Dining and Shopping around Hijiori Onsen
Restaurants in Hijiori
Inakaya
A cosy restaurant facing the river that serves food and drinks.
Hours
11:00am - 4:00pm
7:00pm-11:00pm
Closed: periodically, the days they take off are not set.
Sobadokoro Kotobukiya
A soba shop serving freshly ground buckwheat noodles that is freshly prepared in the restaurant.
Hours
11:00am -3:00pm
Closed: Every Tuesday and Wednesday
kakizaki mochiya
A restaurant specializing in ramen.
Hours
11:30am -2:00pm
Closed: on the 2nd and 4th Thursday each month.
Hijiori Ideyukan Restaurants
At this pleasant dining hall set inside the Ideyuakan day-use hot spring, you can try their popular "Hijiori Nozomi Ramen" dedicated to the construction of the enormous bridge built nearby.
Hours
10:00am -3:00pm
Closed: Every Thursday
Shops in Hijiori
Kaneyama Shop
This sake shop sports a variety of fine Japanese rice wine, with a focus on sake brewed right her in Okura-mura. Handmade kokeshi, pickles, and other gifts are also on sale.
Sabaneya Shoten
A statue of the venerable Jizo-sama greets you at the entrance of this shop, which specializes in fresh seafood, salted salmon roe and cod roe, which pairs perfect with a warm bowl of locally produced rice. Fine sakes also available.
Hoteiya Shop
Savor a sweet piece of Hijiori Onsen history in this famous shop, renowned for its delicious, slightly-sweet manju buns filled with red bean paste. The store also maintains a collection of rare books and historical documents and is the meeting place for the Hijiori Onsen historical society.
Sasaki Shoten
This confectionary studio specializes in a number of delectable local sweets you’ve probably never tried before. In wintertime you can try their seasonal karinto, a pillowy deep-fried snack. Popular with newlyweds and anyone with a taste for the romantic, the karinto is shaped into a loop, representing the unbroken bond of eternal love.
Suzuki Kokeshi Kobo
Kokeshi are Japanese wooden folk dolls found throughout the Tohoku region, but Hijiori Onsen’s kokeshi making culture has kept up an illustrative style distinct to the area since ancient times. Meet the last great (for now) kokeshi artisan of Hijiori Onsen, Seiichi Suzuki, in his workshop, where he continues to produces these beautiful works of folk art everyday.
Yokoyama Shoten
Open bright and early everyday at 5:30AM, Yokoyama is a great place to chat with locals over a warm cup of tea, you can also snack on a type of homemade konnyaku distinct to Hijiori Onsen. Yokoyama Shoten also carries a selection of sakes.