A Memory of Yamaga Tokusei Negitoro-Don in Nachii Katsuura

The bus eventually dropped us at Kii-Katsuura Station, the last leg of our Kumano Kodo pilgrimage. We would be staying in the town. Or at least, we thought we would before knowing that we had to take the ferry to the island where the Katsuura resort was located. At that moment, we could only focus on one thing: food.

It had been a long day.

After an early breakfast at Yunomine Onsen, we took the bus to Michi-no-Eki Kumano-gawa, took the boat across the Kumano-gawa (river), paid our respects at the Kumano Hayatama Taisha shrine in Shingu, where we foolishly decided to continue the journey to Katsura by bus instead of grabbing lunch because we thought we would be able to find it at Kii-Katsuura Station.

Unfortunately, it was almost three o’clock when we reached the station, and I quickly and bitterly learned that in Japanese small towns, the opening times of eateries are minimal. Three PM was already too late, as we could clearly see from the many closed restaurants we passed by.

Our mood dropped, and after another round of failed attempts, I suggested that we eat in the resort instead ━ surely they would have food. We changed our strategy, put the GPS on, and walked away from the station.

Yamaga

That’s when we spotted a small restaurant with a small door and someone inside ━ Yamaga. We decided to check it out. That someone welcomed us in Japanese, and we were too hungry to feel anything but immense gratitude.

He quickly poured us iced green tea and gave us the menu. He seemed to be the only one operating the restaurant, so I am guessing he is also the owner.

Yamaga English menu comes with the top ten most popular dishes, making it easy to choose. Fafa went for the top recommended choice ━ Mix-Don (a rice bowl with assorted toppings), and I went for the second on the list, Tokusei Negitoro-Don (a rice bowl with special raw tuna ━ I am a sucker for anything “special”). We also got Umeshu on the rocks each.

We told him the rice bowl was Oishi, and in return, he topped up our Umeshu while he poured himself a glass, too. It had been a super hot day, and we were likely his last customers, so we got into chit-chat in half Japanese (most of which we understood none of) and half English, which helped us fill the majority of the gaps. There was lots of smiling, laughing, and pouring of Umeshu—two sides of strangers having a grand time enjoying each other’s company.

Eventually, with the task of finding our accommodation for the night, we paid, thanked, and bid Yamaga’s uncle goodbye.

Whenever I reminisce about my Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage, a few things come to mind, and this moment is one of them.

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