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[Iwate Prefecture] Japanese-flavored soft serve ice cream from the southern part of the Sanriku coast! Why are the soft serve ice cream eaten at roadside stations so delicious?
[Iwate Prefecture] Japanese-flavored soft serve ice cream from the southern part of the Sanriku coast! Why are the soft serve ice cream eaten at roadside stations so delicious?
South of Miyako City on the Sanriku Coast is a scenic ria coastline, and the offshore area has long been known as a good fishing spot. The seafood can be tasted and purchased at roadside stations, so it is visited by many locals
The roadside stations in this area were either destroyed in the tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake or relocated as part of reconstruction efforts, but all of them continue to make great efforts to attract customers and contribute to the revitalization of the region
One of the attractions of the area is the local soft serve ice cream , which is popular for its Japanese flavor and uses traditional ingredients and local cuisine from the region.
Please note that the prices listed in the article are current as of the end of May 2025
【Roadside Station Yamada: Sweet or salty? Enjoy soft serve ice cream with Oista soy sauce! (Yamada Town, Shimohei District: National Route 45)
This is a new roadside station that relocated and reopened on July 23, 2023; the previous facility was renovated and reopened as Funakoshi Roadside Station,
Inside the spacious farm-direct store "Oi Store"
The direct sales store, Oi Store , is about four times larger than the previous roadside station, and is stocked with a wide variety of local specialties and products from the Sanriku coast, as well as souvenirs and takeout gourmet foods.
By the way , the nickname "Oista" comes from the oysters that are a specialty of Yamada Town , and also has the meaning of "Come on over."
Yamada's soy sauce soft serve ice cream: 400 yen
The dropper to the left of the cream is Yamada's soy sauce
At first glance, it looks like an ordinary soft serve ice cream, but upon closer inspection, you'll see that Yamada Soy Sauce has been stuck into the cream.
It's fun to pour soy sauce from a dropper
When you squeeze the dropper and pour the soy sauce over the milky soft serve ice cream, the umami of the soy sauce and the richness of the cream go perfectly together, filling your mouth with the sweet and salty flavor that Japanese people love
Both soft serve ice creams are original to the roadside station
Another original soft serve, " Amazon Cacao Soft Serve ," is also popular for its rich chocolate flavor.
"Amazonian chef" Tetsuo Ota , and makes the most of the rich flavor of Peruvian Amazonian cacao.
Seafood dishes at the restaurant and shrimp tempura rice balls with large shrimp tempura
The oyster ramen, which contains three large Yamada oysters, is especially popular
If you have time, we recommend trying a variety of seafood dishes at Umippuku
The shrimp tempura musubi is about 20 centimeters long, and the large shrimp tempura is completely hidden inside
For takeout, we recommend the bento boxes and rice balls from the direct sales store "Oi Store." In particular, the " Ebi Tenmusu ) with its large shrimp tempura is perfect in both taste and volume.
【Roadside Station Funakoshi] Food? Sweets? An unexpected encounter! Enjoy the local dish "Azuki Batto" soft serve ice cream at Igubesu!
Japanese-style soft serve ice cream with soybean flour, brown sugar syrup, and azuki batto
"Igubesu" means "Let's go" in the local dialect .
This facility was formerly the Yamada Roadside Station , and during the earthquake it served as a rear support supply base for the reconstruction of Yamada Town.
Roadside Station "Yamada" era (2013) Source: Wikipedia (File name: Yamada 20130106095204 (8678758244).jpg, Photographer: inunami - yamada_20130106095204)
After Roadside Station Yamada was relocated, it was called Fureai Park Yamada , it has been revived as a roadside station once again as Roadside Station Funakoshi Igubesu
Azuki Batto Soft Serve Ice Cream: 450 yen
Soft serve ice cream topped with soybean flour and brown sugar syrup, with plenty of lightly sweet red beans and battou on the bottom
Beneath the soft serve ice cream is deep-sweet brown sugar syrup, fragrant soybean flour, and sweetly boiled red bean batto , which can be mixed together to create a variety of flavors.
" Battou " is a type of short udon noodle, and is said to be a corrupted version of Kai's specialty " hoto ," which became a local dish, and it shows the connection between the Nanbu family and Kai.
The sweetness of the brown sugar syrup goes perfectly with the soft serve ice cream, and the fragrant raisin powder is mixed in. The sweetness of the red beans at the bottom of the cup and the slight saltiness of the batto add a unique flavor, making this a masterpiece that you will never get tired of, no matter how much you eat
Please note that the cafeteria serving soft serve ice cream is open until 4:30pm
Pumpkin donut: 120 yen (1 donut)
Unfortunately, it was sold out on the day I visited
The cafeteria's " Pumpkin Donut " has a delicious, natural sweetness of pumpkin that spreads in your mouth, and it can be eaten with one hand, making it a recommended snack for when you're driving.
sells simple-tasting local sweets such as Azuki Batto " and " Mame Sutogi which are used inside soft serve ice cream
【Roadside Station Kamaishi Sennin Toge: The nickname is certainly true! Caramel-flavored Kamaishi soy sauce soft serve ice cream! (Koshicho, Kamaishi City: National Route 283)
Kamaishi Sennin Toge, a small roadside station located along the Koshi River
Located near the Kamaishi Sennintoge Interchange on the Kamaishi Expressway, the western gateway to Kamaishi City from Tono, it is affectionately known as the village of clear streams where sweetfish leap and Kasshi persimmons
There's plenty of delicious food in the "city of iron, fish and rugby"!
Although it is far from the center of Kamaishi, it is always visited by many people as a service area or parking area just before entering the Kamaishi Expressway, or as a base for sightseeing at Sennin Pass
Kamaishi Fujiyui soy sauce soft serve ice cream: 400 yen
This soft serve ice cream has a caramel-like aroma and is made with a secret ingredient: soy sauce from Fujiyui Brewery, which has been loved by the locals of Kamaishi
It has a creamy texture that matches the flavor of soy sauce, and the umami of the soy sauce lingers in the aftertaste. The balance of sweetness and saltiness is exquisite, so you will never tire of eating it
There are two types of original soft serve ice cream, and you can pick up your soft serve ice cream and ramen here
Another original soft serve ice cream is the Koshi persimmon soft serve ice cream. The ice cream and ramen are sold in the cafeteria from 9:30 (until 4:00 PM).
When it comes to Kamaishi's specialties, it's got to be Kamaishi ramen!
There are two types of ramen, both reasonably priced
The roadside station's restaurant has a small, but comfortable eat-in space where you can enjoy a leisurely meal of Kamaishi ramen, one of Iwate Prefecture's most famous local ramen
You can choose from a variety of Kamaishi ramen souvenirs, from refrigerated fresh noodles to dried noodles
Kamaishi ramen is a ramen that has been loved and nurtured in the city of steel, and is characterized by its chewy, extremely thin, curly noodles and clear, amber-colored, light soy sauce-flavored soup
Kamaishi Sennin Pass Roadside Station <Information>
Facility name: Roadside Station Kamaishi Sennintoge
Address: 155-4, Koshicho 7th District, Kamaishi City, Iwate Prefecture, 026-0055
【Roadside Station Sanriku: Never heard of it before! Japan's first persimmon soft serve ice cream made with local persimmons! (Sanrikucho, Ofunato City: National Route 45)
It is a little far from the Sanriku coast, near the Sanriku Interchange on the Sanriku Expressway
This area, formerly Sanriku Town before it merged with Ofunato City, is lined with a wide variety of fresh seafood, processed marine products, and agricultural products that are local specialties of the area, as well as famous sweets from the Sanriku region
The tank is filled with fish such as rockfish caught in the local seashore, as well as wild abalone
The store also has many aquariums filled with live fish and abalone, making it a roadside station that particularly focuses on selling seafood
A vending machine selling blue worms stands alone outside
There is also a vending machine on the premises that sells blue worms as fishing bait, and there is a concern that some tourists may mistakenly buy it as a souvenir
Persimmon soft serve ice cream: 400 yen
The pale persimmon color of this soft serve ice cream will whet your appetite
seedless "Koeda persimmon," a local specialty, is deliciously sweet and flavorful. Its natural sweetness and clean aftertaste make it enjoyable even for those who don't like persimmons.
You can feel the persimmon fiber kneaded into the cream on your tongue, and the persimmon flavor lingers pleasantly in your mouth as an aftertaste
Recommended as a souvenir! Fresh seafood from Sanriku Town
Not only live abalone but also a wide variety of cooked and processed abalone are available
In addition to large tanks filled with lively, seasonal seafood such as abalone, sea urchin, scallops, and sea squirts, there is also a wide selection of processed seafood products such as salmon roe and wakame seaweed, which is the number one produced seaweed in Japan
Great value frozen and processed abalone
They also offer live abalone that has been flash-frozen, so visitors from far away can have these shipped so they can enjoy delicious seafood when they return home
The restaurant also offers a menu centered around scallops and seaweed dishes
Sanriku Roadside Station <Information>
Facility name: Roadside Station Sanriku
Address: 95-27, Okiraiidobora, Sanrikucho, Ofunato City, Iwate Prefecture
Phone number: 0192-44-3241
Business hours: Fast food restaurant "Isaribi" 9:00-18:00
【Roadside Station Takada Matsubara: Iwate's first coffee soft serve ice cream provided by Sunaba Coffee! (Kesencho, Rikuzentakata City: National Route 45)
This roadside station has a solemn atmosphere. At the back of the building is the "Miracle Pine Tree," and on the left is the "Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Memorial Museum."
Tapic 45 which was destroyed in the tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake . Relics of the disaster, such as the Miracle Pine Tree, remain here, making it a symbol of prayer, repose, and reconstruction.
Relics of the earthquake disaster, such as the Miracle Pine Tree, and the new floodgate and seawall, which are symbols of reconstruction
Here Sunaba Coffee Takada Matsubara Branch , the only one outside of Tottori Prefecture. This was made possible through support provided after the earthquake, and you can enjoy delicious coffee and sweets that are loved in Tottori Prefecture.
Coffee soft serve ice cream: 530 yen
This soft serve ice cream has a slightly bitter taste for adults, with coffee that has a pleasant bitterness mixed into the mildly sweet cream, leaving a strong coffee flavor that lingers even after it melts in your mouth
The interior of Sunaba Coffee Takada Matsubara Branch is bright with large windows
You can choose between a cup or a cone, but we recommend the cone as the cocoa-flavored cone served with the coffee soft serve is fragrant and pairs well with the aromatic coffee flavor
The cocoa flavor powder sprinkled on top adds a nice touch
The food court is full of delicacies, and the most recommended dish is the "Salted Sea Urchin Onigiri"
This is the menu of "Takata no Gohan". It mainly has seafood dishes, but for some reason they also have Kitakata ramen
The food court , Matsubara Shokudo, which specializes in noodles , and Takata no Gohan, which specializes in seafood bowls , both offering a wide variety of menu items.
Among these menu items, we highly recommend Salted Sea Urchin Onigiri
This is the salted sea urchin onigiri from Matsubara Shokudo, which is huge and packed with delicious salted sea urchin
Not only is it large and satisfying to eat, but it is also filled with a rich amount of salted sea urchin, and when you chew it, the aroma of sea urchin spreads throughout your mouth, making it an indescribably delicious dish
Many of the roadside stations along the coast of Iwate Prefecture are located near interchanges on free expressways that were built as part of the reconstruction efforts following the earthquake, and serve as service areas and parking areas on the expressways
When you're driving along these roads, why not stop by and try some of the unique local soft serve ice cream and gourmet food that each one offers?
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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