Yamaimo no Ooi Ryoriten near Kawasaki Station East Exit: six obanzai dishes and grated yam for lunch

A yam-focused restaurant on Rurie Kawasaki 1F

Yamaimo no Ooi Ryoriten Kawasaki ("the restaurant with lots of mountain yam") is on the first floor of the Rulier Kawasaki building, about a 5-minute walk from the East Exit of Kawasaki Station. As the name suggests, its dishes center on mountain yam.

The interior is Japanese in style and feels like an old farmhouse. Besides the counter, there are tables for 4, 6 and 8, with 55 seats in total. In the evening there are party courses, and the signature dish is a hot pot with jinenjo (a wild variety of mountain yam) grated into tororo.

Lunch with six daily obanzai dishes

We ordered the limited "six daily obanzai" set. It arrived with small bowls covering the whole tray, and the sight of it alone lifted our mood.

The small dishes included grilled Spanish mackerel, stir-fried nagaimo yam with pork, a jinenjo twist on cold tofu and fried mentaiko-and-tororo wrapped in seaweed. Grilled, stir-fried, deep-fried: getting a little of the same yam cooked so many ways felt like a real treat.

Choose white or black (jinenjo) tororo

You could choose between "white tororo" and "black tororo (jinenjo)." The tororo was rich and properly sticky, and once it went over the rice, it was hard to put the chopsticks down.

It is a lunch we would happily recommend to anyone who likes a little of many different side dishes.

Obanzai lunch ¥1,300

• Six daily obanzai set: ¥1,300

With this many dishes and a good amount of food, it felt like more than its price. Because it changes daily and is limited in number, the contents and price may vary.

The average budget is ¥1,001–1,500 for lunch and ¥4,001–5,000 for dinner. A ¥500 (tax included) table charge applies in the evening.

5 minutes from Kawasaki Station; no lunch on Wednesdays

It is a 5-minute walk from both JR Kawasaki Station and Keikyu Kawasaki Station. There is no parking.

Lunch is served from 11:30 to 14:00 (last food order 13:30). On Wednesdays there is no lunch; the restaurant opens only for dinner from 17:00.

*Menu items and prices are as of our visit. Please check the restaurant's official website or social media for the latest information, including hours.