This article is for fellow travelers searching for good deals on an overnight stay, as well as restaurant recommendations for the charming but slightly touristy destination of Tsuwano.
As photogenic as historic Tsuwano may appear to would-be visitors, the small town of merely 7500 residents can also get easily overwhelmed by day-tripping armies of domestic (mostly from Hiroshima) and American (mostly from the military base at Iwakuni) tourists, resulting in a) a shortage of cheap accommodations and b) a shortage of authentic restaurants catering to locals rather than visitors. We managed to find both with help from the local residents, and here are our honest recommendations.
RENTAL APARTMENT IN TSUWANO
This was the largest apartment we had rented anywhere in Japan. Period. You may be familiar with the typical 6- or 8-jo (Tatami) rooms for two people, but how often do you come across a 22-jo room?
Probably for the first time ever, our Tatami was so wide that we didn't need to stash the bedding into the usual cabinet to make way for a sitting area. We're talking an entire apartment with a Tatami space that comfortably sleeps four, a separate room that could sleep another two or three, living room, dining room, kitchen, Genkan for wet clothing and luggage, laundry area, toilet and bath, all within a 2-minute walk from the train station for an unbeatable price. Too good to be true?
You knew there would be a catch -- a deal this good would only be bookable from a Japanese booking site. But the hassle was definitely worthwhile as we enjoyed this incredible spaciousness at a price cheaper than many business hotels. Behind the dining table and vanity dresser was a well-equipped kitchen with all the Japanese family essentials, including an entire wall of cabinets stocked with seasonings, a rice cooker and a broiler for grilling fish.
To anyone familiar with standard apartment sizes in Tokyo or Osaka, this was a ginormous cavern occupying the entire upper floor of a cafe/souvenir store operated by the same owner. WiFi was probably too much to expect, but I was able to watch local (i.e. San'in Region) TV channels affiliated with the usual Fuji or Asahi. Did I mention that it came with a balcony where I watched Tsuwano's famous steam locomotive pull into the train station?
And we're not done yet. Sandwiched between the living room and the bathroom was another semi-enclosed section of floor space, including this very traditional 10-jo Tatami with sliding panel doors and wooden latticed windows, an area for hang-drying clothes, and the independent traveler's best friend, an old but functional washing machine. There was even an old piano, though I suspect that it wasn't recently tuned.
The dated bathtub and toilet was just something to be tolerated, though there is a hotspring bathhouse within a 5-minute drive for anyone with a rental car. That said, we would gladly take this 100 m2 apartment over a cramped business hotel of comparable pricing (less than 8000 yen!), especially for its unbeatable location in a tourist town. If you're interested, go to Jalan.net and look up Takasegawa in Tsuwano ... while this impossible deal lasts.
Food Review: YAMAMOTO FUMIDO (Tsuwano)
Address: Ushiroda ロ-479-1, Tsuwano-cho, Kanoashi-gen, Shimane Prefecture
Hours: 09:00 to 19:00. Closed on Tuesdays.
Map: from Google Maps
Directions: From the train station, walk south along the road parallel to the train tracks for 250m. Yamamoto Fumido is on the right side, though you may smell the freshly made crepe before you recognize the shop.
Our favorite gourmet discovery in Tsuwano wasn't a proper restaurant, but a delectable little snack that has endured the test of time, 300 years to be exact.
We're of course referring to Tsuwano's time-honoured confection, a Wagashi of rolled Japanese crepe known as Genji Maki. Among the half-dozen shops in town specializing in this centuries-old fusion between Portuguese sponge cake and Japanese Azuki beans, we picked one where the master confectioner was handcrafting the dessert in front of our eyes.
First, a perfectly rectangular layer of Castella batter had to be poured onto a sizzling hotplate to form the wrapping.
While the surface of the batter was being seared and browned, a filling of sweetened Azuki beans were gently kneaded on top of the batter.
The final step was one that took serious skills -- flipping the batter and rolling into a tubular form, with little more than a pre-measured wooden block.
Look at the flaky crust on the perfectly browned Castella-like wrapping, paired with a smooth filling of sweet Azuki jam! But here's the best part -- this was warm and steaming in our hands amidst the cold mountain air in November! If you ever pass by one of Tsuwano's many confectioneries and catch one of the artisans making a fresh batch, do your tastebuds a favor and spend the 260 yen (CAD$3) for a piece of heaven.
Bill for Two Persons
| Genji Maki | 260 yen (CAD$3) |
The Genji Maki was just the timely snack that allowed us settle into our apartment, after which we went for an unconventional lunch that may surprise many readers.
Food Review: PINOROSSO (Tsuwano)
Address: Ushiroda ロ-284, Tsuwano-cho, Kanoashi-gen, Shimane Prefecture
Hours: Open for Lunch, Afternoon Tea and Dinner. Closed on Thursdays.
Map: from Google Maps
Directions: From the train station, walk straight out of the station, cross the street and walk along Route 226 away from the train tracks. Walk for one block then cross the road and turn south. You'll see Pinorosso's red signage on the left side of the street.
This easy-to-miss restaurant -- and its prior incarnation -- has been a fixture in Tsuwano for a quarter century. It's not a Japanese restaurant per se but a Japanese-Italian osteria hidden in the mountains of West Japan. Pinorosso is Italian for the Japanese surname of Akamatsu or Red Pine, namesake of the owner and chef.
Frequent readers know that my choice for restaurants are usually deliberate and local -- Okayama-style Tonkatsu at Okayama or Flying Fish Ramen at the seafood capital of Matsue would better fit the norm. So why did I pick an Italian fusion restaurant in the middle of rural Japan?
Because this is where the Japanese themselves do lunch. This place is authentic not because it serves Japanese food, but because it primarily serves the Japanese locals with good food. While day-tripping tourists scatter amongst generic Japanese restaurants serving Tsuwano inventions such as Uzume-meshi, the locals themselves crowd this osteria to the point that it won't even take reservations on weekends. My wife was surprised too at the choice, though she became an instant convert at the first bite of the crusty yet pillowy-soft bread. She did spent 23 days in Italy last year so she should know what authentic Italian bread tastes like.
Part of Pinorosso's lunchtime popularity had to do with the price-quality-ratio of its set lunches, offering choices among 3 pastas for 1200 yen (CAD$14) or pizzas for 1400, all including salad, dessert and an authentic Italian espresso. The unmistakable aroma of Gorgonzola already filled the room before my Quattro Formaggi arrived with perfectly crisp edges from the brick oven. This was legit Italian fare.
While the choice of pizze tended to be classics such as Margherita or Napoletane, the pasta sauces took on distinct Japanese-influences such the pictured Koebi-no-Cream with local shrimps or Bolognese with Satoimo (Japanese Taro). As a fusion dish this wasn't quite as spectacular as the Beef Tongue Stew in French Demi-glace my wife had at Onomichi's Aoyagi, but her skepticism towards Yoshoku-ya (i.e. Western restaurants in Japan) became largely dispelled by the end of our trip.
Bill for Two Persons
| Pizza Lunch | 1400 yen |
| Pasta Lunch | 1200 yen |
| Tax | 208 yen |
| TOTAL | 2808 yen (CAD$33) |
Dinner options were desperately few in a tourist town where most visitors either come for day-trips or stay in traditional Ryokans where dinner and breakfast were already included. As usual we sought recommendations from the locals and ended up at one of the town's two Sushi-ya.
Food Review: AOKI-ZUSHI (Tsuwano)
Address: Ushiroda イ−78−10, Tsuwano-cho, Kanoashi-gen, Shimane Prefecture
Hours: Open for Lunch and Dinner. Closed on Tuesdays.
Map: from Google Maps
Directions: From the train station, just walk south along the road parallel to the train tracks for 200m. Aoki is on the right side.
If you're questioning the wisdom of having sushi at an inland town 40km from the coast, honestly that was my fear as well ... until we spotted a live fish tank at the entrance! Immediately catching our eyes were the unique zebra stripes on the swimming Ishidai, a fish with incredible survival will even after its head had been chopped off ... but that's another story.
Everyone in town, including our apartment landlord, had known this Sushi-ya as a Tsuwano institution for four decades, as evidenced by an entire wall of congratulatory messages and signatures from visiting celebrities over the years. Besides the typical assortment of Sushi Neta, Aoki also served up rustic local specialties such as Imo-ni (boiled taro) and Konnyaku Jelly Sashimi.
My favorite way to appreciate a Sushi-ya, if I could afford it, was to order its top-of-the-line Omakase, which happened to be advertised on the blackboard tonight at a discounted 1700 yen (CAD$20). Note that beautiful white marbling on the Hiramasa on the right -- this was quality Neta at near conveyer-belt-sushi prices.
Nobody should expect fish market freshness here at landlocked Tsuwano, but the quality of Neta was surprisingly comparable to any coastal town. The Omakase came with an assortment of ten local catches from the Sea of Japan such as Buri and Akagai, instead of the usual Pacific Ocean Chutoro or Katsuo ubiquitous among Sushi-ya in Tokyo or Osaka.
We also ordered the house special Tsuwano Teishoku, a cornucopia of local farmhouse recipes including Konnyaku Jelly Sashimi, Wasabi Leaves, Chawanmushi with Gingko Seeds, and Tsuwano's signature Imo-ni, taro roots simmered in a flavorsome broth of grilled sea bream and Yuzu citrus rinds.
Sometime during dinner I asked our Taisho about a heaping platter of deep-fried fish sitting on top of his counter, which he referred to as "Bokko." I had no idea what Bokko was, and there was only one way to find out.
Refried for a second time and served with a spicy Ponzu for dipping, the Bokko Karaage turned out to be an excellent Izakaya-style dish designed to be washed down with a glass of local Jizake wine, which went especially well with the thunderously crunchy fins and bones. The bargain price of 400 yen (CAD$4.7) was exemplary of the overall price-quality-ratio at this humble Sushi-ya in Tsuwano, a rare find in a notoriously touristy town.
Bill for Two Persons
| Tsuwano Teishoku | 1640 yen |
| Omakase Sushi | 1700 yen |
| Bokko Karaage | 400 yen |
| Umeshu (Glass) | 540 yen |
| Jizake (Glass) | 450 yen |
| TOTAL | 4730 yen (CAD$55.6) |
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