Kawayo Green Farm

 

If you are looking for a nice restaurant for an anniversary, birthday,Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, etc. try Kawayo Green Farm. As the name suggests, Kawayo Green Farm located on a farm which not only has a farm, but a Youth Hostel, Information/Gift Shoppe, Golf Course and is a popular place for wedding receptions. Prices on meals vary depending on what you order (sets start at around ¥1,360 up to ¥8,000. You can also get “light meals” for cheaper. )

After lunch, we took  leisurely stroll on the farm grounds.

 

Directions: Go straight out the POL gate. After Universe you will see a Lawson’s on your right and after the Lawson’s is a sign for Kawayo Green Farm. Keep going straight under the overpass. Take a left at the traffic light (you will see Shanghai Ryu on the corner. When you take the left, Ho-Oh (Phoenix) Ramen will be on your right. Keep going down this street. You will come to a fork in the road and there will be train tracks in front of you. Bear left. Kawayo Green Farm is on your left.

Hours: Lunch: 1130-1430 (last order 1430)

            Dinner: 1700-2100 (last order 2030)

Telephone: 0178-56-3981

Website: http://kawayo.net/

Momokawa Brewing Inc.

Last weekend we took a free tour at Momokawa Brewing, Inc. in Oirase Town. Momokawa Brewing, Inc. was originally established in the Edo Period (1846) and launched a full-scale sake brewing operation in the 22nd year of the Meiji Period (1889).  MBJ brews and sells 2,700 kiloliters of sake every year. It is the largest sake brewery in Aomori Prefecture and the 38th largest sake brewery in Japan. They also have a sister brewery in Forest Grove, Oregon called Sake One Corporation that brews and distributes Momokawa and Moonstone brands nationwide in the US and overseas.

This is the Momokawa Giant Sugidama (Cedar Ball). The name Sugidama derives from the cedar ball ornaments (sugidama) that decorate brewery exteriors. These ornaments are symbols of the ancient role that Japanese cedar plays in the production and drinking of sake. Its origin is from the sake god cedar tree at Miwa shrine in Nara and the cedar ball represents hope for good sake that year. It changes colors as the seasons change which is symbolic of the aging of sake

 

Sake is rice based but the rice used for sake isn’t the same as “cooking” rice. This rice is larger and less sticky. The water used to brew Momokawa is tapped from an underground aquifer from the Oirase River and runs 230 meters below the surface where filtering and softening process of the water are undergone naturally. Before aging , the entire process for making sake takes between 45-50 days.  10kg of rice produces can produce between 18-20 liters of sake.

The final part of the tour and the pièce de résistance was the free sake tasting! After you taste everything you can purchase your favorite one. Be warned though, it seemed as though everyone liked the first one they tried the best, no matter which one it was. So maybe start with the cheapest. (I started with the most expensive and found it to be the best, others felt differently. I didn’t buy that one but a grape flavored beverage instead, it was wonderful!) We were also given a small bottle of sake as a souvenir. If you go to the sake brewery and taste test, please remember to have a designated driver!

 

Sake in moderation is good for your health. Recent research has found that sake reinforces activity of NK cells which destroy cancer cells and prevents formation of thrombosis, senility, obesity and diabetes. There is an old saying that sake is the chief of all medicine!

Momokawa Brewing, Inc. Japan

112 Kamiakedo Oirase, Aomori. 039-8543

Soba Dokoro Takahashi

 

Soba Dokoro Takahashi is a little hidden soba shop in Oirase Town. The owners also own a farm so the shop is only open four hours during the day.

The menu consists only of cold noodle soba but they have four different types. For each dish you can choose small, medium, or large. Their menu is posted on the wall but there are only two pictures to point to so we got one of each of those dishes.

This first dish is very basic. You pour the soba sauce in the bowl and dip it and then eat it. It came with cooked squash (extremely good) and some vegetables.

This dish had more of a “kick” to it. The white vegetable you see there is radish. Not sure about the greens. Here, you pour the sauce over the soba a little bit at a time. (Yes, the owner was nice enough to show me).

After our meal, a square “teapot” looking thing was brought over to us. Naturally I thought it was tea, or soup. I tried it and it just tasted like hot water. I heard a lot of giggling from the kitchen and the owner came over and swirled the teapot a bit, poured the water in the cup and put some soy sauce in it. It was a light soup.

For dessert they brought us some sponge cake. It was really bouncy and not very sweet. I thought it was wonderful.

I really enjoyed this restaurant. Not only was the soba delicious and refreshing to eat on a hot and humid day, but the owners were so kind to this stupid foreigner.

Directions:  From P.O.L Gate:
- Follow the road towards Towada City.
- After passing the toll road on ramp, take left at the next traffic light.
*You will see a sign for Ho-Oh and Universe on your left. Shanghai Ryu is at that corner.
- Follow the road, stay to the right at the fork, and go over the train tracks.
- Dokoro Takahashi will be on the left.

Hours: 11:00-15:00

Closed Wednesdays and the fourth Thursday of every month

phone number: 090-4888-2383

Shanghai Ryu and other Ramen-ya

We went to Towada Friday and Saturday and both times we decided to stop at a Ramen restaurant. (two different restaurants). The first one is called Shanghai Ryu Chinese Restaurant. They have mostly ramen and a few other dishes. Ramen is considered Chinese because they use Chinese noodles. Don’t be fooled by the outside of the building. Looking inside from the outside it doesn’t look like a great place to eat but once you are inside, it really has a nice atmosphere. They have seats at the bar, tables, and tatami sections. The ramen here is very good too!   

The next Ramen shop I unfortunately don’t know the name. It is along route 10 (as is Shanghai Ryu) and next to a Lawson’s. The menus are all in Japanese. I was lucky enough to go with someone who could read Kanji. I didn’t ask if they had an English menu so I don’t know if they have one or not. This place was really small, regular tables and seats at the bar. The walls are just plywood, but don’t be fooled, the ramen here is really good as well!   


Directions to the ramen shops from POL gate: go straight  toward Towada City. You will see Shanghai Ryu first on your left (about 10-15km) and the other shop is after it  on the left next to a Lawson’s. A long blue building is behind it (I think they have batting cages there).