

Haisai! Today, I am going to introduce you an Okinawan cuisine restaurant “Simajouri”, 2 minutes of walk from Nishi-kawaguchi Station. “Haisai!” means “Hello” in Okinawan language.

Okinawa, located in the south part of Japan and consists of small islands, have long been forming a distinguished culture as playing a role of a bridge connecting Asian countries. Cuisines developed there which I am going to show you are also a bit different from the ordinary Japanese cuisine.

Took over from the previous owner, Mr. Nakama, the current owner, reopened this restaurant in September 2025. The name “Simajouri” came from Okinawan beloved flip flops. You will see many such Okinawan language and local place-names in food and drink menus of this restaurant.

Well, let us give a toast to the occasion. How about ordering a widely renowned Okinawan beer or ‘Awamori-distilled Thai-rice liquor’? This restaurant always has a dozen or so stock of Awamoris and one of the perks here is that you can enjoy them with colorfully tinted Ryukyu-glass tumblers.

Have some local delicacies to go with your drink. Salty tastes of “Suku karasu- black rabbitfish fry (Suku means black rabbitfish fry, karasu means food preserved with salt)” or “Wata karasu-salted and fermented bonito gut called Shuto or Shiokara (Wata means entrails) on top of bite-sized Shima-tofu” go perfectly with your drinks.

Before you interrupt me by saying ‘Do not spend too much time on drinking, show me some dishes there’, I am going to show you an Okinawan Tempura. Unique deep-fried “Mozuku-seaweed Tempura” has chewy texture and is served with Okinawan Worcestershire sauce or rock salt.

Most of the dishes here have names straight from Okinawan language. I think it would be better for us to learn some of them on this page.

“Fu Champuru”・・・Stir-fried Fu-wheat gluten bread. Champru means ‘to mix together’. Combination of springy texture of egg-absorbed Fu and richly flavored dried bonito stock brings an exquisite savory.

“Nakami Irichii”・・・Nakami means ‘pork entrails’. Irichii means ‘to stir-fry’. This stir-fried entrails and vegetables goes perfectly well with rice and drinks.

“Hirajachii”・・・Savory pancake dish with chives. Close to Jeon of Korea. In Okinawa, this served with sauce and red pickled ginger.

“Rafte Chahan”・・・Rafte means braised pork belly. One of the luxurious dishes with a chunk of soft Rafte stewed with Awamori and half-cooked egg on top of fried rice.

Aside from the dishes I enjoyed, there are too many Okinawan dishes in this restaurant that I can not show you with a single visit. Each recipe reflects Mr. Nakama’s pride and joy as a long-experienced cook. Nondrinkers can also have fun with trying Okinawa’s local soft drinks such as ‘Root beer’, ‘Shikwasa-flat lemon juice’ and ‘Ucchin-turmeric tea’. The restaurant has both Tatami space which allows you to make yourself at home and counter space. I assure you can steep into the merry Okinawan atmosphere by visiting this restaurant in a group or on your own.

　　On the day I visited, Sadip from Nepal and THI from Vietnam waited on me. Highly international lineup of crew looked very Nishi-kawaguchish. This is exactly a ‘Champuru’ styled Okinawan cuisine restaurant. There is a saying “Ichari ba chodei” (whoever you met is your brothers & sisters) in Okinawa, teaching us to have a mind of building no border in communication. This cordial atmosphere satisfies your stomach and mind at the same time. Why do not you visit Nishi-kawaguchi to feel this tropical ambience?

“Simajouri”

Address:3-14, Nishikawaguchi 1-chome, Kawaguchi City.

Open: 5:00PM ～ 0:00AM

Irregular closing days

Editor’s Note

I secretly planning to keep my own Awamori bottle to become a regular customer here.

By　SPRING the durian lover

Editor SPRING

I am on an endless diet throughout the year.

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Breathing 96 years old Folk House & Space TsuKuRuBa Takezo

One day in the heat of the July sun, I paid a visit to TsuKuRuBa Takezo. This is a lively folk house of 96 years of age. My life in Hatogaya, always pressed with child rearing and work, have already passed 4 years. Whenever I come here, I can take a short break bathing in placidity that makes me feel like getting back to my parents’ home.

Drink I ordered was called Pink Moon Milk. It is a steamed milk-based drink mixed with beetroot, vanilla oil, and pink salt. They also have Blue Moon Milk (butterfly pea; a good antidote for aging!) and White Moon Milk (ginger syrup; good for blood flow). Other drinks you will find on the menu are variety of coffees purchased from “Uminomukou Coffee”, a roaster in Kyoto, ginger ale using homemade ginger syrup, hot chocolate using organic cacao imported from Peru. “Pink Moon Milk is best for an expectant mother”, it was Ms. Shuori Uchida, daughter of the owner of this café, who advised me which one I should have as soon as noticed my bit grown bump. She oversees menu planning and cooking of TsuKuRuBa Takezo.

TsuKuRuBa Takezo is basically a takeout café, but the house is open to the customers to spend freely in a spacious space with ordered drinks and cakes. Shuori’s recommendation is Basque Cheesecake. The most popular menu of this café is Ginger Pound cake. Seasonal sandwiches also appear as limited supply menu. I think I feel like staying here for hours and hours just to think about nothing.

This folk house & space TsuKuRuBa Takezo was opened on October 8^th, 2024. In a location 10 minutes’ walk from Hatogaya station. With sprawling Tatami-mat rooms and Western style rooms, this is a rare semi-Western style folk house. The name Takezo came from the owner Mitsuaki Uchida’s grandfather, Takezo Uchida. He played a wide range of important roles for the community as a doctor, a member of a town assembly, and a person who improved this area’s arable land. With thick bamboo groves and high humidity, residents often had troubles with plagues of mosquitoes. Takezo conducted to improve land around to turn it into a residential quarter. Also, as a doctor, he saw patients who could not afford to pay medical fees for free. Taking over his devotion to community and people, the one who started to create a place which is favored by local community in a different form is Mr. Mitsuaki Uchida, the owner of this café.

Indeed, this house belongs to Mitsuaki’s parents. His mother, who passed away 13 years ago, used to wish that this house to be preserved intact. After she left, he discussed it with his father and decided not only to preserve the house but also to use it in a more practical way such as to be a place to which local people can always come.

　Cracks on the walls and exfoliation on furniture. There is one reason for them. To make the best of its characteristics from 96 years of history, only necessary and minimum renovation has been done to this house. Old fittings and furniture are preserved and repaired as best they can, in doing so, they are tenaciously keeping real-life atmosphere of someone’s old house. Well, that makes sense. I feel as if I am getting back to my parents’ home and relaxing. In here, you can witness a breathing Japanese culture that does not require words to be transmitted.

TsuKuRuBa Takezo

Walk 10 minutes from SR Line “Hatogaya station”

Weekdays 10:30〜18:00　

Sat, Sun, National holidays 10:00〜18:00　

Closed on Tue, Wed

※Admission until 17:00

※Occasionally closed on special circumstances

Editor’s note：

On the day I visited, there was a gathering of a parenting club. The room was filled with voices of moms and babies. Warmth and reminiscence of 96 years old house was watching over it fondly. They said they have other events such as jazz concerts and Rakugo-comical storytelling entertainments once a month. In September, they will have an Ikebana-flower arrangement workshop. I found it hard to tell you the whole charm of this house, so I think it will be best for you to see the attached movie to know more about this place.　(Kurumiyubeshi)

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My First Experience of Thai Cuisine

As the City of Kawaguchi becoming one of the cosmopolitan cities in Japan, food culture here also became colourful and now you can easily spot restaurants and grocery stores of each country. Me, living in such a community, decided to try one of the Asian foods that I cannot explain why but for some reason I have never had before. That is, Thai cuisine! Since I did not think I could cope with something hot and spicy, this is the first time I try Thai food. I hope I can send a report that stimulates both curiosity and appetite to all the fellow readers who have never experienced Thai food like me.

The place I visited was “KAWKEN”, which has been beloved for almost twenty years in Nishikawaguchi. A compact-sized restaurant with only five counter seats. As I opened the door to the restaurant, Ms. Onuma, the owner chef, welcomed me with a warm smile. It opens from 11:00 to 22:00. My visit there was at around four in the afternoon, so I had no trouble in finding a seat. When the restaurant is crowded with customers, you may need to wait in a queue outside. The name “KAWKEN” means a home-cooked one-dish meal on which main dish and rice are served together, just like a Japanese one-bowl dish.

I told Ms.Onuma the purpose of my visit and asked her to introduce some dishes recommendable to us who are not good at having something hot and spicy. On the countertop, they have condiments such as chili powder, soy sauce like condiment in Thailand called num pla, chili pepper-soaked vinegar, and sugar, for you to adjust the sharp taste to your own taste.

Here are dishes I ordered that day.

【YUM-WUM-SEN】Vermicelli salad

Despite its whiteness from the colour of glass noodle which gives the impression of simple flavour, I found it tastes mildly hot. Exquisite balance of shrimp, wood ear mushroom, celery, onion, coriander, etc., dressed with sauce stimulates your appetite. “YUM” from “YUM WUN SEN” means “dress something with condiment”.

【SOM-TAM】Green papaya salad

If you imagine a fruit papaya to come to your table, you would be betrayed by the difference of them. Crispy texture and sweet-and-sour flavour. You also enjoy the different textures of other ingredients as tomatoes and peanuts. It has no “Hot!” taste at all, as I could enjoy it as an appetizer. Cooking utensil used to make this dish was a long and narrow unglazed ceramic pot called “Krok”. I found it is quite original way to cook something when I saw she put ingredients and seasonings into the pot and began rhythmically crushing them together, pop-pop-pop, with a rolling pin-like cooking tool.

【PU-PAD-PONG-GA-RI】Stir-fried swimming crab and egg with curry powder

“PAD” from “PU-PAD-PONG-GA-RI” means “to stir-fry in oil”. This dish is a curry flavoured stir-fry of bite-sized pieces of swimming crab coated with fluffy egg. Curry-flavoured spices have a mild taste, tinged with mild sweetness of coconuts. For a moment, I completely forgotten about my on-site reporting and kept enjoying this dish in silence appreciating its extraordinary tastiness.

【BPIK-GAI-TOT】Fried chicken wing tip

“BPIK” from “BPIK GAI TOT” means chicken wing tip, “GAI” means chicken, “TOT” means deep-fry. By the time you finish this dish, you may be able to speak a bit of Thai. Crisply fried pre-seasoned chicken wing tip. Sweet chili sauce comes with this for you to change the flavour if you like. This makes you feel like to have a pint….

【KAO-PAD & TOM-YUM-KUNG Soup】Shrimp fried rice and soup

　You remember the word “PAD”? It was “to stir-fry in oil”. I ordered this because I thought I cannot miss to have one of the Thai rice meals. Just like rise in rice price in Japan, price of Thai rice is having the same situation. Typical fried-rice has become one of familiar menus in Japan, but this “KAO- PAD” was beyond my expectation. Not greasy, but has refreshing aroma, and its soft texture with appetizing smell of Thai soy sauce wafts through the nostrils. A tip to enjoy this dish is to drip a squeeze of lemon before you eat. “Have the scales fall from one’s eyes”, this is what popped up in my mind.

　The last dish I ordered was TOM-YUM-KUNG, the only Thai cuisine I know of. When I saw it, I thought “the hottest!” has finally arrived. But in here, “KAWKEN” adjusts spiciness on your request. For that reason, every dish I had there had mildness in its spiciness. Solid pieces of food in this soup were shrimp, shimeji mushroom, and some ingredients unknown to me. Thai ginger tastes hot and spicier than that of Japan. Lemongrass was like thinly cut long white asparagus, that I could enjoy not only its aroma but also its crispiness. They told me that this ingredient was to give the aroma to soup and there was no need for me to eat it. Green ribbon-like shaped herb ware kaffir lime leaves. Citrus fresh aroma refreshes you in this hottest season. These kaffir limes are home grown in Ms.Onuma’s garden. She also grinds pork herself after choosing the best part for the restaurant’s menus. Her thoroughness goes so far as in choosing spices with her own eyes and palate that meet all her requirements. I could feel her, one of the cooking enthusiasts, sincere passion towards cooking.

Lastly, here are some essential Thai languages she taught me. “Aroi Kha! (be used by females)”・Aroi Khrap! (be used by males)”. Both mean “Delicious!”.

I think we can cope with the hottest summer season with Thai food of “KAWKEN”. Would you like to have some dishes here at “KAWKEN”?

Thai Stall Food KAWKEN Nishikawaguchi restaurant

Address ：1st floor, Nishikawaguchi Bldg, 1-4-19, Nishikawaguchi, Kawaguchi City.

Open hours：11:00〜22:00 (21:30 Last order call)

Closed on Wednesday (have occasional long term・unfixed closings) ※Reservation not accepted

Editor’s Note

How about enjoying worldwide foods in Kawaguchi?

by Zunko

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