Hamamatsu is a region that’s very famous for unagi. So there’s a certain mood where people visiting Hamamatsu eat unagi. Even the unagi snacks are something of a local specialty. Anyway, most people who come to Hamamatsu stop by the expensive specialty restaurants near Hamamatsu Station, but those in the know go to a local unagi place. Why? Because it’s tastier and cheaper.

It’s a place like this.

The outside really does look pretty run-down, but it’s a popular spot. Apparently it boasts a hundred years of history.

Getting the binchotan ready…

Seeing them prepare this diligently, I could already imagine the taste without eating anything.

Inside

There’s a painting too. The inside is kept quite neat and clean. And full of the smell of charcoal.

The kitchen

Hard at work.

The table

This is the kind of atmosphere.

A cup of tea

It comes out piping hot.

The menu

Unagi donburi 2,200 yen, unaju 2,900 yen. These days it’s over 4,000 yen elsewhere, so this is at least a thousand yen cheaper.

Unaju

It arrives looking splendid.

The eel

At this place, the unaju comes with the eel and the rice separate.

The rice

Well, rice at a Japanese restaurant is simply the best…

Put together…

The unagi is slightly crisp on the outside and melts on the inside. On top of that it was full of the aroma of binchotan. The unagi sauce is rich too, so if you balance it against the rice as you eat, you could call it almost perfect. There are plenty of famous unagi restaurants in the world, but if it’s this good, I couldn’t ask for more.

Unagi donburi

This is what you get if you order the donburi, and it’s plenty tasty as well. To enjoy the eel properly, though, the unaju is probably the better choice.

Honestly, people say unagi is good for you in this way or that, but with a sweet-savory combo that calls for endless carbs plus all that melting fat, there’s no way it’s good for your health. It’s grown-up junk food, so to speak… all you can do is eat it happily and exercise hard. So, in order to eat well and get some exercise, I headed outside.

There are places like this…

And places like this.

There’s a harbor nearby too and the scenery is lovely. It’s worth setting aside a weekend day to stop by.

한국어로 읽기日本語で読む