Our original plan was to go to main branch of Yuzawa Kamakura in Yuzawa. They had a couple of unique dishes that were exclusive to that store. It was a 21 minute train ride north on the Joetsu Line. We had the JR Nagano Niigata Pass, so the train ride would have been covered. Unfortunately, due to the heavy snowing the local train service had been suspended. This was a bit of a surprise. We were grateful that we had not booked an accommodation along the train line as accessing it would have been very difficult. With our dinner plans up in the air, we needed to pivot. We looked around and found that there was a satellite location of the restaurant close to the station.

The path from the station to the restaurant was a little treacherous. We used a mix of the snow covered sidewalk and the icy street. Some of the sidewalk had been cleared, while other portions had not. It must have been the responsibility of each individual shop/home owner to clear the area directly in front of their property. We saw a couple of people lose their balance, and have to make frantic recoveries.

Yuzawa Kamakura Menu

The restaurant was pretty busy when we got there. The wait time was a short five minutes before we sat at the bar. The menu was quite extensive and included sashimi, sukiyaki, skewers, a variety of fried foods, and a good selection of rice bowls. We decided to go with a the sukiyaki and chef’s selection of six skewers.

Yuzawa Kamakura Food Review

First to come out was a cup of soup with shrimp and cilantro. It had good flavor and a light salty taste. There was a table service charge. In return we got this side dish of boiled greens with bonito flakes on top. The greens were covered in a nutty sesame type sauce that was quite delicious.

A little while later our sukiyaki came out. They brought out a portable burner and put a nice sized pot on it. In the pot was the broth, some tofu, onions, mushrooms, and oysters. On a separate plate was the uncooked beef, some udon noodles and chopped greens. We added the meat, noodles, and greens to the pot and brought it to a simmer. After the meat had cooked through we began to start picking things out. The shoyu based broth was sweet and marinated the contents. The meat and oysters had absorbed the broth well and were quite tasty. Our personal favorites were the meat and mushrooms. The hot sukiyaki was the perfect meal for a cold winter day.

A little while later the skewers came out. From left to right was shishito peppers wrapped in bacon, chicken wrapped in bacon, mini ground pork sausages, two different cuts of beef, and pork belly. We really enjoyed the variety of meats, all of which were tender and juicy. The beef skewer second from the right was our favorite.

Final Thoughts

We really enjoyed our meal at Yuzawa Kamakura in Yuzawa. The prices were pretty reasonable considering what we got. It was around ¥2,500/person. They had a nice variety of food options to accommodate many different people. The restaurant was conveniently located just three minutes by foot from the station. All the food we had, even the side dishes were delicious. If your looking for a place to eat near Echigo Yuzawa Station then we highly recommend Yuzawa Kamakura for its extensive menu, convenient location, and delicious food.

More to Come…

Here is the link to their website.