Shioya Mishima

Arriving in Mishima around noon one day for a visit to the museums of the Clematis Garden, I had about an hour for lunch before my bus, so I didn't want to go too far from the station. I actually went no distance at all: immediately next to the north exit I found Shioya, which serves hearty, inexpensive food, mostly featuring gyu-tan (beef tongue).

There's a distinct, enjoyably jolly Wild West theme to the interior, as if the settlers hadn't stopped at the west coast but had continued on over the Pacific to Japan. There's plenty of rough wooden paneling and beams, with wagon wheels and saloon doors separating the booths from each other, and perky saloon-style music playing, undercut by the occasional rumble of a bullet train zooming past overhead. The walls are decorated with guns, sheriffs and lids from whisky barrels - though the distillery they came from is in Gotemba rather than Dodge - and even the coat hooks are horses and moose.

I was there for the lunch rush, and found myself sharing a table with a besuited Japanese man, I guessed either just off or just going for his bullet train. I chose the curry set for ¥880, which got me a good-sized serving of chunky, unpolished rice and curry, plus a drink, a side salad and some mild pickles. Heavy on the carbs, it certainly filled me up; the curry was decently spicy, and the few pieces of beef I found in with the potato and vegetables were tender and tasty.

Elsewhere on the lunch menu (which had no English but pictures of every dish), the beef tongue steak set is ¥980, or you can have a 150g steak set for ¥1430, or a range of other sets going up to ¥1980, including a regular hamburg steak. If that somehow fails to fill you up, desserts include sundaes for ¥480 or parfaits for ¥680. The "Grand Menu" turned out to be the drinks menu, which has very consistent pricing: beer, wine, sake, sours, cocktails, whiskies and spirits all mostly come in at between ¥400 and ¥600, with occasional higher prices for (presumably) premium brands of sake.

While it's not high-class dining, Shioya is a decent choice for a value meal if you're taking a train to or from Mishima.