◉ Genre: Izakaya, Restaurant ◉ Area: Wakazono area, Kokuraminami-ku, Kitakyushu City ◉ Access: 5 minutes by car from JR Ishida Station ◉ Parking: Available ◉ Credit card payment: Accepted ◉ Frequency of use: 3 times or more ◉ Number of reviews: 1st visit On this day, I casually visited "Yamazoku Nabe Wakazono Store". ◇ Exterior and Interior This izakaya is located in Minami Wakazono-cho, Kokuraminami-ku, Kitakyushu City. It is a traditional Japanese-style restaurant with a large building and spacious parking lot. Food samples are displayed at the entrance, and the interior is spacious enough for banquets. ◇ Seating I think the seating capacity exceeds 100. ◇ Menu Composition The specialty of this restaurant is the "Yamazoku Nabe". The items I ordered are as follows: - Boneless Karaage (899 yen) → Including tax In the past, I used to visit not only with my family but also for casual drinks, but I heard someone say, "When you think of Yamazoku, you think of karaage, right?" Personally, I think of "Yamazoku Nabe and fresh squid sashimi, right?" so I quickly visited. The karaage at this restaurant has a crispy coating and juicy, tender meat. It's more lean and muscular than juicy, and it makes me think, "Is this made from breast meat instead of thigh meat?" The seasoning is simple, and the portion is generous. Regardless of what someone else says, I thought, "Hmm, it's different from before." But in the end, I always end up stuffed with Yamazoku Nabe. ◆ Strong Points I still love the Yamazoku Nabe! ◆ Service Average. ◆ Summary Again, everyone has different impressions of food. It's natural, but what about those self-proclaimed gourmets who openly criticize others, saying, "That person has a terrible palate"? Laugh. This is a place where you can enjoy a delicious meal with family or a large group around a hot pot. Laugh. But today, they still said, "We don't have squid today." Okay! Maybe I'll limit it to one photo for the experiment. Thank you for the meal.

Today, I had lunch with a friend after finishing up some errands. We decided to have the mountain bandit hot pot at a restaurant with a spacious parking lot and interior. Even though there were many lunch options, both of us wanted to have sashimi and tempura, so we ordered the Tempura and Sashimi Set for 1100 yen. It included sashimi, tempura, agar jelly, steamed egg custard, miso soup, rice, and pickles. Everything was delicious. Also, for lunch, you can help yourself to coffee, but there was no cream so I didn't have any. Thank you for the meal!

I was really curious about the big sign that said "Live Squid Sashimi" visible from the urban expressway, so I decided to stop by to satisfy my curiosity. The entrance is through the other side of the prefectural road 51 Ishida intersection, past a group of what looks like public housing buildings. I arrived at 5:10 PM, walked through the entrance, and exclaimed, "I'll have that!" However, 5 seconds later, I was shocked to see the live squid tank empty. The staff informed me that they rarely have squid in stock these days, and even if they do, it's only in small quantities. Disappointed, I decided to just have some drinks and ordered some fried food, which was delicious, and some raw turban shell sashimi. The rest of the food was average. Goodbye Yanzoku, I am a pirate, affiliated with Hotel Moscow. PayPay is accepted here.

Visited in late May 2020. Turned from the north towards Yokodai area and found it in Wakazono. Sat in the back parlor and ordered a hot pot, sashimi, beer, etc. The slightly rich hot pot had a satisfying broth that seeped into the ingredients. Everything was delicious, but I wish the pumpkin was cut a little smaller. The drinks were a bit pricey, but the food was so good that it didn't bother me. I would like to visit again.

I visited for lunch. It's a place called "Sanzoku Nabe" where you can enjoy various dishes. The restaurant has spacious tatami seating. The lunch set comes with coffee, so I was able to relax. It's also great for families. I would like to visit again.

Today, I ordered motsunabe at a hot pot restaurant for the sixth time and also got the rice set. I wanted to try the new menu item, horumon yaki nabe, but since it's still cold in late March, I opted for the hot pot instead. The motsu was delicious, but I was still hungry so I added some udon noodles.

On my fifth visit to the restaurant, it wasn't too cold and even though it's a hot pot restaurant, this time I had squid sashimi, fried blowfish, and the "Yamabushi Gozen" set meal. The squid sashimi was listed as market price on the menu, with a price of 2,200 yen excluding tax, but on that day it was 4,200 yen excluding tax. I still wanted to try the squid sashimi so I ordered it, but I was disappointed when it arrived as just raw sashimi without the additional dish I was expecting. I had also ordered the "Yamabushi Gozen" and my favorite blowfish tempura. The "Yamabushi Gozen" turned out to be a set meal with tempura in dipping sauce. The tempura, blowfish, and deep-fried tofu in sauce were tasty, but when I looked at the total bill, it came to 6,674 yen including tax. I won't be ordering the squid sashimi again since it's market price and I don't know what to expect.

During the day it was a little warm, but the cold weather still continues, so for the fourth time I had kimchi hot pot and tuna sushi. Kimchi hot pot was quite good, and when the cold weather returns, I will either have kimchi hot pot again or try a hot pot that I haven't eaten before.

I had motsunabe for the third time, fresh sazae sashimi, fugu karaage, and oyster fry. The fugu karaage and oyster fry are limited to winter season, so I made sure to try them since they won't be available until next winter. The total cost was in the 5,000 yen range. (lol)

The restaurant now accepts credit cards and PayPay (although only the "president" can operate the credit card machine). I ordered the usual sashimi with live squid and turban shell, and I was very satisfied. Since the restaurant is often crowded with families, those looking for a more formal atmosphere for business meetings or entertaining may want to reserve a private room.

As indicated, this place is known for its bandit pot and fried chicken, but we have only tried sashimi dishes such as "live squid sashimi" at this restaurant. Highly recommended is the "live squid sashimi" written along with the bandit pot sign on the roadside. There is a fish tank near the entrance of the restaurant where they prepare the live squid for you. When we visited in mid-April, it was just the beginning of the squid season, and we were served thick, translucent squid. The remaining parts were made into tempura, and we enjoyed them hot and delicious. Other dishes like "Kanmon octopus" and raw sazae are also delicious. Squid cannot be caught when the sea is rough, so if you really want to try "live squid," be sure to inquire by phone in advance. The restaurant is spacious, so it is unlikely to be fully booked except during Golden Week or year-end party seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

I had duck hot pot, mountain thief rice ball, and grated yam on a hot plate at the restaurant, and it was delicious. I definitely want to visit again. As the cold weather continues, let's take care of our health.

I went to a hot pot restaurant for the first time and ordered only the tenju (tempura rice bowl). When it gets colder, I will try the hot pot.

The live squid sashimi and pirate hot pot were delicious.

I visited this restaurant for the first time in about 10 years. When I arrived, the parking lot was full of cars. I looked around and saw that there were seats available, but the place was bustling with customers. I ordered the bandit hot pot that I had been wanting to try for a long time. It was a huge portion and I was surprised! The cabbage was not cut and each leaf was placed on a plate, everything was big! I tore the cabbage leaves by hand and put them in the pot. It was unusual to have pumpkin and eggplant in the hot pot. It takes a bit of time to finish due to the large portion. In the meantime, I tried the cartilage that I had ordered. It was delicious! It's a taste that beer lovers will adore. The bandit hot pot was a bit strong in flavor but it was a satisfying taste that warmed my body. The pumpkin was soft and the eggplant was flavorful and delicious. I was very satisfied as I had been wanting to try it for a long time. I wanted to have some porridge at the end but I couldn't finish everything. I'm sorry. Thank you for the meal. I will visit for lunch next time.

Today's lunch was at Wakazono's Sanzoku Nabe main store. The tatami room is spacious with dugout kotatsu-style seating. I recommend the lunch set with soy sauce koji grilled dish. The pork steak has a rich flavor with just the right amount of fat, and the chawanmushi and miso soup have delicious broth. Two small side dishes are included, and coffee is all-you-can-drink for 950 yen.