{"id":37,"date":"2026-07-24T15:52:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T06:52:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itadaki8.com\/en\/2026\/07\/24\/itadaki-lunch-before-shirakawa-go-trip\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T19:00:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T10:00:26","slug":"itadaki-lunch-before-shirakawa-go-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itadaki8.com\/en\/2026\/07\/24\/itadaki-lunch-before-shirakawa-go-trip\/","title":{"rendered":"How I Discovered Itadaki Before My Shirakawa-go Trip"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<p>Let me be honest with you upfront: the lunch I had in Nagoya the day before my Shirakawa-go trip completely overshadowed the trip itself. Not because Shirakawa-go wasn't breathtaking \u2014 it was. But somewhere between the thatched-roof farmhouses and the snow-dusted mountains, I kept thinking about a bowl of wagyu I'd eaten in a second-floor restaurant in Osu the afternoon before.<\/p>\n<p>That restaurant was Itadaki. And if you're traveling between Nagoya and Shirakawa-go, Takayama, or anywhere in the Gifu region, I think what happened to me might happen to you too.<\/p>\n<p><strong>This is a before-and-after story<\/strong> \u2014 not a dramatic one, but a genuine one. Before Itadaki, Nagoya was simply a transit point on my itinerary. After it, Nagoya became the reason I'm already planning a second trip to Japan.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u3053\u3093\u306a\u65b9\u306b\u304a\u3059\u3059\u3081<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u2705 Travelers passing through Nagoya on the way to Shirakawa-go or Takayama who want to make the most of their time in the city<\/li>\n<li>\u2705 Wagyu enthusiasts curious about rare regional Japanese beef beyond Kobe or Matsusaka<\/li>\n<li>\u2705 Repeat Japan visitors looking for an authentic, off-the-beaten-path lunch experience in Nagoya<\/li>\n<li>\u2705 Anyone wondering whether a lunch stop in Osu is worth building into their itinerary<\/li>\n<li>\u2705 Foodies who want a meal with a story \u2014 not just a dish<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/itadaki8.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_1270.jpg\" alt=\"How I Discovered Itadaki Before My Shirakawa-go Trip | Itadaki - The Original Rare Wagyu Gyudon\" \/><\/figure>\n<h2>Before: Nagoya Was Just a Stopover<\/h2>\n<p>My itinerary looked like countless others I'd seen shared in travel forums. Land in Tokyo, a few days in Kyoto, then take the shinkansen west \u2014 with a night or two in Nagoya purely for logistical reasons. Nagoya was where I'd catch my bus to Shirakawa-go the following morning.<\/p>\n<p>I hadn't planned much for my afternoon in the city. Maybe Nagoya Castle. Maybe a walk through Sakae. Nothing I'd specifically traveled for.<\/p>\n<p>Then, scrolling through Google Maps while sitting on the shinkansen, I noticed a restaurant near Yabacho Station with a description I'd never seen before: <em>\"The Original Rare Wagyu Gyudon.\"<\/em> The photos were striking \u2014 glistening slices of marbled beef arranged over a ceramic bowl of rice, a bright egg yolk resting on top. I almost dismissed it. I'd had wagyu before. I didn't need another wagyu experience.<\/p>\n<p>But something about the phrasing stopped me. <em>Original<\/em>. Not \"specialty\" or \"famous\" \u2014 original. As in, this is where the concept began.<\/p>\n<p>I added it to my plans and didn't think much more about it.<\/p>\n<h2>Finding Itadaki in Osu \u2014 A District I Hadn't Planned to Explore<\/h2>\n<p>Itadaki is located on the 2nd floor at 4-1-20 Osu, Naka-ku \u2014 a four-minute walk from Yabacho Station Exit 4 on the Meijo Subway Line. Getting there from Nagoya Station is straightforward: Higashiyama Line to Sakae, transfer to the Meijo Line, off at Yabacho. About ten minutes total.<\/p>\n<p>What I hadn't expected was the neighborhood itself. Osu is one of those places that resists easy description. The main shopping street has over 1,200 shops and more than 400 years of history \u2014 but it also has anime shops, cosplay caf\u00e9s, Taiwanese street food, and a Buddhist temple (Osu Kannon) that sits at the heart of it all without any apparent sense of contradiction. It's lively without being exhausting. Traditional without being frozen in time.<\/p>\n<p>I arrived at 11:15 \u2014 just after opening. There was already a short queue. The sign at street level read \u5143\u7956\u30ec\u30a2\u725b\u4e3c \u9802, and I took the stairs up.<\/p>\n<p>Inside: 18 seats, warm lighting, sofa-style seating that immediately made the space feel more relaxed than I'd expected. Counter seats along one side, a couple of larger tables for groups. The menu was printed in English \u2014 fully, with photos, prices, and a five-step visual guide explaining exactly how to eat the dish.<\/p>\n<p>That last detail mattered more than I realized at the time.<\/p>\n<h2>The Dish \u2014 And the Story Behind It<\/h2>\n<p>I ordered the Shinkoccho: the standard-size Rare Wagyu Gyudon featuring Horai Wagyu. \u00a52,700 for 100g of beef and 200g of Aichi-grown rice, served with miso soup, traditional Atsumi pickles, shiso leaves, and a raw Nagoya Cochin egg.<\/p>\n<p>The menu explained that Horai Wagyu is produced by only three farms in Japan, with just 300 heads raised annually \u2014 out of approximately 500,000 wagyu cattle in the country. These cattle are raised in Okumikawa, in the mountains of Aichi Prefecture, and fed on sake lees from Horaisen Sora, a premium local sake. That feeding method gives the beef a distinctly clean, nuanced flavor \u2014 less aggressively fatty than some of the more famous wagyu brands, but with a depth that stays with you.<\/p>\n<p>The \"rare\" texture I'd been curious \u2014 and, honestly, slightly cautious \u2014 about comes from a proprietary two-stage cooking technique developed by founder Masayuki Goto. The beef is heated to over 70\u00b0C at the core, fully meeting Japan's food safety standards while preserving a silky, near-raw mouthfeel. It's not rawness for novelty's sake. It's a technical achievement that took years to refine.<\/p>\n<p>Following the five-step guide: I separated the egg yolk onto the beef and let the white fall into the miso soup. I ate the first bite pure \u2014 just wagyu and rice, no condiments. Then with the yolk mixed in. Then I worked my way through the pickled ginger, the dried seaweed, the chirimen jako (tiny dried whitebait), and finally the wasabi. Each variation was genuinely different. The guide wasn't a gimmick. It was a real sequence, and it changed how the dish tasted at each step.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\"Perfect lunch during our Nagoya stay before our Shirakawa-go trip the following day.\"<\/p>\n<p><cite>\u2014 Guest review<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\"The five-step eating guide made the dish even more enjoyable and memorable.\"<\/p>\n<p><cite>\u2014 Guest review<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>\u2713 \u3053\u3053\u307e\u3067\u306e\u30dd\u30a4\u30f3\u30c8<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Itadaki is a four-minute walk from Yabacho Station (Meijo Line) \u2014 easily accessible during a Nagoya stopover en route to Shirakawa-go or Takayama<\/li>\n<li>Horai Wagyu is limited to 10 bowls per day and is produced by just 3 farms in Japan with 300 heads annually \u2014 advance reservation via Tabelog is strongly recommended<\/li>\n<li>The two-stage cooking technique delivers a rare-style texture while meeting Japan's food safety standards \u2014 no need to hesitate about the preparation method<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>After: Nagoya Became a Destination in Its Own Right<\/h2>\n<p>I left Itadaki just before noon, caught my bus to Shirakawa-go the following morning as planned, and spent two days walking through UNESCO-listed farmhouses in the snow. It was exactly as beautiful as the photographs suggest.<\/p>\n<p>But here's what I didn't expect: I kept coming back to the lunch in Osu. Not with disappointment about Shirakawa-go \u2014 but with a growing appreciation for what that meal had actually been. It wasn't just a good beef bowl. It was a coherent statement about a place. Every ingredient on that tray came from Aichi Prefecture. The rice, the sauce, the egg, the pickles, the beef \u2014 all of it sourced from within the same prefecture, from farmers that Goto works with directly. The dish tasted like Aichi, even if I hadn't fully understood that while eating it.<\/p>\n<p>Goto founded Itadaki in April 2022 after the COVID-19 pandemic pushed him to rethink what he could offer \u2014 and who he could support. He'd been running MAX'S BAR since 2008, and when local farmers he sourced from struggled with unsold harvests, he felt personally compelled to act. The gyudon format allowed him to operate with a small team and minimal space while building something that created long-term demand for rare Aichi ingredients. The name Itadaki comes from <em>itadakimasu<\/em> \u2014 the expression of gratitude spoken before every meal in Japan. Respect for the farmers, the land, the craft.<\/p>\n<p>That philosophy comes through in the food. It's not theatrical or self-congratulatory. It just tastes like someone paid attention to every single element, from the variety of shiso leaf to the temperature of the rice cooker, adjusted each year to match that year's harvest.<\/p>\n<p>I've since told three friends who are planning Japan trips to add Itadaki to their Nagoya day. Two of them already have reservations.<\/p>\n<h2>Practical Notes if You're Planning to Go<\/h2>\n<p>Itadaki is open for lunch only \u2014 11:00 to 15:00 on Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays, with last order 30 minutes before closing. On public holidays, the restaurant opens at 9:00. Wednesday through Friday are regular closing days. The monthly schedule is posted on Instagram, and irregular closures do occasionally happen, so it's worth checking before you go.<\/p>\n<p>Horai Wagyu is strictly limited to 10 bowls each day. If it sells out before you arrive, the Mikawa Beef Rare Gyudon (from \u00a51,800) is prepared using the same two-stage cooking technique and is available for walk-in guests. It's an excellent dish in its own right \u2014 don't treat it as a fallback. But if Horai Wagyu is specifically what you're after, I'd recommend making a reservation via Tabelog and noting \"Horai Wagyu request\" (\u9cf3\u6765\u725b\u5e0c\u671b) in the comments field when you book. The Tabelog reservation page works in English.<\/p>\n<p>The restaurant has 18 seats with sofa-style seating throughout \u2014 comfortable for lingering, easy for families, and genuinely welcoming to solo diners. There are five counter seats if you prefer to eat alone without feeling isolated. The printed menu in English made ordering completely stress-free, and staff were warm and unhurried even during a busy lunch hour.<\/p>\n<p>No dinner service. No takeaway. The dish is designed to be eaten fresh, at the table, in the order the guide suggests.<\/p>\n<h2>A Final Thought Before You Leave Nagoya<\/h2>\n<p>If your Nagoya itinerary looks anything like mine did \u2014 a night or two sandwiched between more \"famous\" destinations \u2014 I'd gently suggest reconsidering the city as a transit point. The Osu district alone is worth a morning's exploration: Osu Kannon Temple, the sprawling shopping street, and the free-admission Hisaya-odori Garden Flarie just a short walk from Yabacho Station. Pair that afternoon with lunch at Itadaki, and Nagoya stops being a stopover and starts being a reason to come back.<\/p>\n<p>I'm already planning mine.<\/p>\n<p>For our complete menu, access details, and store information, visit our official page at <a href=\"https:\/\/itadaki8.com\/english\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/itadaki8.com\/english\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Horai Wagyu sells out early on busy days \u2014 if you'd like to secure your bowl before your Shirakawa-go or Takayama departure, we'd love to have you. <a href=\"https:\/\/yoyaku.tabelog.com\/yoyaku\/net_booking_form\/index?rcd=23081531\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Reserve Your Rare Wagyu Experience<\/a> via Tabelog \u2014 reservations can be made in English, and the process takes just a few minutes.<\/p>\n<p>For our opening calendar and any schedule updates, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/itadaki_magari_gyudon.08\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Check Our Monthly Schedule on Instagram<\/a> before your visit. We look forward to welcoming you.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n<p><script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"LocalBusiness\",\"name\":\"Itadaki - The Original Rare Wagyu Gyudon\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/itadaki8.com\/en\",\"address\":\"4-1-20 Osu 2F, Naka-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi 460-0011, Japan\",\"areaServed\":\"Itadaki serves foreign visitors from around the world who are traveling in the Nagoya area. Our primary customer base includes:\\n\\nGeographic reach:\\n- Immediate area: Osu district and Sakae district (within 10-minute walking distance)\\n- Nagoya city center: Nagoya Station, Fushimi, Kanayama, and other central districts (within 15-minute subway ride)\\n- Aichi Prefecture: Meitetsu Line and JR line commuters from Toyohashi, Toyota, Ichinomiya, and other Aichi cities\\n- Central Japan region: Travelers passing through Nagoya from Gifu, Shizuoka, Mie, and Nagano prefectures\\n- International travelers: All foreign visitors staying in Nagoya as part of their Japan itinerary\\n\\nPeak traveler seasons:\\n- Cherry blossom season (late March to early April)\\n- Golden Week (late April to early May)\\n- Summer festival season (July-August, including World Cosplay Summit)\\n- Autumn foliage season (November)\\n- 2026 Asian Games and Para Games (September-October 2026)\",\"description\":\"Rare Wagyu Gyudon (Horai Wagyu \u2014 limited to 10 bowls daily):\\n- Shinkoccho (Standard): 100g beef, 200g rice, \u00a52,700\\n- Cho-ten (Medium): 150g beef, 250g rice, \u00a53,200\\n- Zettcho (Large): 200g beef, 300g rice, \u00a53,600\\n\\nRare Wagyu Gyudon (Mikawa Beef \u2014 always available):\\n- Fumoto (Standard): 100g beef, 200g rice, \u00a51,800\\n- Oka (Medium): 150g beef, 250g rice, \u00a52,300\\n- Daichi (Large): 200g beef, 300g rice, \u00a52,700\\n\\nSide Dishes:\\n- Teppen (Premium Horai Wagyu Beef Plate): 50g, \u00a5800 \u2014 Same wagyu with different cutting and searing technique, delivering a distinct taste from the gyudon\\n- Piman no Nikuzume (Evolved Stuffed Green Pepper): 2 pieces, \u00a5700 \u2014 A popular dish originally from Tokyo's Toranomon Yokocho\\n\\nOptions:\\n- Extra rice: +\u00a5200\\n- Change to Super Mochi Barley Rice (from Toyohashi): +\u00a5200\\n- Super Mochi Barley Rice extra size: +\u00a5400\\n- Remove Nagoya Cochin egg: -\u00a5150\\n- Extra Nagoya Cochin egg: +\u00a5150\\n- Extra pickled radish (Atsumi Ich\u014d-zuke): +\u00a5150\\n- Extra shiso leaves (Aikei No.1): +\u00a5150\\n\\nBeverages (all Aichi\/Nagoya specialties):\\n- Kinshachi Beer Pilsner (330ml bottle): \u00a5700 \u2014 Nagoya craft beer pioneer\\n- Coffee Shochu Oolong Tea Mix: \u00a5700 \u2014 MAX'S BAR's signature drink since 2008\\n- Chita Highball: \u00a5700 \u2014 Aichi's Chita Distillery whisky\\n- Nagoya Cider: \u00a5700 \u2014 Local Nagoya craft cider\\n- Chita & Nagoya Cider with Lemon: \u00a51,000 \u2014 House specialty mix\\n- Chita \\\"Naka\\\" Refill: \u00a5500 \u2014 Add more Chita whisky to your remaining cider\"}<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Let me be honest with you upfront: the lunch I had in Nagoya the day before my Shirakawa-go trip completely overshadowed the trip itself. Not because Shirakawa-go wasn't breathtaking \u2014 it was. But somewhere between the thatched-roof farmhouses and the snow-dusted mountains, I kept thinking about a bowl of wagyu I'd eaten in a second-floor [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sns_share_botton_hide":"","vkExUnit_sns_title":"","_vk_print_noindex":"","sitemap_hide":"","_veu_custom_css":"","veu_display_promotion_alert":"","vkexunit_cta_each_option":"","_lightning_design_setting":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"veu_head_title_object":{"title":"","add_site_title":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/itadaki8.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/itadaki8.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/itadaki8.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itadaki8.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itadaki8.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/itadaki8.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38,"href":"https:\/\/itadaki8.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37\/revisions\/38"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itadaki8.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/itadaki8.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itadaki8.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itadaki8.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}