Kyushu Roadside Station Gourmet: Which Do You Prefer?　Kaisen-don vs Meat-don

　One of the pleasures of a roadside station is local gourmet food. One of the delicacies of the sea and the mountains is to be savored to the fullest. Kaisen-don, a bowl of rice topped with fresh seafood, is a gorgeous and appetizing dish. If you want to eat a hearty bowl of meat, you should have a meat bowl. If you are at a roadside station by the sea, you can have a seafood bowl, and if you are inland, you can have a meat bowl. The destination of your trip may change depending on which one you choose.

Kaisendon!
Roadside Station Munakata

Genkai Chazuke Set (Genkai Sea Sea Sea Food) Genkai Chazuke Set

　Roadside Station Munakata's greatest pride is the fish and shellfish from the Genkai Sea that are landed at the four surrounding fishing ports. Every morning, an abundance of fresh fish and shellfish is lined up at the product center, and the stock quickly dwindles. At the station's "Ofukuro Shokudo Hamayu" (Mother's Restaurant), visitors can enjoy these fish dishes. The "Genkai Chazuke Set" is one of their specialties. The fish fillets marinated in a special sesame sauce change with the seasons. The fish fillet is placed on a bed of rice and you take a bite. The sesame sauce soaks into the fish, which in turn soaks into the rice. The fish is fresh, so it is very firm. Then, pour hot tea over the fish, and chomp down on it in one gulp! The price is 1,500 yen (tax included) with red miso soup and pickles.

Meat bowl!
Roadside Station Itoda

Soul food of Chikuho, a coal mining town! Horumon-don

　The Tagawa-Iizuka area once prospered from the Chikuho coal fields. Tagawa Horumon" is a one-pot dish that originated in the Tagawa-Iizuka area. Tagawa Horumon, in which offal is marinated in miso or soy sauce-based sauce and grilled on a griddle with vegetables, has become the soul food of the region. Tagawa Horumon is served as a bowl of rice at Tagiri, a tenant restaurant at the roadside station. The hormone used is directly managed by a meat processing company, so you can be sure of the quality. The thick, sweet, and spicy sauce is entwined with the meat and vegetables, making the chopsticks go on and on and on. There are two types of sauce, normal and spicy, and both come with miso soup for only 600 yen, which is a real tear-jerker!

Kaisendon!
Roadside Station Ushibuka Kaisaikan

Amakusa seafood, tuna and salmon roe as well! Kaisen-don

　Kaisen-don" features a variety of ingredients that change depending on the season, but mainly include kibinago (yellowtail), yellowtail, chicken grunt, and sea bream caught in the seas around Amakusa. Tuna and salmon roe from other prefectures are also added. Incidentally, the skin of the yellowtail and spring fish, emezu (Yokosuzi snapper), is lightly grilled, a process known as "yakimozukuri" in Amakusa. In Amakusa, it is called "yaki-shimo-zukuri" or "yaki-kiri" (grilled). To eat, add wasabi, sesame, and hot pepper to the special shoyu sauce to taste, and pour it over the bowl. The fresh fish is mixed with the slightly sweet shoyu sauce, giving a richer impression to the palate. 1,780 yen (tax not included)

Meat bowl!
Roadside Station Otsu, Roadside Station Kakita

Lean meat is healthier than marbled meat! Red Beef Bowl

　The "Akagyu Restaurant Yoka Yoka" is a tenant restaurant of Michi-no-Eki Otsu and Michi-no-Eki Kakita, and is directly operated by a ranch that raises its own brand of Akagyu beef named "Kosei-gyu" (red beef). The "Akagyu rice bowl," the most popular dish, features rare grilled Akagyu beef on rice, with a half-boiled egg sitting in the center! and a half-boiled egg sits in the center. A closer look reveals that it is not only rare beef. The beef stewed in a drizzle of sauce and morsels of miso paste are also casually placed on top. The beef is already coated with sauce and topped with wasabi (Japanese horseradish) to taste. It brings a smile to my face. The rice covered with sauce is covered with the meat, and another bite is taken. Naturally, the shigureni and rice, or moromi miso and rice, are also a nice match! No, it is quite a fine art. 2,290 yen (tax included)

Kaisendon!
Roadside Station Kamae

The fisherman's meal in Kabae is "Atsumeshi!

　Atsumeshi" is the local fisherman's rice dish of Kabae. It is a bowl of rice topped with a bowl of pickled fish fillets. Fishermen cut the day's catch on the boat between fishing trips, cut it into bite-sized pieces, marinate it in a soy sauce sauce, and serve it on rice. At the station restaurant, the fish fillet of the day is served in a soy sauce sauce with egg yolk. The egg yolk mellows the soy sauce and enhances the umami of the fish fillet. Use as much or as little sesame seeds as you like. Dashi broth is served at the end of the meal to give it a different flavor. All meals come with self-service miso soup and coffee, and you can choose from two types of miso soup with different ingredients. The price is 1,600 yen without dashi broth or 1,800 yen with dashi broth. More neta (fish) is available for an additional 300 yen. All prices include tax.

Meat bowl!
Roadside Station Ono

Toyo's Shamo Oyako-don (oyakodon)

　Bungo-Ono is the largest producer of "Toyo-no-Shamo," Oita Prefecture's prized brand of chicken in the prefecture. The meat is a crossbreed of the father's Shamo and the mother's Kyushu Road breed, with 50% Shamo meat, which has less fat, a tighter texture, and a rich, umami taste unique to Shamo. The "Toyo no shamo oyakodon" served at the Michi-no-eki restaurant is a luxurious dish that uses meat and eggs from Toyo no shamo as well as soup stock made from Toyo no shamo. The soft, half-boiled egg, firm and rich meat, and moderately sweet broth intertwine, allowing you to enjoy every bit of the deliciousness of Yutaka's shamo. The set meal includes miso soup, a small bowl of cooked food, and pickles for 1,200 yen (tax included).

Kaisendon!
Roadside Station Kitaura

Sparkling deliciousness! Sea Treasure Rice Bowls

　The restaurant's No. 1 menu item is a typical example of Kitaura, which is blessed with a wide variety of fish species and is also rich in aquaculture. Fresh seafood such as local specialty kampachi and sea bream, as well as salmon and squid, fill the bowl. Each piece is large and satisfying. The menu includes kampachi with its firm and crispy meat, sea bream that is moist and tender, salmon that melts in your mouth, squid that is both resilient and tender, salmon roe that is smooth and juicy, and plump shrimp. A true treasure of the sea. 1980 yen (tax included).

Meat bowl!
Roadside Station Yuparu-no Jiri

Hitsumabushi, a version of katsudon? Kirishima mountain range fumo fumo katsudon

　The menu of the station appeared in 2023. The amount of meat varies according to the elevation of the Kirishima mountain range: 120 g for Hinamoridake, 300 g for Takachiho, and 500 g for Karakuni. Sweet potatoes are added to the feed during the finishing stage, resulting in tender meat and sweet fat that melts in the mouth. First, eat a piece of the hot pork cutlet as it is to experience the taste of the meat. Next, eat it with sauce. Then, pour the egg topping over the cutlet and rice to make a katsu-don (pork cutlet served on top of rice). Takachihonomine" and "Mt. Korea" are limited to three meals on weekdays and five meals on Saturdays and Sundays, but this is not the limit if you make a reservation at least two days in advance. Prices are, in order, 1,280 yen, 2,280 yen, and 3,280 yen. All prices include tax.

Kaisendon!
Roadside Station Kushima Kushima Kushima Ikushimazushi Buri Puri Donburi

The definitive local gourmet! Kushima Ikushime Buri Puri Donburi

The restaurant menu offers a variety of dishes using yellowtail, but one of the most notable is the "Kushima Ikusame Buri Puri Donburi" (1,200 yen), which was created as a local gourmet dish. The rules include using at least 100 grams of live-clawed yellowtail produced in Kushima City, using at least five local seasonal vegetables, and serving the dish with yellowtail ara soup. Umiyama Shokudo prepares five kinds of sauce for this bowl, including sashimi soy sauce, spicy miso sauce, and onion salt sauce. You can enjoy the change of flavors while eating it. In addition to Umiyama Shokudo, three other restaurants in the city also offer Kushima Ikushimeburi Puri-donburi, each with its own unique flavor.

Meat bowl!
Roadside Station Miyakonojo NiQLL

The most luxurious of all! Miyazaki Beef Roast Beef Bowl

　Miyazaki beef has an illustrious track record, winning the "Wagyu Olympics," the National Wagyu Championships, for the first time ever four years in a row, and being used as an ingredient for the official party at the U.S. Academy Awards for three consecutive years. The roadside station and restaurant "Kitchen Gramma in the Basin" offers the full range of Miyazaki beef. The "Miyazaki Beef Roast Beef Donburi" is one of the most luxurious dishes. The moderately marbled thigh meat is cooked at low temperature, giving it a beautiful rose-like color and tender texture. The beef is cooked at a low temperature to give it a beautiful rose-like color and tender texture. The rich flavor is sure to satisfy! 2,300 yen with salad bar (tax included).

Kaisendon!
Roadside Station Ibusuki

Ten kinds of fresh seafood! Kaisen Tamatebako

　The restaurant at the station is named "Kanon" as a restaurant serving fresh seafood. The recommended menu items are the "Kaisen Tamatebako" and "Sushi Set Meal," both priced at 1,540 yen (tax included). The Kaisen Tamatebako is a bowl of rice topped with 10 kinds of seafood, including shrimp, baby sardines, squid, tuna, sea bream, and kampachi. Naturally, these items change depending on the season. It is served with miso soup, a small bowl of cooked food, and tsukemono pickles. The restaurant overlooks the ocean, allowing diners to enjoy a rich variety of seafood. Don't miss the katsuo-zuke-don, another kaisendon type dish, which is unique to Ibusuki.

Meat bowl!
Roadside Station Hiwaki

Local gourmet food born of the great drama! Sego Donburi

The NHK historical drama "Saigo-Don" prompted the tourism association to create a new local menu at a local restaurant. The three "promises" for the local menu were the use of pork from the prefecture, miso flavor, and a bowl of rice that everyone can enjoy. Therefore, the chef of the station restaurant decided to use miso from Maruni Miso, a long-established miso manufacturer located across the street from the station. In fact, there was originally a set meal of grilled pork with miso on the restaurant menu, which was the restaurant's specialty. The restaurant converted it into a bowl of rice and changed the flavor of the sauce. Maruni Miso" has a sweet taste. The sweet taste of "Maruni Miso" is sweet, but it is matched with the sweetness of the pork to create a taste that Satsuma likes. Ontama (soft-boiled egg) was added to the rice bowl menu. 990 yen (including tax)

　You might say you want to eat both kaisen-don (seafood bowl) and meat-don (meat bowl). Eating delicious seafood and meat bowls at a roadside station will make your drive more enjoyable again. We are looking forward to hearing about delicious roadside station gourmet foods!