Date visited: Wednesday, July 29, 2026
From Ohara to Yase.
I took the Eizan Railway back to Demachiyanagi.
After spending some quiet time at Jakkoin Temple, I decided not to retrace my route home and made a detour to Yase instead.
I rested for a while by the river, came across both old and new Eizan trains, and then started walking again, from Demachiyanagi toward Sanjo.
For the full story of this day’s journey from Ohara to Sanjo, please see this article.
👉🚉Stopover Journey | Ohara, Kyoto – Part 2 | Quiet Prayers at Jakko-in and a Different Way Home
From here, I start walking again.
Along the river, heading toward Sanjo.
The late-afternoon sun is strong.
Still, here and there, the trees give me some shade.
I’m grateful for it.
I’ve been walking around Ohara since morning, and it’s about time to secure somewhere for dinner.
Around Shijo-Kawaramachi in Kyoto, some restaurants can be difficult to get into at dinnertime without a reservation.
I’ve learned that from experience more than once.
I want to find somewhere before it gets too late.
Which means that right now, I am—
a dinner-refugee zombie.
Searching for patches of shade, I keep heading toward Sanjo.
But once I step into the shade, the mosquitoes come after me instead.
I’ve been walking all day, and I’m sweaty.
Oh, come on.
Don’t swarm around a zombie!
Swatting away mosquitoes, I start walking again.
Across Sanjo Bridge, I Spot an Interesting Place
I crossed Sanjo Bridge.
Just nearby, something caught my eye:
“Soreyuke! Tori Yaro! Kyoto Sanjo”
It’s on the fourth floor of a building.
Not a restaurant at street level.
And it’s still fairly early.
“Maybe I can get in here?”
I decide to give it a try.
I head to the izakaya “Soreyuke! Tori Yaro!” in Sanjo, Kyoto.
Up on the fourth floor, I find a lively interior lined with lanterns.
Dinner after a full day of walking around Ohara.
I take the elevator to the fourth floor.
The doors open—and—
I’m immediately inside the restaurant.
That catches me a little by surprise.
And I quickly realize something else.
Young.
The staff are young.
The whole place is bright and full of energy.
At least when I visited, I didn’t notice anyone who appeared to be an overseas traveler.
For someone visiting Japan from abroad for the first time, the atmosphere might feel a little intimidating to enter.
But I’m a dinner-refugee zombie.
I’m going in.
A Seat Near the Kitchen… Or So I Thought
When I tell them I’m alone, I’m shown to a long table near the kitchen.
It’s the kind of seating that can be shared with other customers.
The restaurant is large, and there are still plenty of empty seats.
Perhaps early in the evening they seat customers together near the kitchen.
I’m alone, so it doesn’t particularly bother me.
Then a young staff member asks,
“Would you prefer a seat by the window?”
I hadn’t said anything.
How thoughtful.
I gladly accept and move to a window seat a little farther away.
Plenty of space for one person.
And a nice view outside.
Thank you, young man.
What Do You Recommend?
It’s my first time here, so I ask a staff member for recommendations.
I order mainly what he suggests.
Garlic rice.
The kind you mix with a spoon as you eat.
Fried chicken.
“Each piece is big,”
he tells me, so I order just one.
And then,
Caesar salad.
And of course,
a medium draft beer.
I could choose my otoshi, the small appetizer that comes with the table charge.
Tequila, cabbage, edamame, or shrimp crackers.
…Tequila?
The fact that tequila is an option for the otoshi tells me once again just how young this place feels. Ha ha ha.
I choose the cabbage.
Looking around, I don’t see anyone choosing tequila.
At least not among the women sitting nearby…
Ha ha ha.
Dinner is a huge piece of fried chicken, garlic rice, Caesar salad, cabbage,
and a draft beer.
There’s also a mysterious bell on the table marked “Mandatory Tequila — ¥299.”
Just as the sign says,
“Don’t ever press it,” be careful not to mistake it for a normal service bell.
This, too, is a Kyoto night.
The Garlic Rice Is Very Salty
First, the garlic rice.
One bite.
It’s quite salty.
For someone like me who prefers lightly seasoned food, this is a serious amount of salt.
But—
it does make the beer go down easily.
I’ve walked a lot in the heat today and worked up quite a sweat.
I’ll wash the salt away with sweat and beer.
…Wait, does that even make sense?
Ha ha ha.
In summer, some people may enjoy a bold flavor like this.
Everyone experiences taste differently.
The Fried Chicken Really Was Huge
Next comes the fried chicken.
The staff member had told me,
“Each piece is big.”
And—
it really is big.
Ordering just one was definitely the right choice.
This one is delicious.
The saltiness feels normal to me, too.
It leaves a very different impression from the garlic rice.
Looking through the menu, I also find plenty of familiar izakaya dishes, including fluffy grilled yam.
Judging only by the popular items, you might get the impression that the food is boldly seasoned and aimed at younger customers, but depending on what you choose, it seems like people of any age could enjoy eating here.
Before I Know It, the Restaurant Is Full
As I eat, the once-spacious restaurant gradually fills up.
Groups that look as though they have come after work.
People chatting and laughing together.
What surprises me most is how many women are here.
The group that takes the table next to mine is four young women.
The restaurant is much livelier now than when I first arrived.
I see.
Coming early was definitely the right decision.
After a while, I notice something else.
“Oh.”
Orders are placed by scanning a QR code with a smartphone.
At first, I had asked the staff member for recommendations and ordered directly from him, so I hadn’t noticed.
That, too, feels very much like a modern izakaya for younger customers.
“How Was It?”
I finish my meal and go to pay.
Then the staff member who had recommended the dishes asks me,
“How was it?”
Since he asked, I answer honestly.
“The garlic rice was a little too salty for me. But the fried chicken was delicious.”
He laughs.
Come to think of it, he is much younger than I am.
He probably recommended the dishes from the perspective of younger customers.
We simply have different tastes.
What mattered more to me was that he had offered me a window seat even though I was dining alone, and then asked for my thoughts about the food before I left.
I came away with a very good impression of the service.
A Place for Young People — But Not Only for Them
When I visited, I didn’t notice any older customers.
Young people were happily eating, drinking, and talking.
It is a bright, energetic place.
If you prefer a quiet meal, you may find it rather lively.
Some dishes are strongly seasoned.
But the menu also includes plenty of familiar izakaya dishes.
You can simply choose what suits you.
No reservation.
Dining alone.
My first time here.
Even so, I was able to walk in, and the staff were kind.
I don’t think older diners need to rule this place out simply because of their age.
For visitors from overseas, it may feel like a slightly bigger step to enter.
The restaurant is on the fourth floor of a building.
You step out of the elevator and suddenly find yourself inside a lively Japanese izakaya.
Orders are placed by smartphone.
And around you, almost all the customers are Japanese.
But if you do go in, it is also a place where you can experience
the atmosphere of an izakaya enjoyed by young people in Japan today.
From Quiet Ohara to Energetic Sanjo
A full day in Ohara, starting from the morning.
The commanding presence of Sanzen-in.
The quiet prayers of Jakkoin.
The river at Yase.
Old and new Eizan trains.
Walking through the late-afternoon sun,
a dinner-refugee zombie being targeted by mosquitoes.
And finally,
a draft beer in an izakaya full of young people.
The range of experiences is so wide that it hardly feels like the same day.
But this, too, is Kyoto.
There is the Kyoto of temple visits, and there is also the Kyoto where people coming home from work laugh together over beer.
I was able to see both in a single day.
After dinner, I head home from Shijo-Kawaramachi.
Tomorrow, it’s back to the everyday world again.
Ah.
That was fun.
🍵 YUMEVOJA Food Radar
Soreyuke Tori Yaro — “Large Fried Chicken” (Sanjo Branch)
Sweetness: ☆☆☆☆☆
Saltiness: ★★★☆☆
Dashi Flavor: ☆☆☆☆☆
Oiliness: ★★★★☆
Spiciness: ☆☆☆☆☆
Aroma: ☆☆☆☆☆
Portion size: One piece is very large
Ease of Uset: ★★★★☆
YUMEVOJA Rating
★★★ ☆☆ Satisfied
Personal evaluation including the food, atmosphere, and people.
Crisp and well-fried on the outside, juicy on the inside.
Even a single piece had plenty of presence.
It was a bright, energetic restaurant popular mainly with younger customers. Some dishes are strongly seasoned, but depending on what you choose from the menu, people of all ages could enjoy it. Even though I was dining alone, the staff were thoughtful about my seat and treated me kindly.
Total bill for the day: ¥2,195
I ordered garlic rice ¥499, one piece of fried chicken ¥199, Caesar salad ¥599, otoshi/table charge with cabbage ¥399, and a medium draft beer ¥299.
📍 Google Maps👇
Izakaya Soreyuke! Tori Yaro (Kyoto Sanjo Branch)
🌐Official page👇
Izakaya Soreyuke! Tori Yaro (Kyoto Sanjo Branch)Official page
👉 Related illustrations here
(Free to use)
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