You'll want to stop by during your trip! 4 popular new shops in Yamaga City, Kumamoto Prefecture

• Table of Contents
• Sasamoto Shoten
• Chiyonosono Sake Brewery: A sake brewery that serves sake
• Once upon an egg
• Kirali Brewery

Sasamoto Shoten

About a 5-minute walk from Yachiyoza, Sasamoto Shoten, which opened in October last year, is a "breakfast specialty store" where you can enjoy homemade pickles and rolled omelets. The store is located in a corner of the owner's house, and when you enter through the mustard-yellow noren curtain, you will find three counter seats and one table. Although it is a small store, the space is filled with the owner Sasamoto Yasuyuki and his wife's attention to detail. The store opens early at 6:30 a.m., but as soon as it opens, it is often full with office workers and tourists. All three types of set meals are carefully prepared using local ingredients and are delicious, making it a place where you can recharge your energy and happiness while eating breakfast.

The restaurant is small and can seat up to six people. The homey atmosphere is comforting.

You can choose from three types of breakfast menu. The "Curry of the Day" is popular among regulars and is a style that changes daily, such as green curry, yellow curry, and chili con carne. The rolled egg, curry, and pork soup are all available for takeout.

The photo shows the "Large Rolled Egg Set Meal" (780 yen including tax). The rolled egg is made with three eggs, and comes with a side dish of the day, homemade pickles, rice, pork soup, and a small rice ball with greens. It's very filling. You can get a free refill of rice and pork soup with chunks of local vegetables, so you can eat as much as you want in the morning.

(Left) The soft and fluffy rolled egg that you can feel when you touch it with chopsticks is a masterpiece that was developed after more than a year of research and eating at famous restaurants in the Kansai region. The eggs and soy sauce used as the base are sourced directly from local soy sauce breweries and chicken farms.

(Right) It pairs perfectly with locally grown rice from terraced fields! The soup stock is full of flavor, and eating it with rice will have you eating even more.

All of the "tsukemono" (pickles) are homemade, and people are becoming addicted to them after trying them just once. The owner, Mr. Sasamoto, said that making pickles was a hobby of his even before he started the shop, and he has 7 to 8 different kinds of them, including spicy pickles, Chinese cabbage pickles, green takana, and pickles. The pickles can be enjoyed as part of a set meal, and are also sold for as little as 280 yen each. They are so popular that he can't keep up with the pickling... he says with joy!

Sasamoto Shoten

Chiyonosono Sake Brewery: A sake brewery that serves sake

While walking around the town of Buzen Kaido, it would be great to stop by for a break and have a glass of Daiginjo. That wish comes true at the standing bar "Sakagura no Katasumi de Kakuuchi" that opened last November. The bar is located on the grounds of Chiyonoen Sake Brewery, a long-established sake brewery founded in 1896. Inside the store, which is a renovated old house, you can casually taste the brewery's sake, which has won numerous awards at domestic and international competitions, including Daiginjo, sake, liqueurs, and limited edition sakes. Some of the sake is unpasteurized and never released to the public! Another attraction is that it can be enjoyed at a reasonable price because it is directly managed, and it is gradually becoming a hot topic among tourists.

The landmark is a weathered light blue door. It was once used as a sake brewery, and together with the cedar ball hanging from the eaves, it blends in with the charming atmosphere of the town.

The interior of the restaurant is impressive with its old beams and pure white walls, typical of an old-style Japanese house. Tables are placed around three sake cellars, and you can choose your drink from the cellars.

The "tasting set" allows you to enjoy a little bit of each of Chiyonoen Sake Brewery's sake. There are three courses, Yuki, Tsuki, and Hana, but the most recommended is the most luxurious "Yuki." You can choose three types from the Daiginjo and Junmai Daiginjo brands, and the price is 1,200 yen.

Among the sake sailors, you can find the "Junmai Daiginjo Shubai", which won the gold medal at the "Feminalise World Wine Competition 2023 Sake Junmai Daiginjo Sake Category", as well as the rarely seen "Kuragori Daiginjo"! The lineup includes Yamaga craft beer and soft drinks, with the brewery's sake and liqueurs as the main focus.

(Left) There are also sake-based liqueurs made with lemons, yuzu, and blueberries from Kumamoto Prefecture.

(Right) Snacks are also available.

Chiyonosono Sake Brewery

Once upon an egg

About 8 minutes by car from Yamaga City Hall. Located on a small hill, "Once upon an egg" is a direct sales store for free-range fertilized eggs, where you can enjoy food and sweets made with eggs, and freshly brewed coffee. The approximately 10,000 m2 site, which was created by clearing a forest, has a store modeled after a chicken coop and a park. Since opening in May last year, it has been bustling with many people, mainly women and families. Customers are looking for the "eggs" that the parent company of the store, Tsuboi Foods, has developed over the course of two years. Free-range fertilized eggs, which satisfy the chickens' desire for freedom of movement, are characterized by their rich flavor and sweetness. They can be enjoyed in a collaborative menu supervised by popular pastry chef "Okashi no Oie Hibi" and cooking researcher Yusuke Hotta, and can also be purchased individually.

(Left) Inside the store, the left side is the direct sales booth for fertilized eggs, the center is the coffee and baked goods booth, and the back right is the restaurant.

(Right) Baked goods supervised by "Okashi no Oie Hibi." Various types are available depending on the season, and all of them use the special egg "Once Upon an Egg."

(Left) Eggs can be purchased easily for 40 yen each. Paper cartons and reusable trays are also available for easy take-home.

(Right) The cute house-shaped packaging is perfect as a gift or souvenir.

The restaurant is completely made of glass, giving it a sense of openness. The aisles are wide, so you can enjoy your meal in a relaxed atmosphere.

(Left) The crispy outside and creamy inside tart is made by sweets shop Hibi (680 yen). It is served on a tray, so you can enjoy it on the terrace or in the park on the premises. It is well balanced with the authentic coffee roasted in-store using beans from "LAYYERD COFFEE," a brand produced by Kyoto Unir.

(Right) Rich and full of egg flavor! Custard-like flavor of "Once Egg Soft Serve" (400 yen)

Once upon an egg

Kirali Brewery

"Craft beer" is made with great care in small breweries. It comes in a variety of flavors, from fruity to bitter. There are probably many people who say, "I don't like commercial beer, but I like this." For those people, we recommend "Kirali Brewery," which opened in February last year. It is Yamaga City's first craft beer brewery, run by female brewer Yukari Mori, who is still rare in Japan. There are currently six types of beer, including limited-edition flavors, which are lovingly brewed one by one from preparation to fermentation, aging, and bottling. There are a wide variety of unique beers, including the typical pale ale and IPA, as well as beers made using Yamaga rice and tea. There is also a store attached to the brewery, so why not drop by anytime.

It is about 8 minutes by car from Yachiyoza. The store is on the first floor of the building. There is also a parking lot in front of the store.

The interior of the store is equipped with tables and chairs. You can purchase craft beer from the refrigerator in the back and enjoy it at your leisure inside the store. While tasting, you might want to select a bottle to take home as a souvenir. By the way, you can see the fermentation tanks that are essential for beer brewing through the glass in the back right. Although compact, they are full of authentic brewing equipment.

The cute labels of these craft beers will get you excited. From the left, there is a pale ale, a weizen, an India pale ale (IPA), and on the far right is a coffee stout with roasted coffee and malt flavors. The aroma of coffee the moment you pour it is irresistible.

"Dakemacha IPA" has a beautiful color that is reminiscent of the color of tea. When you drink it, the first thing you notice is the subtle aroma of Dakemacha. As you continue to drink it, the elegant sweetness of the tea spreads in your mouth, leaving a refreshing aftertaste. It is said that the tea aroma becomes even stronger when it comes into contact with air.

(Left) The original coasters are also amazing! The packaging was designed by the brewer, Mr. Mori.

(Right) The name and logo of the "Kirali Brewery" express the idea that "women should shine brightly."

Kirali Brewery