Tokinokura's Restaurant

Kawane Onsen Hotel, which opened in 2014 to revitalize the local area, is owned by Shimada City and Oigawa Railway is the designated manager. Tourists visit from mainly the Kanto area, but also from the Chukyo area, as they can enjoy steam locomotives and hot springs. The restaurant, where Mr. Takimoto is the head chef, uses plenty of ingredients from Shizuoka Prefecture, mainly from the Kawane region. Based on French techniques, they make full use of a wide variety of cooking methods, including Japanese, Western, Chinese, and sweets, to offer creative cuisine that goes beyond conventional boundaries, including buffets and banquet cuisine. Kawane black tea panna cotta, cream sauce made with yuzu from Kawanehon town, button pot made with wild boar caught in Kawane and Fujieda, mousse made with Beniharuka, which was started on abandoned tea cultivation land converted into a sweet potato field. Dessert soups and other items are highly rated by customers.

After receiving the 2020 Worker of the Year award, Mr. Takimoto received a request from the local tourism association, and he spares no effort in cooperating with monitor tours. For example, when we conducted a tea-themed monitor tour, we had guests stay at a Kawane Onsen hotel and used pickled plums from Ita, Shimada City, and salt called Kawane Goen, which is made by boiling down Kawane Onsen. Including rice balls, Shime mackerel from Yaizu that has been flavored with Shizuoka tea, rice cooked with mushrooms from ``Oigawa Electric Manufacturing Mushroom Department Production'' in Kawane Town, and soy sauce from ``Marie Soy Sauce Kawamotoya'' in Kawane Town, Shimada City. We plan bento boxes using local ingredients, such as tofu with ankake sauce. In addition, in response to requests from travel agencies, he has also devised kaiseki courses using ingredients from the Oigawa area.

``After winning the award, I received more requests for tourism-related tours and expanded the scope of my work.Shizuoka is a land with abundant water and delicious tea.The Kawane area is mountainous and gets a little bit of sunlight. As a result, tea and vegetables grow slowly, producing agricultural products with concentrated flavor.From now on, I will work to communicate the appeal of ingredients from the Oigawa area while collaborating with travel agencies, railway companies, and the government. I hope to continue to do so," he said of his future aspirations.

View from the store (Oigawa Railway)

*From the article “Introducing the Worker of the Year 2022 Award Winners”