Local Guide
6 recommended lunches in Aso and Kujyu

The Aso/Kujyu area, which boasts one of the world's largest calderas, is blessed with great nature and spring water, and agriculture is thriving. As a result, it is also a gourmet area with an abundance of foods blessed with the bounty of the earth. Here are six lunch spots in Aso/Kujyu that you should definitely visit to enjoy the local delicacies.

A hearty kaiseki lunch that lets you experience the season in Aso

Ichinokawa Course (2,530 yen). The photo shows the spring menu. The abundance of items and handmade deliciousness by artisans are very satisfying.
Ichinokawa Course (2,530 yen). The photo shows the spring menu. The abundance of items and handmade deliciousness by artisans are very satisfying.

An old private house that can be seen in the forest a short distance from National Route 57. This Dining Area is popular for its kaiseki course meals featuring wild vegetables and seasonal ingredients from the bounty of the Aso land.
The chef, who trained in Gions, Kyoto, makes all of his own dishes, from the soup stock to the ingredients. From the three-course appetizer to the gorgeous "itayose-zari" (a dish served in a small wooden platter), nabe (a hot pot), and dessert, the rich variety and individuality of the dishes are sure to impress each and every time they are served. The menu changes according to season and availability.

Enjoy the nature of Aso in a 100-year-old old private house.

A space where you can enjoy the view of the lush garden from the window
A space where you can enjoy the view of the lush garden from the window

Dishes include the Ichinokawa Course, the Owl Course, which includes seasonal sashimi and lava-plate grilled red beef, as well as other courses to suit any budget. In addition, Ichinokawa also offers a "children's lunch plate" (reservation required), which features creative dishes for children.
Ichinokawa is housed in a 100 year-old house that was moved to a new location, and its 3,000 square meters of land is filled with nature, allowing diners to enjoy their meals in a tranquil and peaceful setting that is hard to believe it is so close to the national highway.

Local Guide Comment
Seats often fill up quickly, especially on weekends, so be sure to make a reservation before visiting. A stream flows through the garden, and you will be healed by the seasonal scenery, such as fresh greenery in spring and summer and autumn leaves in fall.
Creative Cuisine Ichinokawa
  • Address 1983-1 Tsutsumi, Nagakusa, Aso City, Kumamoto Prefecture MAP
  • Direction 5 min. walk from JR Ichinokawa Station
  • Business hours Lunch 11:30-15:00 (close when all ingredients are gone)
    Dinner 17:30 - upon reservation
  • Closed Wednesday
  • TEL 0967-35-6811
  • Parking Free of charge

Aso's famous local cuisine, takana-meshi and dagojiru soup

Dagojiru set meal (1,375 yen). The takana rice can be changed to
Dagojiru set meal (1,375 yen). The takana rice can be changed to "sanzoku meshi" (rice mixed with bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, etc.).

This Dining Area is located along Route 57 and is a must stop when you want to try "Dagojiru" and "Takana-meshi," two of Aso's local dishes. The "Dagojiru Set" allows you to enjoy both at once.
The dagojiru is made of Japanese wheat flour and hand-kneaded dango (dumplings), and the chewy texture is superb. The dashi broth, which is made by mixing miso (a mixture of rice, barley, and other ingredients) with a variety of vegetables and other ingredients, is so delicious you will want to drink it all up. Also popular is the rich flavor of the takana-meshi, made with homemade old pickled takana, which is fermented thoroughly and contains no preservatives.

Warm country cooking in a restaurant decorated with clay bells to ward off evil spirits

The restaurant has a small tatami room and table seating area, and attracts a variety of customers, from singles to couples and groups.
The restaurant has a small tatami room and table seating area, and attracts a variety of customers, from singles to couples and groups.

The "Horumon-nikomi" (raw hormone stew) and "Yakitate Stamina Horumon" served on a hot teppan (iron plate) are also hidden favorites. The restaurant has been in business for about 50 years as a Dining Area serving country cuisine unique to Aso. With its unchanged taste and warm service, the restaurant has long been loved by tourists and locals alike.
Inside the restaurant, about 1,000 clay bells from all over Japan, which the owner has bought and collected on his travels, hang from the ceiling. Enjoy Aso's countryside cuisine in a Dining Area that retains its old-fashioned appearance.

Local Guide Comment
Parking for about 50 cars is spacious and easy to park. It is very close to the animal theme park "Aso Cadre Dominion!
Dining Area on the Road: Yamanzoku Tabiji
  • Address 2127 Kurokawa, Aso City, Kumamoto Prefecture MAP
  • Direction 15 min. walk from JR Aso Station
  • Business hours 11:00-15:00 (L.O.)
  • Closed Wednesday
  • TEL 0967-34-2011
  • Parking Free of charge

The fascinating red beef bowl seasoned with secret broth and soy sauce.

The
The "Akagyu Bowl Set" (1,720 yen) includes miso soup and pickles. A large portion (2,100 yen) is also available.

This restaurant, located in the Monzenmachi shopping street that leads to the side approach to Aso Shrine, serves red beef dishes. The signature dish is "Akagyu-don," a bowl of rice topped with grilled tender inner thigh. The rich flavor of bonito and iriko dashi (dried bonito and dried sardines) enhances the flavor of the red beef, creating a unique taste that makes the rice go down a treat.
We recommend mixing it with hot spring eggs, or changing the flavor with "Akagyu Miso," which is made from Yamauchi Honten's maboroshi miso, wasabi, yuzu pepper, or "Umakarimiso," a spicy miso.

A wide variety of Akagyu dishes such as udon, curry, and dagojiru.

Akagyu dashi soup udon (900 yen with rice ball set, 700 yen for individual item)
Akagyu dashi soup udon (900 yen with rice ball set, 700 yen for individual item)

In addition to the Akagyu rice bowl, the restaurant also offers a variety of other special Akagyu dishes, such as "Akagyu dashi soup udon" topped with tender Akagyu beef tendon cooked for 3 hours, using "Shimabara udon" which is thinner than regular udon noodles. The thin noodles are well mixed with the meat and broth, and the taste and aroma are delicious to the fullest (soba noodles are also available). In addition, a wide variety of Akagyu dishes are available, such as "Akagyu dagojiru," "Akagyu curry," and "Akagyu takikomi-gohan (rice cooked with Akagyu beef)," which take full advantage of the flavor of Akagyu beef and its broth.
There is also a sister restaurant across from "Aso Cadery Dominion" on National Route 57, where you can casually enjoy the best Akagyu beef dishes.

Local Guide Comment
If you want to enjoy the tastes of Aso all at once, we recommend the "Akagyu rice bowl and Akagyu dagojiru set" (2,100 yen). The rice in the bowl is served with takana-meshi, allowing you to enjoy akagyu, takana-meshi, and dagojiru all at once!
Akagyu Donburi Specialty Restaurant Gotoya Honten
  • Address 3075-1 Miyachi, Ichinomiya-cho, Aso City, Kumamoto Prefecture (next to Aso Shrine) MAP
  • Direction 15 min. walk from JR Miyachi Station
  • Business hours 11:00-16:00 (L.O.15:30)
  • Closed Tuesdays and the 3rd Monday of the month
  • TEL 0967-22-5080
  • Parking Please use the sightseeing parking lot (for a fee).
  • Memo Please inquire for a one-hour cash refund for those who use the paid Tourist Parking.

Enjoy fresh, high-quality horse sashimi for lunch at the butcher store!

Higo Bashimi Set (2,200 yen). The small bowls of food served as appetizers are said to be very impressive!
Higo Bashimi Set (2,200 yen). The small bowls of food served as appetizers are said to be very impressive!

This Dining Area is attached to "Yaomanno butcher shop Fujihon," which has a history of about 100 years as a butcher shop in Oguni Town in the northern part of the Aso area. Visitors can enjoy dishes using fresh meat and Aso vegetables that only a butcher store can provide.
Horse meat dishes are especially popular among tourists. The "Higo Bashimi Zen" features a lineup of melt-in-your-mouth horse sashimi with beautifully marbled flesh. The meat is cut to order by the owner, so you can be sure of its freshness. In addition, the small bowls of seasonal vegetables handmade by the owner's wife are also popular, and the rice purchased from a local contract farmer is shiny, sweet, and delicious.

After lunch, you can buy horse sashimi as a souvenir at the butcher store attached to the restaurant.

Dining Area in an old private house style building. Seats outside the restaurant allow barbecues and meals with pets.
Dining Area in an old private house style building. Seats outside the restaurant allow barbecues and meals with pets.

Also noteworthy are the "sakura donburi," a bowl of rice topped with chopped horse sashimi, natto, egg, and green onion, and "kekisorashi donburi," a bowl of rice topped with pickled horse meat futaeko, which is unique to a butcher store that handles horse meat. The restaurant also offers a variety of other meat menus, from horse meat dishes such as "horse sukiyaki zen" to Kurobuta pork, Jidori chicken, hamburger steak, and more.
After dinner, we recommend moving to the neighboring store to purchase horse sashimi as a souvenir. For those who live far away, they are happy to ship it fresh nationwide. It is also a great way to bring home the memories of the delicacies from your trip.

Local Guide Comment
It is a stylish butcher store with retro jazz music playing inside. Located along the national highway from Oguni Town to Canegatate Hot Spring, it has a large parking lot for easy Direction.
Dining Area Fujimoto
  • Address 218 Shimojo, Oguni-cho, Aso-gun, Kumamoto MAP
  • Direction Approximately 40 minutes from JR Aso Station by car
  • Business hours 11:00-15:00 (L.O. 14:30)
    Butcher store open from 9:00 to 17:00
  • Closed Wednesdays (open on national holidays)
  • TEL 0967-46-2194
  • Parking Free of charge
  • Memo Reservations not accepted

Dengaku (grilled beef dumplings) served slowly while waiting to be cooked on the edge of the sunken hearth.

Takamori Dengaku Set Meal (1,980 yen). Nourishing ingredients such as homemade sweet potato dumplings, country tofu, and konnyaku are grilled over charcoal.
Takamori Dengaku Set Meal (1,980 yen). Nourishing ingredients such as homemade sweet potato dumplings, country tofu, and konnyaku are grilled over charcoal.

Takamori Dengaku" is a local dish of Takamori-cho, Oku Aso. It originated in the old days when "tsurunoko-imo" (sweet potatoes), which were a staple food in this area in place of rice, were skewered, coated with miso, and roasted on a hearth in order to make them tastier. At this restaurant, you can enjoy such "Takamori Dengaku" grilled over a charcoal fire in a traditional sunken hearth.
The "Takamori Dengaku Set Meal" includes dengaku made with tofu, konnyaku, taro dumplings, and other ingredients, dago soup, and takana-meshi rice, in addition to vinegared sweet potatoes. The secret dengaku miso mixed with spices is addictively delicious. The yamame (landlocked salmon) is served directly from the kesu over the open hearth, so its fluffy meat is completely odorless and appealing.

Some people take a nap under the perfect view of Mt.

Spacious seating area. From the window in the back, you can see Mt.
Spacious seating area. From the window in the back, you can see Mt.

If you want to enjoy the taste of Aso with more gusto, you can try the "Aso red beef loin set meal," in which red beef is grilled over a charcoal fire in a net. Each menu item is enjoyed while sitting on the edge of the sunken hearth and waiting for the food to be cooked over a charcoal fire.
The peaceful setting with a view of Mt. Nekodake, one of the five Aso peaks, is said to relax many diners, and many of them just lay down after their meal. Many people just lay back and relax after a meal in this peaceful setting overlooking Mt. Although you tend to be pressed for time during your trip, we recommend that you take your time and visit this restaurant.

Local Guide Comment
Tsurunoko sweet potatoes, silhouetted like the profile of a crane, are only available in Takamorimachi. It tastes as hokuhokko-hokko-y as a taro.
Takamori Dengaku Village
  • Address 814-2 Kamishikimi, Takamori-cho, Aso-gun, Kumamoto MAP
  • Direction Approximately 60 minutes by car from the Kumamoto IC of the Kyushu Expressway
  • Business hours 11:00-23:00 *Reservations required after 17:00
  • Closed No regular hours
  • TEL 0967-62-1327
  • Parking Free of charge

Pizza and pasta dishes are available to enjoy with wine.

Six types of pizza and two to three types of pasta are always available.
Six types of pizza and two to three types of pasta are always available.

Kusumi Winery has a vast vineyard on a plateau overlooking the Kuju Mountains. At the Restaurant located on the premises, you can enjoy pizza, pasta, and other dishes that use plenty of its own vineyards and highland vegetables to make your wine taste great.
Pizzas baked in a handmade stone oven are popular for their crispy yet chewy texture. In addition to regular menu items such as the "Margherita," there is also a daily special pizza using seasonal vegetables. Authentic Italian cuisine, including pasta and a la carte dishes, is also an attraction.

Wine and grape juice are available as souvenirs at the winery's store.

During the summer, you can enjoy the view of vineyards spreading outside the window.
During the summer, you can enjoy the view of vineyards spreading outside the window.

Of course, it is recommended to enjoy your meal with Kusumi Winery's wine. Even if you cannot drink alcohol, the winery's original grape juice and non-alcoholic wine are also available.
The restaurant overlooks a vast vineyard, and during the summer the terrace is covered in grapes. In addition, the restaurant has a private pet-friendly room, which is popular among travelers with dogs. After dinner, enjoy a leisurely stroll through the vineyards or purchase Kusumi Winery wine as a souvenir at the adjacent store.

Local Guide Comment
Kusumi Winery has a lineup of highly acclaimed wines, including the 2019 Kusumi Chardonnay Catwalk, which won a gold medal at the 2021 Bordeaux Sake Wine Challenge. This is a great place to check out as a dining spot as well as a souvenir spot.
Kusumi Winery Ishigama Kobo
  • Address 3990-1 Hiraki, Oaza-Kusumi, Hisazumi-cho, Taketa City, Oita Prefecture MAP
  • Direction 50 min. by car from Kokonoe IC on Oita Expressway
  • Business hours Spring: 11:00-17:00 (L.O.16:40)
    Winter: 11:00-16:40 (L.O.16:20)
  • Closed No holidays
  • TEL 0974-76-1002
  • Parking Free of charge
The information in this article is current as of the date of the update. Please check before visiting as they are subject to change.