Mysterious mountain restaurant in Japan whisks us away to another world

https://ift.tt/3ziLSXF Oona McGee

Hidden gem wows us with its atmospheric setting, and its amazing food.

Our reporter Egawa Tasuku has visited a lot of Japanese restaurants in his time, but even he was blown away when he was taken to a restaurant tucked deep in the mountains of Nagasaki Prefecture.

He’d been taken there as part of a press tour sponsored by Nagasaki’s Minamishimabara City and when the bus they were travelling on stopped at the restaurant for lunch, this was the sight that greeted him.

Blinking at the beautiful sight, Egawa felt as if he needed to pinch himself to check he wasn’t dreaming. It was as if he’d been whisked away to a secret world, and he became even more immersed in the mysterious setting as they walked through the mist and around to the entrance of the old building.

▼ Ramune drinks being cooled in a stone tub fed by a natural waterfall.

Relaxed by the lush greenery and calm environment, Egawa felt as if he had landed in an unexplored region. Despite being a sweltering hot day, it felt comfortably cool here, and when he remarked about it to his guide, they told him the shade did a lot to keep the place cool, but the restaurant also pipes out mist around the restaurant as a measure against the heat.

The mist was a fantastic idea that was both practical and atmospheric, and as they came to the entrance of the restaurant, Egawa could see the interior looked to be just as beautiful as the exterior.

The restaurant is called Yama no Tera Yuukyo, which is a beautiful name that translates to “Hilltop Hall Mountain Temple“.

From April to September, they serve nagashi somen noodles here, and from October to March, you can enjoy hot pot by the hearth. As it was September when Egawa visited, he was able to enjoy the restaurant’s somen noodles.

Hand-rolled somen noodles are a specialty of Minamishimabara, and though you can find the dish on the menu at a large number of restaurants around the city, there’s no place more atmospheric to get a taste of it than at this mountain restaurant.

There are plenty of side dishes to go with the noodles, and all the dishes were piled high with generous servings. The basket of somen above served four people, while the tempura below was for two people.

The tempura made with seasonal local vegetables was just as delicious and well-made as the somen. The noodles were priced at 660 yen per person, while the tempura cost 880 yen for one serving, which was a fantastic deal compared to what Egawa usually gets in Tokyo, especially with this quality.

Other menu options include: Deep-fried masu salmon (1,100 yen), salt-grilled masu salmon (830 yen), deep-fried chicken (980 yen), charcoal-grilled bacon (940 yen), charcoal-grilled chicken (940 yen) and charcoal-grilled Wagyu beef (2,520 yen).

Egawa had never seen a serving of tempura this big for two people, and though he knew the somen noodles were a signature dish at the restaurant, he found his taste buds became totally preoccupied by the delicious, crunchy taste of the freshly fried local vegetables.

The tempura was a popular choice with other diners, and despite its tucked-away location, the restaurant remained busy on this weekday afternoon, with a steady stream of regular customers.

It’s not just the food that’s amazing, as the views from the low tables is also spectacular, especially when the leaves change colour in autumn.

With his stomach full, Egawa left the restaurant, and as he turned back for one last look to cement the mysterious hidden location in his memory, he vowed to return one day in future.

Yamanotera Yuukyo is a wonderful hidden retreat in the mountains that Egawa highly recommends visiting next time you’re in Nagasaki. And if you time your visit to coincide with the Nagasaki Lantern Festival due to be held in February next year, you’ll be in for a very magical experience.

Restaurant information
Yamanotera Yuukyo / 山の寺 邑居
Address: Nagasaki-ken, Minamishimabara-shi, Fukaecho-bo 3988-22
長崎県 南島原市 深江町戊 3988-22
Hours: 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
Website

Related: Minamishimabara City
Images © SoraNews24
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New Japanese bowl-shaped donburi rice cooker cooks rice and toppings at the same time

https://ift.tt/xmNebEq Oona McGee

Making curry rice and beef bowls is now easier and faster than ever. 

It can be hard to cook up meals for one at home after a long day at work or uni, but thanks to a new product from Japanese cooking gadget maker Thanko it’ll now be the highlight of the day.

Called the Takitatedon, this new gadget is a bowl-shaped two-layer cooker that cooks up rice and your desired topping at the same time, essentially creating a “takitatedon” or “freshly cooked donburi rice bowl“.

▼ Not only is it a super convenient way to make a rice bowl meal, it’s also super fast, as the whole meal is ready to eat in just 15 minutes.

As the image above shows, the appliance cooks up rice in the bottom portion of the cooker, while the top tray sits above it, conveniently using the steam created during the cooking process to heat up your topping.

There are just three steps required to use the cooker, and they’re so easy to follow that even first-time cooks will be able to use it. All you have to do is add rice, pour in water up to the appropriate line, then place your topping into the tray, sit it on top and attach the lid, then press the button.

▼ The cooker takes either half a go or a go of rice (traditional measurements, where one go is a serving for one person equal to 150 grams [5.3 ounces]).

The appliance can be used every day of the week, with Thanko offering suggestions for a weekly rotation of meals below. Top to bottom, left to right, we have: Monday — Retort Beef Bowl, Tuesday — Large Curry Rice, Wednesday — Oyakodon (Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl), Thursday — Grilled Salmon and Vegetables, Friday — Retort Chinese Rice Bowl,  Saturday — Takikomi Gohan and Vegetable Side Dish, Sunday — Convenience Store Side Dish.

While retort pouch packs are a popular choice to use as a topping, the gadget can also heat up toppings like leftover side dishes and side dishes purchased from supermarkets and convenience stores, and it can steam food as well, allowing you to enjoy a wide variety of meals with rice throughout the week.

Another perk is the fact that the bowl can be removed from the heating element, so you can eat straight from it, saving you the hassle of setting the table…

▼ …and cutting down on the amount of washing afterwards, as there are just four pieces that need to be cleaned, along with your chopsticks.

▼ This short video shows the gadget in action.

The cooker is compact, with the bowl measuring in at 18 centimetres (seven inches) across and 14.8 centimetres in height, and the heating element measuring 18 centimetres across and six centimetres in height.

Despite its compact size, you can make up to two small bowls of rice and a large size 300-millilitre (10-ounce) topping at a time, so even those with big appetites won’t go hungry.

Being able to make a fresh donburi rice bowl at home in just 15 minutes is something busy people like us could’ve only dreamed of in the past, and the best thing about it is it won’t break the bank, as it’s priced at just 5,980 yen (US$39.96).

It’s a lot cheaper than having to buy a rice cooker in a country where rice cookers can cost 60,000 yen (US$400.97), and for those who’ve just moved out of home and find themselves in cramped kitchens, this is the only appliance they’ll need to stay well fed.

Although with products like the one-person instant ramen pot, mini oden maker and the izakaya gadget for one, there’s no end to the amazing solo gadgets you can fill your kitchen with!

Source, images: Thanko via Net Lab
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Halloween costume idea: Dressing up as the Tokyo neighborhood that banned Halloween parties【Pics】

https://ift.tt/RZHTJaY Casey Baseel

If we can’t go to Shibuya on Halloween, then we’re going to be Shibuya on Halloween.

In years past, Tokyo’s Shibuya neighborhood was the place to be on Halloween night in Japan, with costumed partiers gathering around the Shibuya Scramble intersection and flooding the Shibuya Center-gai shopping street. As it’s just a short subway ride from SoraNews24 headquarters in the Shinjuku district, we made several Halloween trips to Shibuya ourselves over the years, with our ace reporter Mr. Sato usually taking charge of our group costume theme.

This year, though, Shibuya has made it clear that it doesn’t want people turning its streets into a mass Halloween party. After year of ugly, often alcohol-fueled Halloween incidents in the neighborhood, including vandalism and violence, this year signs went up commanding “No events for Halloween on Shibuya streets.”

It’s a complex issue. On the one hand, the troublemakers were clearly having a negative impact on the local community, and the unregulated, organic nature of the Shibuya Halloween gatherings made maintaining law and order difficult. On the other hand, it’s sad to see what was, for many people, a fun event that had become a symbol of the neighborhood get shut down even for those who did mind their manners while partying.

This left Mr. Sato in a tough spot while thinking of our team’s Halloween costumes for this year. We wouldn’t be going to Shibuya, but he still wanted to do his part to keep the Shibuya/Halloween connection from fading away.

That’s when yet another of his brilliant ideas came to him: If we couldn’t go to Shibuya on Halloween, we’d BE Shibuya!

“OK everybody, for Halloween, we’re dressing up like Shibuya this year!” he told everyone in the office, leaving it to each member of the project to sort out the exact details according to their own creative sensibilities. Since this was his idea, though, it’s only fair that he show his costume first.

OK, Mr. Sato, come on in!

Is that…?

Why yes! It’s…

…the statue of Hachiko the dog, symbol of loyalty and Shibuya’s most popular meeting spot!

Remember, if you’re dressing up as Hachiko, it’s important to get the details right. For example, since so many people like to pat Hachiko, the metal on the statue’s paws has become faded in color.

▼ Like this

Mr. Sato, consummate pro that he is, made sure to recreate this aspect in his costume.

Next up, SoraNews24 founder and owner Yoshio!

Huh, Yoshio’s costume includes a sign saying “Center-gai” across his face.

It makes sense, though, since he’s dressed as…

…a Center-gai streetlight, decked out in various “No Halloween parties” notices and other etiquette reminders, just like the ones put up in Shibuya a few days before Halloween.

▼ “At Halloween, Shibuya is not a garbage dump, pickup spot, or ash tray.”

▼ “Let’s all mind our manners!”

Yoshio really went all out with his streetlight costume, even rigging up functioning light bulbs.

To test the quality of Yoshio’s costume, we went outside to see how well he could blend in with the actual Tokyo streetlights. He passed the test with flying colors, integrating so seamlessly with the surrounding scenery that not a single person realized he was really a guy in a costume.

▼ Or maybe they did realize, but just figured they should give any dude dressed like this a wide berth.

For his Shibuya costume, our reporter Masanuki Sunakoma thought big, literally…

…dressing up as Shibuya’s most iconic architectural landmark, the 109 shopping skyscraper!

In terms of combined cleverness and convenience, we’ve gotta say, Masanuki really knocked it out of the park. It’s a costume anybody in Japan will instantly recognize, but that you can make in just a few minutes with a couple pieces of poster board, some markers, and something to poke a surreptitious eyehole for you to see out of.

Next, we’ve got reporter Go Hatori’s costume…

…which is the most terrifying of our group (yes, even more so than Mr. Sato’s Hachiko).

A lot of that fear factor will dissipate, though, if you know your Shibuya history. For decades, there was a branch of the Tokyu Department Store located right next to Shibuya Station, and its logo was easily visible from the plaza outside the station and the rest of the Shibuya Scramble vicinity.

【今日】渋谷駅直結「東急百貨店東横店」が営業終了、85年の歴史に幕https://t.co/ScEmwuE54Z pic.twitter.com/7UZliHJQwU

— FASHIONSNAP (@fashionsnap) March 31, 2020

The store is now closed, but in tribute Go’s taken its logo and turned it into a mask. However, his decision to go with larger, more contoured eye cutouts, plus an opening for his mouth, also produce some unsettling psychotic clown vibes.

▼ Especially when combined with some aggressive posing

We have three more members in our Shibuya Halloween costume group, so let’s see what they came up with. First, we have Seiji Nakazawa…

…who interpreted “Dress up like Shibuya” to mean “Dress up like Japanese music critic Yoichi Shibuya.”

▼ Yoichi Shibuya, pictured center, has a thing for black turtlenecks.

渋谷陽一さん 司会の NHK-FMの番組「ワールド・ロック・ナウ」の 2021年末特番で、大貫憲章さん、伊藤正則さん がゲスト出演時の模様です
↓https://t.co/6L7BTD2bTt

いや～、懐かしい。。
'80年代は、この御三方が司会のFM番組で、エア・チェックをさせて頂いてました。
まだ、やってたんですね♪ pic.twitter.com/4odTS4SOy6

— shu ota (@shu_ota2) February 8, 2023

OK, Seiji always has music on his mind, so maybe we should have expected something like this. Let’s see what P.K. Sanjun came up with.

Ah, that’s right. Yoichi Shibuya is also one of the main organizers of the annual Rock in Japan summer music festival, so P.K. is dressed as “Yoichi Shibuya (Rock in Japan Opening Ceremony Remarks Version).”

All right, one last chance to get things back on course. Come on in, Takashi Harada…

…who’s…dressed like Kaiji, the titular star of the anime/manga franchise…?

This was even less expected than both Seiji and P.K. deciding to dress up as Yoichi Shibuya, so Mr. Sato asked Takashi what his logic was. Turns out he’d mentally rephrased “Dress up like Shibuya” to “Dress up like they do in Shibuya,” and figured any sort of Halloween costume was OK.

So in the end, only about half the people Mr. Sato had tried to recruit into his “Dress up like Shibuya” plan really understood his vision. That’s OK, though. True genius is always hard for some people to wrap their heads around initially.

And in any case, his main desire was to keep the idea that “Shibuya Halloween can be fun!” alive. Hopefully he’s not the only one that feels that way, and Halloween events can return to Shibuya in the future without the undesirable elements.

Hachiko photo: Pakutaso
All other photos ©SoraNews24
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