One of my favorite places to eat when I visit Japan is the CoCo Curry House.

The CoCo Curry House chain is part of the Ichibanya company and they just recently opened their 1,400th location. They opened their first location in Nagoya in 1978.

They even have nine locations in the US. There are six in Hawaii and three in the LA area. Maybe Northern California is next. If they need advice on where to open one, I can suggest a few locations.

The location that I visit in Tokyo is small with only four tables, but they also have a takeout window or you can sit at the counter. (see below)

There are several reasons why I like CoCo Curry House. One of them is a very important one. It is easy for me to order. They have a menu with lots of pictures and although there are options for each item, they are mainly size and spice level. I can simply point to my choices.

Another reason is that I really like tonkatsu which is a breaded deep fried pork cutlet. It is especially delicious when served with Japanese curry.

On one of my visits I ordered a small side salad with thinly sliced cured ham. Hidden underneath the ham was a half cup of corn, so I did eat my vegetables as well.

On this visit I opted for a smaller size, but wanted to show this one as I took the picture after drizzling tonkatsu sauce on the cutlet strips. I like the contrast of the dark stripes with the pork strips.

Here is the bottle of tonkatsu sauce. I really like the taste of their sauce. You can buy tonkatsu sauce in the US, and I have a bottle of it in my refrigerator that I use with other dishes. I have not yet been adventurous enough to try and make tonkatsu at home.

Tonkatsu is similar to a thick Worcestershire sauce. However, the tonkatsu sauce has a more complex taste and has a fruity taste. A sample of common ingredients include: Sugar, Applesauce, Vinegar, Soy Sauce, Onion, Tomato, Carrot, Spices, Caramel and Garlic.

Of course, each time I visited I had a delicious meal. Maybe I will have to try and make tonkatsu at home.

Steven