Ebisu, Tokyo, a city lined with museums, including the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography. Here is the "dining room" where people with cameras shine their eyes. The name is "Megutama", a photo book dining room.

At the photo book dining room "Megutama", you will be very satisfied with your body and soul.
At the photo book dining room "Megutama", you will be very satisfied with your body and soul.

Megutama opened in February 2014 with a gathering of three people, Megumi Okado, a master who makes delicious rice, Tokitama, a communication artist, and Kotaro Iizawa, a photo critic. While enjoying "Japanese home-cooked rice" by Mr. Okado, he looks at the 4,500 photo books collected by Mr. Iizawa and sometimes enjoys interacting at events organized by Mr. Tokitama. It is a space where you can enjoy various ways.

◆ Overwhelmed by 4,500 photo books

The shop is less than 10 minutes on foot from the west exit of Ebisu station toward Aoyama. It is on the left along Komazawa Dori. It's a little difficult to see from the street, but the wide glass entrance and the red roof are the landmarks. Even from the outside, you can see many books lined up on the wall.

Open and bright entrance
Open and bright entrance

Counter seats in the foreground and table seats in the back. And, on the surrounding wall, many photo books are lined up in a narrow space. These are all Iizawa's collections. If there is something you are interested in, you can browse it freely. It seems that it is a mechanism to put a mount in between so as not to forget the location of the book.

The entire wall is a bookshelf!
The entire wall is a bookshelf!
You can freely browse what you like. Don't forget to pinch the mount
You can freely browse what you like. Don't forget to pinch the mount

But isn't it anxious to put an important book in the place where you eat and drink?

"Everyone, you say so. I can't help arranging the photobooks, and Mr. Iizawa said that they belong to Nambo. It's okay if you treat them carefully." (Mr. Tokitama)

The photo books are arranged in chronological order and by artist from the entrance to the back. In the back of the table seats, on the wall that cannot be seen from the entrance, there are a lot of books published overseas and large books. There are some precious things that are hard to come by, and it seems that people who are studying photography will pick them up with their eyes shining.

Foreign books and large books are lined up behind the table seats
Foreign books and large books are lined up behind the table seats

Not only are the photo books lined up, but the store is also unique. It is said that the construction method called "Aero House" makes it possible to use the space widely without placing a pillar in the center.

Also, if you look closely at the light bulb umbrella that illuminates the inside of the store, you can see that the book is turned upside down. It's made from a real book. The painting on the floor seems to be a masterpiece by Mr. Iizawa. It seems that he not only provides a photo book, but also participates as a "painter".

Mr. Iizawa himself likes this space and says, "I can't work anywhere else."

It seems to be made of real books
It seems to be made of real books


Don't miss the painting by "Painter Iizawa"
Don't miss the painting by "Painter Iizawa"

Originally, he was wondering if he could make good use of the huge collection at Mr. Iizawa's home. It is said that he settled down in the form of a "dining room" because of his relationship with Megutama's cook, Okado.

◆ The concept is "Japanese home-cooked rice"

Megutama's rice is "Japanese home-cooked rice." "Japanese home-cooked food is not limited to Japanese food, but it absorbs anything from Italian to Chinese. It's unpretentious but tough," says Okado, and you can enjoy the gentle taste of home.

The menu is full of lunch, cafe, and dinner. At lunchtime, the "Seasonal Ichiju Sansai Lunch" (1,000 yen), which changes depending on the day, is especially popular.

A popular menu with plenty of awareness of the body
A popular menu with plenty of awareness of the body

The menu I had on this day was simmered root vegetables, grilled pork with salted koji, three vegetables with mustard of rape blossoms, tofu and wakame miso soup, and brown rice with black rice. All of them healed my heart with a simple taste that blends in gently. Especially, the miso soup made from homemade miso is so nostalgic that I am absent-minded for a while. I remembered the taste of grandma.

At dinner time, not only single dishes and sake, but also a set of dinner is prepared, which can be used when you want to eat well. Eat a set meal, drink alcohol, flip through the photo book and go home. It's good.

◆ Hidden specialty is exquisite sweets

And sweets are a hidden specialty. "Milk's golden ratio soft serve" and "Japanese sweetness", which is the specialty of Okado, are menus that you should definitely check out.

Soft serve ice cream is made from limited milk from Isonuma Farm (Hachioji City, Tokyo), which only ships 200 bottles twice a week, and there are already repeaters. Another popular dish is the "Kasu-cake," which is a restored recipe from the book "Shokudo Raku" by Gensai Murai, a popular writer from the Meiji era.

The greedy menu where you can enjoy all of these popular sweets is the "Wa Cafe Plate" (1,000 yen). A bowl of cake, soft serve ice cream, and boiled azuki beans are served. The soft serve ice cream is rich and the aroma and sweetness of milk is very luxurious. The bran cake has a castella-like taste with less sweetness, and there is no braniness at all. These and the boiled azuki beans, which are full of handmade feeling, are a combination that makes you want to eat as many times as you want.

A must-try plate with a luxurious assortment of specialty menus
A must-try plate with a luxurious assortment of specialty menus

There are too many other menus to introduce. All of these are body-friendly dishes that are full of "compassion" from Okado. Please visit the store and talk with the cheerful staff to make your choice. Whether it's rice, sweets, or sake. At any time, a gentle "home rice" will welcome you.

◆ Rice will rejuvenate your mind and body

"Eating rice properly will rejuvenate your mind and body," says Okado. Megutama was a space that made me want to go there again and again with bright laughter, saying, "Photobooks are hungry, food is hungry, and events are hungry!"

The store is located at 3-2-7 Higashi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo. Business hours are from 11:30 to 23:00 on weekdays (last order 22:00), from 12:00 to 22:00 on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays (last order 21:30), and closed on Mondays. You can check the information on the events to be held on the website , so please take a look if you are interested.