A popular local announcer reports on Kure City. Yuri Tamura recommends a food trip to Kurahashi, Ondo, and other areas.

An old townscape remains beneath the swirling bridge girders of the Ondo Bridge. Enoki Sake Brewery is located on this street in Ondo Town. I remember visiting the brewery once when I was in the fifth grade. Later, after I became a newscaster, I visited the brewery for an interview and tried "Hanahato" for the first time. I was surprised by how delicious it was, with the sweetness of the rice. It's fruity, so it's recommended for women. Also, "Hanahato Kijoshu" is super sweet, made with sake instead of brewing water, and is delicious poured over ice cream! You can taste seasonal sake, from daiginjo to kijoshu, and you can also tour the brewery if you make a reservation, so it's a brewery that I especially recommend for people who like alcohol.

Every year at the end of April, the "Kura-kai" (opening of the brewery) is held, during which you can enjoy sake tasting, sales, a general goods display and sales, a cafe, Ondo Machikado Funauta (boat song) classes, a one-box second-hand book fair, and more, so we hope you'll come and participate!

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Address: 2-1-15 Minamikakuwatari, Ondo-cho, Kure City

Phone: 0823-52-1234

Business hours: Weekdays 9:00-19:00, Saturdays 10:00-18:00

Closed on Sundays and public holidays

Parking: 7 cars (free) *Including the second parking lot

*Reservations required for brewery tours

*Please check Instagram for the dates of the brewery opening.

https://www.instagram.com/hanahato_sake/

We visited this shop on location after hearing rumors that their winter-only "Butter Mochi" was delicious. We were surprised when we visited the shop! It had a Showa-era vibe, or perhaps a nostalgic vibe. We were impressed by the atmosphere, with the display cases and mochi boxes used to store the mochi still being used with great care. Butter Mochi (1,350 yen per piece, tax included/only available from December to March) is popular. It is sold in blocks, and the open-mindedness of being able to cut it into pieces of your choice is wonderful. Even our seniors who don't like sweet things all said "This is great!" From April, we recommend the lemon cake (155 yen per piece, tax included), which is just as popular as the butter mochi!

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Address: 2-7-6 Fujiwaki, Ondo-cho, Kure City

Phone: 0823-56-0372

Business hours Monday, Wednesday to Saturday 8:00 to 17:30

Sunday 8:00～12:00

Closed on Tuesdays

Parking: 2 spaces (free)

I first visited this restaurant after being introduced to a fisherman I met during filming, who told me that he had a favorite restaurant. I had their specialty yakisoba (700 yen including tax), which was incredibly delicious! The yakisoba served on a hot iron plate was quite filling. As I continued to eat, I was surprised to see a half-boiled fried egg waiting at the bottom! You can mix the half-boiled yolk with the egg or add mayonnaise to make it how you like it! Other dishes include fried fish purchased that morning (800 yen including tax) and omelet rice (850 yen including tax), which may look quite ordinary at first glance, but they have a deep flavor that you will never forget. The owner is also a cheerful and kind person. You'll definitely want to go back again and again!

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Address: 11897-7 Muroo, Kurahashi-cho, Kure City

Phone: 0823-54-0353

Business hours: 10:00～15:00

Closed: Irregular holidays *Please call to confirm

Parking: 5 cars (free)

Located right in front of Katsurahama Beach, this stylish cafe is popular with locals and tourists from outside the prefecture. They have a wide variety of menu items, including fish burgers, paella, pizza, waffles, oysters in the winter, and BBQ in the summer.

They also have SUP rentals, which you can enjoy from 11am to sunset for 3,000 yen each. I also rented a SUP for a location shoot and tried it out. I fell right in (lol). Then they brought me a full change of clothes, even though I didn't have a change of clothes. We continued filming in those clothes (lol). But without those clothes, we couldn't continue filming. I also really like the personality of the shop staff.

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Address: 551 Manyo Village, Kurahashi-cho, Kure City

Phone: 0823-53-1141

Business hours: 11:00～21:30

Closed on Mondays

Parking: 10 cars (free)

I'm the type of person who can look at the ocean for hours. Katsurahama is a beautiful beach that has been selected as one of the "100 Best Beaches in Japan" and "100 Best White Sand and Green Pine Beaches in Japan." It's also mentioned in the "Manyoshu." It's a place where I like to take a walk through this pine forest, rest and gaze at the ocean and just spend time thinking about nothing. It's nice during the day when the weather is nice, but sunsets are the best. I just want to stay here forever.

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Address: Motoura, Kurahashi-cho, Kure City

Parking: 175 cars (free) *Katsurahama Onsenkan parking lot

The "Sashimi Set Meal (1,500 yen tax included)" is superb! It is an assortment of sashimi with nine kinds of seasonal fish, including sea bream, flounder, octopus, and amberjack, procured that morning. It comes with miso soup and rice, so it's exciting at this price! I'm sure city dwellers will be surprised!

I was especially impressed with the miso soup that came with this set meal. The flavor of the dashi stock was really strong and it was really delicious. This miso soup made me feel like I understood the restaurant's commitment to deliciousness. They serve food until 6pm, so I recommend having an early dinner.

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Address: 891-13 Matsubara, Kurahashi-cho, Kure City

Phone: 0823-53-1813

Business hours: 7:00～18:00

Closed on Wednesdays

Parking: 5 cars (free)

This private villa is located on the seafront of Kurahashi Island and only accommodates one group per day. The interior is stylish and the atmosphere is relaxing. The sea is right in front of you. You can cook in the kitchen and eat on the beach, which really gets you excited. SUP and sea kayaking are available as options, and barbecues are also available. It's great to sleep to the sound of the waves. It can accommodate up to 12 people, so you can stay with your family and friends.

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Address: 171-8 Sainoki, Kurahashi-cho, Kure City

Phone: 080-6331-1112

Accommodation fee: Monday to Thursday 44,000 yen (tax included) (July to November) / 38,500 yen (tax included) (December to June)

Friday to Sunday, holidays, and days before holidays: 55,000 yen (tax included) (July to November) / 49,500 yen (tax included) (December to June)

Special price (New Year's holiday, Obon, Golden Week, and Spring/Summer) 60,500 yen (tax included)

* Accommodation fee is for up to 8 people.

*Up to 12 people can stay for an additional fee of 2,200 yen (tax included) per person.

*If you are staying with 9 or more people, select the additional number of people by selecting "Add options" when making the reservation.

*Payment in advance by cash, PayPay, auPAY, or dPayment

*If any mini shop items or additional marine leisure expenses are incurred, they will be charged at check-out.

As someone from Kure City, this is a familiar sight to me, but being able to see real submarines and ships up close is certainly rare, even on a global scale! It's a precious sight. The "Alley" in "Alley Karasukojima" is an English word for a small path. "Karasukojima" is said to come from the name of a small island in Kure, measuring 30-40m in circumference. There is a promenade where you can enjoy the view at your leisure, and many people take photos there. The surrounding area is home to a group of brick warehouses (Showa-cho Brick Warehouses), which were once buildings in the naval arsenal, and are designated as a Japanese Heritage Site. It was also chosen as a location for the film "The Great War of Archimedes."

*What is a Japanese Heritage? The Agency for Cultural Affairs recognizes stories that tell the culture and traditions of our country through the historical charm and characteristics of the region as a Japanese Heritage. "Naval Bases Yokosuka, Kure, Sasebo, and Maizuru - Towns where you can experience the dynamism of Japan's modernization" has been recognized.

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Address: Showa-cho, Kure City

Parking: 28 cars, 10 bus spaces (free) *Alley Karasukojima Parking Lot

This is an okonomiyaki restaurant located in Sanjo Ginza, Sanjo Street Shopping Arcade, Kure City, my hometown. When I was a child, my mother would order by phone, my younger brother would pick it up at the restaurant, and I would just eat it (lol). That's how I always had lunch on weekends. It's old-fashioned okonomiyaki, so you could call it my soul food. Recently, okonomiyaki has evolved and the toppings have become more luxurious, but I love Popeye, which has remained the same in a good way. I prefer soba noodles with meat and egg, but sometimes I also eat the thin udon noodles that are typical of Kure.

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Address: 3-10-5 Sanjo, Kure City

Phone: 0823-21-4624

Business hours Monday 11:00-14:00

Wednesday to Friday 11:00 to 15:00, 16:00 to 18:00

Saturday and Sunday 11:00-18:00

Closed on Tuesdays (except for public holidays)

Parking for 3 cars

The "Ryojo 200 Steps" near the Sanjo Ginza shopping street on Sanjo Street was used as a filming location for the movie "Umizaru." Apparently, this was where the trainees in wetsuits were filmed running up the stairs with oxygen tanks on their backs. The stairs are really steep, so if you're confident in your physical strength and leg strength, we recommend you try them out. If you look back halfway up the stairs, you can get a panoramic view of the Kure cityscape. For those of us who are from Kure, this view is all too familiar, but perhaps it's just a typical Kure view.

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Address: Near Ryojo 2-chome, Kure City

Phone: 0823-25-3309 (Kure City Tourism Promotion Division Planning Group)

This shop is also located in Sanjo Ginza, a shopping street on Sanjo Street, and is about a 5-minute walk from the 200 Steps of Ryojo. The cheesecake (18cm, 2,500 yen, tax included) which they say they "perfected the taste 30 years ago" is superb! It's smooth, moist, and fluffy, and not too heavy, so light you can easily eat 2-3 pieces in one go. The seasonal menu item, the rare cheesecake made with Setoda lemons (450 yen, tax included, 1 piece), is also delicious. If you make a reservation, they will also make birthday cakes decorated with fruit. I was given a cake from MANZO for my birthday.

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Address: 2-13-2 Sanjo, Kure City

Phone: 090-7120-6234

Business hours: 10:00〜17:00

Closed: Irregular holidays

Parking: 2 spaces (free) * Parking spaces in front of the store: No. 19 and No. 20

A popular local announcer reports on Kure City. Yuri Tamura recommends a food trip to Kurahashi, Ondo, and other areas.