I believe that's it's always good to try new things. Sometimes it will work out well, other times you count it as life experience and move on. This is the reason why I went to Cha Cha. I'd seen the signs for it a few times, and thought it seemed a little posh – as a foreigner I felt like I'd be an intruder and what if there was etiquette I didn't know? But it was time to try something new, so off I went.
Cha Cha is located about ten minutes' walk from Rikuzen-Ochiai Station. When you get to the gas station at the crossroads, turn left and it's almost immediately on the right. Written in English, the name might seem a little funny, especially to anyone with a knowledge of dance. Chacha in Japanese is written with the tea kanji character, plus a repetition character: 茶々. The only meaning for the word that I found was “disruption”, which is the complete opposite of the ideal dining experience, and not what I found there at all.
It has never looked very busy, and on a weekday evening there were only a few customers. I entered a bit hesitantly, but the staff welcomed me like any other customer and showed me to a seat. As I decided on what to eat, I looked around. I was sat at a small bar area; other customers were sitting at the few tables. There were two rooms with tatami mats that were obviously for large groups – the sign outside explained that they welcome bookings for celebrations. The decoration was what I think of as typically Japanese – tasteful and not overwhelming. There was background music – not traditional Japanese music, but it didn't sound very recent, either.
The menu has a good selection, from rice bowls to sashimi. It isn't very cheap, though, with the cheapest amount for a decent meal being around 1000 yen. Personally, I thought that for the price, the chicken karaage set I ordered could have been better – it was fairly ordinary. Perhaps the price reflects the atmosphere, or perhaps the ingredients are good quality?
The longer I sat there, the more I thought that Cha Cha was intended more for an older clientelle. The other customers I saw weren't very young. One customer had an interesting sort of bar tab – he had his own bottle of sake. I then noticed that many of the bottles behind the bar were labeled with names. That's a lot of regular customers. It must be the atmosphere and the experience that they come for.
If you're looking for somewhere 'Japanese' that isn't too expensive or too formal, this could be the restaurant you're looking for. I would also recommend it if you want a relaxing meal away from the rush of the city. It's an experience that I couldn't have found anywhere else.
