Easily accessible from Kinosaki Onsen, Izushi, and the Tajima area!

First up is Pine Needle, a Western-style diner located just a 4-minute walk east of Kaban Street.

With its stylish green exterior perfect for Instagram and a sunlit interior filled with soft natural light, Pine Needle welcomes you with a warm and cozy atmosphere.

Seating options range from solo counter seats to four-person tables and even a large ten-person table—so no matter your group size, you'll feel right at home.

This time, I tried the Special Omurice (¥880).
The fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth egg carries a gentle cheese aroma and offers a comforting flavor.
What truly elevates the dish is the "special" sauce—a rich blend of demi-glace (typically used for hamburg steaks), tomato sauce (usually for pasta), and a unique chicken stock base. It’s a perfect harmony that lives up to the name!

The owner’s recommended way to enjoy the dish is to add a touch of Tabasco! It sharpens the flavor and makes the sauce’s rich color pop even more.

Inside the chicken rice, you’ll find sausage, onions, carrots, and green peppers—adding a satisfying crunch and texture to every bite.

It’s a dish that’s already satisfying on its own, but during lunchtime, it even comes with a complimentary bowl of miso soup!

Beyond the omurice, the menu also features a wide variety of options like curry, pasta, and pizza—so you can always find something that suits your mood.

Here’s the next place we’d like to introduce: just a 6-minute walk east from Kaban Street, you’ll find Hikitate Soba Daimon, located inside the Fureai Public Market.

The interior may be compact, but with its open ceiling extending to the second floor, it offers a bright and modern atmosphere.

This time, I tried their most popular **Soba Lunch Set (1,100 yen)**.

The soba noodles, ground fresh in-house every day, are firm and refined, with a subtle aroma of buckwheat that comes through as you slurp them.
If you're feeling extra hungry, you can upsize your portion for an additional charge.
And if cold soba isn't your thing, don’t worry—you can always switch to a warm bowl (kake soba) instead. Feel free to customize it to your liking!

While soba is the star of the show, there's so much more to this meal!

To start, the chimaki (sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves) served on the side has a pleasantly sticky texture and just the right amount of seasoning—it really enhances the soba experience.

But the highlight has to be the tempura. Every piece is freshly fried, light, crispy, and fluffy. The shrimp tempura, in particular, is impressively large and juicy—just one is enough to satisfy.
The tempura selection changes daily and seasonally, using the freshest ingredients available that day.

And all of this for just 1,100 yen? It's almost too good to be true!

The restaurant gets nearly full around noon, which is peak lunchtime. If you want to avoid the crowd and enjoy your meal more leisurely, visiting around 11:00 a.m. when it opens, or closer to 1:00 p.m. before closing, is highly recommended.

Also located inside the Fureai Public Market is Unakou, a rare specialty eel restaurant in the Tajima area.
The owner opened the shop with the hope of making unagi (eel) more accessible and familiar to people in this region.

The live eels, carefully sourced from places like Osaka, are prepared and cooked right in the store.
Since each eel has its own unique character, the grilling time and technique vary for each one—this is where the chef’s experience and craftsmanship truly shine.

This time, I ordered the “Toku-Toku Ju” (3,000 yen), which features a generous portion of eel—more than half a fillet.

As I picked up my chopsticks, the savory aroma of the sauce immediately whetted my appetite. The eel is crisp on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and as you bite into it, it almost melts in your mouth, letting the full, rich flavor of the eel shine through.
Beneath the eel lies rice thoroughly infused with the sweet-savory sauce. Incredibly, the rice is grown by the owner himself in his own rice field!

Sprinkle a bit of the sansho pepper available on the table, and you’ll get to enjoy a completely different side of the eel’s flavor.

A perfect side dish to complement your meal is the homemade dashimaki tamago (400 yen).
Its fluffy texture lets your chopsticks glide right through, and the refined flavor of the dashi gives it a taste that’s hard to recreate at home.

The unagi rice bowl menu offers four options:

Jo-don (1,500 yen)

Toku-ju (2,200 yen)

Toku-Toku Ju (3,000 yen)

Manpuku (5,000 yen)

The higher the price, the more eel you get—with the Manpuku featuring a whole eel!
All dishes use the same high-quality eel, so even if you're on a budget, you can still enjoy the delicious taste without compromise.

And if you’re on the go, they also offer takeout, perfect for enjoying on the train ride home or at your accommodation.

Right next to the Fureai Public Market is the Japanese restaurant “Shitazutsumi-dokoro Nakai.”
Inside, you’ll find not only counter seating but also table seats and traditional horigotatsu (sunken floor) seating for a relaxed dining experience.
There’s even a private parking lot nearby, so you can visit comfortably by car.

At the open counter, you'll hear the lively voices of the chefs as freshly auctioned fish—sourced daily at 5 a.m.—are proudly displayed.

This time, I enjoyed a lunch set 1,100yen featuring a variety of small dishes.
The menu changes daily, depending on the season and that day’s catch, so there’s always something new to look forward to no matter when you visit.

The sashimi features rich, seasonal fish that melts in your mouth the moment you take a bite. Since just the right amount of soy sauce is already drizzled on top, there's no need to worry about over-dipping.

On this day, the scallops served with butter and soy sauce filled my mouth with the taste of the sea. They had a firm texture, yet fell apart delicately as I chewed.

The set also included simmered fish, firefly squid, chawanmushi (savory egg custard), and more — a well-balanced selection that offers the best of Japanese cuisine.

Even the dishes used are carefully chosen. "I get scolded for buying too many," joked the chef

Beardritto Toyogeki, a hamburger steak specialty restaurant, is located a 5-minute walk east of Kaban Street, right next to Toyooka Theater — the only movie theater in northern Hyogo Prefecture.

Beardritto is a specialty hamburger steak restaurant.
Originally started in Toyooka City, Hyogo Prefecture, this small restaurant now also has a location in Nakazaki-cho, Osaka. One of its highlights is the traditional Japanese-style seating, making it a comfortable spot even for families with small children.

Loved by locals of all ages, Beardritto continues to attract visitors eager to try the chef’s signature creation — the famously fluffy hamburger steak.

What is Tajima Beef?
Tajima beef is renowned as the breeding stock for Japan’s top-quality wagyu brands such as Kobe, Matsusaka, and Omi beef. Calves born in the Tajima region are auctioned off at around six months of age, then raised in areas like Kobe, Matsusaka, or Omi. There, they are nurtured into premium wagyu with unique textures and flavors specific to each region.

This homemade hamburger steak is made with a generous amount of this luxurious Tajima beef.

While 100% beef patties tend to be on the firmer side, Beardritto’s chef blends in a secret ratio of chicken to bring out the rich umami of the wagyu, creating a juicy patty that is tender and smooth — bursting with flavor.

Bonus: You can get free refills of rice and miso soup, making it the perfect lunch spot for those with a hearty appetite!