We’re all for maximising the number of stops while we’re travelling but sometimes it’s a little hard to when time is tight. However, thanks to the Sanyo-San’in JR West Pass, we increased our opportunity to visit smaller cities as it wouldn’t add to our transport costs. Because of our intention to visit a ryokan Japanese inn all the way east of Lake Biwa, we figured we couldn’t pass up the chance to see the sites on our way back.

We decided to stop off at Nagahama Station, two down from Kawake Station where we were picked up for our stay in Ryokan Beniayu. The surroundings of Nagahama Station is a small town which focuses on tourism, especially as the Lake Biwa, the largest freshwater lake in Japan, is situated only a few minutes’ walk west of the station. While we’re not recommending specifically that you go and visit Nagahama, there are often many little opportunities to see lesser-known places if you’re open to seeing what options are available.

Yokaro 翼果楼

In the surrounding area of Nagahama Station is a 150-year-old restaurant called Yokaro (翼果楼), whose specialties focus on grilled mackerel dishes, and especially saba soumen (鯖そうめん), grilled mackerel on top of thin wheat noodles. An old custom of the community in the area said that parents sent yakisaba grilled mackerel (焼鯖) to their married daughters in spring, who would be hard at work on the farms. Saba soumen is also a traditional festive dish in the Nagahama area, but Yokaro serves this local specialty year-round.

Yokaro also has a number of other dishes mostly focusing on grilled mackerel, such as grilled mackerel sushi, and a number of set meals which offer other local dishes. These set menus are reasonably priced, ranging from around ¥1,300-2,100 (US$12-20) per portion.

Yakisaba Soumen (焼鯖そうめん)

One portion of the grilled mackerel noodles was ¥900 (US$8.50) at the time of our visit, and one portion is quite reasonably-sized for its price! It comes with a large slab of mackerel, brown and glistening from sauce and grilling, served on top of a bed of immaculately-arranged fine wheat noodles.

The mackerel is flavourful from grilling, with saltiness from the soy sauce and sweetness from sugar, while the noodles themselves have also imparted some of the flavour from the sauce. The seasoning used for the mackerel balances the natural oiliness from the fish, which also provides a delightful fragrance that’s neither too strong nor unpleasantly fishy. Overall, the flavour of the dish is light but balanced, making for a very satisfactory meal which doesn’t weigh too heavily in the stomach.

Yokaro also provides spicy pepper powders as a condiment for your food. Yuzu shichimi (ゆず七味) is a red pepper seasoning blend mixed with yuzu citrus, and is great for a lightly spicy, citrusy flavour. Sanshou (山椒) is a type of prickly ash pepper similar to Sichuan peppercorns, with a numbing, prickly, tingling spiciness and a citrusy lime flavour. Both provide different types of spice and flavour, and are absolutely delicious with the soumen.

Funazushi (鮒ずし)

Yokaro is also one of a number of restaurants in the area which serves funazushi, an unusual specialty of the Shiga prefecture. It is a kind of narezushi, or sushi that undergoes controlled fermentation, consisting of fish caught from the nearby Lake Biwa that is fermented for around three years with salt and rice in wooden barrels. The fermentation breaks down the starches in the rice and the proteins in the fish flesh, resulting in a pretty funky dish that has a complex cheesy aroma. Female fish with roe are said to be much more highly prized and delicious.

While this is an unusual sushi to many, it is actually the earliest kind of sushi as the fermentation allows for the fish to be stored and preserved for long periods of time, which allows it to be transported and consumed as needed. While funazushi might sound a little bit outlandish to many people, we were keen to get a taste of a rare delicacy.

One portion of funazushi in Yokaro was ¥1,650 (US$15.50) during our time of visit, and only consists of a few slices of the prized fish. Like many who have tried this fish before, it has a distinctly funky, cheesy flavour, much like a strong blue cheese. It is very salty and savoury with a grainy texture, and while Jos describes a fruity, fermented flavour, Noms can’t say the same. It is by no means disgusting, but it is very certainly an acquired taste thanks to its exceptionally complex mix of flavours, some of which many will find overwhelming mixed together. Still, if you like fermented foods and you don’t mind fruity vinegars, this might be something you enjoy! Order it with some sake for a good drinking snack.

Omi Beef (近江牛)

Omi beef is a famous type of wagyu beef in the Omi Prefecture, now known as the Shiga Prefecture. It is one of the top brands of wagyu beef alongside Kobe and Matsusaka beef, known for the same qualities – tenderness, marbling, and flavour. If you’re in the area and you have the time and dime to spare, then it’s a delicious meal to eat and can be enjoyed grilled, in a sukiyaki hotpot, or in a multitude of other ways.

When wandering through Nagahama we came across a little restaurant called Chuutaro (忠太郎), which is now unfortunately labelled as permanently closed on Google Maps. Though it sold typical Japanese dishes like rice bowls, it also had jet-black croquettes which it sold from a pie warmer outside at ¥100 (US$1) for 2 pieces. This claimed to have pieces of Omi beef, and is surprisingly chewy with a light, thin crispness outside. There wasn’t much beef to be had, to be honest, but at the price that’s not surprising. Still, it was absolutely delicious, savoury and sweet and satisfying, and it’s a shame that the restaurant appears to no longer be in business.

Kurokabe Square and Glassworks

Just a few metres down from the restaurant is Kurokabe Square, a shopping alley with typical Japanese goods. There are a lot of places for souvenirs, both of the edible and non-edible variety, but the most famous commodities of the area is glass, with many giftshops offering glassworks and glass-related workshops for you to make your own items to take back home. Classes include glass staining and glassblowing, though there are plenty of beautiful souvenirs that you can take home with you.

It’s easy to spend an hour or two wandering around, especially for those who love arts and crafts and trinkets.

Lake Biwa

Of course, it wouldn’t be a trip to Nagahama without visiting the famous Lake Biwa – but somehow this totally slipped our mind! After a leisurely stroll in Kurokabe we forgot to travel to the opposite side of the station to pay a visit to one of the most famous tourist attractions of Japan in our rush to catch the next train. Still, if you have a couple of hours in the area make sure to take a walk along the peaceful, still lakeside, and maybe a visit to the Nagahama Castle as well.

Even if Nagahama is small, and doesn’t offer the same sort of flashy experiences that bigger cities like Tokyo or Kyoto have, it’s still a beautiful, quiet town with plenty of its own unique things to do that you can easily spend a day in the area.

Nagahama Station 長浜駅
1 Kitafunachō, Nagahama, Shiga 526-0057, Japan

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