Let's see , I guess I eat grilled eel at least twice a month but never on the actual unagi no hi.
My favorite restaurant happens to be a grilled eel restaurant where I am a regular customer. I guess I go there a few times a week.
I really wanted to take my friend from France who is only in Japan for one year and really likes doing things on the actual day itself.
She's really into watching Japanese traditional culture first hand.
So when the grilled eel restaurant owner advised me to come a day earlier or a day later in order to avoid the crowds, I could not follow this precious advise.
Hasedori was especially crowded this year because there was a festival happening simultaneously on the street. We had to take our chances.
We ended up having a really good time.
The eel (unagi) was delicious and we had some tasty small salads to go along with it.
We got there around 5 so we could get a nice table and have an enjoyable meal.
Once our meal was finished we wandered outside for a stroll up the street and took in the festival. We could feel satisfied on many levels.
Anybody else out there have a satisfying summer day with a bit of grilled eel to smooth things out?