What is gibier cuisine? Introducing restaurants in Fukui Prefecture (Tsuruga/Wakasa area) where you can taste the bounty of nature.
Ghibier cuisine refers to dishes made from the meat of wild birds and beasts. In Japan, deer and wild boar meat, which are the most commonly captured species, are mainly eaten. This article provides an overview of gibier cuisine and introduces restaurants in Fukui Prefecture (Tsuruga and Wakasa areas) where you can enjoy delicious gibier cuisine. Why not take this opportunity to try healthy and nutritious gibier cuisine?
What is gibier cuisine?
Ghibier cuisine refers to dishes made from the meat of wild boars, deer, and other wild birds and beasts. In Japan, wild birds and beasts are often treated as vermin, but in some countries around the world, they are so rich in nutrients that they are prized as luxury foodstuffs. The following is an explanation of the appeal of gibier cuisine.
Meat from wild birds and animals.
The term "gibier" is derived from the French and refers to the meat of wild game caught by hunting. It is a luxury ingredient in French cuisine and has been loved as a special dish. Out of gratitude for life, all parts of the animal are used in the dish, not only the meat, but also the organs, bones, and even the blood.
The gibier season in Japan is from November 15 to February 15, when the hunting ban is lifted. Japan's gibier is mainly deer, wild boar, and bear.
Effective use of birds and animals that destroy fields
In Japan, wild animals such as deer and wild boars have been caught and effectively used as gibier as a form of meat, because of the damage they cause to rice fields. Since ancient times, wild boar meat has been popularly known as botan or mountain whale, and deer meat as momiji (autumn leaves).
These meats are prepared in a variety of genres, including French, Italian, Japanese, and Chinese cuisine. They are available not only at high-end restaurants, but also at casual restaurants, so you can enjoy them easily.
Tastes great with proper treatment.
Gibier cuisine has become delicious and almost odorless thanks to recent improvements in meat processing techniques and equipment.
It is also nutritious, low in calories, high in protein, and healthy. Deer meat is similar to lean beef and is high in heme iron, making it ideal for those with anemia and cold sores. Wild boar meat is similar to pork, with a sweet, but not tart, fatty taste. It is rich in iron and vitamin B12 and is good for health.
Restaurants in Tsuruga and Wakasa area where you can enjoy gibier cuisine
In the Tsuruga/Wakasa area of Fukui Prefecture, there is an abundance of restaurants that serve gibier cuisine. Here we introduce some recommended gibier restaurants where you can enjoy gibier cuisine with local ingredients.
Cafe MIROKU - Enjoy gibier cuisine in the forest
Cafe MIROKU offers gibier cuisine, coffee, and sweets in a forest setting, serving gibier meat with the hope of utilizing all the wild animals captured in the wild as a bounty of the forest.
You can enjoy daily omelet rice, spiced curry, sausages, and other dishes using local gibier. In addition to gibier dishes, don't miss the latte art created by the owner, who trained under the world champion of latte art.
| Address | 281-1-1 Shinjo, Mihama-cho, Mikata-gun, Fukui 919-1144 |
|---|---|
| Telephone number | 0770-32-3369 |
| Business hours | 10:00-17:00 (L.O.16:30) (Lunch: 11:30-14:00) |
| Closed | Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday *Open on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday as of October 2024 |
| Reference site | cafe MIROKU |
We welcome you with seasonal delicacies including gibier cuisine｜Cuisine Ryokan Minamikawa-so
Enjoy seasonal delicacies at Minamikawa-so Ryokan. From summer to fall, you can enjoy natural sweetfish sashimi, grilled with salt, and zosui (rice porridge). In winter, you can enjoy roasted wild boar meat and botan nabe (hot pot) with condiments dipped in miso. Located in a rich natural setting, you can spend a relaxing time with family and friends.
In addition, "Oko", a restaurant specializing in gibier cuisine, is scheduled to open on the same site*, where you can enjoy a peony hot pot for one person or more, as well as flavorful gibier grilled over charcoal.
* Please contact the restaurant for the opening date.
* Please contact the restaurant for the opening date.
| Address | 52-18-1, Mie 52-18, Natasho, Ooi-machi, Oi-gun, Fukui 917-0381, Japan |
|---|---|
| Telephone number | 0770-67-2406 |
| Business hours | [Lunch] 11:30 - 14:30 [Evening] 18:00-21:00 |
| Closed | Closed on weekends and holidays Please confirm details in advance. |
| Reference site | Ryokan Minamikawa-so |
Enjoy local gibier cuisine to the fullest｜Anagura Monji
Anagura Monji Roasted Deer with Caramelized Seasonal Fruits
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Anagura Monji offers gibier from Mihama Town processed at its own processing facility. The most popular dishes are grilled skewers of deer and wild boar meat, which allow you to taste the original flavor of the ingredients. You can also enjoy local gibier dishes such as wild boar meat croquettes and deer meat sausages. In addition to wild game dishes, dishes using fresh seafood caught in Wakasa Bay are also recommended.
| Address | Business Hotel Saigo, 36-1-1, Matsubara, Mihama-cho, Mikata-gun, Fukui 919-1122, Japan |
|---|---|
| Telephone number | 0770-32-3131 |
| Business hours | 18:00-23:00 |
| Closed | Monday Please confirm details in advance. |
| Reference site | Anagura Monji https://samgha-inc.com/momonji/ |
Udon noodles with wild boar meat and kakuni (pork cubes)｜Café Fiesta
Café Fiesta features an extensive lunch menu that includes set menus, soba and udon noodles, and other dishes. While peony hot pot is famous locally, this restaurant offers "Shishi-Don," a bowl of rice topped with softly simmered wild boar meat and cubes of stewed wild boar meat. Other original gibier dishes such as Shishi-niku udon will fill the stomachs of visitors.
| Address | 3-42-3, Natasho Kusaka, Ooi-machi, Oi-gun, Fukui 917-0382 |
|---|---|
| Phone number | 0770-67-2690 |
| Business hours | 9:00 - 16:00 |
| Closed | Tuesdays Please confirm details in advance. |
| Reference sites | Facebook Cafe Fiesta |
You can also buy souvenirs of gibier cuisine｜Cuisine/Inn Shinsa
Cuisine and ryokan Shinsa offers dishes using wild boar and matsutake mushrooms grown in the local mountains and sweetfish from the Minamigawa River. You can enjoy seasonal delicacies such as wild vegetables in spring, sweetfish in summer, matsutake mushrooms in fall, and botan nabe in winter.
We are dedicated to dismantling, processing, and selling our own gibier at our own gibier workshop. Both meal-only and overnight packages are available. In addition to eating at the restaurant, you can also buy a peony hot pot set as a souvenir to enjoy at home.
| Address | 4-10-2, Natasho Kusaka, Ooi-machi, Oi-gun, Fukui 917-0382 |
|---|---|
| Phone number | 0770-67-2028 *Please confirm details in advance. |
| Reference site | Cuisine & Ryokan Shinsa |
Creative cuisine complements gibier dishes｜Sognopoli
Sognopoli offers creative Italian cuisine using ingredients from Fukui Prefecture. The restaurant offers pasta and red wine stew using wild boar and deer meat from Mihama Town. Since gibier dishes are part of the dinner course, reservations should be made at least two days in advance. Why not make unforgettable memories with your loved ones while enjoying the view of Tsuruga Port in front of you?
| Address | 4-1 Kanegasaki-machi, Tsuruga City, Fukui Prefecture 914-0072 |
|---|---|
| Telephone number | 0770-47-6707 |
| Business hours | [Lunch: 11:30 - 14:00 [Evening]18:00-22:00 |
| Closed | Wednesdays Closed on Wednesdays and other days when the Red Brick Warehouse is closed. *Please confirm details in advance. |
| Reference site | Sognopoli |
Restaurant where you can enjoy gibier cuisine all year round
The town hotel Ryuseikan operates in a quiet mountain village. The restaurant in the accommodation offers a taste of Wakasa, using fresh seafood from Wakasa Bay and rich produce from the mountains. Gibier dishes include wild boar meat curry, set menus, and botan nabe.
*Please inquire in advance about the availability of gibier dishes.
*Please inquire in advance about the availability of gibier dishes.
| Address | 109-6-1, Natasho Nodame, Ooi-machi, Oi-gun, Fukui 917-0375, Japan |
|---|---|
| Phone number | 0770-67-3000 |
| Closed on | Wednesdays Please confirm details in advance. |
| Reference site | Ryuseikan Hotel |
Inn run by fishermen｜Hase, a guest house run by fishermen
Hase, a guest house near the sea, is run by fishermen from the town of Wakasa, where you can enjoy kaiseki cuisine and hot springs. The owner and the young master, who are fishermen themselves, entertain guests with fresh ingredients they have caught themselves. A menu item known only to those in the know at the inn is peony hot pot, available only from October to March. Try the peony hot pot seasoned with homemade miso.
| Address | 19-14-1 Sekumi, Mikata-Kaminaka-gun, Fukui 919-1464 |
|---|---|
| Telephone number | 0770-46-1735 *Please confirm details in advance. |
| Reference site | Fisherman's Inn, Guest House Hase https://wakasafugu.com/ |
Tsuruga/Wakasa area also has delicious Wakasa beef
The Tsuruga/Wakasa area of Fukui Prefecture is home to delicious foods other than gibier. For meat, Fukui's brand beef "Wakasa Beef" is famous, so be sure to try it.
Fukui brand beef raised in Wakasa
Wakasa beef is the highest quality Japanese beef with a clear pedigree, raised in the Wakasa region, which is rich in nature. Wakasa beef is mature, dignified, and has excellent meat quality. Only high quality beef with a meat quality grade of 3 or higher out of 5 and a fatty crossbreeding grade of 4 or higher out of 12 in terms of marbling can be sold as Wakasa beef.
Sweet and melt-in-your-mouth texture
Wakasa beef is characterized by its rich flavor and tender meat with fine sashi. It has a sweet, melt-in-your-mouth texture with a refreshing aftertaste. We recommend eating it as yakiniku or steak so that you can simply enjoy the goodness of the meat. Wakasa beef croquettes, made from a combination of Wakasa beef and vegetables from Fukui Prefecture, are also popular.
The appeal of Fukui and Wakasa beef! Introducing three-star standards, delicious ways to eat, and recommended restaurants ｜ "Aojikichi" Goshoku Shokoku Shokubutsu Tabi Site
Wakasa beef is Fukui's brand beef, raised with great care in the rich nature of Echizen-Wakasa. Here we introduce the characteristics of Wakasa beef, delicious ways to eat it, and recommended restaurants in the Reinan (Tsuruga/Wakasa) area of Fukui, the hometown of Wakasa beef.
Learn what gibier cuisine is and enjoy nature's bounty!
Gibier cuisine refers to dishes made from the meat of wild animals such as wild boar and deer. In the Tsuruga/Wakasa area, which is rich in nature, you can enjoy dishes using locally harvested ingredients and gibier at a variety of restaurants. Try the healthy and nutritious gibier when you visit Fukui.
Selected as the nation's first "Premium" Japanese Heritage Site! Enjoy a variety of cultures
In July 2024, Obama City and Wakasa Town, centered on the Saba Road, were selected by the Agency for Cultural Affairs as the first Japanese Heritage site in Japan to be designated as a Special Priority Support Area (Japanese Heritage Premium).
Blessed with a rich harvest from the sea and mountains, Wakasa has supported the food culture of the Imperial Court since ancient times, and for more than 1,500 years, the road that brought seafood from Wakasa to Kyoto has been known as the "Saba Kaido," or mackerel road, and has a history of various cultural comings and goings. Along the Saba Kaido, which connects Wakasa and Kyoto, there are Kumagawa-juku, shrines, temples, buildings, festivals, and other cultural assets, so be sure to take the time to visit Tsuruga and Wakasa.
The information is current as of October 2024. Information is subject to change without notice.