Minaki Houtou Katsunuma
Part one -the recovery steps after visiting Budo no Aka
After the blog on Budo no Oka, I’m going to enlighten you on two special Yamanashi activities that will get you more sober than talking to the most boring man in the world. Remember these two methods will not make you capable of driving, if you are unaware, driving in Japan means you must have an 0% alcohol level.
After spending a morning being a glutton on Katsunuma’s wine, you can either do two things. Keep on pushing your limits, become a menace and pass out in a park at 2pm, or regroup and get yourself cleaned up so you can function the following day.
You have decided on option two. Congratulations, now pull yourself away from the wine and head to lunch for a huge hot pot of Yamanashi’s famous houdou noodles.
Enjoy a Katsunuma Kai beer, a very tasty craft beer.
Ensure you go to the Minaki restaurant, its a 10 minute drive from Budo no Oka and opposite the Daily Yamazaki convenience store. The restaurant has been impressively refurbished from an old General Practitioners building complete with a more than ideal traditional garden.
The big hit at this restaurant are the huge noodle bowls filled up with Yamanashi vegetables and your choice of pork, chicken, mushrooms or if you feeling greedier than Augustus Gloop get one with the lot. It is huge but I have seen Rugby players make this bowl look like a cats dinner.
While eating this bowl is the first step to recovery, you also have a chance to enjoy the delicious Basashi and another Yamanashi local delicacy of Torimotsu. This is chicken liver,gizzards and quail eggs cooked in a special sweet soy sauce.
After you finish this enormous bowl and a few side dishes your body will be thanking you for all the goodness. For most people, this is the only remedy you may need. But for the few that got carried away and had to really to over the top with their tastings, follow part 2 soon…
Beware that during peak seasons and weekends, Minaki is a busy place and you may have to wait for a table. If this is the case for you, endure the wait and learn some patience, it will work out well for you the next time your favourite torrent site gets banned.
Here’s a map to aid your navigation skills.
https://www.google.co.jp/maps/place/%E7%9A%86%E5%90%89/@35.665959,138.711704,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xace0e41ab66b1bfb
1372 Katsunumacho Todoroki, Koshu, Yamanashi Prefecture 409-1315
https://minaki.jp/
