Mark Ferguson heads to Mamagotoya in the suburbs for sake and space.

Traditional Kaiseki lunch in Tokyo can be expensive and only offers a brief pause from the hectic city outside. So, try a train to the suburbs for a better value experience. Having just flown the day before and wanting a less exhausting day, I had booked Mamagotoya for lunch in Sawai near the Sawa No I sake brewery.

There’s more in Sawai than lunch on the Tama river. There’s also a Japanese Garden, a Temple, a museum, a gallery, sake brewery tours, indoor and outdoor bars and a café.

It was low season in winter, and I was seated in a private tatami room on the river while the staff politely openned the screen door and delivered a succession of courses.

On the day the 6000JPY seasonal course menu had the following delicious and beautifully presented dishes:

• A tofu hotpot
• A mix of appetisers
• Tofu skin (Yuba) and Pork
• Flounder grilled in sweet miso
• Beef and tofu
• And finally, a single incredibly tasty strawberry and dried persimmon.

A tasting set of four of the brewery’s sakes was just 1200JPY.

Need To Know

• To book a table and choose your meal at Mamagotoya use the Tablecheck link on the Sawa No I website. Using Chrome’s Translate function works fine to get through this Japanese only site.
• Similarly, a sake brewery tour can be booked on the Sawa No I website.
• You need a Sulca card to travel easily in Japan. You can add it easily in your iPhone Wallet and top it up using your Wallet credit card. Otherwise, a physical card can be purchased at ticket offices at Airport stations and topped up at 7-Eleven.
• You’ll need to change trains a couple of times to get to Sawai station. Google Maps will advise you of which stations and platforms you need to travel from.

Wish I’d Known

• On the longest leg to Ome station, the train might have a Green Car – listen to the announcements. If it does you can change carriage, at the next station, for a very comfortable seat. Chose a seat and the attendant will collect an additional 1000JPY from your Suica. The upgrade is even cheaper if you have time to use the Green Car Machine on the platform.
• If you book the sake tour, just 700JPY, the guide will ask if you plan to taste sake. Say “Yes” and you will be given a souvenir sake cup which also allows a 100JPY discount on each drink at the bar.

Don’t Want to Know

• Multiple train changes can be challenging even for experienced Japan travelers and Google Maps is sometimes a little wrong. So, for this longer journey, travel with some time to spare and read all the indicator boards on the station platforms and in the trains. I allowed 2 hours travel time.