Ashikaga [A local izakaya experience]

Ashikaga was the home of the Ashikaga clan, who became the Shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate, and was home to the Ashikaga School, a high school in the Middle Ages. In addition to being a cultural city backed by the history mentioned above, it was also known as the home of ancient textile manufacturing. The city center is mainly located near JR Ashikaga Station on the north bank of the Watarase River, and restaurants line the roads leading to tourist spots such as Ashikaga School. As night falls, the tourist scene calms down, but the shops that start to light up create a high-quality atmosphere full of local feeling. ① Tabisuru Oden Mokumoku (photos 1-5) The Kitanaka-dori street that runs from Ban'anji Temple to Ashikaga Orihime Shrine was once a bustling entertainment district. Today, retro buildings line the streets, and it is said to have been chosen as a filming location for movies. (Ashikaga City is actively promoting filming locations, and the results can be seen in the special space at JR Ashikaga Station.) After enjoying the illumination of Orihime Shrine at sunset, I found a unique lantern while walking through the streets. Oden on a skewer is floating in the soft flesh-colored light. The humorous yet tasteful silhouette makes you smile. When I entered the restaurant, I was greeted by a large number of handwritten menus. In addition to the signature oden, there are also plenty of home-style dishes. The obanzai dishes made with seasonal vegetables and wild plants are particularly intriguing. The "obanzai mori" is a "little bit of everything" of six different dishes, which is a delight for solo customers, and the mellow taste of the "shinzoyaki" (similar to a Western-style omelette) is particularly memorable. The main dish of oden has a light taste with a clear broth, which paradoxically brings out the elasticity of the fish paste and the saltiness of the kelp. And it is worth mentioning that the proprietress of this restaurant is the editor of the local magazine "Ashikaga no Yome". The magazine introduces the charms of Ashikaga from the perspective of a migrant (= someone who married into Ashikaga), and her warm gaze seems to convey the town's calm "normal temperature". Back issues are also available in the store, and if you come at the right time, you may be able to learn about the editor's attention to detail and the charms of the town! Menu example: Oden mori (1 portion 750 yen), homemade grilled satsumaage (580 yen), sake (120 ml about 660 yen) ② Shucha (photos 6-10) Leaving Kitanaka-dori behind, we walked along the bank of the Watarase River while feeling the cool river breeze, and at the end of the road, the neon sign of "Shucha" (toys) was illuminated. As the name "Famous Sake Place" suggests, the attraction of this place is the abundance of sake! The sake bottles "displayed" on the walls of the store are sake from breweries all over the country, and even the different colored labels of different brewing methods are lined up, giving it the feel of a museum. As I was overwhelmed by the sight, an elderly woman sitting at the counter beckoned me, saying "Sit over here." When I looked, she seemed to be reluctantly tilting her tokkuri, and I thought she was a regular customer who had started drinking early, but she handed me a menu and asked, "What kind of sake would you like?" I was a little surprised, and she replied, "I'd like something light to start with," and she stood up, took a bottle from the refrigerator, and poured it into the tokkuri and then into the sake cup she had chosen earlier...We toasted and asked her, and she told me that she was the proprietress of the restaurant. Her son, who is the owner of the restaurant, was in the kitchen, and the proprietress herself enjoys a drink at the counter every night, and she warmly welcomes customers from the "customer's perspective." As we continued to talk about sake, we learned that this shop is also frequented by sake brewery owners and master brewers from all over the country, and there are items throughout the shop that show this connection. But above all, I was convinced that the attention to detail and ideas they put into "tasting sake deliciously" is what impresses even professionals. A good example of this is the mysterious set of vessels that are brought to you when you drink half of your tokkuri. It's a large-scale object that doesn't seem to fit on the counter, and I was confused, but it has a logical purpose: "water for diluting sake," "water for rinsing sake cups," and "a vessel for discarding the rinsed water." The excitement is further increased by the "manual feeling" of it. Of course, the side dishes are also abundant, mainly seafood, and are all things that go well with sake. Furthermore, many of the real regulars who came in later were "connoisseurs" who had traveled around the country drinking sake, and I learned a lot from their deep meaning. Even when you leave the store completely drunk, the proprietress will be at the counter seat to see you off with a smile. When you want to thoroughly enjoy sake, when you want to enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime encounter in an unknown place, when you want to feel the warmth of the town and its people... this is a one-of-a-kind store that will satisfy all of your desires. Menu example: Various types of sake, itawasa (400 yen), squid shichimi-yaki (650 yen) #Ashikaga #Tochigi Prefecture #Tochigi