Doyo no Ushi no Hi: Overhanging Eel Bowl and Eel Box, Unagi Kappo Yamada, Sawara, Katori City
There are many famous eel restaurants all over Japan, but I have finally found 'the one'.
Suigo Sawara, known as the Little Edo of Hokuso, Katori City, Chiba Prefecture, Sawara, Unagi Kappo Yamada, established 300 years ago.
From the day I first ate here, it became a restaurant I could never forget.
I didn't go to Sawara just to eat eel.
I drove there with a bit of a tourist mood,enjoyed the atmosphere of Suigo Sawara,and then thought, well, lunch has to be eel, right? I searched online and came to this most popular restaurant.
Is it around here?
Oh! I followed the smell of grilling eel and there it was!
Strong black letters on a white sign.
The font itself shows elegance and firm confidence.
This is the main store.
Around 1:30 PM on a Saturday, there were three groups waiting.
We wrote our names down, one person waited here, and we took a walk through the nearby streets that still retain their historical landscape.
The Narita Line train passed by peacefully.
JR Sawara Station is very close by.
The town planning that preserves the old streets and successfully retains their atmosphere was,
in December 1996, the first in the Kanto region to be selected as aImportant Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings.
After walking for just about twenty minutes, I got a call saying it was our turn, so we headed back to the restaurant.
The customers were sparse by then, and perhaps because we were a group of five including two grandsons, we were shown to a private room on the second floor.
In the cozy and calm private room, a table made of what must be a centuries-old zelkova tree sat majestically.
This place is incredibly relaxing.
We ordered some side dishes while the eel was being grilled.
Eel bone crackers.
The casually added leaves and the beauty of the bone crackers!
With this alone, I am 100% convinced that this restaurant is a famous establishment.
Crispy, crunchy bone crackers.
A 4-year-old boy ate two-thirds of them by himself.
'Because they're just too delicious!'
Rich-lookingrolled eel omeletaccompanied bycandied plums and lotus stems simmered in plum vinegar.
How wonderful it would be if I were drinking sake!
When I took a bite of the rolled eel omelet,
the faint scent of Japanese pepper was surely the aroma of the eel grilled over Kishu Binchotan charcoal,
and that grilled eel was wrapped in the rich, dense flavor of the egg.
This isthe most delicious rolled eel omelet I have ever had.
Twenty minutes later, the main event of the day finally arrived!
Unadon and Jikaju.
What is Jikaju?
Unaju is grilled eel and rice served separately, while Jikaju is what is generally called Unaju, with the grilled eel placed on top of the rice.
They said the amount of rice and eel is the same for Unadon, Unaju, and Jikaju.
Since we're here, everyone decided to go forthe 'Jo' (superior) instead of the 'Nami' (regular).
Wow! Amazing!!
That's all I could say, in a state of excitement with a severely limited vocabulary.
The first time I've seen an overflowing unaju—snapped a photo!
How about that! Such incredible impact!
—the ultimate overflowing combo.
The homemade nukazuke (rice bran pickles) have a nice acidity and are also delicious!
It's overflowing as expected.
Look at that glaze!
hakomushi (box steaming) to remove excess fat with residual heat before grilling.
The skin is crispy and fragrant, while the inside is fluffy and tender.
The sauce, grilled aromatically over Kishu Binchotan charcoal, has the scent of Japanese pepper.
It's not a soy-sauce-dominant flavor, but a sauce with a pleasant, sweet aftertaste from white mirin.
The rice is also cooked to perfection, not too soft.
In short, the best, exquisite unagi-don and jikaju.
The grandchildren also finish their eel with big smiles.
“This is the best eel I’ve ever had,” says our third daughter.
We nodded in agreement at the words of our third daughter, who has eaten unaju at famous eel restaurants all over Japan.
We were the last customers.
We left the shop with their pleasant farewells at our backs.
Ah, a wonderful, famous restaurant where everything is perfect.
Strolling once again through the nostalgic streets of Sawara along the Ono River.
but are still being utilized as shops and the like.
The riverbank also has a wonderful atmosphere.
NIPPONIA hotel.
I took my time visiting the Ino Tadataka Museum before heading home.
When I passed by the main branch of Unagi Kappo Yamada, there were already nearly ten people waiting for the evening service; as expected of Sawara's most popular eel restaurant.
Next time, I would like to visit Katori Jingu Shrine in the autumn, pay my respects starting from the first torii gate, the 'Tsunomiya Hama Torii,' and have lunch at Unagi Kappo Yamada.
Katori Jingu Shrine, the Ichinomiya (First Shrine) of Shimosa Province (northern Chiba Prefecture)
| It is a shrine with miraculous efficacy.
An aura drifts throughout the area
and were moved to Katori Jingu when the garrison was closed.
My unforgettable famous eel restaurants note