‘I’m on a boat!’ I exclaim to my travelling partner’s embarrassment and to bewildered kimono-clad waitresses in our tatami matted room which is empty of patrons except for just us two. We’d just spent the morning in reverent contemplation at the Peace Memorial Park, just a few minutes away from Hiroshima’s most famous restaurant of 140 years specialises in oysters.

It’s 1:30 pm on a weekday and we are greeted with assurance that they’ve not yet closed for their lunch time service. As we’re seated by the window in the traditional dining room with horigotatsu tables and decorated by kakejiku paintings, a sense of calm serenity envelops me as we watch the ebb and flow of the river and the patter of rain plays a soothing melody on the glass. The thing to order here is the oyster set menu and it’s a bonus that we travelled during oyster season. We order Set Menu #2.

Here Comes The Food

Oysters appetizer: The oysters from Kanawa are raised in deep, cold waters of the uninhabited Seto Inland Sea. The result is that the flesh is firm and sweet and relatively small in size oysters. The appetizer is compromised of three flavoursome oysters that have a citric tang to them. They are firm in texture and go well with the kernels of pine nut and slithers of enoki. This dish was refreshingly simple and made us look forward to the dishes to come.

A riverbank nabe is set aside on the table, which is left to cook throughout the meal and wafts rich miso aromas when I lift the lid to take a peek inside: a rich stew simmering away with oysters, cabbage, shitaki and udon.

Fried Oysters: With a squeeze of lemon, the flavour is heightened and one can only appreciate the oysters in quiet awe, ‘where have you been in my life?’

Oysters wrapped in Bacon: Such a combination caused me to do a double take, ‘two equally delectable ingredients together?’ I questioned. But Kanawa made a believer out of me that you can never have too much of a good thing. The distinctive flavour of the bacon hits your tongue first and then the oyster inside seemingly comes alive in flavour and you struggle at odds whether to cry with delight or sigh with climactic release.

Marinated Oysters: By now I’m in oyster heaven and the dishes keep coming. Marinated oysters in mirin and a hint of seasoning sit on a bed of vinaigrette salad.

The sweet flavour of the mirin has been sealed by the crispy exterior of the oyster and on the inside the flesh is creamy and white.

Baked Whole Oysters: I effortless pry the shells of the oysters to reveal two outrageously enormous sized oysters. The briney flavour is not even noticeable (something which I seemingly can’t palate without discomfort) as I’m taken to a new height of oyster dining that leaves Sydney’s quality in its wake.

Oyster Nabe with Vegetables in Sweet Miso Broth: The Nabe that has been teasing us with its alluring smell is finally served.

The miso has infused its intricate flavour into the vegetables and oysters. It is a warming dish, perfect for the Japan winter that I especially like because of its comfort.

Oyster rice with Seasonal Vegetables: A simple way to end a memorable meal, rice is cooked with oysters such that the flavour permeates throughout and is then served with thin strips of fried egg, green onions and Kanawa’s oysters. I can’t help but to finish all the rice in respect of this enjoyable experience that Kanawa has provided for us (not to mention the rice was super tasty).

Seasonal Fruit: Honey dew – yum!

Whilst there may be another barge that is moored directly across the Motoyasu river, I think Kanawa was the better choice as it was the place I found to be reviewed more. If you are travelling during oyster season (early winter) in Japan and find yourself in Hiroshima, put down Kanawa in your travel itinerary as an option for lunch when you visit the Peace Park as it is within walking distance.

As we exit  guilty that they’ve gone past closing hours for our patronage, the rain has started to pick up and we’re handed two umbrellas that we’re grateful for – Now that’s service.

Kakifune Kanawa

Heiwa-Ohashi East end, 3 Otemachi, Naka-ku, Hiroshima, Hiroshima 730-0051

Phone: 082-241-7416

Hours: Mon～Sat.　11:00～14:00(L.O.) 　17:00～21:00(L.O.)

Sun.・Holidays　11:00～14:00(L.O.) 17:00～20:30(L.O.)

Closed: Closed Sun. Apr.-Sept., 1st and 3rd Sun. Oct.-Mar.

English menu available  Simplified Chinese menu available

Website: www.kanawa.co.jp

Bonus pics from this particular day:

Atomic Dome

All-In-One

Cranes folded by Sadako

Autumn

Hiroshima – the first city in history that was dealt the devastation of an atomic bomb. Today, remnants of the aftermath such as the Atomic Bomb Dome and the former Bank of Japan still stand with honorary and commemorative shrines, bells, statutes and buildings located in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. As a tourist in Hiroshima, one should put down a visit to the Peace Park as one of their top items to do.  The next item on my list was as expected, food.

If there is one place you have to eat, I recommend Hassho as it is considered the premier place to eat okonomiyaki out of an estimated 860 okonomiyaki restaurants in Hiroshima, 6 of these part of the Hassho chain. Furthermore, as have not been disproven so far by my belief that the original branch is the best out of the chains, thus I went to the original shop located a short walk conveniently from our hotel in Yagenbori.

Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki is different to Osaka-style, instead of all the ingredients being mixed and then put hot plate to cook, the method to cook okonomiyaki in Hiroshima is layer by layer. What differentiates Hassho from other okonomiyaki places is two-fold: first, the noodles are freshly boiled (Osaka-style does not have noodles) and secondly, most places will fry the egg till isn’t runny anymore; Hassho however, serves okonomiyaki with the egg yolk still runny.

Here Comes The Food

The creation of your order happens before your eyes as you are seated with the teppan in front of you, the first step is a thin disc of batter painted onto the hot plate with the outside of the ladle.

Next, after the batter has been cooked to form a thin crepe, chopped cabbage is literally dumped on top to form a small mountain. The cabbage is then seasoned with tempura bits, bean sprouts, salt and pepper.

Soon after, strips of bacon are layered on top onto the already seemingly huge portion of ingredients that look like they could topple over.

The bacon is covered with some batter and then flipped with an expertly fluid ease, and then it is cooked until it is crispy-fied into what I can only describe as a bacon chip.

During this, noodles are briefly boiled and placed on a separate hot plate away and cooked with salt and pepper. It is also interesting to know that for quality consistency, Hassho changes the water used to boil the noodle every dozen orders. After the noodles have been sitting on the teppan for a few minutes, batter is put on top of the noodles and then lifted on top of cracked eggs sitting on the hot plate. At the last step, the noodles with the egg (its yolk still runny) is placed on top of the cabbage, bacon and bean sprouts and liberally dressed with otafuku and sprinkled with aonori.

Then, it is served and in front of you, the chef halved it for us as we were sharing it.

You can choose to eat it with chopsticks, or do as I did (and it seems like all the locals do) and eat it with a mini spatula. The taste was one that I can still remember as it was so good. The first thing you taste is the texture of the noodles, and then the tangy flavour of the sauce hits you. After this, you slowly appreciate the other ingredients such as the bacon, cabbage and bean sprouts which have been cooked for the right amount of time such that the flavours have been fused. Finally, the gooey runny egg yolk holds everything together. In a word – awesome.

To top off our meal that had already been given the nod of approval, we order kaki-yaki, which is grilled oyster. As it we travelled during oyster season in Japan, it was also a bonus. The oysters are grilled and minimally seasoned – just how I like it.

When presented to us, a generous portion of plump oysters with a seductive sheen of juice is laid before us, kept warm on the outer edge of the teppan. Dab the oyster with the provided salt or eat it without, it is a piece of delight.

Gochisou-sama.

Hassho

10-6 Yagenbori,

Naka-ku, Hiroshima, Japan.

Phone: 082-248-1776.

Hours: 4 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.