3 Best Restaurants in Hirosaki, Tohoku

Tasty, healthful, and authentic dishes from the region are Kikufuji's specialty. Excellent local varieties of sake are also available. It might look like an office building, but the glass case with some of their offerings on display clues you in. There is a picture menu, but it does not include everything they serve on any given day, so you could also look around at other tables to see what strikes you.

Try it for yourself and you'll see why people come here from all over Honshu for a cup of the ringo no reisei supu (cold apple soup topped with crusted baked apple skins). The totally organic "miracle" apples that farmer Kimura raises and the dishes chef Yamazaki prepares keep attracting customers. The restaurant's cuisine leans toward the French with a bit of local color, hence all the apples. 

While you could come and just enjoy the delicious food, the live shamisen music by local musicians is the main attraction here. Plan to arrive early, remove your shoes, and sit at low tables to start eating before the daily 7:30 pm performance. It's local fare from the Tsugaru region, which tends to be more rustic and more focused on preservation due to the area's harsh winters, so expect stews and fermented items (including squid!) that are on the saltier side, along with many items you'd recognize at any izakaya like grilled fish and things on skewers. Pickled vegetables pair nicely with the local sake. This remote region has a strong identity and produces foods that even people from Japan wouldn't recognize, so if you are an adventurous diner, point and anticipate. Dinner includes a cover charge of ¥700 and entertainment charge of ¥800 per person.