13 Must-Try Local Dishes When Visiting Gero Onsen - From Classic Dishes to Unique Sweets

• Table of Contents
• Enjoy local cuisine at Gero Onsen
• 1. Yushimaan: A Hida beef nigiri restaurant run by a long-established local butcher
• 2. Enjoy a sweet time in a foot bath at "Yuami-ya"
• 3. Senjudo: The world's only store specializing in chestnut sweets
• 4. Stroll through the hot spring town with some authentic coffee at "Homemade Roasted Coffee Perigord"
• 5. "NITAROU Yunoshima Store" - Authentic sweets to eat on the go from a long-established Japanese confectionery shop
• 6. Gero's first pudding specialty store, "Gero Pudding"
• 7. Homemade butter sweets and rice balls "GEROGERO Butter Stand"
• 8. Enjoy with beer! Butcher's "Gero Curry Bread"
• 9. Enjoy local cuisine easily! Addictive taste at "Gero Keichan-ya"
• 10. Newly opened in the hot spring town! Local cuisine Keichan's fried chicken "Hagiya Keichan"
• 11. Great for taking photos! The only crepe shop in Gero Onsen town, "En du Plaisir"
• 12. Enjoy Skin-Beauty Sweets at Suimeikan Lobby Lounge "Evian"
• 13. Opening in May 2024! Rice flour chiffon cake "Kuso"
• If you want to enjoy Gero at your own pace, head to "Suimeikan"

Enjoy local cuisine at Gero Onsen

Gero Onsen is famous as one of the three most famous hot springs in Japan. We will introduce you to the gourmet food that can only be eaten in the area around Gero Onsen town. If you come to Hida, you must try Hida beef, the local specialty natto-eating pork, the only sweets in the world, and photogenic desserts. Enjoy both the hot springs and gourmet food at Gero Onsen.

Check out Suimeikan, a hot spring inn just a minute's walk from Gero Station

1. Yushimaan: A Hida beef nigiri restaurant run by a long-established local butcher

At "Yushimaan," a restaurant run by a long-established local butcher, you can easily enjoy Hida beef, a specialty of the Hida region, in nigiri sushi. You can compare and taste three types of nigiri sushi: marbled Hida beef, lean Hida beef, and Gero's specialty "Nattoku pork." They are served on shrimp crackers so that you can easily eat them on the go.

Enjoy the unique sweetness of high-quality Hida beef that only a butcher can offer!

Yushimaan

509-2207 845 Yunoshima, Gero City, Gifu Prefecture

A restaurant directly managed by a long-established butcher shop located in Gero Onsen Town. You can easily eat local specialties such as Hida beef and natto-eating pork in nigiri. In addition to nigiri, we also offer high-quality meat that only a butcher can offer.

2. Enjoy a sweet time in a foot bath at "Yuami-ya"

"Yuami-ya" sells sweets that can be eaten while soaking your feet in the footbath in front of the store. The "Ontama Soft Serve" is a cold soft serve ice cream topped with a hot spring egg made in Gero Onsen, which you should mix well with the brown rice flakes before eating. The ice cream becomes even richer and more delicious! The unique texture and flavor are popular. The smooth and rich "Honwaka Pudding" is served warm in a tub in front of the store.

Gero Onsen Footbath Village Yuamiya

509-2207 801-2 Yunoshima, Gero City, Gifu Prefecture

Yuami-ya is a souvenir shop with a footbath in front of the store. The ``Ontama Soft'', a new type of sweet with hot spring eggs on top of soft serve ice cream, and the ``Honwaka Pudding'', which can be heated and eaten in a tub at the store, are popular. You can enjoy sweets while taking a footbath. The exterior, lined with colorful hot spring baths, has a stylish atmosphere typical of a hot spring town, and is also a popular photo spot.

3. Senjudo: The world's only store specializing in chestnut sweets

Senjudo, the only shop in the world specializing in horse chestnut sweets, is run by a horse chestnut rice cracker shop founded in 1971. Horse chestnuts are a part of the food culture of Gero, so you can experience a taste that can only be found in Gero Onsen. The "soft rice cracker with a 30-second expiration date" is a rare item that can only be eaten in-store, so please be sure to try it. Horse chestnut rice crackers are baked every day from 9:00 to 16:00.

Senjudo

2557-4 Mori, Gero City, Gifu Prefecture 509-2202

The world's only Tochinomi sweets specialty store located between Gero Onsen's tourist facilities Gassho Village and Ideyu Asaichi. We offer rare sweets made using chichinomi grown in Gero.

4. Stroll through the hot spring town with some authentic coffee at "Homemade Roasted Coffee Perigord"

How about taking an elegant stroll through the hot spring town with a cup of "Perigord" coffee? We carefully roast our coffee in a direct-fire roaster using lava stones. We also sell a variety of home-roasted coffee beans, and can make suggestions to suit your taste. Enjoy it with a hearty hot sandwich. By using bread that does not contain food additives, you can enjoy the rich aroma of wheat. One of our sweets, "Japanese Horse Chestnut Crushed Ice," is a flavor that can only be enjoyed in Gero.

Home roasting coffee workshop Perigord

1075-3 Mori, Gero City, Gifu Prefecture 509-2202

A takeout specialty store where you can enjoy authentic roasted coffee in Gero Onsen. We offer coffee carefully roasted in an open flame roaster using lava stone. We also sell coffee beans so you can enjoy them at home. We also offer sweets and hot sandwiches made with local specialties.

5. "NITAROU Yunoshima Store" - Authentic sweets to eat on the go from a long-established Japanese confectionery shop

At "NITAROU Yunoshima Store," a long-established Japanese confectionery shop offers authentic snacks to eat on the go. The stretchy warabi mochi comes in a container designed to resemble a yutub, making it perfect for snacking on the go in the hot spring town. One of the popular items, "Kurimaruke," means "full of chestnuts" in Hida dialect. As the name suggests, it is a chestnut kinton soft serve topped with plenty of chestnut Mont Blanc, garnished with chestnut rice crackers and candied chestnuts, making it an irresistible dish for chestnut lovers!

NITAROU Yunoshima store

554-4 Yunoshima, Gero City, Gifu Prefecture 509-2207

NITAROU Yunoshima store is a sister store of a long-established Japanese confectionery store whose main store is in Kashimo. Located in the middle of Gero Onsen town, we offer authentic sweets while walking around. The bathtub-inspired container matches the hot spring town, and is recommended for eating while walking or taking commemorative photos.

6. Gero's first pudding specialty store, "Gero Pudding"

Gero Pudding is a shop with a large frog sculpture that catches your eye in the hot spring town. Contrary to its cute and pop appearance, it sells high-quality puddings made with carefully selected ingredients. With just one bite, the rich taste of pure fresh cream and high-quality eggs, and the rich aroma of natural vanilla fill your mouth. If you're trying something to eat while walking around, we recommend the Gero Pudding Soft Serve! It's a fun-looking dish with rich soft serve ice cream on top of the popular pudding.

The paper take-home bags and cooler bags are also cute and make perfect souvenirs.

Gero pudding

545-1 Yunoshima, Gero City, Gifu Prefecture 509-2207

Gero Onsen's first pudding specialty store. The restaurant has a nostalgic atmosphere, including an eat-in space modeled after a bathtub at Gero Onsen. The puddings made in the store's workshop are made with carefully selected ingredients to create an uncompromising taste. You can enjoy a cute-looking serious pudding. It is also popular to take a commemorative photo with the large frog-shaped object on the outside.

7. Homemade butter sweets and rice balls "GEROGERO Butter Stand"

At "GEORGER Butter Stand," which has a cute cow soaking her feet in a buttermilk footbath in front of the store, popular items include "butter sandwiches" made with plenty of homemade butter, and "grilled rice balls" with the perfect combination of fragrant soy sauce and creamy butter. There are a wide variety of each, so you can enjoy the luxury of being spoilt for choice! The bright yellow design of the store is also perfect for photos.

vomit butter stand

509-2207 571-2 Yunoshima, Gero City, Gifu Prefecture

A shop with a bright yellow exterior that catches your eye as you walk through Gero Onsen Town. We offer butter sandwiches and grilled rice balls made with homemade butter. The ``Buttermilk Footbath'' at the store has a cute design that looks great in photos. The souvenirs sold in the store have stylish and cute designs that can only be found here.

8. Enjoy with beer! Butcher's "Gero Curry Bread"

The long and slender shape of the Gero Curry Bread makes it easy to hold and eat, making it the perfect item to eat while walking around. The shop is run by a butcher, so there is plenty of meat in the curry! Another great thing about this shop is that you can easily enjoy Hida beef and natto-eating pork, which are local specialties. Enjoy eating your way around the hot spring town with a spicy curry bread and a beer in hand!

There is also a shooting gallery on the second floor, which is typical of a hot spring town.

Gero curry bread

545-7 Yunoshima, Gero City, Gifu Prefecture 509-2207

A curry bread shop run by a local butcher. We offer curry bread containing Hida's specialty, ``Hida beef,'' and the local specialty, ``natto-eating pork.'' We recommend pairing it with beer while walking around the hot spring town. On the second floor, there is a shooting shop typical of a hot spring town.

9. Enjoy local cuisine easily! Addictive taste at "Gero Keichan-ya"

Gero Keichanya is the original Kushi Keichan restaurant, which serves Gero's soul food, keichan, on a skewer so that it can be easily eaten while walking around. Each kebab is carefully skewered and you can choose from three flavors: soy sauce, salt, or miso. The bouncy texture and sweet cabbage mixed with the sauce will make you addicted.

Gero Keichanya

1072 Mori, Gero City, Gifu Prefecture, 509-2202

This is a restaurant where you can enjoy "Keichan", the soul food of Gero. In the restaurant, we offer Keichan teppanyaki, Keichan udon, and other carefully selected side dishes. Keichan skewers, which can be eaten as takeout, are also popular items that allow you to easily enjoy local cuisine.

10. Newly opened in the hot spring town! Local cuisine Keichan's fried chicken "Hagiya Keichan"

A long-established manufacturer of Gifu's local dish "Keichan" opened a store in Gero Onsen town in 2023! As a takeout item, you can enjoy their carefully made Keichan marinated in a secret sauce, fried in chicken style. As it is fried to order, it is hot, juicy, and freshly fried! Recommended for those who want to enjoy local cuisine more easily.

Hagiya Kei-chan

509-2207 547-7 Yunoshima Building 1F, Gero City, Gifu Prefecture

A new restaurant specializing in the local dish "Keichan" opened in Gero Onsen town in 2023. This restaurant is directly managed by a long-established manufacturer, and the carefully selected chicken marinated in a secret sauce is delicious and can't be found anywhere else. As you can cook the chicken yourself on a special hot plate, it is sure to become a one-of-a-kind memory of your trip. There are also plenty of gourmet foods that can only be found here, such as "Keichan Karaage", which is fried keichan, and sweet sake soft serve ice cream made with sweet sake from the local Tenryo Sake Brewery.

11. Great for taking photos! The only crepe shop in Gero Onsen town, "En du Plaisir"

The crepes, which are made with lightly sweet whipped cream and plenty of fresh fruit, are made with great care, even down to the dough. In addition to sweet treats, snack crepes, which are recommended as a light meal, are also popular.

The "Kerokero Special", which features a cute handmade frog and hot spring mark, is only available at stores in Gero Onsen town and in limited quantities, so be sure to get there early.

Anne du Plaisir

509-2202 1075-3 Mori, Gero City, Gifu Prefecture

A crepe specialty cafe located in the center of Gero Onsen town. The crepes, made with lightly sweetened fresh cream and plenty of fresh fruit, are made with great care down to the dough. There is a wide selection of crepes on the menu, including sweet crepes and snack crepes that are perfect for a light meal. The "Kero Kero Special," available only at the Gero Mori store, is a cute dish with a handmade frog and hot spring mark on top, perfect for Gero Onsen town.

12. Enjoy Skin-Beauty Sweets at Suimeikan Lobby Lounge "Evian"

The lobby lounge "Evian" on the first floor of the long-established inn Suimeikan serves "Gero Choux Parfait", one of the Gero Onsen Skin Beauty Projects. The custard cream and choux made with local eggs and milk are rich in amino acids that lead to lustrous, beautiful skin, and are combined with amazake (sweet sake) which is effective for whitening and dieting. The amazake used is from Tenryo Shuzo.

Learn about Gero Onsen's Beautiful Skin Project

13. Opening in May 2024! Rice flour chiffon cake "Kuso"

"Sousou" is a specialty shop that just opened in May 2024, specializing in rice flour chiffon cakes. In addition to traditional flavors, the shop features a lineup of cakes unique to Gero, such as perilla and tomatoes, which are local specialties. The counter lined with cute palm-sized chiffon cakes is very cute.

Sou-sou

509-2206 1151-2 Sun World Building 2F, Koda, Gero City, Gifu Prefectur...

A shop that specializes in palm-sized rice flour chiffon cakes. In addition to classic flavors like plain and cocoa, the lineup also includes local specialties such as perilla and tomato flavors that are unique to Gero. The sweet and salty chiffon sandwich, made by sandwiching eggs and chicken ham between chiffon cake, is one of the unique charms of Soso. Both eat-in and take-out are available. Open in the evening on Saturdays.

If you want to enjoy Gero at your own pace, head to "Suimeikan"

If you get tired of eating your way around the hot spring town, why not take a rest at Suimeikan, a long-established inn in Gero? You can also take a day trip to the hot springs to relax and soothe your tired body. When you stay overnight, you can choose from a variety of room types to find a plan that suits your needs.

There are plenty of restaurants to choose from, including Japanese, Western, and Chinese cuisine. We offer Hida beef and natto pork.

Book Gero Onsen Suimeikan

For more information about Suimeikan, please see the article below.