As you may expect, it’s hard to find good pizza in Japan. And even if you do find good pizza, chances are it’s going to cost you. The average price of a single large delivery pizza from places nearby us ranges from $20 to $40!
When Abbey and I first came to Japan years ago in Okinawa, as pizzaficionados we were heartbroken.
…until we learned about a magical place called Shakey’s!
Shakey’s is an all-you-can eat pizza restaurant where, for the low low price of $10 to $15, you can gorge yourself on as much pizza as you’d like. When we lived in Okinawa, we went there around once a month, walking the five miles there and back to try and work off some of the delicious pizza grease.
But when we moved to Gifu Prefecture, we were devastated to find out that there was no Shakey’s nearby… until last weekend! A Shakey’s opened up in the nearby city of Nagoya last Friday, so we made a plan to go and pay it a visit on Saturday.
Since it costs a decent amount to get to Nagoya and back, we decided to make a whole day of it. To the pizza paradise!
Abbey at our local train station in the morning, bright and early ready to go.
And me, dreaming about all the pizza I was going to eat.
It was pouring rain, but we were already soaked with determination!
Once we got to Nagoya, the first stop was BookOff.
They sell used books and tons of other stuff.
Here’s Abbey being creepy and smelling the used clothing.
Tons of used video game merchandise on Abbey’s left…
…and shelves of what I can only assume are billions of used books on her right.
Is that… a Pikachu eating another Pikachu?
BookOff does have some weird stuff.
A small part of the used video game section. So many cool Japan N64 games, including Star Fox 64 complete with rumble pack! It’s like you’re really flying the arwing.
And of course Chrono Trigger for the SNES… priced at only 300 yen (about $3).
The U.S. version of the game can go for up to $100 or more!
Classic books that have been translated into Japanese manga format: Ulysses, War and Peace, and Moby Dick. I’ve read 1984 and Hamlet; they were pretty amazing.
All of One Piece… for only 8,000 yen! (About $70)
You’ve got to feel like a pirate, stealing it at that price.
There’s absolutely nothing to explain about this photo.
So many shelves. So many books.
So little time because lunch is coming.
There was one other place we wanted to check out before Shakey’s.
Here’s me posing with a fat cat statue on the way to the train station.
And here’s an advertisement for “hot yoga” classes inside the station.
Neat.
Our next stop: HobbyOff and HardOff! They’re part of the same BookOff family,
but they specialize in hobby goods and electronics/furniture.
Shall we go upstairs or downstairs first?
How about we work dem legs before shoving them full of pizza? Up it is!
Upstairs had a bunch of music stuff like instruments and records.
I could feel the smoothness oozing off this Japanese Kenny Rogers vinyl.
Downstairs, Abbey got lost in the Hallway of Stuffed Animals.
And that’s where she found her soulmate. Unfortunately he cost $30,
so they had to part ways. Farewell, Slowpoke! We’ll always have HobbyOff.
Finally, it was time to head to Shakey’s!
This advertisement for beauty masks on the train is kiiiiinda creepy.
Huh, I didn’t know Japanese trains went to the ozone layer.
Neat.
So now, a bit of an explanation for what comes next.
When Abbey and I first found out a Shakey’s was opening in Nagoya, the website said that it would be in the “LaLaport building.” Lots of buildings have names in Japan, so we didn’t think anything of it at the time.
However, as we started to make our way to Shakey’s, we started to see more and more advertisements for LaLaport. And the trains we were riding to get there were packed, even by Japanese standards.
As it turned out, it wasn’t just the opening day for Shakey’s… it was the opening day for a 300-store gigantic mall.
This picture doe not do the crowds justice.
Imagine the worst day at Disney World times ten… and then you’re getting close.
But we pressed through the swarming ocean of
people and finally made it to the promised land: Shakey’s!
There was only one problem: the wait time. The entire city had come to the mall today, and they all wanted pizza too. We were number 143…
…and there were 75 people ahead of us! When we asked how long the wait would be, the staff said, “We have no idea.” Not a good sign.
But we’d come this far, so we decided to wait it out. We walked around the mall and encountered some helpful signs warning us about scandalous flames.
After an hour of waiting, we found a bookstore that had a little insurance corner.
You know, so you can get a hot cup of insurance to enjoy as you read some books.
After two hours of waiting our stomachs were crying, but we found
some George Washington socks, so that’s neat! Right?!
After two and a half hours, we were tired of walking around, and we were starving.
We just decided to sit outside Shakey’s and painfully count down the minutes until we were allowed inside its pearly-pizza gates.
Finally, after three hours, we were in!
Dreams do come true, everyone.
Here’s the buffet table. There’s always a huge variety of pizzas,
and they get replaced by new, hot ones as quickly as they’re snatched up.
The drink area…
…which confused me for the longest time,
because I was trying to figure out who “Dr. Ink” was.
And the nacho bar/ice cream off to the side- BUT WHO CARES?! IT’S PIZZA TIME!
Scott’s Plate #1: Cheeseburger pizza, two pepperoni/peppers, and a Nagoya exclusive: tonkatsu (fried breaded pork) with cabbage and sweet miso sauce. Also a potato wedge with jalapeno sauce BECAUSE WHY NOT WE’RE SHAKIN!
Abbey’s Plate #1: Purple sweet potato with matcha, pear, and pistachios.
Then pepperoni, Nagoya tonkatsu, and cheeseburger.
Dat fried pork realness.
A closeup of the Nagoya tonkatsu pizza…
…and the purple sweet potato pizza. Shakey’s has lots of different “dessert” pizzas without sauce or cheese. They’re kind of like little slices of pie.
Abbey was very happy about her choices.
Abbey and I both quickly demolished out first plates. What I love about Shakey’s is the small slices of pizza. It allows you to get a variety of flavors without feeling like you have to commit. Instead of just one or two slices, you can get four or five and try out new things!
Scott’s Plate #2: Strawberry/marshmallow dessert pizza, pepperoni/peppers,
apple cinnamon with walnuts and honey, and steak with onions.
Abbey’s Plate #2: Margherita, olive/tuna, corn, apple/cinnamon dessert,
and cheeseburger. Pace yourself, girl!
Shakey’s is wonderful.
Abbey and I have been to Shakey’s many times, and in our experience we both have learned of its inherent danger: eating too much.
I’ve gone to Shakey’s before where I’ve eaten so much pizza that I was literally sick to my stomach for the rest of the night. In fact, the last time we went a year ago in Tokyo, it was my worst experience ever. Delicious, but nauseating.
Vowing never to do that again, I limited myself to three plates of pizza. Shakey’s is amazing, but just thinking about riding the bumpy train home for an hour with a stomach full to bursting was enough to already start making me stick.
So with that out of the way, the final contenders:
Scott’s Plate #3: Strawberry/marshmallow dessert pizza, corn, apple/cinnamon dessert, and pepperoni with extra nacho cheese.
Abbey’s Plate #3: Two slices of okonomiyaki pizza. (A savory Japanese pancake with cabbage, pork, ginger, mayonnaise, seaweed, and anything else you can find.)
A closeup of the okonomiyaki pizza. Just like every other slice, they were amazing.
After three plates, it was time for dessert. Some oranges/cucumbers to settle the stomach, and a tasty ‘lil ice cream.
Abbey did the same, opting for a slice of mysterious “banana cake.” She offered me a bite, but I was already bursting at the seams, so its flavor will have to remain lost for now.
It’s been said that there are three kinds of supreme happiness: the joy of finding your soulmate, the satisfaction of creating something beautiful, and eating at Shakey’s.
I was too full to continue eating, but here’s some bonus pizzas
that I didn’t get a chance to sample, such as “sauteed burdock…”
…the classic “shrimp and mayonnaise…”
…and of course, “Hawaiian delight,” for all the haters out there.
As we were leaving, one of the waiters came over and said he recognized us. He said that he saw us before at the Shakey’s in Kichijoji, Tokyo when he worked there!
You know you’ve been to Shakey’s a lot when the
staff from a different store recognize you.
After that we made our way home, pleasantly stuffed to the point where we were satiated for the rest of the day, but not so much that we required barf bags on the train. The perfect happy medium that all Shakey’s-goers should aspire to.
Remember friends! When in doubt, just do three plates.
If you want more stories from Japan, then join us when we stream on Twitch every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday at 7:30pm-11:30pm (U.S. Eastern Standard Time).
Hope to see you next time, friend!
Scott Wilson is the author of the novel Metl: The ANGEL Weapon,
forthcoming March 2019.