What's inside a Japanese taco?
You can find a lot of things in the huge metropolis that is Tokyo, but one thing that's relatively hard to find is good tacos. Our reporter Takuya Inaba has been on a mission to change that, though, hopping from place to place to try as many tacos as he can find.
His latest quest took him to El Rey Amigo, a little-known spot in Tokyo's Machida City, right at the entrance to the retro Machida Nakamise Shopping Street, which is lined with long-established stores and restaurants.
▼ The colourful entrance to the shopping street will put a smile on your dial.
▼ Walking through the arcade will lead you to the secret taco spot.
▼ The menu is printed in Japanese and English, with everything reasonably priced.
The low prices meant Takuya would be able to try a few different varieties, so he started by ordering the three-piece taco set for 1,000 yen (US$6.77).
The flavours here are beef, beef chunks, and chicken, all topped with pickled purple cabbage and served with sauce and limes on the side.
The crispy corn tortillas were fragrant and delicious, and the pickled purple cabbage added a great acidic tartness, creating an irresistible flavour.
The best thing about these, though, were the fillings, which were bold in flavour, spreading spiciness and umami throughout the palate in equal amounts. They were true to Mexican-style tacos in ways you don't usually find in Tokyo, and three weren't nearly enough to satisfy Takuya's cravings.
So he placed another order, this time for the 'Birria Taco' (500 yen), which is said to be all the rage in California.
▼ To eat it, you dip it in the accompanying soup.
This one was surprisingly heavy to hold… and incredibly delicious to eat. T he meat, which had been marinated in vinegar, dried chillies, garlic, and a mix of herbs and spices, delivers a whollop of flavour to the taste buds.
Loaded with an amazing amount of cheese, it has a super guilty flavour that's irresistible, and when you dip it in the accompanying soup…
… the sense of sinful indulgence maxes out, with the rich and creamy flavour leaving you defenseless to its charms.
By this stage, Takuya was happily full but he did have room for a unique taco you won't find anywhere else.
▼ The 'Japanese Taco' (800 yen)
According to the menu, this taco is filled with the very Japanese flavour of okonomiyaki, a savoury pancake typically containing cabbage and eggs and served with mayonnaise, a sweet and salty sauce, and a topping of aonori (seaweed flakes) and katsuobushi (bonito flakes).
The store's decision to use a soft tortilla for this taco is actually a very clever one, as it's a closer fit for the pancake-like taste and texture of a grilled okonomiyaki. Though Takuya was expecting some sort of Mexican fusion flavour when he bit into it, instead he found that it tasted exactly like an okonomiyaki, right down to the tiniest detail. It was so spot-on he found himself laughing in surprise, and the presence of yakisoba (fried noodles) inside was another unexpected discovery that added to its delicious moreishness.
▼ The noodles-and-tortilla combination makes this a filling meal so you'd only need to eat one of these to feel satisfied.
The whole thing was seriously tasty, and the store's boldness in creating such out-there flavours puts this on Takuya's list of must-visit taco places to try while you're in Tokyo. Just make sure you come with an empty stomach so you can enjoy all the delicious varieties.
Restaurant information
El Rey Amigo Address: Tokyo-to, Machida-shi, Haramachida 4-5-18 東京都町田市原町田4丁目5ｰ18 Open: 7:00 p.m.-midnight (ends when sold out) Closed: Irregular holidays
Website (Instagram)
Images © SoraNews24
● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
[ Read in Japanese ]
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
SoraNews24
4 hours ago
- SoraNews24
New for-otaku shampoo/body wash wants to change how and when card gamers bathe, preserve the hobby
'Treat your opponent with dignity!!' There's a paradox that many otaku hobbies face. On the one hand, enthusiasts would say that the most fun you can have is at in-person events where you can interact with fellow fans, creating an environment of shared excitement. Unfortunately, such gatherings all too often also create a far less enjoyable communal smell. ▼ A photo taken at a regional Cardfight!! Vanguard tournament held earlier this year. The blurring is for privacy purposes, but it also effectively simulates the disorientating miasma of body odors that can combine like a foul-smelling Voltron at events of this kind. This is an especially pronounced problem in the collectible card game community, where tournaments and in-shop competitions often involve large numbers of players in close proximity to each other for extended periods of time. It's an unfortunate aspect of the hobby that's long troubled the staff of Off-Kai, Tokyo's otaku hair salon chain, and so they've decided to do something about it, developing a cleaning liquid with the specific goal of making card gamers smell better. Called Okitesugu no Okite (we'll unpack the meaning of the name a little later on), it's a combination shampoo, facial soap, and body wash. The solution is formulated to thoroughly cleanse and balanced to sufficiently hydrate without leaving oily or sticky residues, and includes essential oils extracted from peppermint and Japanese cypress for a clean, refreshing scent that's not flowery, fruity, or intrusively aromatic. And 'Okitesugu no Okite?' It's a play on words involving okite , which can mean either 'awaken' or 'rule/law,' with the shampoo/soap's whole name translating to something along the lines of 'The Code of What to Do Right After Waking Up.' Off-Kai and creative partner Lushtree are billing Okitesugu no Okite as 'the ultimate morning shower and shampoo product for card gamers.' That might seem kind of strange if you're familiar with Japanese bathing norms, since the vast majority of Japanese people prefer to shower at night just before going to bed, out of a desire to keep their bedding as clean as possible (Japanese homes generally don't have large clothing dryers, so washing sheets can be a pain). So why is Okitesugu no Okite recommended for morning use? Because its creators hope to establish taking a shower and shampooing as part of card gamers' gameday routine, so that proper grooming becomes as much a part of their pre-competition checklist as making sure they've got their deck sorted. The three-in-one nature of Okitesugu no Okite should help with that by making the process as quick and convenient as possible. 'Treat your opponent with dignity!!' Okitesugu no Okite's product description implores card gamers, and its creators assert that doing so is critical to the survival of the hobby itself. While seasoned veterans may be able to focus so intently on the cards that they can block out any olfactory offensiveness, newcomers who are still deciding just how deep they want to go into the hobby, and budding female card gamers in particular, Off-Kai and Lushtree believe, aren't going to keep showing up at tournaments and other events if the venues literally stink. If new players aren't brought into the fold, though, the hobby will eventually fade away as the existing fan base grows older. So really, nicer-smelling card gaming spaces will benefit everyone. The shampoo/soap is currently being offered through a campaign on Japanese crowdfunding site Campfire here, with reward tiers including the product starting at 3,460 yen (US$24) and discounted bulk-quantity packages aimed at card shop managers who can either sell or give them to customers. Some tiers also include discount vouchers for hair cuts at Off-Kai, and as we know from experience, they do a fine job cutting otaku hair. Source: Campfire/株式会社lushtree via Hachima Kiko Top image: Campfire/株式会社lushtree ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
SoraNews24
15 hours ago
- SoraNews24
Tokyo train stations giving out awesome giant Pokémon cards, but you'll want to hurry
JR East's easy-to-complete Pokémon stamp rally can only last as long as its card supply does. It's often been said that the journey itself is more important than the destination. But you know what's even better? A journey that gets you some cool exclusive Pokémon merch. That sort of doesn't-matter-exactly-where-you-go philosophy is the underlying idea for rail operator East Japan Railway Company/JR East's Pokémon Stamp Rally 2025, which is going on right now in Tokyo. In a stamp rally, you start by receiving a sheet with blank spaces on it, then you travel to various stations on the train network where there are special stamps you use to fill up your sheet. When you're all done, you turn in the completed sheet and receive a prize. As far as stamp rallies go, the JR East Pokémon Stamp Rally 2025 is pretty easy to complete. Major stations in the Tokyo area give out the stamp sheet for free, and you only need six stamps to fill it up. With a total of 36 stations that have stamps in Tokyo and its neighboring prefectures of Chiba, Saitama, and Kanagawa, it's not hard to plot a route to complete your sheet, either as a dedicated course to follow all in one fell swoop or to fold into your other sightseeing plans. ▼ Map of the 36 stamp stations (we'll explain the 'Stage 2 stamps' in a bit) Each station's stamp features a different Pokémon species, and you can find the stamp itself by following the signs that say スタンプはこちら ('stamp this way') with an arrow, or by asking the station staff ' Pokémon no sutampu wa doko ni arimasu ka ?' The stamps are always located outside the ticket gates, by the way. ▼ A sign pointing the way to the Mega Ampharos stamp inside downtown Tokyo's Yoyogi Station Once you've got six stamps, bring your completed sheet to one of the New Days station convenience stores listed below… …where you'll then receive this awesome Pikachu ex Jumbo Card! As mentioned, with just six stamps this is a pretty quick and easy rally to complete, but that's because that's just Stage 1 of the Pokémon Stamp Rally 2025. For Stage 2, there are different prizes if you gather 12 or all 36 stamps…or at least there were. As you can probably guess, there are a lot of Pokémon fans in the greater Tokyo area, and Stage 2 supplies have already been depleted. Luckily, the Stage 1 rally is still going on, but while it's scheduled ending date is August 31, that might get moved up if they run out of Pikachu ex Jumbo Cards, so you'll want to get to rallying sooner rather than later. Related: JR East Pokémon Stamp Rally 2025 English website Top image: SoraNews24 Insert images: SoraNews24, JR East ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! [ Read in Japanese ]
Nikkei Asia
16 hours ago
- Nikkei Asia
Entertainment, space startups lead fundraising in Japan
Entertainment platform provider Gaudiy raised 8.29 billion yen in the first half of 2025, more than any other Japanese startup. (Gaudiy) YUYA TAKAHASHI, HAYATO KISHIMA and TAKUMA NAGAMORI TOKYO -- Entertainment and space-related companies were among the Japanese startups that raised the most money in the January-June half, succeeding in an increasingly rocky fundraising environment. The ranking was compiled based on research by investor service provider Kepple Group, which looked at fundraising records for unlisted companies established after 2000. Nikkei holds a stake in Kepple.
