1000-Day Challenge First Collaboration: Friends Gather at Itago Rice Shop

[197th Rice Ball] Itago Rice Shop (Itabashi-juku) Salmon

I have been continuing my challenge to review 1000 types of rice balls in 1000 days, and I am almost at the milestone of 200 days.
However, updating every single day without fail is quite difficult.The rice ball challenge, in particular, is something I quietly continue on my own, so it can feel quite lonely.

At such a time, I was approached by friends who are doing similar challenges.

"Would you like to collaborate?"

Actually, in this 1000-day challenge, there are friends who started their challenges around the same time. Each of us is continuing something in various fields or setting goals and working toward them.

Three of us, including myself, gathered this time in response to that invitation.

Caster-san!

Believe it or not, they are continuing a challenge to introduce 1000 coffee shops and cafes across the country.
They target cafes with a nice, old-school vibe rather than trendy ones.
Many of those places often allow smoking, but they say they go to enjoy the coffee even as a non-smoker.
It seems there are quite a few shops that aren't hits as well as the ones that are, but that's all part of the 1000-day challenge!
They are definitely worth keeping an eye on.
They have also written about this visit to Itago Rice Shop on their note.

And then, Gussan.

While working at an advertising agency, they are a powerhouse who joins a trail running circle on their days off and keeps entering competitions. Moreover, they seem to be challenging themselves with longer distances and tougher courses.

Just the other day, they ran from Takasaki to Tokyo. That distance is over 100 kilometers.

Amazing.

The road from Tokyo to Takasaki is what used to be called the Nakasendo trail.

Actually, the start of this collaboration was an invitation from Gussan to go to an interesting rice ball shop that was opened as part of a regional revitalization project along the Nakasendo.

The name of that rice ball shop is Itago Rice Store.
It is a multi-purpose cafe that opened last month as a project to revitalize an old merchant house on the former Nakasendo Itabashi-shuku, involving the local community.

The building, which was a rice store over 100 years old, has been renovated, keeping its good old charm while also being usable as a community space.

It seems it became a rice ball cafe because it is a rice store and because it connects people to people and the town.

This area feels similar to the thoughts I had when I created the Rice Ball Ale.

Now, what about the rice balls at Itago Rice Store?

I have realized something after continuing to eat rice balls at various shops until now.That is, salmon is the best ingredient to determine the true ability of a rice ball shop.

Salmon varies widely, from flakes to things like smoked salmon. Among them, places that take the time to grill fillets in-house and process them so that no bones remain also, as expected, have delicious rice balls.

Details are written here.

Fluffily formed rice balls. The seaweed is also crisp and feels good.

They use carefully selected rice from Azumino, Nagano Prefecture, where the water is delicious, cooked in a gas rice cooker.

The rice is cooked so that you can firmly feel the grains.
When you take a bite, it crumbles softly and spreads in your mouth.

The salmon is grilled, lightly salted salmon that has been carefully flaked.
Yes!

The sweetness of this rice and the mild saltiness of the salmon are just right. Even though they just opened, I feel these are very high-quality rice balls. It looks like it will become a very popular shop.

I want to continue the 1000-day challenge by cherishing the 'omusubi' (bonds) with the friends who are challenging it with me and with everyone who is reading this!

Thank you for the meal!

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