With its beautiful coastline and dramatic mountain ranges, the Tango region in Kyoto by the Sea (northern Kyoto) is home to some of the best gourmet food in Japan. In addition to crab, oysters, yellowtail, and other seafood, you can also sample wild game such as deer and boar from the mountains. The water and air are clean and the soil is fertile, so the vegetables and rice grown in this region are superb. Many up-and-coming chefs are using produce from the region to create innovative dishes at some of the most talked-about restaurants in Tango. The striking scenery of the Japan Sea coast provides the perfect backdrop to these memorable and delicious meals and beverages.
The region has been a source of excellent produce since ancient times. Tango is also the hometown of Toyouke-omikami, an important Japanese goddess of food and fertility. It is said that she descended from the heavenly realm to this land in the distant past, and there are many local legends about her. Toyouke-omikami symbolizes the beginnings of rice cultivation in Japan, and there is a paddy field where she is said to have grown rice for Amaterasu, the sun goddess. Rice is still one of Tango’s most prized agricultural products, and easy access to high-quality rice and clean water has also led to a flourishing sake industry. As a result, today Tango is also home to a dozen sake breweries.
Nawaya
New Washoku Culinary Discoveries in Tango
Nawaya in Kyotango City attracts food lovers from all over Japan as well as from overseas, and was recently featured in the 2022 edition of the Gault & Millau GUIDE JAPAN. The restaurant is housed in a building surrounded by peaceful fields and is located a little inland from the coast. The owner/chef is Yukinori Yoshioka, who was born and raised in the region. After training at a famous Japanese restaurant in Kyoto, he opened Nawaya in 2006 at the age of 32.
From an early age, his parents would take him to the nearby mountains to forage for wild vegetables and to the coast to gather fish and shellfish. Yoshioka explains, “The ‘delicious memories’ of those days were the starting point for me as a chef.” Yoshioka’s dishes are designed to showcase the freshest ingredients from Tango. His food captures the enjoyment of tasting the four seasons by combining fresh local seafood with organic vegetables grown in his own fields, in addition to foraged herbs and wild game.
An indispensable element in Yoshioka’s approach to cooking is the wood fire. Yoshioka, who installed a wood-fired oven in his open kitchen, explains that “I realized that a primitive flame is the most effective way to bring out the best from the ingredients.” It takes some skill to adjust a wood fire to match the ingredients chosen for a particular dish, and Yoshioka is able to create savory notes and surprisingly juicy textures. It’s a pleasure to spend time at the counter watching the flames and listening to the sound of the wood crackling as you wait for your food to be served. Yoshioka’s cooking is a delight for the senses.
Nawaya only offers prix fixe dining, with about 10 to 12 dishes making up both lunch and dinner. The menu changes daily, as the dishes are prepared using seasonal ingredients. The photo above is an example of a flavorful winter dish, featuring Tango’s winter specialty hen crab with savory grilled winter vegetables.
Yoshioka’s specialty, konare-zushi, is a unique dish inspired by nare-zushi, a form of fermented fish-and-rice preparation that is known as one of the earliest forms of sushi in Japan. For our visit the seasonal fish was sawara—Spanish mackerel, which was cooked to a rare texture and served with porridge-like sushi rice. The sweetness and aroma of the tart rice contrasted nicely with the flavor of the slightly fatty sawara.
The opening dish of the prix fixe course at Nawaya is a freshly-cooked single mouthful of rice cooked over a wood fire. This is called niebana, which means that the rice is al dente in texture with plenty of moisture from being served just at the point that the rice grains become soft enough to eat. The concept is to convey the sweetness and freshness of the rice, which serves to whet the appetite for the dishes to come.
The restaurant’s interior, finished with natural materials such as clay walls and washi paper, is both sophisticated and comforting. The combination of the dishes and the vessels they are served on is also very tasteful. Please note that reservations are required at Nawaya. Reservations in English are available by using the Tablecheck website: https://www.tablecheck.com/en/nawaya
