July marked the end of an era in Asagaya, at least for some joren (regular customers), with the closing of a great little sandwich shop. Victory Cafe closed its doors for good.
It was a spacious cafe with a large selection of sandwiches, which you could choose to have toasted in a sandwich press if you so desired. Their freshly made sandwiches were a key part of their morning and lunch sets, which included a coffee for ¥400-500.
Add-ons included crispy french fries and perfectly fried, honest to goodness, Western-style onion rings. Something else that’s difficult to find in Tokyo, a cup of coffee was reasonably priced at ¥240, much better than the ¥600 cups of weak brown water commonly found in Japan.
Victory also holds a special place in my heart. I used to go there every Monday morning after weekends home when I spent 6 months in the hospital.
Losing Victory is a gloomy reality now. It just better not be replaced by a goddamn Family Mart.
