Ichi-nii-san

This is the first shabu shabu restaurant in Japan to specialize in delicious Kagoshima pork. The Japanese historically preferred beef and chicken over pork, but in the southern and Pacific islands, the locals love it! Once you try the meat at this Ginza hotpot restaurant, you’ll totally see why. This premium pork has the perfect fat content to melt apart beautifully when eaten straight from a simmering pot of broth. This broth is a soba soup (made with buckwheat), rather than the usual shabu shabu style, which goes perfectly with the meat. At the end, why not throw in some soba noodles to help mop up the last of the soup? The shop itself is a bright open space with counter seats or tables available, decorated with sake bottles, sake urns, cherry blossom branches, and bamboo stalks. If you go in the evening, expect a lively atmosphere with drinks flowing liberally! If you still have space left after the main meal, you can try their signature dessert: a shaved ice snowball flavored with milk and topped with fresh fruit. There’s absolutely nothing better to cool down with after a healthy dose of hotpot!