[Taiwanese Editor Kuma's Walk in Kanazawa] Witnessing amazing skills in handling live snow crabs at izakaya-kappo restaurant "Tamura"!

Hi there! I'm Kuma from Taiwan, delivering from the KanazawaBiyori Editorial Department. Being in charge of the series "Kuma's Walk in Kanazawa", I have been spending my days discovering various things here. Sometimes new discovery for me, but sometimes maybe also a rediscovery of Kanazawa for the locals! I hope that we can continue the walk in this fascinating place together. Thank you for your interest, and please enjoy reading.

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It's interesting to see that even though it's the same species of "crab", there are different ways to eat it depending on the variety and region. When I was in Taiwan, I often saw freshly caught "Wanli crabs" at markets in port towns. There are many seafood stir-fry restaurants around the market, and they are always crowded during crab season. China is famous for its "hairy crab", which is called "Shanghai crab" in Japan, and because the crab is cold and cools our body, it is often eaten with a drink that warms the body, including hot sake such as Shaoxing wine, laojiu (long-aged yellow wine), ginger tea, and so on. 

I know that Hokuriku crabs are famous, but I've only seen them in photos, so I don't have much knowledge about them. Apparently, in Kanazawa, there is a restaurant that serves dishes made with live crabs all year round (reservations required), regardless of the season, so there's no reason not to explore this. This time, I visited "Tamura", an izakaya-kappo restaurant located near Umenohashi in the Higashi Chaya district.

At "Tamura", they prepare live crabs right in front of you, so you can enjoy fresh crab sashimi. When I first heard about it, I couldn't help but secretly think, "What? Raw crab?" But Japanese people tend to like to eat everything raw as sashimi, don't they? My seniors also told me things like, "Many famous people have visited here, so there might be some photos of your 'oshi'," and "If you're lucky, you might be able to see the owner's magic tricks." What kind of shop is this? The description made me think, but when I went there, I found out that it is a restaurant with a special focus where you can enjoy the casualness of an izakaya and the deliciousness of Japanese kappo cuisine. There are rooms on the second floor with a view of the bridge, which is said to be popular as you can enjoy the view of the bridge lit up at night.

Before I came to Kanazawa, I had often seen advertisements for Hokuriku crabs at JR stations in Tokyo, but I was amazed to see such magnificent crabs being prepared right in front of my eyes. What was served that day was "Kano Crab" with a blue tag from Kanazawa Port. I had only seen crabs that were the size of my palm, so I had the impression that crab legs were finger-sized, but the crab legs in front of me were bigger than my face and were moving quickly. Is this a characteristic of crabs raised in the Sea of ​​Japan? And you can't take your eyes off the master's skill at handling crabs. I did my best to follow the movement of the knife as it dropped its foot without hesitation. Before I could realize, the crab that was still alive had already been neatly chopped and arranged on a plate.

Not only can you enjoy crab, but there are also many attractive dishes. At the end of the "Crab Shabu Course", the uniquely developed specialty "Tamura Udon" becomes clear and chewy when boiled, and it seems that it has many fans. It's also sold online, and many people buy it as a souvenir to take home. It's so popular that at one point there was a rumor that "When you think of 'Tamura', you think of udon," so if you go to the store, you definitely should give it a try. There are also dishes unique to Ishikawa Prefecture, such as "nonodoguro" and "jibuni", and foreign language menus are also available, making it the perfect place to make memories and souvenirs of your trip. Make sure you're hungry before you go!

■ Click here for the experience article (in Japanese only)

■ Izakaya Kappo "Tamura"

Address: 2-18 Namikicho, Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture
TEL: 076-222-0517
Business hours: 17:00-22:30 (L.O. 22:00) *Course reservations required by the day before.
Saturdays and Sundays only: 12:00-14:00 (Reservations required for 6 or more people)
Closed: Wednesdays *Open in the case of consecutive holidays and public holidays
Seats: 46 seats (1st floor: 8 counter seats, 8 raised seats, 2nd floor: 3 rooms with sunken kotatsu)
P/None
*Compatible with the Invoice System
Click here for Official Website
Click here for Official Instagram

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