I tried Nagano-ken Choju-shokudo at Nagano Station and was pleasantly surprised by the food and the ambiance. I didn’t think much of the place since it was in a railway station of all places. Turns out I was wrong. I should have known better that it was more than just railway station food.
Nagano-ken Choju-shokudo: A Taste of Authentic Shinshu Cuisine
The first thing you’ll notice with the restaurant is how open it is. Most restaurants I’ve been to on this trip so far were closed off especially if they were in stations/other buildings. Of course, this really didn’t bother me as I was more concerned with how their food tasted.
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Before I tasted their food though, I made sure to check how they looked. Luckily they have their shokuhin sampuru outside. Additionally, they also have a poster showcasing their use of ingredients sourced from Nagano.
Here’s a closer look at the shokuhin sampuru. It’s a bit difficult to read as that a lot of the signs here aren’t translated to English (yeah it is normal since we are in Japan!). That said, they do show the price of each item and it’s relatively easy to use Google Lens on your phone to pull up a quick (albeit faulty at times) translation.
Here are the rest of the shokuhin sampuru. It’s nice that they also showed the sake they have available. At this point, these displays made me really hungry so I decided to get inside already.
I finally got seated. It’s nice that there are actually lots of people here. Of course, this likely doesn’t mean anything considering the high foot traffic here at Nagano station. Still, I thought this was a great sign.
No, my camera isn’t broken and neither is your screen. This is actually from all the smoke that’s coming out of my order. And if you’re wondering what this is, it’s actually a Jingisukan (grilled lamb) meal that costs around JPY 1680 (exclusive of tax).
Here’s a view of the order without the smoke fogging up the camera. As you can see, the lamb here looks really juicy and it actually passed the taste test. The condiments did a great job of complementing the lamb and the soup that it came with was actually comforting.
I also had a companion during this meal and their order ended up being this Miso-simmered Mackerel set meal. It actually looked quite good and I was told that the visuals matched the taste. At only JPY1180 (excluding tax), it was also really affordable.
Menu
I saw this ad for a salad on our table since I couldn’t help looking around while waiting for our order and during our meals. To be honest, this Shinshu Soybeans Tofu-salad with non-oil roasted sesame dressing seemed like it would taste nice. If not for the serving size of our orders, I probably would have tried this out.
Here’s the order I decided on. I’d already had pork, beef, and chicken on this trip so I decided to change things up with this order. I’m glad to say that this actually turned out to be a good decision. The sauce the lamb is marinated in adds a real depth of flavor to this dish. While I would hesitate to call it addictive, I can attest to it tasting good.
For beverages, the restaurant offers 3 kinds of sake all of which are Junmai Ginjo and all costing a tax-exclusive JPY980 per go (180ml).
This is an infographic talking about the longevity of people living in Shinshu or Nagano Prefecture. I already had an idea that Japan had some of the highest life expectancies in the world but I only ever found out about how Nagano contributes to that when I came here.
These are some of the other set meals offered by the restaurant. The top dish is a salmon sashimi set meal with the fish sourced locally. Included in the JPY 1480 meal is miso soup, two side dishes and the option to get ikura for JPY330. As for the bottom dish, it’s salmon sashimi with mountain yam for JPY1680.
Here’s a dish that you probably won’t find commonly out of Shinshu. Called Sanzokuyaki, this dish consists of chicken thighs marinated for a long time in mirin and soy sauce. It’s then deep fried then soaked in a special dashi soup. If you decide to get this meal, it’s going to set you back JPY1580.
Another interesting dish that I saw here is this pickled tuna meal that goes for JPY1280. For the more budget conscious individuals out there, there’s a grated yama and natto set meal that goes for JPY1180. As with other orders here, both of these set meals come with miso soup, two side dishes, and pickles.
If you’re looking for something that’s more familiar, the restaurant has a fried chicken set meal for JPY1180. Of course you’ve already seen the miso-simmered mackerel we ordered. Then there’s a stir-fried mushroom and pork set meal with soy sauce butter and ponzu sauce set meal if you have a hankering for pork.
Nagano is known for its hearty dishes and apparently this keema curry is one of those. The restaurant calls this a medicinal herb and tomato curry which it makes from ground beef, Nagano-grown soybeans, walnuts, and burdock. The base of the broth for this curry is bouillon made from medicinal herbs such as pine nuts, jujubes, and Chinese wolfberries (in case you’re into Chinese cuisine, then you should try Fan Fahr Chinese Restaurant which is just near Nagano station). An order of the curry only costs JPY1280.
If you want to add more flavor to your curry then you can get these variations instead. Aside from the regular tomato, there are variations which have added eggs, mushrooms, and seasonal vegetables. Prices for these vary from JPY1360 (for an added egg) to as much as JPY1560 (for the seasonal vegetables).
For eel enthusiasts, the restaurant has Unatoro-ju and Unaju set meals that you might be interested in. Unatoro-ju is grilled eel served with grated yam and wasabi and is priced at JPY3100 for a large set and JPY2200 for the regular. If you’re not too keen on grated yams, then unaju might be for you. It’s just grilled eel over rice and starts at JPY1800 for a regular order and tops out at JPY2700 for large order featuring the whole fillet.
Of the dishes offered by the restaurant, this will probably be the one that leaves beef lovers drooling. As its name implies, this premium wagyu beef hitsumabushi does away with eel and replaces it with Shinshu premium wagyu beef. An order costs JPY 3100 (excluding tax) and it comes with soy sauce koji, pickles, and two side dishes.
This page of the restaurant’s menu talks about the common ingredients you’d find in Shinshu cuisine. Top most is soy sauce koji, in the middle is five-grain rice, and the bottom would be persimmon leaf tea.
Another infographic talking about Shinshu cuisine and how it’s influenced by the seasons. It talks further about there being 6 ‘seasons’ or solar terms within a season (totaling 24) with these sub-seasons being the key ingredients for the Shinshu solar term set meals.
Here are the set meals that feature the 24 seasonal ingredients for the 24 solar terms. Listed here are the set meals for Shokan, Daikan, Risshun, and Usui solar terms. The notable set meals for me here are for Shokan (a set meal of Fukimi chicken with green onion miso) and the Risshun set meal centered around a steamed pork patty.
The next page features set meals for Keichitsu, Shunbun, Seimei, and Kokuu. The standout meal here for me is Pork loin steak and frozen radish with dashi soup and sweet potato with sesame miso set for Keichitsu. Other than that, I guess the Shunbun set meal featuring fish balls and frozen tofu in dashi soy sauce with vinegar soybean dressing might also be interesting.
On this page, you’ll find set meals for Rikka, Shoman, Boshu, and Geshi. The summer season starts with Rikka and the set meal here is Fukumi chicken thigh simmered in honey along with green vegetables and sesame salad. Another set meal here that caught my attention is the simmered pork and ginger available during Geshi.
These set meals are for Shōsho, Taisho, Risshu, and Shosho. Risshu’s seared bonito with grilled scallions and fragrant garlic set meal looks sumptuous while the Stamina Stew set for Shosho looks like it would be a filling meal for when the hot weather abates in autumn (and also before or after a hike at the Snow Monkey Park).
Hakuro, Shubun, Kanro, and Soko are the next solar terms featured in the menu. Of these the only set meal I’m interested in is the one for Soko which has salt grilled sea bream with sauteed enoki mushrooms and scallions.
To cap off the year, these are the sets for Ritto, Shosetsu, Taisetsu, and Toji. The set meal I’m probably most interested in here is the Shinshu Fukumi chicken and Chinese cabbage covered in thick kuzu starch sauce for Ritto. Of course, these set meals are only available for their respective seasons so I’ll have to plan ahead to taste the ones I took a liking to.
For dessert, your options include kinako (soybean flour that’s been roasted) coated warabi mochi and a mille-feuille pastry that makes use of dried Ichidagaki persimmons. These are priced at JPY630 and JPY750 respectively.
Continuing with the desserts, there are options here for Thin Apple Pie (made from Nagano apples), Rich Match Fondant Chocolate, and Corn and Buckwheat Ice Cream (made with milk from cows raised 1100m above sea level at Kiso Ontake Ogen). Prices for these desserts are JPY800, JPY650, and JPY630 respectively.
Here’s an infographic citing the effects of alcohol and sake on longevity. A great segue for…
The alcoholic beverage section of the menu. This features sake, shochu, and whiskey priced at JPY723, JPY482, and JPY538 respectively (all prices exclusive of tax).
The restaurant also has local red and white wines that you might want to try. These are made by Alps Co. Ltd., a brewery based in Nagano. The wine on the left is their Red Wine made from Shiojiri Concord grapes. On the right is their White Wine which is made with Nagara grapes also from Shiojiri. Price per glass of these wines is set at JPY556 (before taxes).
Aside from the red and white wines, the restaurant also has merlot and chardonnay that are also made from Nagano grapes. There are also cocktails and of course, beer, for diners who aren’t too keen on getting the wines.
For a relatively healthier and more sober option, you can also try Choju Shokudo’s 100% Apple Juice drinks. These cost JPY450 and come in four variations (Sun Fuji, Sun Tsugaru, Shinano Gold, and Shinano Sweet).
Other than the apple juices, there are also yoghurt and apple+amazake shakes available. If you like pears, you’re probably going to like the Shinshu karin + mint mojito or maybe the Shinshu apple and karin tea. You could also opt for just plain old coffee or oolong tea if these other choices aren’t to your liking.
We’re now at the single order section which features mostly Shinshu cuisine’s most notable dishes. Listed on this page is Sanzokuyaki, Fried Japanese Yam with Rice Flour, Fried Potatoes, or Deep Fried Young Chicken in Soy Sauce.
Continuing with the single order dishes, there’s Shinshu Salmon (grilled and sashimi), Deep-fried Shinshu Pork and Pumpkin in Sweet and Spicy Sesame Sauce, and Crispy Walnut and Burdock Root.
There are definitely a lot of things to like with Nagano-ken Choju-Shokudo’s offerings. Not only are these dishes delicious (at least the ones I’ve tried/ordered), they also don’t break the bank. I also like how easily accessible the restaurant is. Perhaps my only real issue with it is that they just have so much delicious food on their menu that it’s a little hard to decide which one to get. This is honestly just a minor nitpick though. Overall, I think my dining experience here was more than fine.
