LocalEatsJapan

Onaka Ippai (literally meaning “my stomach is full”, or “I am full”) is a popular steak restaurant located in Higashi-Nakano – 2 stations over from Shinjuku via the chuo sobu line. 

I came across this place by chance when I was walking around the area, but it turned out that it was loved by not just people living in the area, but also celebrities. If you look at the shop they have a few posters up of people that have come to visit, and if you are familiar with Japanese TV, then the comedy duo “banana man” may ring a bell, but they have visited as well as the shop having been featured on TV multiple times it seems. 

While I think it is great that some good restaurants can get publicity through the means of Japanese TV (because it is actually really common), my only caveat is that as a result of this, the shops can get quite busy. 

This restaurant I could tell also was a subject of this, because even though I had gone right around when it opened at 5 on a weekday, the shop was full and there were some people lining up outside too. Now don’t get me wrong it isn’t a big shop, but steak isn’t always a fast cooking meal either, so I think this contributed to the longer wait time to get in – not something I am not used to in Japan though!

Once you get close enough to being seated you can sit in a few of the seats they have inside the restaurant near the door, and they have various magazines and comic books you can enjoy while you wait (all in Japanese of course). 

They have both tables and a counter that wraps around and that was where I was seated, but the chairs were comfortable and the space I had to eat was also generous so it was quite pleasant. 

Immediately after being seated the owner had come over to take our order or see if we had any questions and she was very kind with a super open personality – something you don’t see often in Japan (especially Tokyo), so it was really refreshing. 

She gave us what was popular, and I ended up going with the steak and chicken katsu set with corn soup on the side. 

The corn soup was great (as it usually is in Japan) with a creamy broth made from combining butter and milk with corn – how could you go wrong! 

As for the steak, it was very tender and had a good garlic taste to it due to the garlic chips they put on top. It wasn’t so much one I would want just on its own, but paired with rice? It was perfect. The chicken katsu was also cooked very well and it was topped with what I recall to be a sesame sauce – an interesting choice, but it actually paired very well as well. Both the meat’s quality was excellent and the serving was generous – befitting of the name “I’m full”!

While they do have just plain steak meals, I find a lot of the steaks in Japan to be cooked with a sweeter steak-sauce, and while the quality of the meat is often amazing, for me being born in Canada, I like a good old plain cooked steak with just salt and pepper. Therefore I opted out of getting it, though they did have a one pound steak for about 3900 yen, which I thought was not too bad of a deal. 

Their menu is honestly huge, and even though they are a steak restaurant I have heard that their curry is amazing as well, easily topping the likes of coco ichiban. 

I definitely want to go back and try some of their other menu items if I have the chance.

If you are craving meat and don’t want to break the bank, this is a perfect local spot.

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More about me

Different types of ordering systems in Japan explained

Purchasing an onigiri to keep me fuelled throughout my journey 🍙

Planning a trip to Japan? These may help: 

🗺 Find a food tour near this restaurant — Viator

🏨 Find a hotel in the area — Booking.com