Imahan Honten
今半 本店 · Imahan Honten
- Ward
- Taito
- Price
- ¥5,000~15,000 (lunch only ¥2,000~)
- Hours
- 11:30-20:30 (L.O.20:00)
- Closed
- Tue
- Getting there
- Asakusa Stn walk 3 min · Shin-Nakamise
- Founded
- 1895
- Asakusa has three separate businesses called Imahan
- Founded 1895
- Evening sukiyaki courses run into five figures
We do not republish copyrighted photographs. Use the links below to see the actual venue.
Obvious to locals, invisible to visitors
There is a simple reason guidebooks leave this out: to the people who live here it is too obvious to be worth explaining.
Asakusa has three separate businesses called Imahan, all under different management with different prices and menus. Check carefully which one you are booking.
Founded 1895. The only government-licensed abattoir in the Kanto region then stood in Imazato-cho, and shops sourcing from it took the character 今 into their names. The 半 comes from founder Hantaro Aizawa.
Evening sukiyaki courses run into five figures, but at lunch some branches serve twenty portions a day of things like the Meiji sukiyaki bowl for around ¥2,000 — usually gone soon after opening.
What it is
Taito is a ward the shitamachi ward holding Asakusa and Ueno. Tables sit close enough to overhear every order. If you cannot decide, copying your neighbour is fastest. Sides are often refillable, but it is polite to ask first. Hours go irregular over long holidays; check before setting out. Carry a little cash for peace of mind — cards are still not universally accepted. If you return, come at a different hour — the impression changes considerably.
What to order
Why locals keep coming
Most customers live within walking distance. Disappoint them once and they never return — which keeps the floor high. Prices have barely moved in a decade, meaning the shop has absorbed much of the rise in ingredient costs.