うなぎは焼きでも刺身でも。初夏の静岡、五感で味わう遠江

*Prices include tax.

It is about 3.5 hours by car from Haneda Airport, and about 2 hours from Chubu Centrair International Airport. It is about 1 hour from Shizuoka Airport, which has a codeshare flight with Fuji Dream Airlines. Totomi, also known as Enshu, flourished as the territory of the Imagawa clan in ancient times, and is home to Hamamatsu Castle, the residence of Tokugawa Ieyasu, and Lake Hamana, known as a major eel production area.

The area around Lake Hamana is packed with specialty shops, and as it is a crossroads between the East and the West, you can choose from a wide variety of grilled and steamed dishes. What's more, they even serve the rare eel sashimi!

Crisply grilled eel and translucent thin slices of eel: two types of eel you'll encounter at Matsuba

Matsuba, a long-established eel restaurant, is located just off the Hamamatsu Interchange on the Tomei Expressway.

When you park your car in the large parking lot and go through the noren curtain, the sweet aroma of grilled eel mixed with the sound of crackling binchotan charcoal drifts through the air. There is nothing more exciting than the wait for the eel to be cooked, wondering what grade to order, how much rice to have, and so on. Then came the black lacquer box, full of presence.

When you open the lid, the rich aroma of eel rises with the steam. The eel is grilled three times, with a strong brown color, crispy skin, and fluffy meat. It is firm and chewy, with a fragrant grill mark and a sauce with just the right amount of sweetness, so you will want to keep eating it. The accompanying pickled eel and liver soup are a perfect palate cleanser, and the time spent enjoying the eel feels both joyful and fleeting. (Jō Unagi rice bowl 4,466 yen).

Thinly sliced white eel meat is elegantly arranged on top of a pile of ice in a sieve placed inside a bucket. This is the extremely rare eel sashimi (3,212 yen). When you pick up a piece with your chopsticks and dip it into sashichoko, a flower of fat blooms on the surface of the black soy sauce, as if to tell you, "This is no ordinary white eel meat." The crunchy texture fills your mouth with plenty of flavor. There is no unpleasant odor at all, and the texture, flavor, and rich fat are irresistible. This is an exquisite specialty that will make you want to order some cold sake.

Matsuba

Shizuoka is known for its tea. Kai Enshu welcomes you with its fragrant aroma and pure flavor.

The place I chose to stay on this eel-seeking trip was Kai Enshu, located on the southern shore of Lake Hamana's Uchiura Bay.

Hoshino Resorts' "Kai" brand of hot spring inns offers a one-of-a-kind accommodation experience by translating the culture and characteristics of the area into services. At Kai Enshu, you can experience the charm of Lake Hamana as well as the famous eel.

As you step into the lobby, the aroma of sencha fills the air. In the bright lounge, the brass tea caddies lined up on the wall emit a dull glow. Yes, the theme of Kai Enshu is "tea."

At KAI, each facility offers a fun activity called "Gotochi Raku" where you can learn about the local area. You will learn how to brew delicious tea, taking into account not only the brand, but also the fact that the taste changes depending on the harvest time and brewing temperature. There is also a tea guessing game where you compare three teas that are perfect for summer and try to guess which one you drank first.

Finally, we finish off with a cup of yuzu tea. The seasonal sable cookies are served with lemon flavored cookies. It's a stylish welcome ceremony that is refreshing and full of new discoveries.

Relax in the hot springs and enjoy tea, then take a meal break

The Bicharaku Lounge always has plenty of tea leaves and two types of cold tea are always available on the server. You can take your favorite tea back to your room.

All guest rooms have a lake view. The soft light coming through the shoji screens shines on the Enshu cotton tsumugi cushions, blending with the breeze blowing across the lake surface, and it feels as if your mind can be put in order just by taking a deep breath. The special rooms are equipped with large tables and plenty of teapots and teacups. This is a way to relax and enjoy a leisurely cup of tea. The open-air bath attached to the room is made of Shigaraki ware and has a very elegant feel.

The source of Kanzanji Onsen, where Kai Enshu is located, is a strong chloride salt spring that boasts one of the highest salinity concentrations in the country. The hotel has two large baths: Koto no Yu, which features an indoor bath and an open-air bath made of cypress, and Hana no Yu, which features an open-air bath made of large cypress barrels. In both baths, the breeze that blows across Lake Hamana will pleasantly caress your skin.

Time passes slowly, like the tea leaves sinking to the bottom of a teacup. The high salt content prevents the water from cooling down and warms the body from the inside out in a short amount of time, making bathing while gazing at the lake in the evening glow an exceptional experience.

Dinner will include eel and even fugu. All the delicious delicacies of Enshu

The long-awaited dinner is the "Fugu-una Kaiseki" where you can enjoy not only eel but also fugu. The Horakumori arrangement of Enkianthus campanulatus will blow your mind.

The appetizer is unagi with citrus aroma. Unagi is mixed with mandarin orange vinegar and daidai vinegar, and topped with plum for an exquisite dish. Traditionally, it has been said that it is a bad combination, but the reason for this is that "it is so delicious that you end up eating too much." Pair it with floral-scented tea. The rich flavor goes well with the rich and refreshing taste of the unagi.

It would also be good to order a cold glass of dry sake. Incidentally, eel is served later in the meal, in a hotpot version of "unasuki." The crunchy burdock root adds a nice touch to the sweetly seasoned sauce. Eggs and eel are a perfect combination. You can start off with the dish as is, then break the soft-boiled egg and mix the eel with the runny yolk. The rich flavor will make you crave rice, but don't worry. A bowl of soup and rice will be served to finish off the meal.

The sashimi includes pufferfish that has been tucked in kombu seaweed. You'll be amazed at how packed full of flavor it is. The pufferfish, which is already mild and flavorful, is given a crunchy texture and topped off with the vibrant flavor of kombu seaweed, creating an indescribably pure flavor.

In the back you can see hassun and small dishes. Among them are the "Amber Shrimp and Semi-Dried Tomatoes" which is full of vegetable flavor, and the zunda yolk sprinkled with sea urchin, which has a fun contrast of textures. The thick and mild-tasting Yoro tofu topped with sea urchin is a light and delicate delicacy.

There is another fugu dish, deep-fried wild fugu. It is different from other white fish, with a rich, meaty, muscular, and powerful flavor. If you want to pair it with a glass of white wine, I recommend a Riesling. A glass that is bright, has a subdued acidity, and has a strong mineral taste will go well with it.

9 p.m. As the night draws to a close, it's bar time in the lounge. A complimentary cocktail of tea and alcohol is served, called "Ocha-ke." In addition to the four seasons, there are five different recipes available throughout the year, based on the new tea harvest season. In summer, there's an original cocktail called "Gekkou," made with black tea and gin, sweetened and mixed with soda.

The soft taste and oriental aroma of gin and black tea tickle your nose. Although it is not strong, they offer non-alcoholic mocktails for those who don't like alcohol. Enjoy the roasted green tea-based bean snacks. It has a slightly bitter and slightly sweet taste for adults.

Tea picking exercises to regulate the body and breathing, followed by a breakfast of tea boxes filled with a refreshing aroma

The next morning, the Lake Hamana Tea Picking Exercise begins. Relax for a while with the tea fields as your backdrop.

The 25-minute program is unique in that it includes gentle circular movements overlooking the tea fields, stretching your arms in the tea-picking pose and opening your shoulder blades. The movements loosen the whole body more than they look, and invite you to take deep breaths on the lake surface shrouded in a thin morning mist.

After the exercises, we are served our "tea box breakfast," a small bowl placed inside a tea box made from Kawane cedar. When opened, we are greeted by the light aroma of tea, covered in tea leaves. Miso soup with green seaweed and clams is served in a pot. The rice is freshly cooked and shiny, and is accompanied by cooled green tea. The simple yet nutritious taste of an Enshu morning seeps into our bodies as we wake up.

Kai Enshu

Immerse yourself in the sweet afterglow of your trip at the Unagi Pie Factory

After checking out, on the way to Hamamatsu Nishi IC, we recommend stopping by the Unagi Pie Factory.

This famous confection from Hamamatsu, known nationwide, is also widely recognized as a “nighttime treat.” The delicate pie dough, which is made with eel flour, has about 9,000 layers and is handmade by craftsmen with more than 10 years of experience.

After this handiwork, you can see the pie crusts rhythmically lined up on the production line through glass, and the moment they are coated with the secret sauce, they turn golden brown. If you join a reservation-only tour, you can sample the freshly baked eel pie.

At the cafe on the second floor, you can enjoy meals and authentic sweets made with eel pie.

The parfait changes in flavor with the seasons, and the "Nighttime Sweets and Flying Clouds - Mango" (1,400 yen; available only through August) features a towering meringue with almonds that looks like an airplane cloud. The dense mango sorbet is homemade. The texture and elegant sweetness create a harmony. The "Eel Pie Gelato" (from 550 yen) is made by blending homemade milk gelato and 1.5 eel pies just before serving. You can enjoy the "crunchy and crispy" texture.

There is also a direct sales store with many sweets from Shunkado, the manufacturer and distributor of Unagi Pie. It is also fun to choose souvenirs. In addition to the brandy-scented "Unagi Pie Unagi Pie V.S.O.P.", there are also special deals that are only available at the direct sales store, but they are so popular that they sell out every day. If you are interested, be sure to get there early.

Unagi Pie Factory

A journey in search of food is also a journey to remember the land.

Thus, a trip to Lake Hamana begins with the aroma of eel, enjoys the delicate taste of fugu, soaks in the refreshing aftertaste of tea, and concludes with a dessert of sweet eel pie. The series of journeys was colored in a gentle manner, like the kaiseki of Japanese food. On the other hand, I was also able to get to know the story of the land. The eels nurtured by the lake, which mixes freshwater and seawater, indicate a rich land, the delicate and muscular taste of fugu is reminiscent of the currents of Enshu Nada, and the vivid aroma of tea suggests the temperature difference in the hills.

Finally, we visit Hamamatsu Castle, also known as the "Castle of Success," where Tokugawa Ieyasu spent 17 years. You can see for yourself how this land has been deeply connected to people's lives since ancient times, and how it has fostered a food culture and industry. A journey in search of food is also a journey that takes you back to the land. So, where should we go for lunch?

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