Chanko nabe and ramen for a child

Dear all

We're looking forward to visiting Japan again with our 6 year old next year. She's been twice before, and is a fan of most Japanese food (although natto defeats her - as it does me!).

We've been watching "Sushi and Beyond" on NHK World, and she's fascinated with the idea of eating both chanko nabe and ramen (not together, of course!).

For chanko nabe - I know that there are restaurants around Ryogoku, and we're going to have a few days in Tokyo at the end of our trip, so I was thinking that we could go somewhere in that area and also maybe visit the sumo museum. There won't be any tournaments on when we visit (April 5-10), and I don't think the idea of a sumo stable visit would work well, as it would be a big ask for her to sit quiet and still for the length of a practice session.

My chanko nabe questions are:
- would anyone recommend a particular chanko nabe restaurant over and above any other? Whilst us adults would normally choose a place based on the best quality of food, the real aim in this case is to indulge our daughter's wish to have an experience of the sumo world, so we would prioritise somewhere that was as heavily sumo-themed as possible - even if the food wasn't the very best.

- I'm assuming that all portions of chanko nabe would be much too large for a 6 yr old, and that the best route would be to get nabe for two adults and have her share with us. Is this correct, or is there anywhere that does a child's chanko nabe? (I'm mainly asking this because my experience of child meals in Japan is that they are really cute, and she might love that even more).

She's also super keen on having ramen (since seeing the "Ramen King" episode of Sushi and Beyond). My experience of having ramen in Japan is that it's quick, slurp-and-go food, and that people tend to be in and out of the restaurant very quickly. I always assumed that this was an essential part of the business model (cheap food requires a high turnover of customers), and I don't want to be the ignorant tourist getting on people's nerves - especially if there's a queue out of the door with people waiting.

Our daughter is a good eater, but of course she's slower than a hungry adult. She also would find it difficult to eat more than half a bowl of ramen - even if she was very hungry. I know it would be rude to take her in with the two of us, have her occupying a seat in a busy restaurant, and have her share our ramen (not that ramen is a sharing thing in any case. In fact I just can't imagine sharing ramen at all. It would be weird).

My ramen question is:
- is there any way you could suggest that we could get her to try ramen in Japan without inconveniencing/offending the restaurant or the other customers?

- is there any way to order a half-portion of ramen? That would be an ideal situation, as she would finish it fairly quickly and also not leave any uneaten food, but I don't know if it's possible.

Thanks very much for any help you can give.

about chanko,
"get nabe for two adults and have her share with us."
it is OK. actually, pretty common for a family with young children.
you can ask to get a set of tableware for your daughter with no additional payment.
generally, if you order two sets of chanko, they serve foods (uncooked) in one large dish with one nabe which is filled by chanko soup. you cook them by yourself on the table.

about ramen,
it depends on restaurants.
I can say that you order one normal size and one large size and ask a small (empty) bowl for your child. share ramen from the large one.

Thanks, Ken. Much appreciated.

Does anyone have any favourite champ restaurants (preferably ones with a lot of sumo memorabilia)?

Regarding ramen:
- is it possible to order half a bowl of ramen for a child?
- if we followed Ken's recommendation and shared ramen with our daughter, would that seem rude or inconsiderate (to the shop owners, or the other customers)?

Thanks a lot. I just want to be considerate to others.

I've been to a few chanko restaurants and some of them were pretty heavily sumo themed. I'll have to look into which ones those were, but I'm sure you can find good recommendations via a search.

- I'm assuming that all portions of chanko nabe would be much too large for a 6 yr old, and that the best route would be to get nabe for two adults and have her share with us. Is this correct, or is there anywhere that does a child's chanko nabe? (I'm mainly asking this because my experience of child meals in Japan is that they are really cute, and she might love that even more).

I don't recall places having child portions, but as ken mentioned it generally served family style and the portions tend to be huge. I'd go "the 2 order and share" route.

I know it would be rude to take her in with the two of us, have her occupying a seat in a busy restaurant, and have her share our ramen (not that ramen is a sharing thing in any case. In fact I just can't imagine sharing ramen at all. It would be weird).

Not at all, it's totally normal to bring a child into a ramen shop and share. Some places offer children's portions (okosama setto) as well so look into that. I'd just avoid tiny/super busy places for my own comfort as it's hard to have a small child in a busy, counter-only restaurant. Better to seek out larger establishments with tables.

Thanks a lot, yllwsmrf.

Your answer about ramen was really helpful. I didn't know that I could ask for a child's portion, nor that it was common enough for children to be in ramen shops.

I get your point about choosing larger shops/going at quieter times. My only prior experience was in smaller, busier, shops with a small counter. Thanks a lot for your help.

We took our daughter to a ramen restaurant in the UK for her first time this weekend. Practically tears of delight when she realised where we were going...and she loved the (tonkotsu) ramen, as well as getting some good practice with her training chopsticks.

If anyone can remember any chanko nabe restaurants that you've been to and which are pretty heavily sumo-themed, that would be great. I've found this place: http://www.tomoegata.com/chanko/ but would welcome any other suggestions.

Thanks again...