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Only 20 minutes from central Nagoya is the oft-overlooked city of Kuwana, whose quiet character now belies its storied, illustrious past. The city flies under the radar for international and domestic tourists, and few know about its food culture, which has survived centuries. To understand its food culture, we should first learn the history the area.
Let’s rewind back to the early 17th century when the warlord Tokugawa Ieyasu unified Japan. In the later years of the unification, the massive Osaka Castle was still under the command of a last potential rival. Thus, Tokugawa Ieyasu dispatched his loyal retainer, Honda Tadakatsu, whom legend says survived over 50 battles with nary a scrape, to become lord of Kuwana due to its strategic location – accessible over land from the east and west via the Tokaido, one of the major routes connecting Kyoto and Edo (Tokyo), and boat access via a major river flowing from the north into Ise Bay.
Kuwana flourished as a castle and post town. The first feudal lord of Kuwana, Honda Tadakatsu, built his castle near the bay and engaged in city planning. Kuwana is the 42nd post town out of 53 along the Tokaido, and the passage between Kuwana and the 41st post town in the east was traversed by boat – the only sea connection on the Tokaido. Not only that, the post town of Kuwana is where the Isekaido route that leads to Japan’s most sacred shrines starts. In fact, back in the day, Kuwana contained the second-most lodgings for travelers.
One of the most famous foods originating in Kuwana – if not the most famous – is hamaguri or clam, which has been harvested in the area for centuries. The city is located at the mouth of the Kiso River and Ise Bay, and the mix of freshwater and seawater provides a nutrient rich environment for clams to grow big and plump. The highly regarded hamaguri was even presented to the ruling Tokugawa family. Other delicacies include the local beef and traditional sweets from shops with histories almost as long as the founding of the castle town of Kuwana.
I spent two days eating my way through Kuwana as well as visiting some tourist attractions in the city.
Exploring the city center
Starting at Kuwana Station, I made my way to the ruins of the historical Shichiri no Watashi, from where boats used to make the crossing between Kuwana and the 41st post town. Shichiri refers to the distance of approximately 28 kilometers that separates Kuwana and the other post town across the water, and Watashi means crossing. Standing tall at the former dock area is a large torii gate that was located at the entrance of the sacred Ise Shrine, a nod to Kuwana’s position at the entrance of the Isekaido.
Directly in front of the torii gate is the former Tokaido route, which looks very modern now compared to how it must have looked back in the day. I walked a short way along the former Tokaido to Utaandon, a local udon shop that was founded in 1877. On the menu is a variety of dishes containing hamaguri, and I ordered a hamaguri tempura udon as well as grilled hamaguri.
Following lunch, I moved to Kuwana Soja (Kasuga Shrine), the oldest shrine in Kuwana with over 1900 years of history. On the grounds of the shrine is a small sword museum housing a precious sword forged by a famed blacksmith, who was from Kuwana, in the mid 16th century. During World War II, the sword was painted with black lacquer to protect the metal and moved to a safe location. After the war, it was stored at the Kuwana City Museum as is until 2022, when the lacquer was removed, and the sword was restored to its original brilliance. The sword has since been on display for all to see a piece of history and admire its beauty.
Adjacent to the shrine is The Kasuga, a cafe and restaurant. Conveniently located, the restaurant was crowded with families and couples when I was there. I ordered a parfait, which is one of their specialties. There were about ten different types of parfaits on the menu, which, depending on type, may comprise of seasonal fruit, pudding made with local eggs and whipped cream.
On the way to my accommodation for the night, I walked past Toraya, a traditional Japanese sweets shop that is said to be one of the oldest in the city and prefecture. Toraya is known for its namesake steamed buns (Toraya manju) that are filled with sweet red bean paste. The buns are made with a fermented starter similar to a sake mash, then allowed to ferment and rise over hot coals, and finally steamed. Everything is done in the traditional way.
From Toraya, I continued on to my accommodation for the night, Casa Watari. The cosy, small luxury hotel only has two rooms, and opened in 2020. The name of the hotel reflects Kuwana’s history as a post town and the Tokaido’s only sea crossing. Casa Watari comprises of three buildings, the lounge and check in building, a main 2-story building with one room and a single story annex containing the other room.
The current owner’s grandfather inherited the property over a hundred years ago from the Moroto family, a wealthy family from Kuwana who contributed to improving the livelihoods of Kuwana’s residents. The Moroto foundation now oversees the Moroto Garden, which is open to the public only between certain dates in spring and autumn, and gifted one of their residences to the city. Having a Moroto family connection at my accommodation already made me look forward to the following day’s visit to the former residence.
The furnishings in the main and annex buildings of Casa Watari were simple, but elegant, bringing together quality Japanese brands for a luxurious rest quite unlike the everyday life. While I enjoyed my room in the annex, the lounge was also exceptionally furnished. It was filled with books and magazines as well as lots of reading nooks, creating the perfect escape from the outside world.
After wow-ing over my lodging, I headed back out to Edogawa, an izakaya-style restaurant where visitors can order from a variety of dishes, for dinner. The restaurant seemed to be popular with the locals as I saw some getting take out and groups having dinner parties. I ordered beef, one of the local specialties at Edogawa, and was not disappointed at all. The chef expertly flambe’d my steak, and it ended up with a nice outer crust and a perfectly pink center.
I ended my first day in Kuwana stuffed to the gills and extremely content. Instead of walking back the same way I arrived, I decided to take a scenic walk along the Sumiyoshi canal back to Casa Watari.
Morning market and lunch
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Continuing with my tour of Kuwana, I went to Rokkaen, which is a stone’s throw from Casa Watari. As mentioned before, Casa Watari and Rokkaen were formerly owned by the Moroto family, and Rokkaen was constructed in 1913 as the new abode for the son of the Moroto family. The unique building comprises of a traditional Japanese half and a Western half, separated by a single wall.
The architect who designed the Western half of the building is Josiah Conder, an Englishman who is said to be the father of modern Japanese architecture. Not many of Condor’s buildings remain today, but some can be seen in central Tokyo like the Nikolai Cathedral. Additionally, his students include Tatsuno Kingo, who is best known as the architect behind Tokyo Station and the Bank of Iwate Red Brick Building in Morioka.
Visitors are free to walk around the building and garden, but free guided Japanese tours are available for those who wish to get a more in depth overview of the place and its history.
From Rokkaen, I made my way down towards Teramachi Street, a covered pedestrian shopping arcade that hosts a morning market on days with a 3 or an 8 in them (i.e., 3, 8, 13, 18, 23, 28). From local fruit and vegetables to snacks to homemade lunchboxes and side dishes, there is something for everyone on the lively market days.
I strolled down Teramachi Street trying to refrain from buying the delicious produce and food before my eyes, but I knew deep down that it was my duty to save at least a few items. Following my heroic acts at the morning market, I found myself right on time for lunch at Torikatsu, a highly rated ramen restaurant serving hamaguri ramen. The line at the restaurant can get pretty long even on weekdays, but it moves relatively quickly.
When my bowl of ramen arrived, the broth smelled so good, and I found myself thinking about that line in the movie Tampopo, in which a young Watanabe Ken asks a ramen teacher, which should be eaten first, the soup or the noodles. The teacher’s answer was to first observe and appreciate the bowl as a whole, then pick up some noodles and slurp them. And that was exactly what I did, after taking the pictures of the beauty first ^^;
My time at Kuwana was drawing to a close after ramen. On the way back to the station, I dropped by Kashiwaya Yasunagamochi, another one of Kuwana’s long established traditional sweets shop that started when Kuwana flourished as a post town. The main product Yasunagamochi is a long, flat and oval-shaped grilled mochi with red bean paste. There are many stories regarding the origins of the grilled mochi, but it can generally be agreed on that the mochi travels well, which is a major point of consideration for travelers passing through Kuwana who are looking to buy food on their journey. Today, the same product continues to be a nice souvenir for visitors to Kuwana.
That concluded my two days eating my weight in clams, fresh produce, local beef, and both traditional and modern sweets in Kuwana. I was pleased to have had the opportunity to visit this underrated city close to Nagoya. This was my first visit, but it is definitely not my last. For the food, for the history and just living the quiet life apart, but close enough to a large metropolis.
How to get to and around Kuwana
Kuwana Station is the main station serving central Kuwana. It is about 20 minutes by local train west of Nagoya, a major city and transportation hub in central Japan. From Nagoya, take either the JR Kansai Main Line (360 yen, 22 minutes one way) or the Kintetsu Nagoya Line (530 yen, 20 minutes one way) and alight at Kuwana Station.
All the spots visited in Kuwana are within walking distance from one another.
Approximate walking times
- Kuwana Station to Shichiri no Watashi: 20 minutes
- Shichiri no Watashi to Utaandon Udon: 5 minutes
- Utaandon Udon to Kasuga Shrine: 5 minutes
- Kasuga Shrine to Toraya manju shop: 2 minutes
- Toraya manju shop to Casa Watari: 15 minutes
- Casa Watari to Rokkaen: 5 minutes
- Rokkaen to Teramachi shopping street: 10 minutes
- Teramachi shopping street to Torikatsu ramen restaurant: 2 minutes
- Torikatsu ramen restaurant to Yasunagamochi Honpo: 15 minutes
- Yasunagamochi Honpo to Kuwana Station: 5 minutes
Useful links