We stopped at Roadside Station Shimotsuma in Ibaraki Prefecture after our visit to the Kokaigawa Poppy Fields. It was a short six minute drive from the flower fields. One of the first things that we noticed about this roadside station was the size of their parking spaces. The parking spaces were really wide, which made parking a breeze.
Roadside Station Shimotsuma Restaurant Menu
We were getting pretty hungry, so we stopped by Restaurant Shimontei for a late lunch. The restaurant had this nice display board outlining their most popular menu items. Seeing the full color pictures was a nice visual that helped us make our decision. After deciding what we wanted, we got our tickets through a vending machine. We then handed them to the restaurant staff behind the counter. We ended up going with their Aburi Butadon which was their #1 most popular dish and a hiyashi chuka which was a seasonal specialty.
The restaurant had a good amount of seating in a semi enclosed open space. At the time we didn’t realize that they closed at 16:30, so we were a bit surprised when we walked in at 16:00 and had the whole restaurant to ourselves. While waiting for our food, we were able to see the chef fire grill the pork through a glass window. Our numbers were called shortly after and we went to the counter to pick up our food.
Roadside Station Shimotsuma Food Review
The food was delcious. The Aburi Butadon did not disappoint. We can see why it’s the most #1 most popular dish at the restaurant. The slices of pork were well marinated, thinly sliced, and super tender. We added in the onsen (soft boiled) egg and some additional sauce. The sauce was flavorful and had seeped into the rice below. The onions provided a nice crunch and a bit of spice to the meat.
The hiyashi chuka was tasty and refreshing. The noodles and all the toppings had absorbed the tangy soy based broth very well. The cool noodles and broth were refreshing on such a hot summer day.
Roadside Station Shimotsuma Local Products Store
Before heading out we decided to check out the local products section of the roadside station. They had a good selection of fresh fruits and vegetables for sale. As we went a little deeper in, we saw a large section of premade bentos for sale. They even had a version of the Aburi Butadon. While looking around we saw a freezer section with advertisements for some locally produced ice cream. We’re absolute suckers for ice cream, so we decided to try their pear sorbet. We were about to check out when we saw a poster advertising some frozen strawberry milk. It was pretty warm outside, so we got one for the drive back home.
We headed back to the car to enjoy our pear sorbet. It had a lite and refreshing taste. There were even little bits of pear mixed in. The frozen strawberry milk tasted a lot like a mixture of a strawberry milkshake and smoothie. It had the creaminess of a milkshake and the smoother consistency of a smoothie. We would get both again.
Other Amenities
Other amenities included a large bakery, a cute plant shop, and the typical 24 hour restroom facilities.
Final Thoughts
Roadside Station Shimotsuma in Ibaraki Prefecture was a solid stop. It wasn’t the flashiest roadside station we’ve been to, but all the facilities were clean and updated. Our only gripe was that the restaurant closed really early. We were shocked to find that it normally closes at 15:00 on weekdays and 16:30 on weekends.
We later learned that there were two affiliate restaurants located in the southernmost part of the roadside station. One of which was a teishoku restaurant that was open until 20:00.
Here is a link to their website.
More to Come…