“Kanda Shokudo” (Kanda Cafeteria) serves up set meals featuring rice, miso soup, and home-style side dishes including sashimi, grilled fish and stir-fries. The restaurant was established in 1963. This was the time when Akihabara, which had been turned into ruins during World War II, made its successful recovery as an area for home electronics, and it was bursting with energy. At the time, eating places such as this one were in lots of Japanese towns, satisfying the hunger of the common people.

This is the popular “ginger-fried pork set” (730 yen) (480 yen a la carte). It’s cheap, fast, delicious, and filling.

With the changing times, this eating place may seem like an old-fashioned spot, but it still holds its own. When mealtime rolls around, people working or shopping in the area gather here in droves, and the seats are full before you know it. But in order to serve customers quickly, the restaurant prepares some of the popular dishes beforehand. You will be pleasantly shocked at the turnaround speed!

We wasted no time in ordering the popular “ginger-fried pork set” and a heaped portion soon arrived. The flavorful, sweet and spicy sauce packed a punch, leading to mouthful after mouthful of the similarly plentiful rice. Until recently, Akihabara was dismissed as a place lacking in good food, but now there is a rich variety of restaurants, including high-class establishments. But when many people come to this town, they want to visit Kanda Shokudo and chow down. For people who work in Akihabara, as well as otaku interested in anime, idols, or computer parts, the speed, volume, and unpretentious deliciousness of this place is just right.

The rice really is substantial, so if you aren’t a big eater, perhaps you should consider the smaller portions. “Our original customers were people who moved around, working at fruit and vegetable markets, so that’s why our portions are so large,” explains Shoji Asanuma, the second-generation owner. It’s been about 25 years since Japan’s largest fruit and vegetable market left Akihabara. Along with the changing era, the visitors to the area have changed as well, but Kanda Shokudo's philosophy continues.

“Tonkatsu Fuki” was established in 1964, in the same era as Kanda Shokudo. Tonkatsu, or “pork cutlet” in English, refers to an original Japanese dish in which pork is coated with flour or bread crumbs and then deep fried. It’s a familiar menu item both at restaurants and at home. Tonkatsu Fuki, run by its famed ‘grandmotherly’ staff, is a very friendly restaurant that symbolizes the relationship Japanese people have with tonkatsu.

Here is the “loin cutlet set” (980 yen) with “cream croquette” (300 yen) as a topping. Refills on the rice and cabbage are free.

The restaurant’s signature dish is the “loin cutlet set.” The combination of the crunchy, freshly fried breading, the flavor of the pork loin, and the perfectly balanced sweetness of the fatty portions is truly delicious. Many people top this dish with a fried item of their choice--we hear that “cream croquette” is especially popular. “Deep-fried oysters” are a winter menu item, and another dish this for which this restaurant is famous. The freshly polished rice, boiled to a certain hardness over a gas burner, is also superb. The pork miso soup and pickled vegetables also offer a comforting flavor that only homemade food can deliver.

Akihabara is actually also known as a battleground for curry shops. The oldest of the pack is “Bengal Curry & Coffee,” a famous restaurant established in 1973. Although it's in the center of Akihabara amid a swarm of maid cafes and computer part shops, the shop has a calm atmosphere where you can enjoy a moment of relaxation.

This is “diced beef curry” (1,100 yen). Although it’s mild, the aroma and deep flavor really come through. This curry has a taste you can’t find anywhere else.

The most popular menu item is “diced beef curry.” A tartness and subtle bitterness run through your mouth, along with a mild spiciness that comes on strong afterward. The smooth texture is close to Indian curry, but it also has a depth and richness reminiscent of European-style curry. It’s a deliciousness different from Indian curry, European curry, and the Japanese curry that independently evolved from European curry--truly a taste you can only experience at this restaurant. You’ll also like the large size of the soft, diced beef, which gently breaks apart.

The secret to the delicious flavor is the restaurant’s vaunted “pure curry powder.” Both the previous owner, who established the restaurant, and the second-generation owner, who currently runs it, come from an import company specializing in spices. In other words, they are able to produce this flavor and aroma because they are professionals. The shop has not altered the blend or the production method of the pure curry powder, meaning it has a lot of fans who have long been enchanted by the flavor. “We even have customers whose parents were also regulars here,” says Fumitaka Asami, the second-generation owner.

Recently, curry shop franchises have been opening in Akihabara. “At this shop, we make our curry by hand every day, starting in the morning. I’d love you to enjoy our flavor,” says Mr. Asami. The curry at Bengal has been loved for 40 years and is one of Akihabara’s world-class dishes.