Nov 16,2023
Since opening its first branch in the Inamuragasaki area of Kamakura in 2015, Yoridocoro has won devotees for its course meals featuring excellent sun-dried, additive-free dried fish. The restaurant is so popular that it fills up every day from first thing in the morning, and people even post information about the wait times. So it was with much anticipation that its second branch opened in May 2023. The Yuigahama Odori branch was built in an area that retains a charming local atmosphere, just a three-minute walk from Wadazuka Station on the Enoshima Dentetsu Line and about 10 minutes from Kamakura Station proper. We visited the Yuigahama Odori branch to try the restaurant’s famed breakfast and to speak with Kondo Maiko, a staff member who was a fan of the restaurant before she started working there, about Yoridocoro’s appeal and its discernment of quality ingredients.
When Yoridocoro opened near Inamuragasaki Station on the Enoshima Dentetsu Line eight years ago, its concept was taking a trip through daily life in Kamakura. This hope for restaurant guests to experience ordinary life in Kamakura naturally extends to the second branch along Yuigahama Odori.
Yoridocoro opens at 7 a.m. because many people in Kamakura get up early to go surfing or to visit shrines. The pleasant fragrance of grilled fish drifts through the restaurant as the day begins in the town. Many people come to Yoridocoro for its traditional breakfast, which features dried fish, and Kondo was one of them.
Morning breakfast courses are served from 7 to 9 a.m. For your fish, you can choose between dried aji horse mackerel, dried saba mackerel, or both aji and saba.
“I was still in high school when the Inamuragasaki branch opened. I was going to a nearby high school, and I remember even people at school were talking about the new restaurant that had opened in an old renovated house along the Enoshima Dentetsu Line. Having the restaurant was a joy in an area where there were no other places that served breakfast. The first time I went there was with a friend for breakfast as a little celebration before we graduated.”
Relating this story is Kondo, who is in her fifth year working at Yoridocoro. She transferred to the Yuigahama Odori branch when it opened and is in the kitchen every day.
“Given the restaurant’s concept of taking a trip through daily life in Kamakura, we are delighted when customers from outside the area come and experience the everyday scenes that for us living in Kamakura are so ordinary. Morning is my favorite time of day. I often wake up early and go for a walk around the shrines. As I walk around town in the early morning, I spot people walking barefoot carrying surfboards and greet people I know in my neighborhood. Mornings are these very easygoing times that are special to Kamakura.”
Kondo, who has been with the restaurant for five years, has become an expert at grilling dried fish. The taste of the same type of dried fish will vary, depending on how it is grilled. The trick is to grill the skin until it is crispy without losing the juiciness of the flesh.
“It’s taken me years to learn just the right amount to grill fish. In the beginning, I found it hard to judge when the fish was properly grilled, but now I can tell the exact moment it’s ready.”
Kondo watches over the grilling fish to ensure the skin is crispy while the inside is juicy
Freshly grilled dried aji has a rich flavor with no unpleasant odor, and it goes perfectly with rice
Leisurely enjoying grilled dried fish, cooked freshly only after you order it, in the morning kicks off an extravagant day. But it raises the question: Why did Yoridocoro decide to make dried fish its feature menu item?
“The original reason was that the restaurant owner’s family ran a dried fish shop, so the owner had connections with producers. And because of his background, the owner is very particular about the dried fish we serve. A processing plant in Nishiizu, which we found after a long search, prepares our dried fish from fresh fish delivered from all over the country. We chose this processing plant because it is meticulous about its water, using only spring water that flows from Mt. Amagi. The dried fish, which is carefully washed in crystal-clear water and then dried naturally in the sun, it produces is exceptionally delicious with no fishy smell or aftertaste. Our limited-quantity breakfast course features dried aji and saba. Our all-day course menu has many more options, including saba, ebodaii [butterfish], hokke [Atka mackerel], kinmedai [golden eye snapper], and others. We also ship dried fish regionally from our online site.”
Another specialty of Yoridocoro is its egg-on-rice with fluffy egg white. This popular item was inspired by one of the restaurant’s regular customers.
Yoridocoro’s egg-on-rice is memorable for its fluffy egg white topped with a rich yolk. The sweet soy sauce is the perfect match.
“We always had egg-on-rice on the menu. But one day, a regular customer and friend of the owner fluffed up just the egg white with his chopsticks and ate it. The staff attempted to imitate this, which was the start of our fluffy egg-on-rice. We first tried mixing the egg white just with chopsticks, but our process evolved with time and experimentation. Now, we use a whisk to achieve a softer and fluffier egg white. Customers generally whisk the egg white themselves, which gives them something fun to do while they wait for their fish to grill. I think the experience of spending time with a friend fluffing up eggs early in the morning surely become a special memory for customers.”
Some people spend more than 20 minutes to get their egg whites to fluff up, while the skilled staff can amazingly whip up soft, fluffy egg whites in just a couple of minutes
The fluffy egg white bursts and then dissolves in your mouth, leaving you with a wonderous new texture and sensation. It’s no surprise that even people who dislike the viscous nature of egg white in egg-on-rice dishes enjoy this dish immensely.
“We carefully select all our ingredients, and our eggs are no different. We chose the eggs we use after visiting and examining poultry farms all over Kanagawa. They are rich in folic acid and have a full, concentrated flavor, which is why they are known as eggs for women. As you can see, the color and viscosity of the yolk are quite distinctive. We order our rice from Niigata, and we mix in a barley miso that’s well-known in Kyushu in our miso soup to give it a bit of sweetness. We don’t serve that extensive a menu at Yoridocoro, so we strive to provide a delicious time that satisfies customers by concentrating on the quality of each and every ingredient.”
Both Yoridocoro restaurants are built in old, renovated houses. The Yuigahama Odori branch we visited is housed in a building said to be 100 years old.
“We have a connection with a carpenter who lives in Gokurakuji, just two stations away, and he renovated the building almost single-handedly. The first time I saw the empty house, it was so old that I worried how he would ever fix it up. But when I saw the completed renovation, I was amazed. He brought the building back to life so magnificently.”
The Yuigahama Odori branch is highlighted by its façade design, which retains the building’s original materials
The interior has been renovated into a modern, comfortable space, while keeping the irreplaceable original materials such as the beams, framing, and glass windows
The restaurant has a pet-friendly terrace at the back
“It would have been easier to tear down the building and start afresh, but I think it’s important to preserve the good things that have been passed down to us through the generations.”
This same thinking applies also to the restaurant’s food.
“We get many customers who haven’t had miso soup for a long time. This surprised me at first, but thankfully we get a lot of younger customers, so I think we offer a chance for people to regain a sense of Japanese-ness by coming into contact with the wonderful aspects of old Japan. Our name, Yoridocoro, expresses our desire to be a place for all kinds of people. We hope that our customers, whether they come from far away or live nearby, and our staff will all feel at home here and take a trip through the daily life of Kamakura.”
“Mornings in Kamakura are a time when you can prioritize yourself. So we encourage you to get up early and enjoy a leisurely pace in the clean, refreshing air.”
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