Eat your way around Misawa to Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture! Excellent time-efficiency gourmet food that can only be eaten here

Hatsumi Ito
A gourmet blogger who eats and drinks at more than 400 restaurants a year. She posts gourmet information on various SNS accounts, mainly X (@hatsu823).
Host of the online salon "Tokyo Gourmet Salon" limited to 140 people. "Gourmet is communication" is her life theme.

*Prices include tax.

Enjoy the local gourmet food at the birthplace of Barayaki at Aka Noren

Barayaki is a local Aomori delicacy that is known only to those in the know. Its birthplace is right here in Misawa.

Aka Noren is the restaurant that first created Barayaki and has been in business since 1957. It started out as an okonomiyaki restaurant, but after a customer requested they grill beef instead, which is how Barayaki was born.

We entered the restaurant as soon as it opened at 11am. The spacious restaurant has tables and tatami rooms where you can relax.

As soon as you sit down at the table, a special iron pot made just for barayaki is prepared for you. It has a thick rim to prevent the sauce from spilling, and it looks very impressive.

The most popular dish is the "Barayaki Set Meal (1,000 yen)." *The barayaki in the photo is for two people.
The generous serving of pork belly and onions on a plate is very filling! The set also includes rice, miso soup, and pickles.

Slide the meat and onions from the plate onto the iron pot in one go. The sizzling sound and fragrant aroma of the sauce will whet your appetite!

Cook slowly, adjusting the heat to prevent the meat from burning. Be careful not to overcook it, as it will become tough.

When the special sweet and spicy sauce has soaked into the meat and the onions have turned amber colored, it's ready to eat.

The sweet and spicy sauce goes perfectly with rice. With one bite, the delicious flavor of the meat spreads throughout your mouth, and the crunchy onions are also a delight. The sauce that comes with it has a mild sourness, and when you add it to your meal, you can enjoy a refreshing change of flavor.
Barayaki is delicious precisely because of its simplicity, and is a must-try dish if you visit its birthplace.

Red curtain

Hearty ramen with plenty of garlic "Go-men Hachinohe Shirinai branch"

Have you ever had an intense craving for some garlicky ramen?

A five-minute walk from Hachinohe Station, you'll find a large sign marking "Go-men Hachinohe Shirinai Branch." This popular ramen restaurant serves hearty meat, vegetables, and garlic.

As soon as you enter, the first thing you should do is purchase a meal ticket. Ramen is available in standard soy sauce and miso flavors, as well as the Hachinohe-Kuji-exclusive Niboshi flavor, and a 2/3 size ramen for women.

The shop has 40 seats, mainly at the counter, and as soon as it opens, customers start pouring in one after another. The ramen is packed with bean sprouts, onions, and garlic, and is said to have many benefits, such as helping to relieve fatigue, regulate the intestines, and improve skin condition.

The popular "Shoyu Go-men (1,150 yen)" is a hearty dish with a mountain of bean sprouts and thickly sliced pork! The soup spoon is filled with plenty of chopped garlic, so you can enjoy the punchy flavor while changing the taste.

The soup, made by slowly simmering pork bones and vegetables, has a rich soy sauce flavor but a clean aftertaste. The pork slices are thick but soft, so much so that they fall apart easily.

The noodles used are from Kumasan Co., Ltd., a company that is familiar to locals. The chewy, firm, curly medium-thick noodles coat the soup well.

The "Kokuchi Miso Niboshi Go-men (980 yen)" is only available in Hachinohe-Kuji. It is based on rich miso and dried sardines, creating a deep flavor. The umami of the dried sardines and the richness of the miso are exquisitely intertwined, and it is recommended for those who like rich flavors. The roasted pork is fragrant and has a nice grilled appearance, which will whet your appetite.

The miso soup, made with garlic and back fat, has a strong flavor of dried sardines. The thick soup goes perfectly with the chewy noodles, and the spiciness of the garlic and the richness of the back fat give the soup depth.

This ramen packs a punch and is healthy, with plenty of garlic and vegetables. Please give this ramen a try.

Go-men Hachinohe Shirinai Branch