A long weekend for the first time in a while – although Japan has plenty of long weekends. Feels like there’s one almost every month.. Anyway, with the holiday here, I’m off to Shizuoka because I have business there.
The weather is a little cloudy.
The expressway was completely jammed, so it took about 8 hours to get there. Damn it..
Expressway service area
We got hungry along the way, so we stopped at an expressway service area. Japanese service areas these days are something else. They’re pretty much tourist attractions in their own right. Lots of places to eat, things to look at, and spots to rest. When will Korean expressways get like this.. They’ll copy it someday, I’m sure..
Hamburg steak made with local wagyu
I dithered over what to eat and went for the more unusual item on the menu. The taste was decent enough, but they had a big backlog of orders. I think I waited more than 30 minutes. With a long drive still ahead, maybe I should have eaten somewhere else.
Hamburg steak set
A decent spread. The place was clean inside and the price was not high either. The long weekend was the problem, I suppose..
We made it to Shizuoka safely, but on the first day I was too tired to go anywhere and just went to bed early.
Sugakiya
On the second day we went to a shopping mall and found this place. It seems to be a ramen chain that is famous mainly around Nagoya. The ramen was 290 yen and the soft serve about 100 yen – amazing prices considering what things cost these days.
Ramen
For this price, the taste is decent enough.
Qu’il fait bon
We headed into downtown Hamamatsu, and there was Qu’il fait bon.
I bought roughly this sort of cake.
Qu’il fait bon apparently started out in Shizuoka, and maybe that is why there was hardly any difference compared with the Ginza or Tokyo Skytree branches.
For dinner we visited a local favourite called Uo-Ara.
Otoshi
Deep-fried prawn heads. They came out when I ordered a beer.
Unagi shirayaki
Unagi has got so expensive lately that eating it is a real strain on the wallet, that much is true. This place seems to do unagi well too.
Potato salad
Pretty good.
Ebi tendon
A tendon piled high with king prawns. They are made with fresh prawns caught right there, so the flesh is sweet and springy. There is no way it could taste bad.
Sashimi
The sashimi that comes with the set meal – it has a lovely colour to it.
Unagi
The unagi that comes with the set meal. That is why the set was a bit pricey.
Close-up of the prawns on the tendon
The bowl is packed full.
Miso soup
The menu is unremarkable, but it turned out to be a good place. What came out that day was a bit plain to call a local speciality, but I think that is because summer is not when the seasonal delicacies show up. Go in another season and you could probably taste dishes with more local character.