Based on word-of-mouth from the residents, we visited 4 locally recommended restaurants in Kurashiki over our 3 night stay in a rented Machiya. Note to fellow foodies -- Takataya turned out to be one of my favorite eateries of our 16-day trip.
Food Review: TAKATAYA (Kurashiki)
Address: Honmachi 11-36, Kurashiki-shi, Okayama Prefecture
Hours: 17:00-22:00, Closed on Mondays
Map: from Google Maps
Directions: Seriously, just follow the long queue. This place is located on the east-west backstreet just north of the canal, near the steps that lead up to the Achi Jinja shrine.
This is it. One of my favorite discoveries in West Japan, veiled behind this old-fashioned storefront of dark wooden lattices and sliding doors. As there was always a long queue of diners every time we passed by, we took the hint and visited at 21:00, 30 minutes prior to last order.
Saturated with the alluring aroma of charcoal smoke and grease from the grille, the little shop was packed even at 21:00 and we're seated at the end of the counter, inches from the skilful hands of the chefs as they expertly seasoned and turned each skewer. Based on the items on the grille, tonight's crowd favorites seemed to be Sasami and some sort of bacon wrap, as we'll soon discover.
For such a small and informal Yakitori-ya, I was surprised to find a printed menu as opposed to the usual placards on the walls and scribbles on a black board. Prices were quite reasonable given Takataya's popularity among locals -- Sunazuri (gizzards) at 120 yen, Yakitori at 140 and top-of-the-line Sasami (breast fillet) at 190.
This was one of the best Yakitori skewers of my life. And it was just the first skewer of the evening.
This mysterious Chisomaki on the menu turned out to be the local Okayama dialect for Shisomaki, morsels of bite-sized chicken marinated inside a wrapping of Shiso leaves, sandwiched between sweet white onions and painstakingly roasted to perfection over a smoky charcoal fire. The flavor of Shiso thoroughly steeped into the chicken juices, and combined with Takataya's own blend of seasoning salt, it was a taste of paradise for just 160 yen (CAD$1.9).
Arriving next were these sizzling skewers of Tori Harami (diaphram meat) and the oddly named Sunazuri which, as I guessed correctly, was the Okayama dialect for Sunagimo (gizzards), my wife's perennial favorite in any Yakitori-ya. The Tori Harami turned out lusciously juicy and perfectly seasoned, and according to my wife the gizzards were top notch as well.
Next came my number two favorite of the evening, after the Chisomaki.
Prior to ordering we had no idea what Genki-no-Derumaki was, only that every table seemed to be ordered them, and sometimes repeatedly! My wife was slightly concerned when these garlic stems arrived in paper-thin wrappings of bacon, as I've had a history of allergies to garlic stems (see my previous mishap at China's Jiuzhaigou). This time though I had no adverse reactions, possibly due to the thorough deep-frying of the stems inside the pork fat drippings. While it's not your typical Yakitori-ya offering, I definitely agreed with the regular clientele on why this deserved to be the most popular item on the menu.
My wife loved these meticulously roasted Tebasaki, first on the grille and last off due to the great patience it always takes to churn out a perfectly cooked centre with an uncharred wing tip. The skin turned out crispy and expertly salted, the meat amazingly well-marinated, and 720 yen for 6 wings was a small price considering the length of time we occupied the chef with one deceivingly tricky dish.
Shishitou peppers are always among my favorite vegetables in Kushiyaki -- crisp, naturally flavorful, and one-in-a-hundred would turn out suicidally spicy when you least expect it. My wife hit one particularly fiery pepper out of the five on her skewer, though mine all turned out quite benign.
As a final round we ordered one skewer each of Beef Belly, White Scallions and the organic Shiitake Mushrooms in the background, yet another pleasant surprise for an intensely woody aroma that I'd never expect from the humble Shiitake ... and for just 140 yen!
Before the call for last order I managed to sneak in one final order of Torikawa (Chicken Skin) to wash down with the remaining beer. After 10 skewers or wings per person plus a couple medium bottles of Asahi, our final bill came to a very affordable 2000 yen (CAD$23) per head. If we ever rent the Onsaka-no-Ie again -- and that's a real possibility given the great time we had -- Takataya would definitely be our regular spot in Kurashiki.
Bill for Two Persons
| Chisomaki x 2 | 320 yen |
| Tori Harami x 2 | 280 yen |
| Sunazuri x 2 | 240 yen |
| Genki no Derumaki x 2 | 380 yen |
| Tebasaki Plate x 2 | 720 yen |
| Shishitou Peppers x 2 | 280 yen |
| Gyuu Bara Shioyaki | 220 yen |
| Shironegi | 140 yen |
| Nama Shiitake | 140 yen |
| Torikawa | 120 yen |
| Draft Beer (Medium Bottle) x 2 | 1100 yen |
| TOTAL | 3940 yen (CAD$46) |
We had only one regret -- that was our only visit to Takataya as it closed on Mondays on our final night in town. With our favorite restaurant closed, we took another local's advice and unknowingly walked into another interesting little adventure ...
Food Review: SHUBOU YAE (Kurashiki)
Address: Honmachi 5-14, Kurashiki-shi, Okayama Prefecture
Hours: 17:00-22:00, Closed on Sundays
Map: from Google Maps
Directions: Walk along the canal towards the southern bridge where all boats turn back. Walk east along the main road for one small block and turn left. Shubou Yae is immediately on your left at the street corner, next to a pharmacy.
This was one of the most memorable restaurants of our 16-day trip. While the food was excellent, it was memorable mainly for an entirely different reason.
Run by two elderly chefs and a chef's Okusan, Shubou Yae may seem like your typical neighborhood Izakaya with heavy focus on local seafood from the Seto Inland Sea. Seats were limited, the regulars seemed to know one another, but there was something really archaic about the little eatery.
First, there was no printed menu.
There were overhead placards with handwritten fish names ... Kobuku Nitsuke (simmered small pufferfish), Sayori (halfbeak), Iidako-ni (baby octopus) ... which understandably change on a daily basis. But this wasn't the surprising part.
Second, there were no prices displayed anywhere!
Now THIS was slightly bizarre even for the Japanese. We've previously experienced this once in a family-run Unagi-ya in Osaka, but everyone knew the price range for an Unajuu. Here the cost for each fish may be wildly different depending on size, seasonality or even origin. I was understandably a little concerned.
Third, the quality was WAY beyond a typical Izakaya.
After initiating us with two small dishes of Hotate Nitsuke and Edamame, our chef did the unexpected and opened up his entire Neta Case for us to pick our own fish. This never happens at the modest Izakayas that we usually visit -- this was approaching a Kappou restaurant where you choose your ingredients and the chef cuts (Katsu) and cooks (Pou) in front of your eyes. While I appreciated the superior quality, this was really making me uneasy about the price.
Well there's no backing out now, and so we chose among the ingredients with little regard for the eventual bill. We started with a Sashimi Mori of three seasonal fishes: (from the left) Tai, Sayori and Sawara Yakishimo-zukuri. The Tai was crisp, the Sawara was fatty and the semi-transparent Sayori was among the freshest Hikarimono (silver-skinned fish) I've ever tasted, subtly sweet with absolutely no hint of any fishiness.
As our chef educated me, fish by fish, on the intriguing assortment inside his display case, his eyes lit up when he got to this red-skinned, medium sized fish.
"Mebaru," our Taisho-san pointed to this Japanese rockfish, "Kashira to Hone made Taberareru yo!" You can eat the whole fish even to the head and bones!
When a chef gets passionate about his work, you just have to trust his instinct and experience. So we took his recommendation and, within 20 minutes, this incredible deep-fried rockfish arrived at our table.
Of course Taishos are always right -- the entire fish, from head to dorsal fin to tail, was deep-fried to a thunderously crunchy texture akin to hard crackers. And when combined with the Ponzu-based dipping sauce, I wasn't sure if the Sayori was my favorite dish anymore!
As we dined on the Mebaru, my eyes were caught by these two skinned, chubby-looking fish in the display case. "Fugu," explained our chef. Poisonous pufferfish. "Karaage mata wa Nitsuke." It can be deep-fried or simmered.
With a deep-fried fish still on our plates, we took the simmering option which came out subtle in flavor but as firm in texture as one would expect of Fugu. I suddenly remembered the exorbitant price of pufferfish in Tokyo, and tried not to think about the price of this fish, or how much we had tallied so far towards our final bill.
But that didn't deter us from ordering more. These Yaki Nasu (grilled eggplants) turned out nice with the Katsuobushi shaving, and the grilled Shiitake were almost as flavorsome as those from Takayata the previous night.
As we're finishing our Shiitake mushrooms, Taisho-san asked where we're staying for the night.
"Onsaka-no-Ie," I replied carelessly.
I should have known better as few knew the name of our rental Machiya. This sent the chef and our neighboring diner into panic mode, and after a quick discussion about last train times, our chef asked again in a serious tone.
"Shinkansen de Kaeru ka?" Are you heading back by Shinkansen?
That's when I knew there was a major misunderstanding, which took a while to sort out in my terrible Japanese. Apparently Taisho-san thought our hotel was in Osaka when I said "Onsaka-no-Ie," which turned into "Osaka-no-Ie." Him and I were still joking about it as he waved us goodbye at the end of the evening.
After finishing with Okusan's famous (according to our friendly neighboring diner!) deep-fried Namaage Tofu, it was time to brace ourselves for the final bill, which turned out to be ...
(drum rolls ...)
An affordable 6500 yen plus tax for two people! Including beer! And of course the Poisonous Fugu, the deep-fried Mebaru and some of the freshest Sashimi of our trip, all prepared in front of our eyes in Kappou-style. Certainly cheaper than we dared to imagine!
I'll take a stab at guessing the prices. Assuming each of the three veggie dishes cost about 400 yen each, we're possibly looking at 1200 yen for Sashimi, 1600 for the Mebaru and 1800 for the Fugu, all very reasonable especially at this high-end quality. While Shubou Yae certainly isn't for the faint of heart, I'd fully recommend it to adventurous foodies looking for an authentic Seafood Izakaya ... or perhaps Seafood Kappou?
Bill for Two Persons
| Sashimi Mori | Not Listed |
| Mebaru Karaage | Not Listed |
| Fugu Nitsuke | Not Listed |
| Yaki Nasu | Not Listed |
| Yaki Shiitake | Not Listed |
| Namaage Tofu | Not Listed |
| Kirin Draft (Medium Bottle) | 700 yen |
| 8% Tax | 520 yen |
| TOTAL | 7020 yen (CAD$83) |
While Takataya and Shubou Yae were discoveries that we came across during our stay in Kurashiki, the following two restaurants were so highly recommended that I already called or emailed for reservations prior to arriving in Japan.
Food Review: SAKANA-AN (Kurashiki)
Address: Achi 3-22-7, Kurashiki-shi, Okayama Prefecture
Hours: 17:30-23:00, Closed on Mondays
Map: from Google Maps
Directions: Starting from the northwestern end of the canal, walk west for a block and cross the main road (Chuo Doori). Keep walking west for a block past the Royal Art Hotel, and Sakana-An is on the right.
Well-concealed inside a residential neighborhood just west of the historic quarter, popular Sakana-an is widely known to be the best deal in Kurashiki for seafood, so much so that despite its relatively hidden location, I took no chances and called ahead for reservation prior to flying in from Canada.
Was reservation necessary? Maybe not, but it was Saturday night and the little Izakaya was starting to fill up with the local crowd, including an English-speaking couple at the next table invited by their Japanese friends. Regardless of language or origin, everyone seemed to be united by one popular menu item ...
Sakana-an's famous Beer Set. For 1500 yen (CAD$17.6) you get a large draft beer, two small appetizer dishes, one assorted Sashimi, and one seafood entree from the choices of Tempura, Nizakana (simmered fish) or Yakizakana (grilled fish). Add a bowl of Miso soup and plain rice, and you've got a 4-course seafood dinner with beer for less than 2000 yen!
Sashimi Mori of the day turned out to be an assortment of Akami tuna, Buri (amberjack) and the locally-prized octopus from the nearby fishing town of Shimotsui. While the octopus turned out rather ordinary to be fair, the seasonal Buri stole the spotlight with its slightly crisp yet buttery mouthfeel.
For entrees we chose one Yakizakana and one Nizakana to share. Not sure what this comical-looking Kawahagi is called in English, but the Japanese name fittingly means skin-peeling, a necessary step in its preparation before the firm white meat underneath is revealed.
The Yakizakana -- a yellowtail neck perfectly grilled in nothing but sea salt -- turned out to be the best dish of the night for its expertly charred skin and its succulent, oily flesh. With such excellent seasonal entrees on top of the Sashimi and the beer, 1500 yen was as good a deal as you could find at this sightseeing town.
Craving more for our first dinner in town, we ordered this Kaibashira expecting just regular Hotate scallops. It turned out to be Tairagi, a much larger bivalve which I had only previously tasted in a classic Cantonese dish of Steamed Pen Shells in Black Bean and Minced Garlic ... and that was years ago. In Sashimi form it was a little less sweet compared to regular scallops, though the texture was much firmer.
Next came the second best dish of the night, a half dozen Yakigaki oysters on a sheet of roasted Kombu kelp. The oysters came naturally seasoned by the seawater and the kelp's essence, while the roasting process served to concentrate their own Umami flavors. This was one memorable dish.
We completed our obligatory initiation to Okayama cuisine with this Sunomono of Mamakari, a small sardine-like fish considered the soul food of local peasants for centuries. This was a little too acidic and slightly fishy for my preference.
We completed our seafood feast with a Tempura of Mantis Shrimps. After two Sashimi dishes, one simmered and two grilled dishes, one Tempura and one Sunomono, plus two large beers, the total came under 6000 yen for a reasonably priced multi-course dinner with drinks. Sakana-an fulfilled its promise as the economical, safe choice for Seafood Izakaya in central Kurashiki. That said, for readers armed with a few Japanese phrases and a heavy dose of adventurism, I'd still recommend Shubou Yae for the higher quality and unbeatable character.
Bill for Two Persons
| Beer Set (Nizakana) | 1500 yen |
| Beer Set (Yakizakana) | 1500 yen |
| Kaibashira Sashimi | 750 yen |
| Yakigaki | 850 yen |
| Mamakari Sunomono | 400 yen |
| Shako Tempura | 880 yen |
| TOTAL | 5880 yen (CAD$69) |
This final restaurant is open only for lunch, and only from Tuesday to Sunday. It also boasts the longest queue that we've seen of any restaurant in Kurashiki, so reservations would be your best bet.
Food Review: RYOKAN KURASHIKI (Kurashiki)
Address: Honmachi 4-1, Kurashiki-shi, Okayama Prefecture
Hours: Lunch 11:00-14:30, Closed on Mondays
Map: from Google Maps
Directions:Walk to the mid part of the canal where it makes a sharp turn. Ryokan Kurashiki is located on the east side of the bend.
Operating as a high-end (35000+ yen per person) traditional Ryokan by night, Ryokan Kurashiki has grasped a stranglehold of Kurashiki's lunch scene with its Kaiseki-inspired lunch sets offered at a serious discount. And upon seeing the 30-person queue in its garden courtyard on a Sunday morning, we were really glad to have made our reservation prior to flying into Japan.
How much of a discount are we talking about? This signature 8-course Ryokan Kurashiki Gozen is offered at the cutthroat price of 2500 yen (CAD$29) plus tax, a fraction of what most Kaiseki restaurants would charge for slightly larger portions for dinner. There is one catch though -- the Ryokan Kurashiki Gozen is strictly available by reservation only, which we did by email two weeks ahead.
The real steal was my wife's Shiki-no-Sanpodou Gozen at a mere 1850 yen (CAD$22) ... I've had more expensive meals eating pork chops at Tonkatsu places! But there was another catch -- this lunch set is offered only to early-birds arriving at 11:00, and is limited to only 50 sets per day. Translation: reserve your table at 11:00 and book the Sanpodou Gozen ahead of time.
Consisting of 12 petite-sized dishes arranged into a double-layer Bento box, my wife's Sanpodou Gozen was in fact a full Kaiseki of Kuchitori, Sashimi, Yakimono, Agemono, Sunomono, Nimono, Chawanmushi etc condensed into miniature portions best fit for a lady's appetite.
My Ryokan Kurashiki Gozen consisted of 8 slightly-larger courses delivered in lacquered Juubako boxes, also starting with a Kuchitori designed to reflect the seasonality of ingredients. The challenge here was to finish all 8 courses within our allowed timeslot of 60 minutes, which certainly detracts from the leisurely pastime of lunching in a Ryokan.
If you have noticed my refrainment from describing how the food actually tasted, well here is the bombshell.
The flavors were okay. Quality ingredients certainly, but nothing to get overly excited about.
For instance this Buri Sashimi was about as fresh as the Buri from Sakana-an above, though the Chawanmushi wasn't the best according to my wife, normally a huge Chawanmushi fan. The emphasis here was elegance at good value -- which it successfully delivers at bargain prices. It was a neat experience for a first time visitor, though I would not consider a return to Ryokan Kurashiki with my wife, unlike Takataya or Shubou Yae.
Bill for Two Persons
| Shiki-no-Sanpodou Gozen | 1850 yen |
| Ryokan Kurashiki Gozen | 2500 yen |
| 8% Tax | 348 yen |
| TOTAL | 4698 yen (CAD$55) |
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