Escape to Shima Onsen: Unmissable Foods in a Remote Hot Spring Town!

ah this is actually the longest cheese pole I've ever done attention all jibli Enthusiast if you're a fan of jibli movies and let's be honest who isn't then you're in for a treat for today picture this a Charming Hot Spring Town that looks like it's been plucked straight out of a jibli masterpiece word on the street has it that renowned director hayo Miyazaki used this place as one of The Inspirations for the enchanting hot spring that appears in his movie spirited away so let's go explore the wonders of this magical and ancient Hot Spring Town before we go don't forget to subscribe for more Japan adventures all right let's go [Music] explore Shima onen is an onen or hot spring town with a history of over a thousand years and it's located in the mountains of GMA prefecture in Japan and the hot spring waters here are said to be so so rich in minerals that the hot spring waters are able to cure over 40,000 diseases however this belief is still reflected in the name Shima onen which literally translates to 40,000 Hot Springs so this is a really great place to come and enjoy some hot springs and some history because of this ancient history that the hotring town has and this wonderful mysterious atmosphere that is said to have inspired Spirited [Music] Away about 5 minutes from the ochii street over there there is a place where you can actually drink onen or hot spring water and it's right here there are some people in Japan who are fans of drinking the hot spring water and drinking hot spring water is called incense let's give it a try I'm going to try to durink hot spring water for the first time oh it's warm I was worried it was going to be hot it's actually warm it feels so nice cuz the air is really cold outside okay I have a nice steaming cup of hot spring water so I'll pour a little into my hand and take a sip wo minerally it tastes a little salty I think the salt makes it uh a little bit like a broth almost but it's not that it's not that rich M that's good when in an onen town try [Music] insane oh I see something very special here it's an alcohol vending machine Japan is probably one of the few places where you can buy alcohol from a vending machine you do need an ID though in the olden days there were a lot more like cigarette vending machines alcohol vending machines they're kind of dying out a little bit but it's cool to see I might need to come back and get myself a beer after hot spring but let's keep exploring oh there's a cute little shop here it seems like they have a cafe area as well they've got traditional Japanese sweets and green tea and matcha tea I think it's time to stop in for a little snack it's a very quaint little shop I'm going to get a hot spring mju that I saw on the menu along with some matcha green tea let's give it a try oh oh my goodness the matcha looks so good so I got these really cute little tiny onen muu muu are basically little steamed buns that have red bean paste inside they use the steam from the hot springs to make these little buns let's give them a try actually first let's start with the the matcha because my hands are super cold so good it's creamy like a latte let's try the M this is so good the red bean paste is really smooth the mongu dough is really fluffy because it's been steamed but it's also a little bit cakey this was a really great little snack along the way and let's go look for some more food oh look at this shop it's a traditional stationary shop and fishing Goods shop I love how traditional looking all of the shops are they're very rustic that's so cute they've got like baked goods seems like a little corner [Laughter] [Music] store all right I think I found my next place for a bite to eat there's a Cafe Restaurant over there let's go check it out this is such a cute restaurant it's called Shima Terrace and they're known for their Pizza apparently let's go give it a try wow this is beautiful here we go I love it it's a very modern looking Cafe on the second floor and it's very busy actually there's a lot of people here let's take a look at the menu so Shima Terrace is known for their pizzas they're supposed to be really good and they have a special House Pizza called Shima Terrace Pizza what do you know I'm going to give this a try and I also really want to try this drink it's called keep it blue and it's a blue color inspired by Shima Lake which is nearby and Shima lake is known for having really gorgeous Blue Waters so I think this is the one to try for today it actually looks like the Shima lake so pretty let's see how it [Music] tastes ooh that is a fun flavor it's a little bit like a little bit sour a little bit sweet it does taste like a blue lemonade time to taste the Shima teras Pizza m m that's messy but so good the egg adds the perfect amount of like creaminess Umami flavor along with the Umami from the mushrooms the dough excellent It's been cooked to Perfection it seem it tastes like they have a stone oven there's actually a cafe right next door to here that has a lot of history so I think I'm going to finish off the pizza which as you can see we've me and the cameraman have been eating or working on the pizza um but we're going to head over to the cafe next and we're going to have a little bit of dessert so see you guys over there that was so good that pizza was amazing but it's now time for a little cafe time and it's right here so the pizza was there kashaya Cafe is right here and this is a really really old building apparently so let's go inside and see what they [Music] have sticking cers wow this is so cool you can feel the traditional build of this [Music] place [Music] W let's try the hotring mark [Music] cappuccino It's a Wonderful creamy cappuccino know and it really does warm you up in the winter it gets pretty chilly around here so it's nice to have a warm cup of coffee cup of matcha to drink around here and this really hits the spot let's try the egg custard pudding wait that is really good there's a lot more caramel sauce in here than I expected it's a really beautiful balance between the cream custard and that slightly salted caramel sauce well I'm going to sit and enjoy my on and cappuccino and my egg custard pudding and then let's go for a little walk and we're going to have one last restaurant to check out so I'll see you guys over [Music] there all right I have been eating all day but it's already time for dinner so I have one last stop to check out it's right over here here it is this is a little shop called as and it's known for their really amazing ton katsu which is a deep fried pork cutlet and also for their Ramen but today I want to try their Tatu in particular this shop is a really quaint little tiny shop but it is a local favorite I hear so let's see what it's like wow what a cute little [Music] shop [Music] for so [Music] [Music] goas oh [Music] this looks fantastic let's give it a try wo that looks so good wo it doesn't stop still not stopping how do you even eat this it's ah this is actually the longest cheese pole I've ever [Music] done why doesn't it stop okay it's my arm is not long enough anymore let's try the cheesy cheesy [Music] cutlet oh my goodness that is so good the tonkatsu pork itself super juicy it's so tender so juicy it oozes out the fat um the cheese is so just so delicious and gooey the panco breadcrumbs are freshly fried and crisp so you get that great crunch when you bite into it and the sauce it almost tastes like a homemade sauce but basically this is a special sauce called OSU in Japan and it's kind of sweet mostly leaning towards sweet little bit of acidity um and just a little hint of saltiness honestly it doesn't get better than this tastes homemade fresh and it really feels like it's made with love love that part about it especially I'm just going to try with a little bit of cabbage cuz this is the classic Tonka a side dish here you go [Music] M wow the Cabbage weirdly brings out more sweetness from the sauce that's interesting you don't feel it as strongly with the Tatu it's more um vinegret like on the Cabbage I should also briefly mention they have a really wonderful miso soup that's filled with very small clams called Asar they are so generous with serving sizes here this was a big plate of tonkatsu big bowl of rice and a heaping bowl of miso soup look at all of those clams let's see how it tastes [Music] M that's rich the main flavor that stands out is the Miso flavor you do get this extra hit of umami that comes from the [Music] clams for this meal was absolutely delicious and the owners are the most lovely people ever definitely come check this place out they are so warm so welcoming um even if you don't speak Japanese they seem very accommodating so I hope you guys come try some cheese cutlet they also recommended the garlic uh T KATU cutlet so try all of that but next I want to check out the Historic Hotel that inspired Spirited Away but at night time I'm sure it's going to be so magical I'll see you guys there and here we are this is the bath house that is said to have supposedly inspired the bath house for Spirits in Spirited Away called abua director hay Miyazaki has said that there is not one specific bath house that has inspired the spirit bath house but it is thought to be one of the bath houses that is INSP fired it and it's easy to see why with all of the papered windows lit up at night time the Red Bridge lit up it just looks exactly like the movie but that's not the only thing that's cool about siki zenan it's actually a really historic Japanese hotel that was founded in the year 1691 what a magical place I'm so glad I visited here at the end of the evening well there you have it this has been my little Adventure into a juilee inspired town and it has been really wonderful all of the buildings are really showa era very traditional and kind of retro and a lot of surprising gems of hidden little shops and cafes that have really excellent food and what I love so much about this place is how this hotel the siki zinan has transformed it really does feel like I stepped into Spirited Away where I kind of just slipped into the spirit world much like Chito does in the Spirited Away movie where during the daytime it just seemed like a normal place and then in the evening the magic happens I hope you guys enjoyed this video and if you liked it please don't forget to give us a like comment and don't forget to subscribe and let me know in this video what your favorite food was that I ate today in this video and if you guys would like to come to Shima onen I hope you guys enjoyed this video and see you guys very soon in another one see you guys bye let's go back into the spirit world do do do do do do [Music] do

Channel: Japan by Food

Views: 42,920

Keywords: japan, japan by food, shima onsen, onsen, 四万温泉, kashiwaya ryokan, ryokan, japan trip, gunma, shima onsen town in gunma, shima onsen village, travel japan, ghibli, bath house, hot spring, japanese ryokan onsen, onsen japan, japanese ryokan, sekizenkan spirited away, exploring onsen town, rural japan, japanese inaka, japan countryside, japan travel, best onsen japan, japanese onsen town, learn japanese, japanese culture, life in japan, japan travel tips, solo travel japan

Id: nzhVyFZwVCk

Length: 17min 10sec (1030 seconds)

Published: Mon Mar 18 2024