Imakin Shokudo

Came here 2 hours before close. Saw people queing with number and waited by the kitchen door and a waitress will come out once in awhile to call the number. After that just let her know that you are waiting and she will give you a que number with estimated waiting time which is pretty accurate. She told me about 10 mins and i entered roughly 10 mins later. We ordered the beef bowl, stew beef and minced beef bowl. Everything is good but i dont think its worth the wait if its 30 mins or longer. The beef "akaushi" is slightly leaner and tougher compared to other beef. I personally prefer it over wagyu melt in the mouth type. So just a heads up if you are particular about the textures of beef.

Took a long drive check out this famous beef rice. Got to wait 2 hours on a Monday and was told is normal. The Beef Rice set is worth it.

All the dishes that we order is delicious and the beef fragrance smell is none . It’s worth to wait for the long queue. The noodle chambon also very nice. Service is good and quick. Must try ! Highly recommended and I would return back again . There’s free car parking around.

TLDR; good beef bowl but not the fat melt-in-your-mouth kind. Go early to avoid long wait.

Arrived on a Sunday morning around 11.25am and the wait was already 1.5 hours long. This place is famous for Aso Beef, or Akaushi. Now, if you’re looking for tender melt-in-your-mouth beef, you’re probably in the wrong place because this beef is from cattle who spend their days roaming the fields around Aso. The meat is muscular with very little fat, making it popular nowadays as a healthier alternative — different from the fatty type of wagyu most overseas tourist are after when they come to Japan.

That being said though, if you’re open to trying beef that has a little more chew than A5 wagyu, but still actually pretty tender, this place is amazing and the wait was really not that bad as you can walk around and check out the tiny shops in the surrounding neighborhood.

The infamous gyu-don restaurant on the Kumamoto-Aso route, be here early to avoid a long wait. Totally delicious, meat cooked perfectly medium rare with a light sauce drizzled over. Seiko Matsuda was playing on the record player in the background, 80s J-pop nostalgia if you know what I am talking about.

Soo good! After reading here the reviews we thought we would have to wait at least an hour, but we waited around 20 minutes or so, well worth the amazing lunch we ate.
We actually ordered another serving of this delicious beef bowl (3 total for 2 people). Highly recommended.

The gyudon was a perfect blend of melt-in-your-mouth steak top with am onsen egg and a small spoonful of red miso sauce and wasabi. Good value for money considering the quality of the meat!

Super busy even on a rainy day. So got take out to reduce the wait. Super yummy beef bowl and their wasabi was really fresh. Drove 3 hours just to have it from Sasebo 😁

The Red Beef Don is the most expensive item. The rest of the items are reasonably priced.

I found the red beef udon really delicious. The beef used is a different cut and because it is probably simmered in the soup, it is really tasty.

The red beef don is nice, though I would prefer a slightly more doneness. The egg is cooked just right too. When I soaked it in the udon soup to cook it a bit more, it was really good!

I reached about 10.45am and got in without queueing. As I left, the queue number system had started.

Highly recommend to have a bowl of local beef of Kumamoto in this restaurant! It’s definitely worth! You need to go to the restaurant before 10am otherwise you will wait for 1 hour at least. But there is another option that you get the numbered ticket first and come back to the restaurant approximately 2 hours later. Anyway if you would like to have a try, it’s better to make a plan for the day.

Queued for 1.5 hours but it was worth it!! Super tender beef cooked to perfection. The wait wasn't too bad, the numbers run pretty quickly and the staff was so helpful and friendly.

They have such as 100of years tradition
Good taste of kyudong!
You don’t wanna miss it!
Many people are waiting outside

We order Akaushi don and Akaushi beef shank
The soup was excellent , beef Shank was really tender n delicious .
Rice as usual Japanese rice also up to expectations.

This place is very good for the cheap price and well worth the wait.
I waited for about 30 mins which was in the weekday and low season.
The beef rice is the best dish which is the Signature dish and a must order.
The beef was cooked just right and soft and the rice was just right not too hard or too soft. The other dishes taste OK which was nothing special.
If you looking for a parking space. A cross the road there is a parking area.

Popular restaurant at Mount Aso. This place have long queue. The beef is very good. Recommend to visit early and get a queue number.

Had to wait 3 hours when I visited for lunch on a Saturday of a long weekend. You can write your name down and they will tell you to come back in X number of hours. Great chance to relax in one of the many nearby onsen.

The AKAGYUDON (red beef bowl) is the star of the show. They do a "large" size that wasn't written down on the menu (when I was there) for an extra 100 yen. Ask for 大盛り (oumori).

A restaurant with 4 dishes of good quality. You might have to wait turns in the weekend, since it is loved by japanese people for it's beef (A-menu).

It's definitely delicious.

You should visit this place!! But always we have to wait a lot.(1 to 2 hour) But worth it!!
It’s kind of local place you can see local Japanese city and people.

Just get the beef rice. You won't be disappointed. Best gyu-don I have had.