Fukushima, Iwaki City [HAGI] ～ Editor's Postscript by the Editor-in-Chief of Japan's Gourmet Site "Hitosara"

Update-Date: Jun 17, 2025

Author: SAVOR JAPAN

Categories: French

Fukushima, Iwaki City [HAGI] ～ Editor's Postscript by the Editor-in-Chief of Japan's Gourmet Site "Hitosara"

A small restaurant called [HAGI] located in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture. Although it is not in an easily accessible location, there is a reason why many gourmets visit. Taking advantage of its geographical advantage—15 minutes from the fishing port and 10 minutes from the fields—the restaurant offers dishes centered on fish and vegetables prepared using French techniques and simply grilled over firewood. This is a unique restaurant where one can experience the charm of the terroir that can only be tasted in this area.

Fukushima, Iwaki City [HAGI] ~ Editor's Postscript by the Editor-in-Chief of Hitosara

When entering the restaurant that resembles a small house, one notices a wood-fired stove in the kitchen.

"The reason for using firewood as the heat source is because my grandmother, who was a pear farmer, used it for cooking. I thought this method would be the best way to leverage local advantages and compete on freshness. We are currently making various improvements," the owner and chef, Harutomo Hagi, responded.

He runs the restaurant together with his wife.

First, they refresh their throat with the bubbles of Marie Dume Champagne. Then, they enjoy fried tara buds that evoke the cherry blossom season. The slightly bitter and fluffy warm taste is simply seasoned with salt.

Fukushima, Iwaki City [HAGI] ～ Editor's Postscript by the Editor-in-Chief of Hitotsara

And the black sea bream. It is just the season when the flavor is enhanced by eating crustaceans, and the skin, lightly seared, releases the scent of the sea. This is enjoyed with Hirotogawa's Junmai Daiginjo sake, made from Fukushima Prefecture's rice "Yume no Kaori".

Fugu is served together with cheese. It is paired with a white wine from Iwaki Winery, made using cheese from a nearby farm and Koshu grapes. An interesting texture and flavor.

Next are wild vegetables and fish that herald spring. Sweet and slippery daylilies, and spring sea bream. It is a refreshing dish. Puy fumé has been served.

Paired with the red wine from the South Australian Basket Range, full of natural flavors, is a soup made from Akayamadoridake mushrooms, which seems to concentrate deliciousness. The taste, like a clash of unique personalities, is quite stimulating.

The swordtip squid was served with a pleasant aroma. It was lightly seared, giving it a rare texture, and it was tender and sweet. He had never eaten swordtip squid like this before.

"Iwaki has seven beaches, each with different types of fish caught. At this particular beach, the yari-ika (spear squid) season has just ended, and it has shifted to kensaki-ika (Japanese flying squid). The chef Hagi said, 'The caught squid is immediately dehydrated and grilled over firewood, so I believe it has the highest freshness.'

The unique sticky texture when bitten, combined with the smoky aroma from the firewood that acts as a seasoning, made me feel like I was rediscovering the deliciousness of squid.

The sake served is Niida Honke's "Shizenshu Melon." It is made using the kimoto method, with no added yeast (using naturally occurring brewery yeast), and has a melon brewing aroma.

This is a dish of conger eel and seaweed. It is enjoyed with the same sake mentioned earlier, allowing one to savor the melon-like brewing aroma.

“Before the earthquake, conger eel was a local brand product around here. Even now, good ones are caught,” says the chef. The conger eel is tender and richly flavored, as if cooked slowly at low temperature for a long time. The aroma of the seaweed brings the sea breeze.

“The creamy soup is made by simmering conger eel, with the eel’s fat being aged. The meat used for eating is fresh and used as is.” The time differences within the dish seem to add further depth to the flavor.

Fukushima, Iwaki City [HAGI] ~ Editor-in-Chief's Afterword of Hitosara

A dish featuring sweet potato and char is served. The sweet potato is roasted whole over firewood and fermented with koji, accompanied by fresh char roe. It resembles potato salad but evokes a sophisticated French feel, similar to the earlier dish of pufferfish and cheese. It is paired with Cocofarm's "Pinot Gris."

Chef Hagi is roasting carrots in a kamado. It reminds him of the time long ago when he used to make baked sweet potatoes over a bonfire in the garden. The depth he conveys through his cooking may come from how he incorporates such traditions into the present day with his own unique arrangements.

It is bamboo shoots. They are served with a clam sauce. The wine is a Chardonnay from La Vierre in Savoie.
This dish is crafted so that the umami of each ingredient is fully brought out, rather than roughly combined with cream. The pleasant harmony of spring flavors plays in the mouth.

The white asparagus and morels that came next were no exception. This is what luxury in season is all about.

Bread is served here. It is made from pesticide-free, sun-dried wheat from Fukushima, fermented with yeast from cosmos flowers, giving it a subtle floral aroma.

The main beef is from Em Farm in Nihonmatsu, a crossbreed of Kuroge Wagyu and Shorthorn cattle. It is characterized by a low melting point of fat, so it was grilled slowly to lock in the umami flavor.

No seasoning is needed anymore. The red wine paired with it is from Savigny-lès-Beaune.

The desserts are rare cheesecake and ice cream made with milk from a nearby farm, along with Fukushima's strawberry "Yuuyake Berry." They are smooth and sweet sweets paired with large strawberries.

While enjoying the final tea, it is a quiet time to reflect on the earth.
It was a place that once again made one feel the richness of Japan's countryside.

Disclaimer: All information is accurate at time of publication.

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