The Rich Breakfasts of Inkyo Uwasawa, a Restaurant Specializing in Miso Soup, Rice, and Pickles Operated by an Established Tamari-zuke Pickle Store

The restaurant Inkyo Uwasawa — specializing in breakfasts featuring miso soup, rice, and pickles — was opened in 2020 by Umetaro Uwasawa Shoten. The long-established shop bears the name of Uwasawa Umetaro, the originator of tamari-zuke pickles, a well-known Nikko specialty. The restaurant occupies a former second residence built in a corner of a spacious Japanese garden some 150 years ago by carpenters who themselves were born in the Edo period (1603 to 1868). At this historic location, you can enjoy freshly cooked rice, miso soup, and homemade pickles. The restaurant’s menu, which recreates the breakfasts of the Uwasawa family on an ordinary day, consists of rich, healthy breakfasts that were once the norm for Japanese people.

Ordinary breakfasts served in a hidden paradise

Venturing out of Umetaro Uwasawa Shoten, located on the famed Nikko Kaido route, and walking a little way along the white wall that extends to the right, you will reach a gate with a tiled roof and fluttering noren curtains: the entrance to Inkyo Uwasawa. Ducking through the large noren curtains brings you to an expansive Japanese garden that changes forms with the seasons.

“The cherry blossom season will be here soon. You can enjoy the garden year-round, with autumn colors in the fall and blankets of snow in the winter.” So explains our guide, Uwasawa Yuki, who is next in line to head the Uwasawa family.

The noren curtains with an illustration of a breakfast tray mark the entrance to Inkyo Uwasawa

Japanese apricot trees start to bloom in late February, heralding the arrival of spring

We excuse ourselves as we take off our shoes in the restaurant’s entranceway. The experience is more like visiting your grandmother’s house than entering a restaurant. Although the building had not been used some time, only the kitchen needed renovating before opening the restaurant. The space, which has kept its 150 years of history largely intact, has been looked after meticulously despite its age, and it’s obvious each generation has treated the building with care.

The posts and sliding doors of the foyer just inside the entranceway still retain their original appearance

“This neighborhood prospered in the Edo period as a post town along the Nikko Kaido route. Back in the day, there were miso and soy sauce breweries nearby, and other families had the same type of gardens and second residences. Only our place is left now.”

The Japanese garden stretches out beyond the veranda, and time passes slowly. In this hidden paradise, we are served breakfast prepared by the restaurant’s proprietress.

“There is nothing especially extravagant about our meals. We serve the same meals that we eat at home. The basic breakfast course consists of rice cooked in an earthenware pot, miso soup featuring Nikko miso prepared from Nikko soybeans, and tamari-zuke pickles using local vegetables.”

The simplest option on the menu is Shiru Meshi Kou, a course meal of rice, miso soup, and pickles for 1,650 yen (tax included)

The proprietress, Uwasawa Rie, has carried on the Uwasawa family breakfast tradition since marrying into the family

A breakfast made by the proprietress starring the finest tamari-zuke pickles

The star ingredients of breakfasts at Inkyo Uwasawa are tamari-zuke pickles, which are prepared without heating to preserve their texture. They are very particular about their rice too, which is cooked in an earthenware pot only after receiving the customer’s order.

“Local rice grown in terraced rice paddies is cooked in an earthenware pot. It takes a little longer this way, but it allows us to serve the rice when it’s fresh and at its tastiest. Everyone smiles the moment they lift the lid.”

Opening the lid of the earthenware pot lets out the delicious aroma of freshly cooked rice along with a burst of steam, whetting your appetite.
Even people in their 80s can finish a whole pot of rice in no time, as they carry on eating second and third helpings of rice.

Pictured here is the popular Uwasawas’ Breakfast course meal that includes rice, miso soup, pickles, and three or four side dishes made with seasonal ingredients for 2,750 yen (tax included). On the day of our visit, the side dishes were simmered yellowtail and daikon radish in red miso; boiled komatsuna (Japanese mustard spinach), yuba (tofu skin), and shiitake mushrooms; sweet and sour pickled cauliflower; and scrambled eggs with tamari-zuke pickles made from nameko mushrooms.

A homemade dessert with seasonal fruit. Pictured is homemade ichigo daifuku made with strawberries and red bean paste wrapped in rice cake.

Kick off your day feeling completely satisfied with rice, miso soup, and pickles

The Inkyo Uwasawa breakfast restaurant was opened to showcase the attractions of pickles and Japanese cuisine. The idea began with the concept of the Uwasawas’ breakfast, which came about as the company rebranded itself.

“We asked ourselves what occasion best highlights our products as a manufacturer of pickles, miso, and soy sauce. The answer was breakfast.”

Uwasawa Yuki, the eldest son of the Uwasawa family, was raised on the traditional Japanese meal format of one bowl of rice, one soup, and three side dishes. His favorite type of tamari-zuke pickle is daikon radish.

Despite this insight, Uwasawa was indecisive for some time about opening a breakfast specialty restaurant.

“There were a lot of practical issues. Where will we get our staff? What should the menu be? Where is the best place to open a restaurant? There were so many considerations, as I had no experience in the restaurant business. Time kept slipping by as I contemplated all these things.”

As he deliberated about opening a restaurant, Uwasawa witnessed the sudden collapse of many local pickle shops between 2017 and 2018. At the same time, he noticed a rising number of tourists to Nikko’s Kinugawa River and an increase in accommodation facilities in the area. Regarding this as a chance to promote pickles to more people, he finally decided to go ahead with his restaurant challenge.

“Our menu is nothing particularly extravagant — just everyday breakfasts you’d find on our dining table. These days, however, people have very few opportunities to eat authentic Japanese cuisine. And because we’re in a tourist area, I want to show inbound tourists the normal food Japanese people have been eating for generations, beyond just sushi and tempura. I also feel we have a duty to pass on these age-old traditions to Japan’s youth.”

It’s not fancy, but white rice with miso soup and pickles makes a hearty breakfast