THE perfect cone and the perfect hot pot dish -- these are two good reasons to visit the Yamanashi prefecture.
Visit Mt. Fuji. That’s been on my bucket list long before I stepped on Japanese soil. Seven years after my first visit to Japan, I finally got to see Mt. Fuji from two of the Fuji Five Lakes (Fujigoko). The Holy Mountain was the perfect host. It welcomed me in its full glory with the sun out, the air cool, the sky clear with no clouds obstructing its magnificence. Mt. Fuji loves me.
There’s another attraction in the Yamanashi prefecture. It’s a “warming experience” and a filling one—the Hoto, hearty hot post dish local to the prefecture.
Often served in an iron pot, Hoto is a dish of thick wheat noodles, which resemble extra thick udon noodles, prepared like dumplings in a miso based soup.
While hoto noodles resemble extra thick udon noodles, they are prepared more like dumplings, and lend a heartier quality to the dish than udon would. Traditionally, the soup is a miso based broth with pumpkin and other seasonal vegetables added.
A Chinese dish, hakataku, is Hoto’s origin. It was introduced by a Chinese Zen priest in Japan in the Heian era. Soon, it became the provision for regional warlord, Takeda Shingen, and his army before battle.
For this delicacy, our group went to Koshu Hoto Kosaku. The restaurant has ten outlets across the Yamanashi prefecture. It’s referred to as the Yamanakako 10.
At the Yamanakako branch, the place was full and queue was long. We were willing to wait. It’s not often that we get the chance to visit the place.
Shoes are left at the entrance. A step up, one can view the spacious interior of the restaurant and peek at the open kitchen. The dining area is large tatami room set up tables for two and larger groups. No chairs, just cushions to sit or kneel on while dining.
The kitchen displays Japanese efficiency. Several iron pots attached to a heating machine are cooking the noodles simultaneously.
Thirty minutes after, we were ushered to our table and picked our order from the pictures on the menu. Aside from the traditional flavor, the restaurant prepares its Hoto with pork, spicy pork, Chanko (or the sumo wrestlers’ stew) and spicy Carubi beef.
An order of Hoto can serve two. But I was famished thus I was able to finish the dish by myself. The inner samurai nourished, I was ready for battle at the Gotemba Shopping Outlet.
Two Yamanashi prefectures offering in a day. The Universe was generous. But the Yamanashi has other things to offer worth a revisit—the world-renowned Koshu Wine first made in Katsunuma in 1887; the Inden, accessories made from deerskin with designs in Japanese lacquer. These are only produced in Yamanashi; and the Koshu fabric, which started production in 1633 at the northern foot of Mt. Fuji.
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