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"Gourmet News" No. 13 "Sawara's Nipponia"

It was the last day of July. I had made a seasonal promise to go out with a high school classmate, and we usually go to Scandia in Yokohama, but the COVID-19 situation is not good, and we are being asked to refrain from going outside the prefecture, so we are forced to change our destination and end up going to Katori City in the prefecture. We visited Katori Shrine and decided to take a walk around the former residence of Ino Tadataka, which still retains the traditional townscape of Sawara. It was a Saturday, so it was quite crowded with tourists from within the prefecture. As I entered the alley to the parking lot, I saw a building with a noren curtain with "Nipponia" written on both sides. I looked it up and found out it was the "Sawara Merchant Town Hotel," and that there are several old houses and storehouses scattered around that have been renovated to allow people to stay there. Apparently you can have meals at a French restaurant that was renovated from a sake storehouse that also serves as a reception. I visited Matsumoto Jujo in September and had a good impression of it. Matsumoto Jujo was a book hotel, but I heard that Sawara also did not have televisions in the rooms, so I thought I'd like to stay there once on a day when there weren't many tourists.

November is my birthday month, and I usually have a dinner with about ten people on my birthday, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, I had a meal with close friends at "L'Antem Porel" in Minami-Aoyama last year, but this year I'm going to spend my birthday alone at home. It feels a bit dull. My student's wedding is on the last Sunday of the month, so I decided to go to Yokohama. The reception will end around 2pm, so I had a friend pick me up and we went to "Nipponia" in Sawara. For some reason, I ended up leaving Yokohama around 4pm, but by taking the Wangan and Tokan Expressways and the highway, I arrived at 6pm. It was pitch black after 5pm, and there were hardly any cars after the junction with Narita Airport, and even after entering Sawara, there were only narrow, dark roads and few people. I was reminded of the time in September when I arrived at Asama Onsen, which was almost deserted, around 8pm.

Still, I followed the navigation and arrived at the KAGURA building where the reception was. I decided to stay in the SEIGAKU building, which was the closest. After walking for a while and turning into an alley, I found the entrance to the room we were staying in through a sliding door with a noren curtain at the front. The landlord still lives in the main house, and the room we were staying in was a converted storehouse. It seemed like a scene I'd seen somewhere before. That's right, I realized that this was the alley I turned down to park in July. It was a midsummer afternoon, but the alleyway entrance was softly lit by warm lighting, and I was sure it was the alleyway I had passed through back then. The room was a two-story maisonette. In terms of size, it was the second largest room type after a suite that can be rented as a whole building. Inside, the heating was on and it was very warm. There was a small living room in front of the storehouse, and the bathroom was on that side. The storehouse door was open, and there were beds on both the first and second floors. On the first floor, there was a space with tatami mats, low tables and cushions. The second floor was decorated with historical documents, and had a book hotel style like Matsumoto Juyo. There were four beds, so it should have been used for four people, not just two. In the end, we ended up not using the second floor at all. The air conditioning was working well, except for the slightly cold cypress bath, and the area around the beds on the first floor was especially warm, which I really liked.

Now, for meals, there is a restaurant called "Le Un" at the back of the KAGURA building where we checked in earlier, where you can enjoy locally produced French cuisine. As you can tell from the fact that it is a restaurant renovated from a sake brewery, the menu is themed around fermentation, as the area is famous for sake breweries and fermented foods such as soy sauce. Breakfast is Japanese food, but it also uses a lot of fermented foods, and in addition to miso soup, you can also choose sake lees soup, which made me happy as I love sake lees. As you know, Chiba Prefecture is in the metropolitan area, but it is also an agricultural prefecture, so the fish is from Choshi and the vegetables are also locally sourced. The main dish was roasted Kazusa Wagyu beef, and the fat of the meat was just right. I knew that pork was famous, but I was impressed that the beef was so delicious. Overall, the level was high and I think it was comparable to French food in Tokyo.

However, what made me happiest was the wine list. In Matsumoto and Suwa in September, they only served not-so-tasty Shinshu wines at tourist prices more than three times the retail price, which resulted in lowering the reputation of the restaurant. However, the wine list at Le Anne was limited, but all the expensive wines were Bordeaux or Burgundy, which was a very pleasing choice for me. Moreover, guests staying at the hotel received a 10 % discount, so I was able to drink it for about 1.5 times the retail price. I chose Morey-Saint-Denis 2019 from Lignier-Michelot. The 2012 Gevrey-Chambertin was out of stock, so this was the only Burgundy available. I thought it was a little early, but when I tried it, it was perfectly drinkable and very delicious. When I looked it up later, I found that the winemaker makes it so that the wine can be enjoyed for the first five years of its life, which made sense. However, it was a shame that the glass was a small Bordeaux glass. Since it was a wine that cost nearly 20,000 yen, if they had served it in a Burgundy glass, which is about the size of a glass, the young wine would have opened up and been more delicious. Of course, decanting is good, but it would be rude to require it, so if you at least use the right glass, there won't be any problems.

The hotel check-out time is 12 o'clock, so this also passes. After breakfast, it's a good time to take a walk around the streets of Koedo. However, on Mondays, all the stores are closed, which I had overlooked. I had thought of going to a coffee shop run by an elegant elderly couple across from the Ino Tadataka Memorial Museum that I had visited in July, but it was closed as well. After receiving my order, they grind the beans and carefully brew the coffee using paper drip, which is delicious. Moreover, when I looked it up before leaving this time, I found out that the owner is Ino-san, a descendant of Ino Tadataka and the 17th generation of the Ino family. I couldn't find a place to drink coffee... I decided to go to Katori Shrine, which I had planned to visit after lunch, first and have lunch there.

Now, for lunch, as Sawara is called "Suigou" (Water Town), the Tone River is nearby, and on the other side of the river is Ibaraki Prefecture. Therefore, the specialty is "eel". The most famous Yamadaya main store was closed, so I went to its annex along a large national highway, but there was a line at the conveniently located family restaurant-style store. I had no choice but to go to the main store of Asoya, which seems to be the second most famous. I couldn't get there using the navigation system, and ended up wandering around a residential area. There was a factory-like building next to the Tone River embankment, and it turned out to be the main store. Perhaps because it was in a difficult-to-find location, there were hardly any customers. I went up to the tatami room and looked at the menu, and in addition to kabayaki and shirayaki, there was also "shioyaki". I was wondering what to order, but I decided to first see how the kabayaki would turn out, and ordered kabayaki, cold sake of the local sake "Azuma Kun", and liver grill. The liver grill was a large liver, and the rich sauce matched well with the bitterness of the liver, and it was delicious liver for the first time in a long time. On the other hand, the kabayaki was plump and the sauce was not heavy, giving it a refined finish. The restaurant has a rustic feel, but the taste is sophisticated, and I would like to return and try the "Shioyaki" next time.

I was surprised to be able to enjoy such a wonderful trip in less than two hours from the city center. I would like to come back on a day when I can enjoy the cityscape a little more. However, it gets crowded on weekends, so I think it would be better to go on a weekday.

This month's recommended wine

"Champagne Blanc de Blancs made entirely from Chardonnay"

"Chardonnay de Montgouy NV AOP Champagne Vincent Couche" 8,000 yen (excluding tax)

 

Gourmet News is now in its second year. We are systematically introducing wines in one series of 6 x 2 = 12. In other words, the first series was about Champagne and the seventh series was about Franciacorta, Italy, both of which are sparkling wines. This series will be the second series. This year, we will continue to introduce French and Italian wines in parallel. This year, we would like to introduce wines from regions that are not the two major wine-producing regions of each country. We hope you will continue to follow us.

 

Well, this is the first of the second year, and this time I would like to introduce champagne again. Last time, I introduced a full-bodied Blanc de Noirs made only from Pinot Noir. This time, I would like to introduce a champagne made only from Chardonnay. This is called Blanc de Blancs (white of white). It means white champagne as opposed to rosé made from white grapes (Chardonnay). Since it is made only from Chardonnay, it is characterized by a refreshing taste with a sharp acidity. The winemaker we chose this time is Vincent Couche, who practices biodynamic farming and has a domaine in the village of Bucseilles in the Cote des Bar, the southernmost region where champagne is produced. However, since this area is suitable for Pinot Noir, this Blanc de Blancs uses Chardonnay made from a vineyard owned by Vincent Couche in the village of Montgueux, an exclave near Troyes, halfway between the Cote de Cezanne to the north. The chalky soil here is rich in minerals and produces a crisp Chardonnay suitable for a Blanc de Blancs.

If you compare it with the first Blanc de Noirs from last year, you will realize that there are many different styles of Champagne.

For inquiries about the wines featured,
To AVICO Co., Ltd.

Biography
Osamu Seki Born in Tokyo in 1961. Currently a part-time lecturer at Meiji University and other institutions.
He specializes in contemporary French thought and cultural theory, and is a director of the Reefer Wine Association.
His books include "An Introduction to Beautiful Men" (Natsume Shobo) and "My Neighbor is Arashi-kun" (Cyzo), and his translations include "How Should We Read Foucault?" by Oksara (Shinsensha) and "Mr. Pydrow, What Use Is a Gastronomic Critic?" by Pydrowski (Shinsensha).
Seki Osamu FACE BOOK
Seki Osamu Official Website

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