I travel alone. And I like to drink.
So when I’m traveling, I’m always looking for places where I can drink by myself.
Japan is good for that. Almost everywhere, nobody thinks twice about a solo customer.
After seafood and nihonshu for round one, I wanted something different for round two. I didn’t bother opening Google Maps — just wandered through the backstreets of Katamachi (片町), around Shintenchi (新天地) and Kiguramachi (木倉町). The alleys at night had a good atmosphere. Even felt a bit familiar.
That’s when I opened the door of a wine bar. IL MARE. The kind of name you’d see in Korea too. In Italian, it means “the sea.”
Looking at the menu, it was a good spot for casual wine. A decent selection by the glass, and the small plates were affordable and varied. The owner, Honjo-san, was friendly and curious. The staff, Miki-chan, kept the place lively.
At the next table, a Moroccan couple was talking with a Japanese regular in English. Nobody was that fluent, so the conversation was a bit of a struggle. I jumped in here and there, but my English wasn’t much help either.
Still, we all ended up talking together.
The Moroccan couple seemed curious that I’d come alone from Korea, and asked me various things. Turned out the husband’s cousin had married a Korean woman. They said they drink the ginseng tea she gave them every morning.
After the Moroccan couple and the Japanese regular left, I stayed for another glass. Then two new regulars came in — Japanese women, cheerful types.
And then Honjo-san and Miki-chan made an announcement to them. Not to me, but I was right there and heard it anyway. An engagement. I thought it was a joke at first, but the atmosphere said otherwise.
The regulars congratulated them and ordered a bottle of champagne to share. They poured me a glass too. Once that happened, I couldn’t just sit there. I ordered a bottle myself, and we all drank together. I’d been thinking about heading somewhere for round three, but instead I ended up staying, drinking champagne and talking for much longer.
I ended up exchanging Instagram with one of the two regulars. She said she ran a small place and invited me to stop by. I looked it up later — it was Tsubajin (つば甚), one of the oldest ryotei (料亭) in Kanazawa. Not exactly small.
There’s a Japanese drama called Osen (おせん) where Yu Aoi plays the young mistress of an upscale ryotei. The woman who runs that kind of place is called an okami (女将). Tsubajin was that kind of old, prestigious ryotei. So the person I’d just exchanged Instagram handles with — Tsuba Yukari-san — was the okami-san of Tsubajin.
Miki-chan told me later that the Tsuba family is quite well-known in Kanazawa. It felt like too good a connection to pass up, and I was genuinely curious, so I ended up having dinner at Tsubajin a few days later. That story is for another time.
I’d been complaining to Miki-chan — about places that wouldn’t seat me without a reservation, about a yakitori place that had turned me away at the door when they heard my broken Japanese. I asked her if she knew any good spots in the neighborhood.
She wrote down five or six recommendations in broken Korean and English. I actually ended up going to one or two of them.
IL MARE had become a meaningful place for me.
In a way, it’s where my first real connection in Kanazawa started.
Near the end of the trip, I stopped by one more time and exchanged Instagram with the master and Miki-chan. If I ever come back to Kanazawa, I’ll definitely stop by again.
The IL MARE crew said they’re planning a trip to Korea too. I told them to reach out when they do.
I’ll treat them to a proper round of soju, Korean style.
My first day in Kanazawa had been a bit rough. Physically tiring, but more than that, mentally.
A few places had turned me away for not having a reservation. The hotel said they couldn’t help with bookings, which was disappointing. And at one yakitori place, they heard my broken Japanese and said they don’t serve foreigners — right at the door.
That said, I’m not interested in only going to places with online reservations. I don’t want to travel the same obvious route as everyone else. I want to do the legwork, get the information, and find spots that locals actually like.
IL MARE was where that started. On the last stretch of my first day, I finally got to meet some good people in Kanazawa.
And on the second night, I found another place that made me fall for this city even more — but that’s also a story for another time.
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