This kappo stands inconspicuously at the end of an alley. Fresh-off-the-grill is the restaurant’s creed, so preparation is kept to a minimum. Natural flavours are presented plainly and honestly: greens are boiled, eel is grilled without seasoning and so on. As an apprentice, his mentor tasked him with making chawanmushi; when he failed to heat them properly, the mentor banished him to the dishwashing pit for two years. Rebounding from this painful memory, today the chef of Taketoko makes his chawanmushi a point of pride.