Yo (陽) Hirosaki

I must call him a chef. Many have shared his background, so I’ll skip that. Can we really call this Japanese cuisine? No, it’s definitely a remarkable example of it. It’s a miracle that such a place exists in Hirosaki City. This restaurant showcases the true strength of Japanese dining!★ Menu HighlightsFreshly baked rice crackers, broad beans, sardine paste.Shio Uni (salted sea urchin) from Nowbetsu, chilled tofu with sea urchin.Pregnant spear squid, Ezo abalone, mackerel shark, snap peas.Sashimi:Egg yolk soy sauce, ponzu.Shirodai squid, tuna, skinless fish.Soup:Conger eel, eggplant, water shield.Sweetfish, turnip, grilled fugu soft roe, butterbur miso.Clams, wild mountain celery, edible wild plants, bent bamboo, bear meat miso, whelk.Eel cucumber roll, natural eel from Lake Ogawara, Iwatori seaweed from Shimokita.Tomato soup.Silver duck, new onions, purple asparagus.Pickles: scallop and garlic soy sauce pickles.Rice with peas.Asari clam soup with okra.Almond tofu, Amu melon, cherries, wasabi yogurt ice cream.Broad bean warabi mochi.I expected dishes with more extravagant presentation, but I was impressed by the deep flavors that show respect for local ingredients. These dishes pair wonderfully with both Japanese sake and wine. This time, I enjoyed the pairing with sake, featuring a selection of fine sake from Aomori and the Tohoku region, all at reasonable prices.Each dish was memorable, but the sea urchin pot at the beginning and the silver duck at the end were truly stunning! I thought the ambiance was chic and the portions would be small, but I ended up quite full (laughs). I even canceled my planned second stop at an izakaya.I’d love to visit again in a different season, especially in autumn—it seems like it would be fantastic.This time, I had business in Hakodate and took the Hokkaido Shinkansen, but it’s surprisingly close. My options have definitely expanded! Less

【Visit Date】Dinner on June 12, 2026【Order Details】Omakase CourseHotarubi Pale AleZan Junmai Ginjo Iruka LabelMori Rai Special Junmai Yamahai Shikomi NamagenshuHato Masamune Special Junmai Sake Natsu Jun Ocean BlueRokkon Junmai Ginjo RubyKamekichi Special Junmai Dry SakeUpon safely arriving at Hirosaki Station for the first time, it was raining. First, I walked for about 20 minutes near Hirosaki Castle to get a manhole card. Feeling excited, I left the green consultation center, only to be caught in a sudden downpour. After waiting for about 30 minutes under shelter, I headed to dinner. I walked for 20 minutes along the rain-soaked path to Yo.I made a reservation through TableCheck about a month ago. When I entered the restaurant a little before my reservation time of 6 PM, there were 5 seats at the counter. That day, the seating arrangement was 2, 1 (me), and 2.I started with a refreshing craft beer from Aomori, and the course began all at once.The dishes I received were approximately as follows, and I apologize if I got any wrong:● Freshly baked rice crackers, new potatoes, black garlic, homemade salted sardine paste, simmered sansho buds like tsukudani, simmered samodashi, apple honey, and dried bonito powder.● Sea urchin (Imabetsu) mixed with salted sea urchin (Imabetsu) served with cold tofu, dashi jelly, wasabi, peas, watercress, and chive flowers.● Simmered blue mussels, boiled shark belly (Mutsu Bay) mixed with vinegar/miso, and tossed with adzuki beans and butterbur. Simmered baby spear squid, dressed with black sesame.● True mussels (Akkeshi), flathead (Mutsu Bay), simmered flathead liver, tuna (Fukaura).Served with egg yolk soy sauce, soy sauce, ponzu, grated daikon, green onions, and pickled vegetables (Shimizu Mori Number, koji, soy sauce).● Sweetfish (Fukaura), grilled soft roe (Mutsu Bay), kohlrabi (Nobechi), water shield (Mikuzuki), okra, and yuzu.● Grilled natural eel (Ogawara Lake) with a sauce made from its bones, and shiitake mushrooms.● Mountain udo and clams simmered in clam dashi, with grated daikon, shidoke, and boiled hairy crab (Kodama) dressed with ginger vinegar.Bamboo shoots and simmered bear meat mixed with miso.Bracken fern dressed with spicy ponzu.● Iwanori (Shimokita Sai Village), vinegared rice, ginger pickled in sweet vinegar, simmered anko liver (Shimokita), its cooking liquid, wasabi, and green onions.● Kusamozuku (Fukaura), shrimp (Kodama), fresh mountain udo, and a mixture of Mizuna and sansho buds dressed with vinegar.● Kurashi beef tenderloin grilled over charcoal + soy sauce + scattered burnt green onions, sesame miso, radish, and purple asparagus.● Pea rice, scallops (Mutsu Bay) + garlic chives marinated in soy sauce, lightly pickled turnips, nuka pickled cucumbers, soy sauce marinated leaves of wasabi, and simmered cod and sansho fruit.Miso soup with root bamboo and wakame (dashi made from dried bonito).● Almond tofu, Amu melon, cherries, and yogurt ice cream flavored with wasabi.● Warabi mochi mixed with freshly picked yomogi, red bean paste, kinako, and black syrup.Many local ingredients were used. Aomori has quite a variety of produce. I particularly enjoyed the flathead, the soup, the eel, the Iwanori, and the perfectly cooked Kurashi beef. The final dessert was also delicious. The Japanese sake I had in Aomori was excellent.The lovely couple running the restaurant and the beautiful staff made for a pleasant experience.After about 2.5 hours, the meal concluded, and the bill was JPY 27,890.I booked a decent hotel for a change, so I’ll head straight back and relax.It was a great meal. Less

Last year, when I visited in Aomori, Chef Hanada strongly recommended this restaurant, saying, "Have you been there? It's amazing!" I felt like his enthusiasm was even greater than his presentation of his own dishes, but putting that aside, I finally found the opportunity to visit . Looking at the Goemi-yo, I noticed that the chef had trained at and honed his skills at after studying in France, which gives him a unique background. Upon arrival, I was shown the drink list, which was surprisingly longer for wines than for Japanese sake. While it wasn't a pairing, I ordered three recommended glasses of wine and waited for the dishes to arrive.1. Sardine paste served on a Tsu-garu-style cracker with mushrooms.2. Salted sea urchin and sesame tofu with peas.3. i. Steamed Ezo abalone with shark puree, green beans, and butterbur; ii. Aoyori squid ears with bamboo shoots and wasabi.4. Sashimi: Nodoguro (blackthroat seaperch), tsubugai (whelk), aoyori squid, and sea urchin with soy sauce, sudachi salt, and egg yolk sauce.5. Soft roe from sesame fugu, kinki fish, bracken, and a clear soup.6. Grilled sweetfish with crispy skin, turnip, bakkemiso, and stick shiso.7. i. Yamauchi and clam; ii. Grated daikon and thistle, torikuri crab, and bracken; iii. Grilled root bamboo with bear miso.8. Ankimo (monkfish liver) wrapped in nori with koshi-abura.9. Junsai (water shield), mizu (water plant), yamauchi, and hoya (sea pineapple).10. Grilled silver duck served with miso made from perilla leaves.11. Rice dish.12. Almond tofu with strawberries and milk ice cream (no photo).13. Warabi mochi (bracken starch dumpling).Wines: 1. Champagne, Michel Genet, MG BB VINTAGE 2016, Grand Cru. 2. Austria, Bergland, Georgium, Blanc de Noirs, N.V. 3. Bourgogne, Domaine David Duband, Hautes Cotes de Nuits, "Louis Auguste" 2020.All the dishes were delicious, but the chef has a meticulous approach, presenting each dish with great care. While you can truly savor the richness of Tsu-garu ingredients, the complexity and abundance of information in each dish can make their individual impressions feel somewhat diluted when reflecting on the meal as a whole. Among them, dishes like 5, 6, and 10 stood out as highlights, featuring special ingredients like fugu and kinki fish, which may reflect the chef's intentions. The dish with wild vegetables (7) might also be a highlight for this season.It feels like the essence of Tsu-garu is captured and expressed through the progression of the course. If the highlights depend on the diner's preferences, the chef might want diners to experience the entire journey, which could explain why the impressions of each dish fade as you eat.Ambient music plays in the background, which might be tough for those who dislike this genre. Personally, I was a bit concerned about the wine selection. With ten dishes leading up to the rice, three glasses were not enough (laughs). While I believe this restaurant is classified as Japanese cuisine, it has an unusually extensive wine list, yet it felt underutilized. The overall pacing was unclear, and since I could see the duck being slowly roasted over the counter, I found myself wondering when it would be served, wishing to pair it with red wine. Next time I visit, I’ll know to ask for more wine, but I would appreciate a bit more guidance. Just having a simple sheet listing the order of dishes and ingredients would change the impression significantly.By the way, the price was a reasonable JPY 30,000 with change. If I hadn’t visited that place in Akita the previous week, I might have praised it even more. I heard that eel and sweetfish will be available after June, so while I might not make it this month, that’s what I’ll aim for next time. Less