Kumamoto Yatai Mura
Kikizake-dokoro Showakura
2024年2月29日
Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture
2024年3月1日
There are so many delicious foods and so many stores in Kumamoto, I don’t know which store to go into. And time is limited…
Getting lost in choosing a restaurant is a common problem in tourist areas, isn’t it?We recommend “Kumamoto Yatai Mura” for such people.
Kumamoto Yatai Mura has 17 restaurants and antenna stores, where you can enjoy a variety of Kumamoto and Kyushu gourmet foods in one place.Kumamoto Yatai Mura is also called a sake theme park.
It is also a place where people who like to drink can enjoy themselves.Since you don’t have to move around, it saves time and you can enjoy many things at one place, so it is highly recommended.
The entrance is marked by a large lantern, and the display of sake barrels and lanterns lined up in a row creates a lively and fun atmosphere full of festive atmosphere.
You can’t help but want to take pictures.
Once you open the vinyl curtains and enter the building, you will find many stores lining the street.Since it is open from noon, it is crowded with many people on weekends and at night.During the daytime on weekdays, it seems to be relatively empty, so it is a good time to visit.
Now, choosing a restaurant.It is fun to look at the stores one by one and choose one based on the atmosphere inside or what you want to eat, or to go with your gut feeling.This time, we would like to introduce two of the many restaurants.
Dai-chan
First, we went to “Dai-chan”.This restaurant offers not only Kumamoto specialties, but also Kagoshima specialties.The manager, who is the youngest in the yatai village, serves you energetically.There are seats inside and outside the restaurant, but the tables outside the restaurant are more comfortable.
First, I ordered Kumamoto’s specialty, horse sashimi.Horse sashimi is horse meat sashimi, which in Japan is eaten raw without being cooked.The right side of the photo is horse liver sashimi and the left side is horse sashimi.It is eaten with ginger soy sauce, garlic soy sauce, sesame oil and salt, or your favorite dipping sauce.It does not have much of an odor, but if you are sensitive to the smell of food, eating it with ginger soy sauce or garlic soy sauce will soften the smell.Liver sashimi has a unique flavor with a slightly bitter taste, while horse sashimi is a light, lean meat.If you can eat raw meat, this is a must-try dish.
For sake, we ordered “Semi,” a local Kumamoto sake.
The variety of local sake changes from time to time, so if you want to try a local sake, ask the restaurant staff for a recommendation.
Cicada is a dry sake with a soft taste and easy to drink.
Both horse and liver sashimi go well with sake.
Next, we ordered Chicken Nanban.Chicken Nanban is a local dish of Miyazaki Prefecture.It is said to have originated in the 1930s as a makanai dish at a Western-style restaurant.Deep-fried chicken is dipped in sweet vinegar and served with tartar sauce.The tartar sauce at this restaurant contains chopped pickles called Shibazuke instead of pickles.The color of the tartar sauce is pink, due to the color of the red shiso used in the Shibazuke.
Chicken Nanban is sweet and sour and has a strong flavor, so it goes very well with rice.
Lastly, we ordered the restaurant’s recommended dish, the stir-fried sardines.
Agoyaki is a specialty of Kagoshima Prefecture. Pork temple meat is called “chin meat”. It is a teppan-yaki of pork temple meat. The meat seasoned with soy sauce is very satisfying, and it has a lot of bean sprouts and cabbage. It is also served with bean sprouts and cabbage, making it a hearty dish that makes you want white rice. The dish is served hot, making a sizzling sound and creating steam. The savory smell of burnt soy sauce whets the appetite.
Kumamoto Yatai Mura is indeed called a sake theme park.In the middle of the stall village, there is a corner where you can compare 27 different Kuma shochu (Japanese liquor) breweries. Here, you can enjoy a glass of shochu for as little as 100 yen.Kumamoto is famous for its shochu.
There are many kinds of shochu, so it is good to compare and find your favorite one.The variety changes depending on the season, so you can enjoy it no matter how many times you come.
Fill a cup with ice, put money in the vending machine for your favorite brand of shochu, press the button, and the shochu will be served. The shochu comes straight out of the machine, so you can drink it as it is or, if you prefer, mix it with water or hot water.When mixing it with hot water, do not add ice*.The recommended ratio of shochu to hot water is 6:4: 6 for shochu and 4 for water or hot water.
If you drink it straight, be careful not to drink too much, as it has a strong alcohol content. Also, alcohol cannot be brought into the restaurant, so please drink it up on the spot.
Bbakamon
Now to the next restaurant. The second restaurant we went to was “Bakamon. This is a restaurant where you can enjoy Kumamoto’s local cuisine using ingredients produced in Kumamoto Prefecture. There are seats both inside and outside the restaurant, but the tables outside the restaurant are more comfortable. The restaurant recommends the pork hormone stewed in miso and the horse yakisai made with horse meat.
I was planning to try the recommended dishes, but I found something else on the menu that I was interested in, so I ordered those dishes this time.
The menu item of interest is fried pig’s feet!Pigs’ feet are pigs’ legs. In the Kanto and Kansai regions, pigs’ feet are usually cooked by boiling or steaming, while in the Kyushu region, pigs’ feet are usually grilled or fried.It is interesting to note that cooking methods differ by region. If you are planning to travel to the Kanto or Kansai regions, please try to compare the different cooking methods.
Crispy on the outside, soft and tender on the inside.It was very tasty.Being from Tokyo, it was the first time for me to try deep-fried pig’s feet, but I thought that deep-frying them was the best way to enjoy them! I thought it was the best fried pig’s feet dish.Pork feet are rich in collagen, so they are recommended for women.
Although I ate only meat this time, there are various restaurants where you can eat fish, oden, soba noodles, Italian food, etc. Please enjoy Kumamoto Yatai Mura by comparing and contrasting food and drinks.
Kumamoto Yatai Mura
2-22 Jotomachi, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto City
TEL: 080-4974-2179
Business hours: 12:00 – 23:30
*Hours of each stall may differ＊.
Closed on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month (open during peak season)
https://kumamoto-yataimura.com/
Dai-chan
Open hours: 12:00 –
Bakamon
Open: Weekdays from 15:00, Weekends and holidays from 12:00
