A covered pathway on the northside of the Nakano Station leads to a shotengai nearby. The light sprinkle has not let up from as early as I can remember
Shops and restaurants line the shotengai to the left and right as you stroll down the lane. Businesses well known and local mingle next to each other
Lotteria offers a 5 patty burger and chicken sandwich. I didnt look closely but I dont recall seeing this at other locations. This is surprising as you dont normally portions like this in Japan. I guess too much large portions, western culture creeping into an already saturated fast food market run by a Korean company.
At the opposite end from the station, a small mall called Nakano Broadway has its main entrance. This is the place that many otaku and those into anime come to shop when they dont go to Akihabara.
The reason being Mandarake. It seems like they occupy 90% of the floor space found on 3 or 4 levels. I forget how many levels there were but Im sure it was at least 3
On each of the floors, there is a Mandarake dedicated to a certain type of product they have on sale.
On some floors, there are several Mandarake shops each selling different items. I have a passing interest. It used to be greater back in my college and post college days. Those days have past and the overwhelming inventory is a bit lost on me. Again, Im here fairly early and most of the stores in Nakano Broadway are not even open. They did open shortly after I left
There are more shops to either side of the shotengai. However, they are not covered and patrons are bound to get wet while in the area. So few people populate these small streets during conditions like this. Everyone uses the covered walkway as much as possible.
I wasnt planning on lunch but just a quick snack. And it turned out that this snack eventually became lunch. This is Gindaco, a chain of takoyaki shops. I havent had any yet and thought this was a good as time as any. This is my first time trying Gindaco
For some reason, I ordered the larger portion rather than the smaller and thats why this became lunch. I ordered the first tiem pictured. Most times the best selling items are listed first. The takoyaki was good but not spectacular. However, I did enjoy the outer crust of the octopuss balls. They make it with a nice harder crunchy shell. Usually the outside is cooked to a nice brown crunchy outside but its a very thin layer. This layer will absorb the sauce and become soggy. Gindaco makes it with a shell that holds up to the sauce and remains nice and crunchy. Its like the burnt rice found in bibimbap cooked in a stone bowl
