A 15-minute walk from Nichihara Station on the JR Yamaguchi Line leading to Masuda Station facing the Sea of Japan transports guests to Mikadoya in Nichihara, Tsuwano Town, Kanoashi District, Shimane Prefecture. The long-established restaurant is run by third-generation owner Ichiro Yamane and frequented by gourmands from inside and outside the prefecture.
Beautiful views and delicious cooking that change from season to season brings the restaurant’s clientele back time and again. In particular, Mikadoya is famous in Japan for its seasonal multi-course menus. From mid-April to mid-May, the restaurant features a hotpot of Shimane Wagyu beef and hanazancho (flowers of mountain pepper). Later, from June to late September, the restaurant offers a multi-course meal of natural sweetfish. Likened to the lady of the mountain stream, the highest quality sweetfish that grows in the Takatsu River with clean water features in each course, including an entrée of sweetfish grilled with salt using a secret method, pickled entrails and roe of sweetfish, and sweetfish rice.
October comes with a multi-course meal of slightly roasted sweetfish with roe, which is only available for a few weeks of the year. A 150- to 250-gram sweetfish dense with roe is slowly roasted over charcoal to produce a rich flavor; guests can then eat the fish from the head. The dish is Mikadoya’s specialty, and cannot be found anywhere else. In addition, on request, the dish can be served with matsutake mushrooms grilled over charcoal by the third-generation chef himself in front of guests. In September, a multi-course meal of natural turtles from the Takatsu River arrives at Mikadoya. Then, December starts with a multi-course meal of pufferfish from Yamaguchi to close the year-round journey of seasonal flavors through kaiseki-style dishes (a simple meal eaten before tea).
The drinks menu features mainly locally produced wines, such as Okuizumo Wine, and locally brewed Japanese sake for guests who travel all the way to Shimane. Among them, sweetfish sake made by soaking sweetfish in Uijin sake from a local brewery in Tsuwano is very popular, winning the hearts of many regular customers.
The building features an eye-catching roof tiled with sekishu gawara (clay roof tiles), recalling its history as a Japanese inn.
With private rooms on the second floor, Mikadoya is the perfect place to spend a relaxing time with a family, partner, friends, or colleagues while enjoying the seasonal flavors of the chef’s simple yet elaborate dishes.
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* The availability of this webpage does not guarantee that the restaurant presented provides services in English, unless otherwise stated. Please be aware that English services may also depend on staff availability at the restaurant.
Access
A 5-minutes by taxi from JR Yamaguchi Line Hihara Station
A 15-minutes walk from JR Yamaguchi Line Hihara Station
1,501 m from Hihara Station
25 minutes by car from Hagi Iwami Airport
