Enjoy a variety of Awaji Island octopus!
Sankei Shimbun introduced "Island Octopus Tataki Chahan"!
Uzu no Oka Restaurant (Minami-Awaji City)
The Onaruto Bridge, which connects Awaji Island and Shikoku, can be seen below. The Uzu no Oka Onaruto Bridge Memorial Hall (Fukura Hei, Minami-Awaji City) is a tourist facility built on top of a mountain overlooking the Naruto Straits. The Uzu no Oka Restaurant is located inside. The facility and restaurant opened in 1985, the same year the bridge opened to traffic. When a video of the dish was posted on SNS, the number of views, including related videos, reached approximately 14 million. The dish is growing as a new local specialty, with some visitors coming to the island just for this dish. Sitting on the plate is a fresh octopus that has been grilled. A whole octopus from Awaji Island is used. First, the octopus is cut into bite-size pieces using scissors. The octopus may give the impression of being tough, but it does not give the impression of being hungry. The appeal of this dish is that you can enjoy a variety of flavors at the same time. The prepared Awaji Island lemon and wasabi have a refreshing sourness and
The spiciness of the sauce enhances the flavor of the ingredients. The special sauce made with soy sauce from the island is also very flavorful. Finish off the meal with chazuke, a hot dish of hot broth.
We came up with this dish from the perspective of creating a new specialty of Awaji Island using ingredients we currently use," says Kazuhito Mori, 45, the creator and head chef of the restaurant. The octopus is softened by cutting a slit in the shape of a bellows and roasting it, which gives it an appealing appearance and texture," explains Kazuhito Mori, 45, chef de cuisine.
The popularity of the restaurant has also been boosted by publicity activities using social networking services. When the restaurant posted a video of its actual meal on its official Instagram page, its popularity soared. In November of last year, the restaurant received more than 1,000 servings per month, catapulting it to the No. 1 position in popularity. The "Big! Chahan," which uses a larger octopus, and other videos have been viewed a total of approximately 14 million times. Some visitors have come to the museum in search of such a delicacy, and have commented, "It's so big," and "I'm glad there are so many different ways to eat it. The memorial center is now crowded with tourists even on weekdays, but about 15 years ago, "there were days when the parking lot, which could hold 150 cars, was completely empty," said Yuji Miyaji, 39, managing director of Uzunokuni Minami-Awaji, the company that manages the facility. The company's reliance on group customers, which had continued since its opening, had taken its toll. In order to overcome this problem, the company decided to "bring in individual customers," and to "emphasize the island's specialties and high quality cuisine," a policy change that has been successful, and now tataki chahan is playing a role as a booster of popularity as it continues to grow. Mori says, "I am surprised that it has become so popular, but I would like to come up with a hit product to follow in its footsteps. Aiming for a further leap forward, the challenge continues. (Masao Fujisaki)
It is a 3-minute drive from the Awajishima Minami Interchange (1C) on the Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway. The Onaruto Bridge Memorial Museum has been selling a local hamburger, the "Awajishima Burger," for about 10 years, and a restaurant with a spectacular view sells "sea urchin shabu" with sea urchin soup, which has become very popular. The popular "Tataki Chahan" costs 2,420 yen, and the large version 3,520 yen. The takeout-only "Dekkai! Tako-no-Eating" is 2,160 yen (all inclusive of tax). Mr. Miyaji believes that the overall success of the facility is due to the fact that "we have continued to challenge ourselves for the sake of our customers.The "Island Octopus Tataki Chahan" is made from a whole Awaji Island octopus leg. Its appeal was greatly spread through SNS
Chef Kazuhito Mori, creator of "tataki chahan" (rice with octopus), cuts a slit in the octopus leg.
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