There are a lot of places that I have to eat at whenever I visit Japan, but right at the top of my list is always Tonkatsu Wako （とんかつ和幸）. Tonkatsu is a Japanese take on a Western dish, pork cutlet. It's right in the name: Ton, "pork" and katsuretsu, "cutlet." It's a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet usually made from pork loin or fillet. Tonkatsu tends to be a staple for foreigners visiting Japan who don't eat much seafood, and while most places in Japan have a better tonkatsu than anything you'd find, say, in Hawaii, not all are created equal.
Let me preface by saying, yes, Tonkatsu Wako is a chain restaurant, like a McDonald's or Yoshinoya. There are over 250 restaurants across Japan (though 200 of them are in the Kanto/Tokyo area), so it's pretty easy to find one when you're visiting. But it is unlike other tonkatsu chains you'll find in Japan, like Tonkatsu Saboten.
The first time my wife and I took my brother-in-law and his friend to Japan, on the first day, we wound up at LaLaPort Toyosu and for dinner, my brother-in-law, who doesn't eat seafood, wanted to eat tonkatsu for dinner, but the only place they had was a Tonkatsu Saboten. Now, he's eaten a lot of katsu in Hawaii, so he knows what he likes and he was floored at the difference. It was the best tonkatsu he'd ever had and he didn't believe my wife and I when we told him we'd take him someplace better.
Several days later (it was a busy week), we visited the Tonkatsu Wako in Pedi Shiodome, which was next door to our hotel, the Park Hotel Tokyo. Let's just say that over the course of the next two days, we ate there three times and my brother-in-law and his friend befriended the manager (they have a lovely picture with him) and were wondering how they could get jobs there. Sadly, the Pedi Shiodome location is closed, but if you visit Aqua City Odaiba, there's one there.
Like any tonkatsu restaurant, cabbage, rice and miso soup are free refills. However, the rice here is phenomenal. I don't know if they add something to it or if it's just better rice, but everyone I've brought to a Tonkatsu Wako comments on the rice. It has just the right texture, stickiness, and sheen. Then, the miso soup has tiny clams inside, which give it a wonderful flavor (unless you don't like seafood). But the real coup de grâce to the all-you-can-eat sides is the yuzu (Japanese citron) dressing for the finely shredded cabbage. I don't usually eat cabbage. At Wako, I get seconds. Supposedly the cabbage is supposed to help with digestion of the oil from the pork cutlet, but here I just find it delicious!
The crown jewel of the meal, however, is the tonkatsu itself (obviously). Deep-fried, but not oily. Light and crispy batter surrounding a thick, juicy cut of pork. I suggest getting the hire-rosu moriawase, which gives you 2 bite-size pork fillet cutlets and a pork loin cutlet. It's a lot of food, but you can try both the fillet and loin.
I've always left Tonkatsu Wako completely satisfied and the price is fantastic for the amount of food you get, with most set menu items ringing in at under ¥1500 ($15). The only real downside being they don't have a branch in Fukuoka. If you're in Tokyo, there are stores all over, but remember to look for the brown Tonkatsu Wako restaurant. There's another Wako (Tonkatsu Inaba Wako) that serves tonkatsu, but it's not the same.
Website: Tonkatsu Wako
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