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Monaka , a complex commercial facility that opened at the entrance to Sakanamachi Arcade in Morioka City on July 11, 2024 , has been a huge success, with many customers visiting from inside and outside the city every day.
The name "monaka" means "middle" of "morioka" and also incorporates place names related to the area, such as " Morioka ," " Nakanohashi ," " Sakanachou ," and " Kanan ." Following on from the article introducing the opening, we will introduce the unique tenants in detail.
The center of the first floor is Morioka's "kitchen" food market
A bright and spacious food market
The main attraction on this floor is a market lined with greengrocers, fishmongers, butchers, grocery stores, and bakeries that support Morioka's food industry and were tenants during the previous Nanakku era .
On the Nakanohashi-dori (National Route 106) side where the bus stop is located, there are many event booths, with popular stores from within and outside the prefecture setting up shop for a limited time
TOMATOMA and
Tomatoma and Tsuka filled with fresh fruits and vegetables
Totsuka Shoten , this greengrocer offers a wide selection of products, mainly vegetables and fruits produced in Iwate Prefecture.
We also cut these fruits and vegetables and wholesale them to hotels, restaurants, hospitals, and other businesses in Iwate Prefecture
A booth selling fresh fruit juice and fruit sandwiches
This is the second retail store to open after the Fezan store in the Morioka Station building, and it also sells fresh juices, fruit sandwiches, fruit cakes, and fruit jellies made with fresh fruit
Meat Yokozawa
The store stocks everything from high-end brand beef to everyday cuts of meat
Obuke, Hachimantai City in northern Iwate Prefecture, deals in Iwate Prefecture's brand beef, including Hachimantai Beef, a type of Japanese Black Beef, Tankaku Beef, and Maezawa Beef.
Osawa Hormone which is deliciously seasoned with a special sauce and miso , is a popular item on online shopping sites as it allows you to easily enjoy a hot pot of horumon (horumon hotpot) at home, simmered with tofu and cabbage.
In addition, the Monaka store sells processed meats from Iwate Prefecture, various types of offal, ham, sausages, and other products at reasonable prices
Tasei Fish Shop
A wide variety of seafood is available, mainly from Sanriku
This long-established fish shop was founded in 1876 (Meiji 9) and has been delivering fresh Sanriku seafood to the people of Morioka for nearly 150 years
With the opening of the Monaka store, the company now has eight stores in Morioka City, and also operates one store each in Takizawa City and Miyako City in Iwate Prefecture, and one store in Shiogama City in Miyagi Prefecture
Other group stores include Kaitenzushi Seijiro which is popular for its quality ingredients , and the cafe 4832 The SUGAR
The bento boxes and nigiri sushi sets are also popular and offer good value for money
This restaurant offers a wide variety of fresh seafood every day, and its popular nigiri sushi set includes a variety of fillets marinated in Saikyo-style sushi and Seijiro's sushi
R. Baker
There is an eat-in space with a cafe-like atmosphere at the back right
" From bread to bread ," sells rice flour bread baked with domestic rice flour and natural yeast.
Rice flour bread is prepared as a savory or sweet bread, such as bagels, croissants, pizza, and brown rice French bread, and you can enjoy the moist and chewy texture of rice flour bread
Food and Drink Workshop
A store packed with a wide variety of products
This grocery store, based in Kitakami City, Iwate Prefecture, stocks a wide variety of products, including not only Iwate Prefecture products but also foods and imported goods from all over Japan, so you can choose according to your preferences and budget
This is a fun store to browse, with everything from easy-to-eat foods sold in regular supermarkets to rare domestic and imported products
There's a cafe and sweets shop where you can drop in casually, as well as soba and takoyaki!
The monaka Plaza on the first floor has information desks and a variety of sweet shops
On the first floor, there is a cafe and sweets shop where you can eat in or enjoy your meal in the rest area inside the store
In addition to the permanent tenants introduced here, popular stores from within and outside the prefecture are also opening for a limited time in seven event spaces called "POPUP STORE."
ViTO × IWAIZUMI
To the right of the gelato counter are craft items, and the cafe is an eat-in space to the left
ViTO an Italian gelato shop that was born in Fukuoka and now has branches nationwide, opened its Iwaizumi store in July 2020 as a cafe where you can enjoy 18 types of gelato made with fresh raw milk from Iwate Prefecture and coffee roasted in-house.
The Morioka store is the second in Iwate Prefecture, following the store at the Iwaizumi roadside station, and offers 18 types of Italian gelato, including Iwaizumi Yogurt
It is served with a generous serving of beautiful gelato
BRLATO made with plenty of whipped cream and the yogurt drink based on Iwaizumi yogurt are also popular.
You can purchase Iwaizumi craft products inside the store, and the eat-in space has an entrance that leads directly to the outside
This shop specializes in sweet potato sweets and parfaits, and offers a variety of sweet treats, from baked sweet potatoes and nostalgic university sweet potatoes with rice flour dumplings, to Japanese-Western fusion parfaits such as tiramisu and Mont Blanc
"Gorogoro Yakiimo Parfait" with plenty of roasted sweet potatoes
The chilled baked sweet potato and rich soft serve ice cream go perfectly together
Located right next to the Red Brick Warehouse entrance, the owner is a relative of Shigetenen Tea, and is a certified Japanese tea instructor and coffee instructor
Coffee made from home-roasted beans can be enjoyed either as takeaway or in the cafe, and hot sandwiches are also available, with roasted beans available for purchase
There is an outside entrance near the bus center entrance, and the popular morning soba noodles are served from 8am before Monaka opens
Outside entrance/exit of the building near the Bus Center Exit (east side)
You can always enjoy freshly made soba noodles and tempura
Thin Buckwheat Flowers (Information)
Business hours: 8:00 - 19:00
Closed: Tuesdays
Rurero
In addition to the inside of the store, there are chairs on the arcade side outside, and benches in the arcade are also available for use
This takoyaki shop is located on the side facing Sakanamachi Arcade, and you can eat in or take out
The authentic Osaka-style takoyaki is crispy on the outside and juicy and creamy on the inside. The shop recommends the salty version, which allows you to enjoy the flavor of the dough. In addition to soft drinks, they also serve draft beer
It's also nice to take some takoyaki to go and enjoy it leisurely on a bench in the arcade
Rurero (Information)
Business hours: 10:00 - 20:00 (last orders 18:00)
Closed: Same as the facility's closed days
Wakai side dish Ippuku
On the counter is a Phalaenopsis orchid to celebrate the store's opening
Wakai Ajidokoro Ippuku in Yamada Town, Sanriku, offers delicious Japanese prepared dishes, including local cuisine made with local seafood and mountain produce.
If you order takeout, you can eat it in the area with tables and chairs at the back of the store
There are Nanbu Senbei shops in Morioka, but Iwateya is a long-established senbei shop based in Ninohe in the north of the prefecture
In addition to the simple Nanbu rice crackers with their barley and sesame flavors, we also recommend the "Chocolate Nanbu" which makes a great souvenir that children will love
Shigedenen is located on the left side of the north entrance of the arcade
It has ties to Shigedenen in Tokyo, Sapporo, Sendai, Akita, and Yamagata, and has been a beloved tea shop for the people of Morioka since 1934 (Showa 9). It offers tea blended by a Japanese tea sommelier to suit the tastes of Morioka
Kenji's Brown Rice Tea which was created in collaboration with Itagaki Farm, which has inherited Miyazawa Kenji's rice cultivation tradition , as well as tea snacks that pair well with Japanese tea.
Shigetaen (Information)
Business hours: 9:30 - 18:00 (Japanese cafe 10:00 - 17:00)
Monaka, a place eagerly awaited by many Morioka residents, has many other food establishments in addition to those introduced in this article
In the following article, we will introduce restaurants and cafes on the second floor where you can enjoy the flavors of Morioka, as well as lifestyle and health-related shops on the second and third floors
monaka (Monaka) <Information>
Facility name: monaka
Facility location: 1-6-8 Nakanohashi-dori, Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture
Access: Take Iwate Kotsu or Iwate Kenpoku Bus to Morioka Bus Center or Morioka Bus Center-mae, then walk for 1 minute
Parking: Basement 1 (approximately 80 cars) and East Parking Lot (61 cars, 24-hour access) to the east. There are also designated affiliated parking lots nearby
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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