I want to eat both! Amakusa Daio and Kurumaebi Visit Amakusa City this winter!

This year marks the fourth time for the gourmet event "#Amakusa Daioh and Kurumaebi" in Amakusa City, Kumamoto Prefecture. The event has become a hot topic among tourists as they can enjoy locally raised Amakusa Daioh chicken and cultured tiger prawns. This year, 20 restaurants and lodging facilities in the city are participating, offering their specialties until February 29, 2024. Let us introduce some of the participating restaurants that offer both Amakusa Daioh and Kurumaebi dishes. During the period, 10 people will be selected by lottery to win either Amakusa king prawns or frozen tiger prawns worth 5,000 yen by eating a dish from the menu at a participating restaurant and filling out a questionnaire! Let's eat both! (All prices include tax)



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# Amakusa Daio and Kurumaebi

Who is the Great Amakusa in the first place?
What is Amakusa's farmed tiger prawn?

The Amakusa Daioh is a large meat chicken from Amakusa that became extinct in the early Showa period, but Kumamoto Prefecture spent eight years restoring it. The meat is rich with elasticity and chewy, and the moderate fat is very juicy. The moderate fat is very juicy and gives a delicious broth to nabe dishes.

And then there are the tiger prawns. Amakusa is the birthplace of Japanese tiger prawn aquaculture, and the prawns are carefully raised in an environment almost identical to that of the natural sea. The density of the shrimp is reduced to prevent viral infections, and the shrimp are fed in clean fish ponds to strengthen their immunity. The plump flesh has a slight sweetness. It can be served as sashimi, boiled in salt, grilled, or deep-fried.

Eat either for lunch or dinner!
4 choices from long-established buckwheat noodle shops to bakeries

First is the "Live tiger prawn and Amakusa giant king prawn hot pot set" (2,970 yen) at Ikezu Yamamoto, Amakusa's local fish restaurant. The appetizer is a tataki of Amakusa giant king prawn, and the sashimi platter is served with fresh tiger prawns that have just been taken out of the fish tank. The tempura is of course kuruma-ebi. The main dish is an Amakusa Daioh nabe, a pot of Amakusa Daioh chicken topped with prawns and Amakusa Daioh chicken in a broth made by slowly simmering Amakusa Daioh bones. The rice is topped with tsumire made from Amakusa Daioh and local olives. Other dishes include seasonal small bowls of cooked food and desserts.

Address: 10-11 Minamishinmachi, Amakusa City, Kumamoto Prefecture
Phone: 0969-23-2103
Closed: No regular holidays
Business hours: Weekdays 11:30-15:00 (OS 14:00), 17:30-21:00 (OS 20:00); Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays 11:30-21:00 (OS 20:00)
Keshi Yamamoto Home Page

Next is a popular local soba restaurant, Amakusa Soba Restaurant Reishuya. They grind Amakusa buckwheat on a millstone every day, make the soba, and boil it. Dashi (soup stock) is also made from Ushibuka's dried bonito. For this campaign, they are offering "Amakusa Daio no Tsuke-soba" (1,680 yen) and "Kurumaebi Tendon" (1,570 yen), as well as "Amakusa Daio no Tataki" (950 yen) and "Fried Kurumaebi Soba Roll" (550 yen) on their nightly a la carte menu. Soba is a dish to be savored with sake and finished with soba. That's the chic thing to do at Sobamae.

Address: 48 Higashimachi, Amakusa City, Kumamoto Prefecture
Phone: 0969-22-9966
Closed: Tuesday *Open only on Saturdays and Sundays in the evening
Business hours: 11:00-15:00 (OS 14:30), 17:00-21:00 (OS 20:30)
Lingzhuya Website

Lingzhuya" has a branch at "Roadside Station Miyajidake Kakashi-no-Sato". The campaign dishes here are the "Amakusa Daioh Hirahira Burdock Bowl Set" (photo #1, 1,300 yen) and the "Daikon Chicken Rice and Shrimp Tempura Set Meal" (photo #2, 1,600 yen). In the former, the aroma and crunchy texture of the Amakusa daikon and burdock root, which are packed with flavor, whet the appetite. The latter is a set of Amakusa Daioh arranged with dried radish chicken rice, a local delicacy of Miyajidake, and tempura with tiger prawns and local vegetables fried until crispy. After lunch, visit the roadside station to see the scarecrows and do some shopping.

Address: 5516-1 Miyajidake-cho, Amakusa City, Kumamoto Prefecture
Phone: 080-8451-6200
Closed: 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month
Business hours: 11:00-15:00 (OS 14:30)
Lingzhuya Website

How about a pizza for a change? Bakery Kitchen 3 Piece, located on the premises of the popular sweets store "Bongoo" in Amakusa, is also participating in the campaign. The "Amakusa Kurumaebi Pizza" (first photo), which is made of low-temperature fermented pizza dough and lavishly filled with fresh plump Kurumaebi, Asa, Kurumaebi shells and Amakusa salt, and the "Amakusa Daioh Pizza" (second photo), a teriyaki pizza with carefully selected Amakusa Daioh marinated in a housemade soy sauce sauce sauce. The Amakusa Daioh Pizza has an irresistible texture unique to Amakusa Daioh. Both are priced at 2,700 yen.

Address: 21-14 Ota-cho, Amakusa City, Kumamoto Prefecture
Phone: 0969-24-8558
Closed: Every Monday, 2nd and 4th Tuesday
Business hours: 9:00-18:00
Bakery Kitchen 3 Piece Website

Plan cuisine at the inn for meals only.
A little richer at the hotel restaurant

Seven accommodations are participating in this campaign. Four of them are available for meals only. It is up to you whether you would like to enjoy it as an overnight stay plan or as a dinner course. First is the "Amakusa Daioh and Kurumaebi Kaiseki" at the Amakusa Prince Hotel. The 12-course meal starts at 16,500 yen per night with two meals, or 8,800 yen for the meal only. Reservations are required.

Address: 92 Higashimachi, Amakusa City, Kumamoto Prefecture
Phone: 0969-22-5136
Amakusa Prince Hotel Website

The Amakusa Santa Cumming Hotel's "Amakusa King and Tiger Prawn Special Plan" starts at 16,500 yen per night with two meals. The price for just the meal is 7,700 yen. Make reservations at least one week in advance. This is a Western-style arranged course full of flavor, consisting of tiger prawns, vegetable tempura, and poached Amakusa king prawn. The menu may vary depending on the availability.

Address: 74-3 Kamegawa, Kameba-cho, Amakusa City, Kumamoto Prefecture
Phone: 0969-22-0100
Amaksa Santa Cumming Hotel Home Page

Amakusa Shimoda Onsen is a hot spring resort on Amakusa Shimojima. Boyokaku" is located on the seashore and boasts of the oldest natural hot spring in Amakusa and the sunset on the horizon. The "Winter in Amakusa Plan" features 12 dishes including grilled giant Amakusa lobster, prawns, and other seafood. 18,700 yen for one night with two meals, 8,800 yen for the meal-only plan. Reservations are required. This is a winter course that uses an abundance of seasonal tiger prawns and Amakusa king prawns to bring out the natural flavors of the ingredients.

Address: 1201 Shimotakita, Amakusa-cho, Amakusa City, Kumamoto Prefecture
Phone: 0969-42-3111
Banyokaku Home Page

Let's stay at the inn and eat in plenty of luxury!
Enjoy both with the Campaign Plan!

Since I have come all the way to Amakusa City, I want to stay at a hotel and take my time eating a course of tiger prawns and Amakusa Daioh. There are four hotels that offer the special campaign course only to their guests. Hotel Alegria Gardens Amakusa's "Japanese and Western-style Kaiseki Plan with Amakusa king prawns and tiger prawns" starts at 18,200 yen per night with two meals (four persons per room). The Western-style dish is a crispy Amakusa giant king thigh galette wrapped in crepine and finished with a refreshing ravicotte sauce, while the Japanese-style dish features Amakusa tiger prawns, which become more plump in winter, in a shabu shabu with crab miso sauce. These two royal dishes will enchant you.

Address: 996 Hirose, Hondo-cho, Amakusa City, Kumamoto Prefecture
Phone: 0969-22-3161
Hotel Alegria Gardens Amakusa Website

Plaza Hotel Annex, a business hotel located in the center of Amakusa City, offers the "Winter Camp" Amakusa Enjoyment Plan, starting at 11,600 yen per night with two meals. The plan includes teppan-grilled Amakusa giant amakusa king prawns, tempura tiger prawns, and more. The chewy Amakusa kingfish is grilled on an iron plate, and the succulent meat is enjoyed to its heart's content.

Address: 16-1 Ota-cho, Amakusa City, Kumamoto Prefecture
Phone: 0969-23-3000
Plaza Hotel Annex Home Page

If you are planning to stay in Amakusa Shimoda Onsen, take advantage of the "Amakusa Daioh and Kurumaebi Campaign Limited Plan" at Iga-ya Ryokan, starting at 16,650 yen per night with two meals. The 10-course plan includes steamed and grilled Jidori chicken (Amakusa Daioh), sashimi of tiger prawns, and more. The Amakusa Daioh is steamed and grilled on the table so that its meaty flavor can be fully appreciated. The tiger prawns are served as sashimi, allowing you to enjoy the sweetness and plump texture that only Amakusa tiger prawns can offer.

Address: 1296-1 Shimotakita, Amakusa-cho, Amakusa City, Kumamoto Prefecture
Phone: 0969-42-3011
IGAYA Ryokan Website

Last but not least is Suzuya, a guest house facing Asami Bay, just before Ushibuka. The plan is called "Ganko Oyaji's Full Course of Amakusa King and Kuruma Shrimp," and the price starts at 10,000 yen per night with two meals, a reasonable price for a guest house. The inn is highly rated by guests for its homeliness and delicious food. The 11-course menu features Amakusa giant lobster nabe and nikogori, grilled tiger prawn, sashimi, smoked duck, and more.

Address: 2783 Fukami-cho, Amakusa City, Kumamoto Prefecture
Phone: 0969-75-0611
Guest House Suzuya Website

In addition to those selected this time, "Ebi no Miyagawa Kamegawa," a famous local shrimp restaurant, and "Amakusa Daio Izakaya Yakitoriman," which focuses on Amakusa Daio, have their own "Recommended Amakusa Daio Dishes" and "Recommended Kurumaebi Dishes" in the lineup. For more information, please visit the official campaign website of the Amakusa Treasure Island Tourism Association.

Amakusa Treasure Island Tourism Association Campaign Official Website