B-class gourmet

Enjoy the famous soft serve ice cream at Marukanville's Large Restaurants! [Hanamaki City, Iwate Prefecture]

  • natsuki natsuki
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Marukan Building Dai Shokudo, located in Hanamaki City, Iwate Prefecture, is famous for its 10-layer soft serve ice cream roll. It is a large restaurant with a retro Showa-era atmosphere that serves everything from ramen to sushi and Western food

When I was traveling to Hanamaki, I really wanted to try this soft serve ice cream so I stopped by, and it was a nostalgic space for the Showa generation and an emotional space for the Heisei and Reiwa generations

This time, we will introduce you to the Marukan Building Dining Hall

Hanamaki City, where the Marukan Building Dining Hall is located

From the Iwate Prefecture Tourism Portal Site

Hanamaki City is located almost in the center of Iwate Prefecture. It is home to Iwate Hanamaki Airport, the only airport in the prefecture, Shin
-Hanamaki Station on the Tohoku Shinkansen, the Tohoku Expressway, and the Tohoku Cross-Island Expressway, making it a key hub in the high-speed transportation network. It is also one of the leading hot spring areas in Tohoku, with Hanamaki Onsen, a popular hot spring resort since ancient times, Towa Onsen, which springs from the Kitakami mountain range, and Himawari Onsen, rich in negative ions. Sake
brewing is also thriving here, and the city has produced many renowned master brewers, with the Nanbu Toji considered one of Japan's top three master brewers.

Hanamaki City has produced many famous people

is famous as the birthplace of Miyazawa Kenji, known for his fairy tales and poetry There are many facilities where you can follow in his footsteps, such as the Miyazawa Kenji Memorial Museum and Miyazawa Kenji Fairy Tale Village

Inazo Nitobe whose portrait is famously featured on the old 5,000 yen bill, and Kotaro Takamura, author of the poetry collection "Chieko Sho." In fact, they all have ties to Hanamaki.

Recently, Shohei Otani and Yusei Kikuchi, , are also graduates of Hanamaki Higashi High School and spent their youth in Hanamaki.

Monument commemorating the selection of Yusei Kikuchi and Shohei Ohtani

Hanamaki Higashi High School , the alma mater of Yusei Kikuchi and Shohei Ohtani, has a monument with their handprints on it.

To commemorate their selection for the 2021 MLB AII-Star Game Hanamaki Onsenkyo presented the ball to Hanamaki Higashi High School . It will also be possible to compare the ball with your own hand.

Apparently, both of them excelled in both academics and sports, and had excellent grades. I would love to emulate their success.

Hanamaki Higashi High School <Information>

  • Name: Hanamaki Higashi High School Ground, behind the back net
  • Address: 55-1 Matsuzonocho, Hanamaki City, Iwate Prefecture Hanamaki Baseball Stadium No. 2 Parking Lot in front of Hanamaki Higashi High School
  • Access: 7 minutes by car from Hanamaki Station, 18 minutes by car from Shin-Hanamaki Station
    *Please note that this is located on the grounds of Hanamaki Higashi High School, so please be considerate when visiting.

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The good old Marukan Building restaurant from the Showa era

From the Iwate Prefecture Tourism Portal Site

Marukan Building Dai Shokudo opened as a restaurant on the 6th floor of Marukan Department Store (commonly known as Marukan Department Store), which was founded in 1973. However, in the summer of 2015, it was diagnosed as unsuitable for earthquake resistance, and it became difficult for it to continue operating, so it closed in June 2016.

Following a petition campaign by local Hanamaki high school students calling for the cafeteria to remain open, and growing voices from the public expressing regret over its closure, the large cafeteria on the sixth floor reopened for business in February 2017. Kamimachi Yamorisha Co., Ltd. raised funds through crowdfunding, and the total amount exceeded 20 million yen. It's clear that this cafeteria is beloved by the local community.

When you go to the cafeteria on the 6th floor, you'll be greeted by a display case full of food samples. The cafeteria is very spacious, and the tables, chairs, lighting, chopstick holders, and everything else are very emotional. It's as if you've traveled back in time to the Showa era. The waitresses' costumes are also very cute, making it feel like a Showa-era maid cafe

After choosing your menu from the retro food samples, purchase your meal ticket at the register. The spacious restaurant has 580 seats. On the day I visited, it was bustling with tourists as well as many local customers

Marukan Building Dai Shokudo's specialty soft serve ice cream

When you think of soft serve ice cream, you probably imagine something that melts quickly and is soft.
But the 10-layered soft serve ice cream at Marukan Building Cafeteria is different. I was watching them make the ice cream, and the way they stretch the cream and stack the 10 layers on top of each other looks just like Turkish ice cream. about 25 centimeters tall !

The "Hanamaki way" is to eat the towering, voluminous soft serve ice cream with chopsticks! This writer also used chopsticks.
The soft serve ice cream is made slightly firm, but has a smooth texture and isn't too heavy, so it can be eaten in no time. However, it is quite a large portion, so my child and I enjoyed it together.

Apparently, when this soft serve ice cream was first sold, it was a standard size. The founder of the former Marukan Department Store had a catchphrase of "make it piled high" so that customers would be pleased. However, during a TV interview, an excited staff member decided to "pile it high" and roll the ice cream in 10 layers, which is how it all began. It's interesting that this has now become a local specialty!

Popular menu items are Marukan Ramen and Napoli Pork Cutlet

Marukan Building's cafeteria offers over 110 dishes, including ramen, set meals, Japanese cuisine, Western cuisine, and desserts. You'll be amazed at the variety!

My main reason for visiting was to try the soft serve ice cream, but there were many locals enjoying their meals nearby

So, when I looked up the popular menu items, the Marukan Ramen and Napoli Katsu were recommended.
The Marukan Ramen is a spicy ramen with plenty of toppings such as vegetables, mushrooms, and kamaboko.
The Napoli Katsu is very filling. It comes with a generous portion of Neapolitan pasta and a whole piece of freshly fried pork cutlet, cut just after the order is placed. There is also a generous amount of salad on the same plate. It's very filling. These
popular menu items often sell out, so it's recommended to arrive early.

Chocolate banana crepe that Shohei Ohtani also tried

The success of the Japanese national team at the World Baseball Classic (WBC) is still fresh in our memories

In hopes of Shohei Ohtani's success in the WBC, the Marukan Building cafeteria has brought back the crepes that Ohtani often ate during his time at Hanamaki Higashi High School, which has become a hot topic.

In fact, the chocolate banana crepe that Shohei Ohtani also enjoyed was sold at a food court in a commercial facility in Hanamaki City. The food court closed in 2022, and Marukan Building Dai Shokudo revived it using the same ingredients and method.
They learned the recipe from the distributor and were also given the machine that baked the 40cm diameter crepe dough that was used, and have faithfully reproduced the taste and texture of the original crepe.

The limited edition crepes were apparently sold out every day. However, they are now available for purchase through the online shop. (Information as of July 2023)
I would love to try the crepes that Shohei Ohtani has also tried!

summary

Marukan Building Shokudo is located in the center of Hanamaki, but there were few people passing by, giving it a slightly lonely impression. However, the restaurant on the 6th floor was bustling with customers, in an atmosphere that felt like a time warp to the Showa era!
It's sad to see the good old days of local shopping streets, not just in Hanamaki, disappear.
I hope that Marukan Building Shokudo, which is loved by everyone, will continue to be loved in the future!

Marukan Building Cafeteria <Information>

  • Name: Marukan Building Dining Hall
  • Address: 6-2 Kamimachi, Hanamaki City, Iwate Prefecture
  • Phone number: 0198-29-5588
  • Business hours: Weekdays 11:00-15:30 (last orders 15:00) Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays 11:00-18:30 (last orders 18:00)
  • Official URL: Kamimachi Yamorisha – Marukan Building Dining Hall

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