Oshima Honjinchaya — Restaurant in Suo-Oshima

We wanted to take a not too long day trip from Iwakuni, find somewhere very atmospheric to eat to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Stumbled on this gorgeous restaurant and had our first shabu shabu style meal ever. The staff did their best to explain (almost no English spoken..that’s OK. We’re in Japan, OK?) Other guests came across to help because we had absolutely no idea even how to order. Wow, it was just a delightful experience in every way. The food (waygu beef and Australia pork) were our choices and thankfully we came at a time when the mikan are in season, so that was our choice of broth. Towards the end when nearly finished, I honestly could have picked up the bowl and drunk it all...the mikan had made it so fragrantly flavoured. Easy and spacious parking, a short drive off the bridge connecting to the mainland and they take credit card. Certainly a place we will bring visitors and friends in the future. Also, the building itself is worth looking at. The exterior roofline reveals a thick wrapping of expertly applied plastic. I thought maybe its protecting a thatched roof?? Yes, it is, and if you are prepared to relax and lay down on your seat a bit, the roof from the inside is indeed thatched, and its beautiful to observe, the intricacy of how it is put together. I recommend taking a loop route to this restaurant by going down the coast road and returning via the mountain route. Its only a 40-45 minute drive from Iwakuni and you could easily do a loop of almost all of Oshima Island to round out...

The Mikan Nabe here is really good! Tangy, sweet and savoury at the same time. I thought it would taste weird but no. It is one of the best Nabe I've ever had. You get to choose between Ala Carte or All You Can Eat for the Meat. You can help yourself to the vegetable, tofu, drinks and etc for free. Really nice and pretty ambience too. Location is a little far from where I was at but it is worth...

大島大橋を渡って左折。車で1分で入口が見えてきます。

シャブシャブをはじめとした鍋料理の専門店で、鍋以外にも、単品で頼める丼物もあります。ドリンクバーがあり、まかないカレー（これが最高にうまい）、食後のアイスなど、バリエーション豊富なお店です。

日本最大級の水軍太鼓が店内に飾られ、また激流と評判の大畠瀬戸と大島大橋が見える観光スポットでもあり、近くには古事記に由来のある「大多満根神社」や瀬戸の絶景が楽しめる「飯の山展望台」があり、観光のスタート地点と言えます。

特筆したいのは、年齢層を幅広く楽しませてくれる鍋料理は、幼児食にも向いていて「幼児を外食させたいが、お子様ランチは野菜が少なくて困る」という方も、鍋料理なら子供も食べやすく、また野菜も豊富で助かります。

かくいう私も、幼児との外食で一番多く使っていて、乳幼児にも理解の深いスタッフの皆さんには助けてもらうこともしばしば。

地域の人も沢山いらっしゃっていて、観光などで迷っていることがあれば、それを話題に交流も深まる、人と人をつなぐ飲食店です。 冬季限定の「...