Yutakaya Ryokan

Initially started as a restaurant in the Ansei Era of the Edo Period (1854-60), Yoshidaya is now a long-established Japanese-style inn with a hot spa drawing from the thermal waters of Sado Kamoko Onsen's hot springs. Seasonally scenic views over Lake Kamo and the Osado Mountains, as well as the view at dusk from an open-air bath fed with natural thermal waters continuously flowing from the source, are sights to behold. Multi-course dinners of Japanese cuisine feature Sado's seafood, and our uncompromising attitude toward nourishment, passed down from the time of its foundation, adds color to your table.

Christianity is considered to have been brought to Sado first in the Edo Period (1603-1867). Ryotsu Catholic Church was founded by a French Christian missionary, Fr. Drouart De Lezey. It was burnt down once in 1883, but was reconstructed by a missionary, De Noailles, in 1887. The church building was designed by Father Papino, who designed many churches in Japan.

As the signboard bearing "Izuei Bekkan (annex)" suggests, the long-established eel restaurant "Izuei" in Ueno Ikenohata, Tokyo, is the owner of the hotel. The hotel is located in the bustling areas in Ryotsu Ebisu, and offers a perfect setting for sightseeing and business. The hotel houses a restaurant with a view on the sixth floor, where not only hotel guests but also non-hotel guests can dine. You can enjoy the panoramic view over Lake Kamo and Osado mountains, while feasting on dishes including Unaju, rice with grilled eel in a lacquer box.

Lake Kamo, with approximately 17km of circumferences, is the largest one in Niigata Prefecture. Originally, the lake was freshwater, but it was cut open to the sea in the Meiji Period (1868-1912) in order to prevent flooding, and became a brackish lake. There is a promenade and a cycle path along the lake, and you can enjoy scenery with atmosphere, which was depicted in the poetry. In addition, oysters have been farmed in Lake Kamo since 1932.

Taro is an exciting restaurant offering creative dishes. A hospitable master chef will welcome you and skillfully serves his delicious dishes. "Tofu (bean curd) Pizza" is especially popular for ladies. The menu has an impressive selection of mouth-watering dishes such as beer-battered deep-fried chicken, German potato salad in downtown style, and Taro's mapo tofu (hot and spicy bean curd). It confidently provides an ample selection of shochu (Japanese distilled spirits).

At Imari, you can feast on local, specialty cuisine made from the ingredients of Sado's mountains and surrounding sea. Imari is an ever-popular restaurant, well-known in Ryotsu, offering a variety of menu items, like its acclaimed lunch-of-the-day, as well as classic dishes usually found at izakayas (Japanese-style pubs). You will be greeted by a hospitable okami hostess, and, in a setting embellished with Imari ware, farming tools and household goods, you feel like you have wandered into an unusual space. Rice balls and bento box lunches, prepared at Imari, are available to buy aboard Sado Kisen ferries.

Shiratsuyu offers plenty of seafood directly delivered from the source and caught by the master's acquaintance fisherman. You can enjoy seasonal delights such as Iwagaki summer oysters on top of sashimi and grilled fish. The classic menus including meat and potato stew are cooked so that the ingredients absorb flavours, and go well with alcoholic drinks. Okijiru (Alaska pollack soup) and tarajiru (cod soup) prepared by the hostess, the daughter of a fisherman, offers an authentic taste that only she can make. They have a variety of local Japanese sake produced at five sake breweries in Sado on offer.

At Ishihara Sushi (sushi shop), you will be welcomed by the kind master chef and his family. The master chef's parents run a fish shop, and seafood is selected by the fish connoisseur at the nearby Ryotsu Fish Market every day. This means that freshness is guaranteed. Sushi toppings of the day displayed on the blackboard are full of seasonal flavours. Rice used is the koshihikari type grown in Sado. Ishihara Sushi is tucked away within "Yurakugai", an alleyway with eateries and bars in Ryotsu. The restaurant might be hard to find, but it is such a hidden gem that tourists take the time and effort to find and visit.