Buta-Daigaku 豚大学 (Tokyo) – Super Satisfying Pork Rice Bowl With More Meat Than Rice

One of my most satisfying meals in Tokyo was at Buta-Daigaku (豚大学), a hole in the wall establishment known for its sumptuous butadon (pork rice bowl). When I first saw the dish, I was amazed to see the abundance of pork belly slabs covering the rice. It looked super tantalising and I couldn’t wait to get started!

Buta-Daigaku (豚大学)

Buta-Daigaku (豚大学) is a no-frills establishment that specialises in the classic Japanese dish butadon (豚丼), which is basically pork rice bowl.

The version here consists of white rice topped with a copious amount of pork belly slices.

The restaurant is conveniently located just steps away from the Shinbashi Station, which is one stop from Tokyo Station.

I came across the restaurant when researching on food for our Tokyo holiday. Initially, I was a little hesitant over whether I should check out this relatively unknown joint. In the end I decided to give it a try, and I’m really happy I did so because it turned out to be a true hidden gem!

Buta-Daigaku Menu

The menu’s main item is the butadon. You can order it in four sizes:

• Small 小 (JPY 500)
• Medium 中 (JPY 650)
• Large 大 (JPY 810)
• Extra Large 特大 (JPY1020)

Most people will order the medium size. If you are feeling hungry, feel free to go for large.

Or if you are feeling like a glutton, go for Extra Large! Do note that it weighs a whooping 1kg, and there are so many pork belly slices that they literally drape over the side of the bowl. You have been warned.

And do note that Buta-Daigaku has five commandments, with the second one stating that you must finish all your food.

The staff will probably be very displeased if you enthusiastically order the Extra Large portion but end up breaking the second commandment!

The menu also offers side dishes like onsen egg, miso soup, spring onion, and fermented vegetables.

Five Commandments of Buta-Daigaku

As mentioned earlier, Buta-Daigaku has five commandments, which is pasted on their wall. Below are the direct translations of the commandments:

1. Enjoy eating
2. Eat everything
3. Have fun with toppings
4. Be energetic and go home
5. Come back again

How to Order

Like most local neighbourhood joints in Tokyo, I had to order our food through a vending machine.

It was pretty easy to order. Even though the words on the vending machine are all in Japanese, the joint only serves one main dish of butadon. Therefore, I just needed to recognise the Japanese words for the respective sizes: small is “小”, medium is “中”, large is “大”, and extra large is “特大”.

I ordered one “中” while the wife ordered a “小”.

I also ordered a set of spring onions, miso soup, and onsen egg for JPY 240.

After that, I inserted cash through a slot in the machine, and got issued with two nifty tickets indicating our orders.

I passed the tickets to a staff, and then sat down at the counter to wait for our orders.

Note that the restaurant only accepts cash. Also, one person is required to order at least one main dish. Therefore, you can forget about ordering an Extra Large butadon to share (which was actually our initial plan).

No-Frills Restaurant

Buta-Daigaku is a very cozy space that can only accommodate about 10 customers. Only counter seats are available.

It was a great cultural experience to dine here because I really liked the authentic local vibe of the restaurant.

We went on a Thursday at around 8.30pm and got seats after waiting for around 10 minutes.

Butadon 豚丼 (Medium 中)

I ordered a Medium Butadon (JPY 650), and it arrived shortly after around 10 minutes.

When I first saw the pork rice bowl, I wondered how a simple dish could look so tantalising!

The slabs of flame-grilled pork belly slices were covered in a gorgeous glaze, and arranged beautifully on the steaming white rice.

Even though I had just eaten another meal a short while ago, I became hungry again after seeing the dish.

I was quite amused to see a few stalks of Chinese cabbage, which was honestly quite a poor attempt to mitigate the sinfulness of the dish.

And so I started indulging.

The pork belly slices were tender and juicy with a nice crisp texture. The sauce had a wonderful savoury-sweet flavour which I really enjoyed!

Together with the hot white rice, this was a real treat.

And I loved that there was such a generous portion of pork belly slices, so that I could enjoy mouthful after mouthful of gastronomic indulgence.

Butadon 豚丼 (Small 小)

The wife went with the Small Butadon (JPY 500), which was actually pretty decent sized. In fact, I think even some guys will find this portion to be quite filling.

Therefore, for the ladies and small-eaters, I recommend ordering this size so that you will not risk having leftover food.

Side Dishes

After finishing about 75% of my pork rice bowl, I poured in the onsen egg and spring onions. I stirred it with the remaining pork belly and rice to create a fresh and savoury mushy goodness which was really scrumptious.

The miso soup was quite nice too, and good for washing down all the oily food.

Conclusion

All in all, I had a great dining experience at Buta-Daigaku (豚大学). The generous servings of savoury-sweet pork belly, paired with the steaming white rice, were wonderfully satisfying. It was also a nice cultural experience to dine in this hole-in-the-wall local Japanese restaurant.

My only (small) qualm was that I felt the pork belly slices could have been more tender. But hey, you can’t have everything in life.

If you are visiting on a Sunday, take note that Buta-Daigaku has a rather strange policy of being closed on the second Sunday of odd-numbered months.

Buta-Daigaku (豚大学)
What to order: Butadon 豚丼 (small 小)
English Address: New Shinbashi Building, 2-16-1 Shinbashi, Minato Ward, Tokyo
Japanese Address: 東京都港区新橋2-16-1 ニュー新橋ビル
Opening Hours: | Mon to Sat: 10.30am – 9.45pm | Sat, Sun & PH: 11am to 3pm, 4.30pm to 8.15pm | Closed on 2nd Sunday of odd months |
Directions: Two-minute walk from Shimbashi Station
Phone: +813 5512 3121

This article is part of our super awesome Ultimate Tokyo Travel Guide For First Timers. Everything you need to know about Tokyo is just a click away!