At 3 PM on a weekday, the three people who had taken a half-day off work for this occasion gathered at "Nihonbashi Sushi Tsurikin" on the B1 floor of COREDO Muromachi 2. This popular restaurant is often crowded during lunchtime, but it was a little quieter at this time.

The three of them were looking forward to the happy hour, which takes place on weekdays from 3 PM to 6 PM!

If you order food totaling 1,100 yen (tax included) or more per person, you can enjoy all drinks—from beer and sours to highballs, local sake, shochu, fruit liqueurs, and soft drinks—for a flat rate of just 330 yen (tax included) per glass.

The sake I tried this time was a local sake that changes daily. Carefully selected sake from all over Japan is poured to the brim, and of course, it's an incredibly low price of 330 yen (tax included).

On this day, we enjoyed "Kinryo Nojun Junmai," a pure rice sake brewed by a brewery in Kagawa Prefecture. It has a rich flavor that brings out the inherent deliciousness of the rice, making it a perfect match for fish dishes!

We ordered two dishes: "Local Fish Namero" and "Rich Squid Salted Innards." Happy Hour applies to orders of 1,100 yen (tax included) or more per person, whether it's sushi, sashimi, or appetizers.

For the namerou dish, we use a variety of fresh fish delivered that day, mainly from Sajima in Kanagawa Prefecture, where the fish are caught that morning.

In addition to the common horse mackerel, we mix in different fish depending on what we can source, so you can enjoy a different taste every time you visit.

This namero (minced fish dish) is so flavorful that you don't even need soy sauce, yet you can still taste the deliciousness of the fresh fish. The mincing is done perfectly. Combined with the delicious local sake, you'll find yourself wanting to keep drinking!

The second place we visited was "Futaba Seimen" on the 1st floor of COREDO Muromachi Terrace. It's a specialty shop for freshly fried tempura and Sanuki udon noodles.

This restaurant offers great value set menus that can be enjoyed anytime except during weekday lunch hours. Orders can be placed from 3 PM on weekdays and from 11 AM on weekends and holidays, until the last order time, making it incredibly convenient.

This time, I ordered the "Super Value Set," which includes one drink and two appetizers of your choice for under 1,000 yen. As the name suggests, it's truly a great deal!

You can choose one drink from six options: draft beer, lemon sour, highball, ginger sour, green tea highball, and lemon highball.

This time, I chose something a little unusual: a ginger sour.

The drinks are served in ice-cold mugs, and with just one sip, you'll experience an incredibly refreshing taste. If you like spicy ginger ale, you'll absolutely love this!

The authentic spiciness of Kochi ginger is enveloped by the refreshing sweetness of apple juice. The rich ginger syrup settles at the bottom, so please stir while drinking.

The seven snacks to choose from are burdock chips, edamame, black pepper bamboo shoots, octopus-shaped sausages, fried chicken cartilage, french fries, quail eggs, and cheese tempura. All of them are classic izakaya (Japanese pub) dishes that go well with drinks.

After much deliberation, I decided on two items this time: "octopus-shaped sausages" and "french fries."

These octopus-shaped sausages are not only cute in appearance, but they also have a nostalgic, old-fashioned taste. The generous portion size is another great point.

The french fries are crispy and crunchy, and they pair perfectly with alcohol. Ketchup and mayonnaise are provided, so you can enjoy changing the flavor little by little.

Our third stop was "CRAFT BEER MARKET" on the 1st floor of COREDO Muromachi 3, where you can enjoy about 30 kinds of draft craft beer at any given time. This beer bar is also popular for its snack menu, which is based on casual Japanese cuisine and pairs well with beer.

This restaurant offers a happy hour from 5 PM to 7 PM on weekdays. With a minimum order of one food item per person, you can enjoy drinks at a discounted price.

Craft beers are excluded, but we have a great selection of beers, highballs, sours, and even beer cocktails!

What I ordered this time was the "Homemade Lemon Sour," which is very popular in the summer. It's usually 650 yen (tax included), but you can get it for 490 yen (tax included).

As the name "homemade" suggests, no commercially available lemon syrup is used. Fresh lemons are cut with the peel on and grated in a food processor with sugar and honey. This mixture is then mixed with shochu and soda.

Upon tasting it, I found it to be a cut above typical lemon sours! The refreshing aroma of lemon, the slight bitterness of the peel, and the natural sweetness of honey are in perfect harmony. The lemon peel and pulp floating on top add a delightful crunchy texture, making it easy to drink down without getting tired of the taste.

For our meal, we ordered the "Assorted Appetizers," which is a popular choice among our customers. It features a well-balanced selection of five dishes, including sashimi, that are perfect as accompaniments to drinks.

The contents of the platter change daily, and on this day it included tuna sashimi, conger eel and cucumber in Tosa vinegar dressing, colorful tomatoes with salted kelp, winter melon in a thick sauce, and sweet peppers stir-fried with dried sardines.

Using seasonal ingredients such as conger eel and winter melon, this dish has an elegant yet robust flavor that pairs perfectly with alcohol. The colors are also beautifully presented.

Of course, other à la carte dishes are also available. Smaller sizes are available for single diners.

The fourth and final restaurant we visited was "Hakata Motsunabe Yamaya" on the 2nd floor of COREDO Muromachi 2. It's a motsunabe (offal hot pot) restaurant directly managed by "Yamaya," a manufacturer of spicy mentaiko (spicy cod roe). In addition to their motsunabe, which even Hakata locals rave about, they also have a wide selection of appetizers, including dishes that generously use mentaiko, making it a great place to enjoy a drink as well as a snack.

My target this time was the "quick drink set," available only from 5 PM to 7 PM. Apparently, many customers stop by and enjoy it on their way home from work.

The "Quick Drink Set" comes in three types: A, B, and C. Set A, priced at 980 yen (tax included), includes two shochu highballs and one snack. Set B, priced at 1,280 yen (tax included), includes one draft beer, one shochu highball, and one snack. Set C, priced at 1,500 yen (tax included), includes one draft beer, two shochu highballs, and one snack.

This time I ordered the "Quick Drink Set B". The set includes one draft beer and one shochu highball.

What impressed me the most was the shochu highball made with the authentic sweet potato shochu "Aisome." It has a refreshing taste that allows you to enjoy the gentle sweetness and aroma of sweet potato. I think even people who don't like sweet potato shochu might enjoy this.

"Aihajime" is produced by Yamaya Distillery in Miyazaki Prefecture. As the name suggests, it is a distillery run by Yamaya. That's probably why they can offer high-quality shochu at a reasonable price.

For snacks, I chose "Karaage Mentai" (deep-fried chicken with mentaiko), made with Yamaya's mentaiko. Other options include edamame, vinegared offal, celery, and cucumber.

The first thing that surprises you is its size. It's so big that it's difficult to pick up with chopsticks, and it's incredibly satisfying!

When you bite into it, the outside is crispy, and the chicken, marinated and aged in the sauce, is tender and juicy. Then the umami and spiciness of the mentaiko (spicy cod roe) come through, making it a flavor that makes you want to keep drinking.