Where to Have Hitsumabushi in Yufuin, Japan

When we’re traveleating, we prefer trying regional dishes in the areas where they’re actually from. In Japan for example, that means waiting to have motsunabe in Fukuoka and takoyaki in Osaka, especially if it’s our first time trying the dish. In my mind, motsunabe or Hakata ramen wouldn’t be as good in Sapporo as they would be in Fukuoka, so as much as possible, we try to have them at the source.

But with unagi being one of my favorite things to eat and Nagoya nowhere near our itinerary, I had to break my own rule for this particular dish.

Called hitsumabushi, this eel dish is a specialty of Nagoya in Aichi and one of the most interesting things we had on our most recent trip to Japan.

We had hitsumabushi at Yufumabushi Shin Ekimae, a mabushi specialty restaurant in Yufuin, Oita. It’s a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence awardee and presently ranked fourth among all Yufu restaurants. It’s near the train and bus stations along the main road so it…