◆ Toyokocho

It’s been a snowless winter, which is unusual for Yamagata, a snowy country.

I usually refrain from driving in the winter as much as possible, but this year I don’t have to worry about the road surface freezing, so I’m going out here and there.

So, the recommended spot this time is Toyokocho, a food stall village that just opened in the center of Tendo Onsen in January.

Eight different shops have opened in Toyokocho.
Oden, fried chicken, okonomiyaki, sushi… the genres are completely different, and it’s perfect for bar hopping.

◆ Here and there... motifs of shogi

Tendo Onsen is lined with historic inns.

This gate that shines brightly in that corner is the entrance to Toyokocho.

Like the town of shogi, Tendo, there are many motifs of shogi pieces around the side streets, and there is even a dedicated shogi table in the alley of Toyokocho.

Why don’t you come play a match while enjoying delicious sake?

◆ Exquisite oden and creative dishes prepared by a young shop owner

First of all, I would like to introduce Minato.

This is a creative oden shop run by a young owner who is only 22 years old (as of February 2020).

Originally, he honed his skills at a food stall village in Sakata, and this time he set up his own shop in Toyokocho.

Surprisingly, there is no oden shop in Tendo, and expectations are high because it is the first of such specialty restaurant in the city.

An oden pot is placed in the center of the U-shaped counter, and the steam rises.
In addition to the standard radish, shirataki noodles, hanpen, and eggs, tsumire, rolled cabbage, and dumplings are packed in amber-colored soup.

The price of oden is really reasonable, starting at 100 yen!
In addition, the blackboard also introduces the creative dishes the owner is proud of.
Iburigakko cheese and atsuage are all perfect for sake.

Especially in this cold season, please warm up to the core of your body while chewing on oden.
Minato is marked by the red lantern in front of the shop.

◆ Conquer Tohoku Food with hot teppanyaki!

The shop next door, Teppan Benigame, is a teppanyaki restaurant, as the name suggests.

You can enjoy yaki-soba, okonomiyaki, sautéed Sanriku oysters (Iwate & Miyagi), thick-sliced beef tongue (Miyagi), and Towada grilled-ribs (Aomori).

You can enjoy food from all over Tohoku including yaki-soba, okonomiyaki, sautéed Sanriku oysters (Iwate & Miyagi), thick-sliced beef tongue (Miyagi), and Towada grilled-ribs (Aomori).

This time, I had the best-seller kamechan-yaki (Tonpei-yaki).
Tonpei-yaki is a standard dish in izakaya, but it has plenty of cabbage, so it’s much easier to eat than okonomiyaki, and it gives a healthy impression.

When you pinch the bright golden dough tightly with chopsticks, the fat oozes out from the toasted pork belly.

The owner, Mr. Kamei, cooks each item in front of you, and the luxurious live kitchen feel is irresistible!

There is a wide variety of sake, so please enjoy some with the hot teppanyaki dishes.

◆ Plump oyster soba

I definitely recommend the soba noodles from Yamagata Soba Izakaya Nanairo.

This is a branch of the popular Soba Shop Sagae located in Sagae City.
As if to symbolize its deep-rooted popularity, the entrance was decorated with rainbow flowers sent by fans.

The inside of the shop is relatively large for the food stall village.

The counter seats, table seats, and seats covered with vinyl curtains are also nice to have a stall-like appearance.

It’s a soba restaurant, but there are also many snack-type menus.

So I ordered two items, fried Camembert cheese and thick sliced chashu.

The hot Camembert cheese is just fried with cheese overflowing from the crisp sides.

According to the shop staff, the cheese will harden quickly, so make sure to eat it quickly.

The chashu (braised pork belly) here is the thickness of all the shops here.
Plenty of fat and a sweet and spicy sauce that fills your mouth every time you chew it gives a sense of guilty pleasure.

I want plain white rice! Try to suppress the feeling of wanting to scream, and get the recommended oyster soba from the shop instead.

Noodles made with seafood are gorgeous in the menu photos, but when you look at the real thing, you are often shocked… I’m used to the seafood used for such garnish, so I didn’t expect it this time either.

However, please take a look at this oyster soba!

Aren’t the large, plump oysters served to cover the noodles?

The soup is a strong-looking stock that has a refreshing taste with a pleasant scent of rocky shores.
It seems that you can have this even after eating around several shops.

Of course, I was very satisfied with the taste, but I felt that the charm of this restaurant was the dignity of the clerk and the quick serving time.

◆ All the shops can deliver food within the food stall village

I introduced just some of the many shops here.

If you are too busy to enter the shop you are looking for, please use their delivery system.

All the shops in Toyokocho can deliver food to each other, so you can order food from a particular shop at any time even if you can’t sit there. Please try and compare the tastes that each shop is proud of.

● All shop information

◆ Enjoy the charm of the food stall village

Recently, private izakaya have become commonplace to spend time with close friends at the shop.

On the other hand, in the food stall village, the seats are lined up at a distance where the shoulders touch each other so customers are very close to each others.

It may be embarrassing at first, but good food and liquor will gradually bring you closer to your heart.

I think that such new encounters and exchanges will be born more and more from here at Toyokocho.

Please come visit when you come to Tendo.