Yamagatabanya

We don't speak Japanese and the signs for this restaurant aren't in English but it was still reasonably easy to find. It's on the second floor of a building just outside the train station off the stairs from the pedestrian observation deck. There's a Mister Donut on the first floor of the same build...ing and the signs for it are black and red. They blow a horn when you come in and ring a gong when you leave, and you can either sit at the bar or on cushions at a private table inside a giant whiskey barrel. They don't have English menus, and staff's English is limited- but they are very friendly and there are pictures. With snippets in both languages, Google translate, and sign language we ordered. We picked tuna sashimi (the best we've had so far this trip) and fried pork on a stick. Very tasty. We also told the waiter to chose something for us. He brought a hot pot that had either wagyu or Yamagata beef and potatoes. It was excellent. The three dishes split between two of us was a perfect amount. We had many (6) shochu cocktails (which I also highly recommend) with our meal and it still came in around $45 US One of the food highlights of our trip

Visited October 2018