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Hirosaki City, with a population of 300,000, was the first city in Japan to be incorporated during the Meiji Restoration. It is a castle town known as one of Japan's leading apple producing regions
It is a city that changes colour beautifully throughout the four seasons. In spring, the vast fields are filled with blooming apple blossoms and the cherry blossoms at Hirosaki Castle. In summer, the brightly coloured Neputa floats are paraded around the town. In autumn, the autumn leaves of Mount Iwaki are beautiful, and in winter, the town is covered in pure white snow and cold
Not only is the area blessed with bounty from the sea and mountains, but it is also a rice-growing and sake-producing region, blessed with underground water from Mount Iwaki and the Shirakami Mountains, and is home to a bustling downtown area called Kajimachi
Hirosaki, with its many students and a university in the city center, has recently seen an increase in the number of "senbero" bars where you can drink cheaply, and you can enjoy a wide variety of "senbero" options, including yakitori restaurants, takoyaki shops, and coffee shops
What is the definition of “senbero”?
The word originally referred to a bar where you could get very drunk for 1,000 yen, but now it has come to mean a bar where you can get 2 to 3 drinks and snacks for 1,000 yen.
In this article, we have defined the criteria for certification as a "Senbero" bar as follows.
You can order two glasses of alcohol (type and quantity are free) and one snack in addition to the appetizer and drink it for less than 1,000 yen.
Set prices such as "Senbero Set" are available for less than 1,000 yen.
Family restaurants where you can eat rice crackers are not eligible.
We also introduce sets that cost less than 1,500 yen as "high-priced rice crackers," but we appreciate your understanding.
Please note that the prices listed in the article include tax unless otherwise stated and are as of the end of September 2023.
Yakitori Sankyu Hirosaki Joto Branch
From the official website of Yakitori Sankyu, Hirosaki Joto branch
This yakitori restaurant, which opened in the city's Joto district in November 2021 and offers the surprising price of 39 yen per skewer (prices below exclude tax), is a franchise chain with its main store in Kameido, Koto Ward, Tokyo, and Hirosaki is the first and only one in Tohoku
The other skewers, which are priced between 69 and 129 yen, are priced at 39 yen for the eight standard yakitori varieties, but they are known for their satisfying size and delicious taste, and have now become a popular "senbero bar" among Hirosaki residents
Inside the Hirosaki Joto store From the Yakitori Sankyu official website
There is also a wide selection of snacks on the menu, including edamame, fried horse mackerel, and kimchi for 199 yen, and octopus and wasabi (octopus with wasabi) and crab paste for 299 yen. Alcoholic drinks include beer, Kaku Highball, and Konomari Sakaba Lemon Sour for 399 yen
With an all-you-can-drink option for sours, cocktails, whiskey, shochu, and soft drinks (500 yen per hour), and an appetizer (300 yen), you can get completely drunk for under 1,000 yen
We also recommend the reasonably priced "Choizawa Set (1,299 yen)," which includes three slightly luxurious appetizers such as fried shrimp, mosquito bites, and cream croquettes, as well as two drinks
Yakitori Thank You <Information>
Store name: Yakitori Sankyu Hirosaki Joto store
Address: 2-4-2 Joto Chuo, Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture
This popular restaurant in front of Hirosaki Station serves authentic takoyaki and Akashiyaki, which are rare in the Tohoku region
You can also get takeout of authentic Osaka-style takoyaki, which is crispy on the outside and soft and creamy on the inside, and Akashiyaki, which is called "tamagoyaki" in Akashi, Hyogo Prefecture, and is eaten hot dipped in soup stock
The Senbero menu includes the 1,100 yen "Takoyaki Set" and "Akashiyaki Set," which include only one drink but are recommended for daytime drinking. The 1,300 yen "Omakase Evening Drink" includes one drink with a small side dish, takoyaki, akashiyaki, and yakisoba, allowing you to enjoy an evening drink while savoring Kansai "flour foods."
Takoyaki and Akashiyaki Bonzo ＜Information＞
Store name: Takoyaki and Akashiyaki Bonzo
Address: 1F, 17-10 Ekimae-cho, Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture
Inside Cafe TOP From the Cafe TOP official website
Located near Hirosaki Station, this bright and cozy coffee shop has been loved by locals for over 50 years, having been established in 1969. The owner, a former regular customer of the shop, is currently running the shop as the second generation owner
The reason we are introducing this coffee shop in this article is that it has a "senbero set" on its menu, which allows you to drink during the day
This set includes two drinks of your choice from draft beer, highball, or sours, and two snacks selected by the hostess, all for 1,000 yen, making it the ideal "senbero" experience
Small Drink Set Cafe TOP Official Website
They also offer a "Choi-nomi Set" which includes one glass of draft beer and three bite-sized snacks for a reasonable 800 yen, making this a great coffee shop for those who love to drink during the day
Cafe TOP ＜Information＞
Store name: Cafe TOP
Address: 16-3 Ekimae-cho, Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture
It's not a bar, but I'd like to introduce the Tsugaru Railway's Stove Train
From Tsugaru Railway official Facebook page
The Tsugaru Railway, which runs north and south along the Tsugaru Peninsula, operates a stove train with a coal stove on board between Goshogawara and Kanagi every year from December 1st to March 31st of the following year
Inside the stove train. From Tsugaru Railway's official Facebook page
Although it is not a bar, this "Train Izakaya" is a must-visit attraction in Tsugaru during the cold and snowy winters
To board the train, you will need a ticket from Tsugaru-Goshogawara Station to Tsugaru-Nakazato Station for 870 yen and a stove train ticket for 500 yen
Stovetop sake and canned beer are sold on board for 350 yen, and if you buy dried squid for 500 yen, the attendant will grill it on the stove inside the train and peel it so that it is easier to eat
An attendant grilling dried squid on the stove. (From the Aomori Prefecture Tourism Information Site)
While watching the snow flurry across the Tsugaru Plain from the train window, dipping a fragrantly grilled dried squid in sake and sipping it creates a perfect marriage of the delicious flavor of the dried squid and the flavor of Hirosaki's local sake
The cost of the drinks plus transportation will be a little more than "two-senbero," but why not try experiencing this winter tradition of the Tsugaru Plain?
Tsugaru Railway Co., Ltd. <Information>
Company name: Tsugaru Railway Co., Ltd
Address: 39 Omachi, Goshogawara City, Aomori Prefecture
Phone number: 0173-34-2148
Stove train operation period: December 1st to March 31st of the following year
A food stall village called "Kadare Yokocho" has opened in Shimodotemachi, near Hirosaki Castle and Kajimachi, and is currently the talk of the town. It was planned as part of Hirosaki City's "Business Sales Recovery Support Subsidy Project."
There is a wide variety of restaurants, including those serving local cuisine and local sake, oden shops, local Chinese restaurants, pork specialty restaurants, cafes serving delicious crepes, and wine bars, and recently a pub run by a professional wrestler has opened
The event hall is also used as a place for socializing, hosting banquets with catering from various restaurants and public viewing of sports events
However, none of the restaurants currently offer "senbero" drinks, and I felt that this did not fit the purpose of this article, so I hope to provide a more detailed introduction in a separate article at some point
I am a former Edo guy who loves Morioka, loves the six prefectures of Tohoku, and loves history, gourmet food, travel, sports, alcohol, and singing. We'll introduce you to some interesting, delicious, and good things about Tohoku!
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