01 / ABOUT THE PLACE
About this place
Located just steps from the south exit of Nippori Station on the 3th floor, Hakata Shoten offers an accessible izakaya setting built around the comforting flavors of Hakata cuisine. The anchor of the menu is Hakata motsunabe, available even in single portions. Springy beef offal simmers alongside hearty mounds of vegetables in a broth of choice: a clean salt soup designed to highlight the ingredients, a classic soy sauce base, or a mellow, deep house-special miso. Extra helpings of meat, greens, and spicy cod roe can be added throughout the meal, finished off with champon noodles or a rice porridge set.
Freshly Fried Tempura and Regional Staples
Alongside the hot pots, tempura battered and fried to order is a key specialty. The selection spans traditional seafood like prawns, conger eel, and Japanese whiting, as well as creative pairings such as asparagus blanketed in snow cheese, mentaiko, and sweet potato with honey cream cheese. Hakata staples like West Japan soy-sauce-division award-winning fried chicken, crisped-skin torikawa skewers, and sesame amberjack covered in freshly ground sesame seeds provide savory companions for drinks.
Small Plates and Easy Drinks
A variety of bite-sized dishes, including ochoko don mini bowls topped with bluefin tuna and grated yam or mentaiko and mustard greens, vinegared offal, and smoked soy-cured quail eggs, cater to those who prefer tasting widely across smaller portions. Drinks include the house Hakata lemon sour, highballs, draft beer, shochu, and sake, with diners often noting the reasonable beverage pricing. With Friday trading extending until 4:30 the following morning and reservations accepted, the tavern serves equally well for casual weeknight drops and group gatherings.
