osaka-takaoka-tonami

Saturday after Satoshi's German class, we grabbed a few things for lunch and headed to Toyama prefecture.

The last time we were in this area was 3 years ago, when we visited the TK route.

I had wanted to go back especially to Tonami because I found out they had a Tulip Fair.

It takes about three and a half hours to get from Osaka to Takaoka.

From Takaoka, it takes about another 30 minutes to Tonami.

By the time we reached Tonami it was close to 7.

The place we stayed at was the APA Hotel. It is right outside the JR Tonami station exit and has WIFI in all the rooms.

After we checked in, we checked out the area for someplace to eat.

The first place we ate at, Miyako, started off okay until we had to wait almost 30 minutes for a teeny plate of sashimi to come out, which they charged us 1350 yen for...

Aside from the sashimi, the highlight at this restaurant was their shiroebi karaage (fried white shrimp). Shiroebi is a delicacy of the Toyama area.

So, after a salad, the shiroebi karaage and that teeny plate of sashimi, we headed to the Yataimura.

The yataimura is a food court, of sorts, you can sit where you want and order from all the different shops there.

We sat at the counter of Enraku. Satoshi had their homemade gyoza.

And their tan tan men. This was different from most tan tan men we've had. Those pats you see in the soup aren't butter but slices of tofu.

And the meat that was in the soup was bite sized pieces of pork that were seasoned and cooked in a shoyu-based sauce.

Satoshi enjoyed this bowl. The soup was quite light, we thought it might have been chicken based.

I had their black cha-han (fried rice). What made this black was takesumi (bamboo charcoal). I have had takesumi in the past and I am glad this wasn't gritty.

The owner had created this dish a couple of years back for the Tulip Fair. The weiners are supposed to look like tulips.

If ever you visit Tonami, eat at this Yataimura.

It was quite a long day.

Our next day was going to be a full one, stay tuned!

Enraku
inside the Tonami Yataimura
7-2 Omotemachi
Tonami, Toyama

APA Hotel
1-3 Omotemachi
Tonami, Toyama
Phone: 0763.33.3111