Local Guide
Three dinner spots where you can enjoy Towada's gourmet cuisine

Towada has a widespread meat-eating culture, including B-grade gourmet bara-yaki and horse meat dishes. Its proximity to the sea means that the area is blessed with fresh seafood, and there is a wide variety of restaurants. Here are some of the best places to stop by for dinner during your trip, where you can enjoy Towada's unique menu.

Towada-barayaki for 1 person 800 yen (photo shows 2 servings). If you want to add udon noodles, it costs 300 yen per ball. (Both prices exclude tax).
Towada-barayaki for 1 person 800 yen (photo shows 2 servings). If you want to add udon noodles, it costs 300 yen per ball. (Both prices exclude tax).

A festival to revitalize the town with local gourmet food!　This is the antenna store of the Towada Barayaki Seminar, a town revitalization group that won the Gold Grand Prix at the "B-1 Grand Prix in Koriyama". Their signature dish is "Towada Barayaki.
Barayaki is a barbeque dish eaten in the Kamikita region of Aomori Prefecture, centering on Towada City. At this restaurant, onions with sauce are spread on a griddle and beef ribs are piled up in the center of the griddle. When the onions have softened, the tower is broken down and the meat is stir-fried.
The key to the flavor is the original soy sauce sauce, which contains garlic from Towada and apples from Aomori Prefecture. The sweet and spicy sauce goes well with the beef and is perfect with rice and beer. We recommend adding udon noodles to finish off the dish, soaking up all the flavor.

In addition to bara-yaki, there is a wide selection of "good things from Towada

In addition to table seating, there are also seats made from a food cart taken over from a famous restaurant in Nakasu, Fukuoka Prefecture.
In addition to table seating, there are also seats made from a food cart taken over from a famous restaurant in Nakasu, Fukuoka Prefecture.

Barayaki was born in the early 1950s. The U.S. military at the Misawa Air Base bought a whole cow and only ate lean meat, so citizens were able to obtain fatty parts and hormones at a discount. When these were seasoned sweet and spicy and made into bulgogi, a Korean dish, they were a big hit. It has now become a local delicacy.
In addition to bara-yaki, the restaurant offers a wide variety of dishes based on the theme of "good things from Towada. From dishes made with leeks grown in Towada and hime trout caught in Lake Towada to alcoholic beverages such as "Oirase Mugishu" made with fresh water from the Oirase mountain stream and "Koma Kaido" shochu made with the famous yam, you can enjoy a variety of items that can only be found in Towada.

Local Guide Comment
The sizzling sound and aroma of the meat grilling whets the appetite! The sweetness of the onion and the flavor of the belly meat are exquisite.
Tsukasa Barayaki Public Restaurant
  • Address 15-41 Inao-machi, Towada-shi, Aomori MAP
  • Bus Direction From Shichinohe-Towada Station, take the Towada Kanko Dentetsu bus bound for Mitsumotsuki Office (25-42 minutes), alight at Kanchogaidori and walk about 3 minutes.
    From Misawa Station, take the Towada Kanko Dentetsu bus bound for Mikko Seimon-mae (Mikko Main Gate) (29 min.), alight at Towada-shi Chuo and walk about 4 minutes.
  • Business Hours 11:00-14:30 (L.O. 14:00), 17:30-22:30 (L.O. 22:00)
  • Closed Mondays (or the following day if Monday is a national holiday)
  • TEL 080-6059-8015
  • Parking Parking is charged (3 hours free if you use the parking lot of Art Station Towada and use the "Tsukasa Barayaki Okkyo Shokudo Towadagumi").
From front to back: horse meat hot pot (extra hot) 1,620 yen (the hot pot in the photo is for two people), horse meat sashimi (extra hot) 1,080 yen
From front to back: horse meat hot pot (extra hot) 1,620 yen (the hot pot in the photo is for two people), horse meat sashimi (extra hot) 1,080 yen

Towada is known throughout Japan as a famous producer of horse meat. Horse Meat Cuisine Kitcho is a favorite of the locals here. The meat is fresh because it is raised on the company's own farm in the prefecture and processed at a factory under the company's direct management. The menu includes shabu-shabu, sashimi, steak, hamburger steak, and other familiar dishes, and even those unfamiliar with horse meat find it tasty.
One of the most popular dishes is the "horse meat hot pot." The soup for stewing is made of two kinds of miso made in Towada with ginger and garlic added. The meat, with its rich yet refreshing aftertaste, is a perfect match for the richness of the miso. The "koji nanban," a condiment with green pepper that is a staple in Aomori, is served on the side for a more local flavor.

Local Guide Comment
The horse meat has no peculiarities, is tender and has delicious fat. The rice goes well with it!

Directly managed by a wholesaler, with a store next door where you can buy horse meat.

The first floor is mainly a spacious tatami room.
The first floor is mainly a spacious tatami room.

This restaurant was opened by a horse meat wholesaler that has been in business for about 30 years, and has tables and tatami rooms on the first floor, as well as four private rooms on the second floor, providing a spacious and relaxing atmosphere.
Next to the building is an affiliated store that sells horse meat, and you can get a horse meat hot pot set that includes cut-up meat and cut-up vegetables for easy home cooking. The shop is recommended as a souvenir, as it offers high quality meat, which is distributed to famous horse restaurants in Tokyo and other cities, at a price that can only be found in the area where the meat is produced.

Horse Meat Cuisine Kitcho
  • Address 15-4 Nishisanbancho, Towada-shi, Aomori MAP
  • Bus Direction From Misawa Station, take the Towada Kanko Dentetsu bus bound for Mikko Seimon-mae (main gate) (approx. 30 min.), or from Shichinohe-Towada Station, take the Towada Kanko Dentetsu bus bound for Sanbongi-Office (37-44 min.). 3-minute walk from Sancho-mae stop.
  • Business Hours 11:00-14:00, 17:00-22:00 (L.O. 21:30)
  • Closed Sunday
  • TEL 0176-24-9711
  • Parking Free of charge
  • Memo Reservations required at least one day in advance for evenings
In the foreground is a three-piece tuna platter for 2,500 yen. In the back is an original junmai ginjo sake
In the foreground is a three-piece tuna platter for 2,500 yen. In the back is an original junmai ginjo sake "Sakanaya x Takumi" (lightly nigorized), 800 yen per sake bottle.

A Japanese-style izakaya that has been in business for two generations. The restaurant is particular about fish, and in addition to seafood landed in Aomori Prefecture, seasonal delicacies from all over Japan are brought in from Tokyo's Toyosu Market and other markets.
The menu is rich in variety, including sashimi, grilled, deep-fried, and nigiri. In addition to enjoying Aomori's famous fish such as yellowtail, kinkin, and flatfish, diners can also savor the same fish in a way that incorporates the seasons, such as by letting it mature for several days in the fall and winter before serving it as sashimi, or by washing it in the summer to make it more refreshing on the palate.
In addition to such izakaya-style dishes as "stewed horse meat" and "scallop rice porridge," both of which are direct descendants of the restaurant's predecessors, you can enjoy premium flavors such as "fresh sea urchin tempura" and "deep-fried fig and sea eel," depending on the season.

The restaurant is decorated with Aomori Prefecture and Towada's unique atmosphere.

Counter seating, sunken kotatsu-style seating with long tables, and a semi-private room recommended for small groups and families.
Counter seating, sunken kotatsu-style seating with long tables, and a semi-private room recommended for small groups and families.

The interior of the restaurant, which was remodeled two years ago, has a brand-new atmosphere and is full of cleanliness. The interior decorations that casually adorn the restaurant are also wonderful. The owner's love for Aomori and Towada can be seen in the lampshades made from beech, a traditional Aomori craft, and acrylic paintings by artist Shuji Yamamoto, whose works have been exhibited at the Towada Museum of Contemporary Art and other museums.
Among the 15 varieties of locally brewed sake on offer is a junmai daiginjo-shu called Tenori, commissioned by a Towada sake brewery and for which Mr. Yamamoto designed the label.

Local Guide Comment
Many menu items are made from fresh local sea ingredients. In addition to fish, there is also horse sashimi, yakitori, and a wide variety of alcoholic beverages.
Izakaya (Japanese style bar)
  • Address 2-40-3 Higashi-Nibancho, Towada-shi, Aomori MAP
  • Bus Direction From Shichinohe-Towada Station, 25-42 min. on the Towada Kanko Dentetsu bus bound for Mitsumotsuki Office, 4 min. walk from Kanchogaidori stop.
    From Misawa Station, take the Towada Kanko Dentetsu bus bound for Mikko Seimon-mae (Mikko Main Gate) (29 min.), alight at Towada-shi Chuo bus stop and walk about 6 min.
  • Business Hours 17:00-23:00 (L.O. 22:20)
  • Regular holiday Sundays and Mondays (only if a national holiday)
  • TEL 0176-23-6726
  • Parking Not available (use the nearby private parking lot)

MAP

Hoshino Resorts facilities nearby
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The information in this article is current as of the date of the update. Please check before visiting as they are subject to change.