photo by sarah
You know the Japanese love good foods. There are a variety of restaurants and diners on city streets, Japanese, Western or Chinese style, that serve seasonal cuisines or desserts. What’s more, most of those eateries offers very reasonable pricing. The eating-out industry is one of the key industries in Japanese economy. By the way, did you know there are some long-established eateries with very old histories in Japan, just like those historical shrines and temples? Some of them were visited by historical figures, or became the setting of a traditional stage play. So, let’s see Japan’s 5 oldest eateries that have been continuously operated since their establishment.
Ichimonjiya-Wasuke: Established in 1000
Lord Hujiwara no Michinaga once described his own political power as an uncovered full-moon in his famous “Full Moon Poem”. According to the written history, he wrote this poem in 1018, about a thousand years ago. Ichimonji-ya Wasuke, a little tea shop in Kyoyo, was established in 1000, a little while before this episode. Surprisingly this super old tea shop has had its door open since the Heian period. What you can have here is simply grilled rice-cakes and a cup of green tea. Fingertip size of rice-cakes on-sticks are served in a set of 13. From rice-steaming to white-miso and kinako coating, all the processes are done by human hands. No preservative is used. They sell what they made on the day, so you must visit the shop if you want to have this shop’s rice cakes. Why don’t you visit this place to enjoy their rice-cake-making skills and welcoming sprits have been passed from generations to generation.
Ichimonjiya-Wasuke
Address: 69 Murasakino Imamiyacho, Kita-ku Kyoto-shi, Kyoto
Tsurube-sushi Yasuke: Established about 800 years ago
Yoshino area in Nara prefecture is well known as a historical place for mountain worship, Shugen-do. Tsurube-sushi Yasuke has been carrying on its business for more than 800 years in Shimoichi-cho, the former gateway to Yoshino area. “Tsurube-sushi” is a type of sushi which is made by filling a vinegared sweetfish with sushi-rice. It is called “tsurube-sushi” as it looks like a well-bucket (tsurube). Tsurube-sushi Yasuke became nationally famous when its name was used in a kabuki play “Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees” in the Edo period. Now, this restaurant offers a variety of dishes using local fresh sweetfish such as oshi-zushi, and is favored by many celebrities.
Tsurube-sushi Yasuke
Address: 533 Shimoichi, Shimoichi-cho Yoshino-gun, Nara
TEL: 0747-52-0008
Honke Owariya: Established in 1465
This is another long-established eatery in Kyoto, Honke Owariya. This shop was originally established as a confectionery shop in 1465, during the Muromachi period. Many years later in the Edo period, eating “soba-kiri”, which is made by cutting black wheat doe into noodles, became a trend among Zen-Buddhists in Kyoto. Consequently, those Buddhists started passing orders for soba-kiri to local confectioners who had proficient skills of kneading, rolling and cutting. Honke Owariya turned a soba-kiri maker during this period as well. Their business steadily grew in later years and was honored to provide their products to the emperor’s palace. But they never lost their passion to make confectioneries all these years. You can still purchase their black wheat sweets such as soba-mochi from this shop.
Honke Owariya
Address: Nijo Sagaru, Kurumayacho-dori, Nakagyo-ku Kyoto-shi, Kyoto
TEL: 075-231-3446
Yamabana Heihachi-jaya: Established between 1573 and 1592
This restaurant was established between 1573 and 1592, during the Azuchi-Momoyama period, as a little tea shop by the Wakasa Road running from Kyoto to the north. At the beginning, they were serving tea and barley-and-rice with grated yam (tororo-gohan). In later years, they started lodging business as well, and now Heihachi-jaya is running as a restaurant-and-inn that provides traditional Japanese course dinner, ceremonial course dinner, hot-pot and many other beautiful Japanese cuisines. Of course, their “tororo-gohan” is still on the menu list. This place has been visited many of celebrities and historical figures including Tomomi Iwakura, one of the statesman in the late modern period of Japan, and Soseki Natsume, the literary giant of the Meiji period. The same as other long-established eateries in Kyoyo, this old restaurant-and-inn stood there all the time throughout the late stage of provincial wars, the Edo period and the Meiji period, the most turbulent periods of Japanese history.
Yamabana Heihachi-jaya
Address: 8-1 Yamabana-Kawagishicho, Sakyou-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto
TEL: 075-781-5008
Ganso Chojiya: Established in 1596
Located in Maruko, Suruga-ku in Shizuoka prefecture where prospered as a post-town “Mariko-shuku” since 12th century, Ganso Chojiya is well known for its tororo-jiru (grated yam). This area has been recognized as a large production site of Japanese yam since the old times. Travelers who went on Tokaido Highway used to stop here to rest and eat tororo-jiru to gain energy. Detailed description of the time can be seen on one of the Fifty-three Stages of the Tokaido by Hiroshige Utagawa. Ganso Chojiya kept serving its tororo-jiru to travelers since its establishment in 1596. Its famous tororo-jiru using fresh local yam is still their most favored menu. At the entrance, the solid timber house with a thatched roof solidly stands and welcomes you. This over 300-year-old building was relocated from other place in 1970 to recreate Hiroshige’s picture in reality. Even plum and apricot trees were planted exactly the same way in the picture! There is a museum next to the shop. You may feel as if you had been transported to the Edo period.
Ganso Chojiya
Address: 7-10-10 Maruko, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka-shi, Shizuoka
TEL: 054-258-1066
Same old, same good
Well, to be honest, I thought “long-established” would be just the matter of 100 or 200 years before I started researching. But it turned out that those shops have incredibly long history. It is surprising that the first rice-cake shop is running over 1000 years! All others have more than 400-years history as well. Out of the five shops introduced in this column, three of them are located in Kyoto. This is understandable considering its history and cultural background. Thinking of universal daily life continued since the far old times while dining in an eatery with a long history. Not so bad, is it?
