A Day in Omitama

Golden Week has come and gone. How was your Golden Week? As for the Ibaraki Eats Duo, we usually don't leave Ibaraki during Golden Week. Going to a different prefecture, there is way too much traffic, hotels are insanely expensive, and there are a bunch of events happening around Ibaraki that we want to check out. My wife thought about what event to go to during Golden Week and found an interesting event in Omitama City. It is at a campground and this Miami boy will finally learn how to split wood with an axe. Here is our day in Omitama.

Stihl Lumberjack Event

Last Monday, the Ibaraki Eats Duo headed to the Rokutanya Field Campsite in Omitama City to check out a lumberjack event that has been happening there for years. I wasn't sure what I was getting into since I have never used a chainsaw and I have never split wood, but I was looking forward to it.
We got to the event, and I saw two familiar faces: 29 Bar, which has excellent craft beers and makes awesome cocktails, and Agopakan, which serves delicious burgers. We decided to grab a beer and a burger and watch a few festival goers use a chainsaw. The event winner was determined by how precisely the log was cut. Unfortunately, we could not enter the chainsaw event since it was by a lottery system and we didn't win.
After we finished our burgers and beers, we decided to split wood. The staff of Stihl gave us a long axe and taught us how to hold it and bring it down. Mrs. Ibaraki Eats wanted to go first. She lifted her axe, brought it down, and completely missed the log. After her eighth attempt, she was able to split it. She then gave me the axe and let me have a turn. Let me tell you, it is not as easy as it looks. I hit the log on my first attempt, but did not split it at all. After a fourth try, I finally split the log in two. It was an amazing feeling. Once we both got the hang of it, it was a lot of fun. At the end of the event, the beer was flowing, people were conversing, and there was a big bonfire at the center of the event. We would have loved to stay until nighttime to drink with the Stihl staff, but we had to go to Ibaraki Airport.
This lumberjack event was a fun outdoor event that we hope we can attend next year. Hopefully, the Ibaraki Eats Duo can use the chainsaw next time.

We arrived at Ibaraki Airport and said goodbye to one of my wife's family members who lives in Hokkaido. Once his plane had departed, it was dinner time. My wife, myself, and my wife's older sister and husband decided to go get ramen close to the airport. Not a lot of places are open at night around Omitama, but this place was. We drove a few minutes and ended up in Kimitsu no Sakura.

Demon Slayer Sakura

Yes, this is the actual name of the restaurant. After looking at the name of the restaurant, I told my wife that the owner must be a Kimitsu no Yaiba fan. Walking into the restaurant, my suspicions were correct. The kitchen area had Demon Slayer posters, figures, and dolls of the famous anime. My wife looked around the restaurant and was a bit confused. She told me that on Google, this place was listed as a ramen restaurant, but when we looked around, the place screamed izakaya. Our group was ushered to a table, and we checked out the menu.
I usually have a picture of the menu for you, but since it was an izakaya/ramen restaurant, there was a lot on the menu. I can tell you that the menu is only in Japanese and that there was a huge drinks section, a ramen section, and everything else was izakaya food (karaage, fries, edamae, etc). The ramen section had tsukemen, maze soba, and salt ramen. The whole table ordered different ramen with a small interesting appetizer.

Horse Meat Sushi

Some of my readers may not agree with this statement, but the Japanese eat horse meat. They especially eat horse meat in Kumamoto, Kyushu. That being said, you usually don't see horse meat at local izakayas unless it is a special or something. This seemed to be a regular menu item at this place, so we decided to try it.
I have eaten horse meat before and I think it is tasty. It does need sauce though. Whether it be soy sauce, maybe ponzu, or a special type of sauce. For our horse meat sushi, we dipped it in soy sauce. I dipped mine a little bit because I wanted to really try the horse meat, and I have to say, this might be the best horse meat I have had besides my time in Kumamoto. It was soft and tender and went perfectly with the soy sauce that was at our table. I would love to have this sushi again, and so would my wife. She gave it the thumbs up and said we would have it again when we were back in Omitama.

After our horse meat sushi, our ramen came to our table.

Salt Ramen

This was Mrs. Ibaraki Eats ramen. When her ramen came to our table, I had to admit that the presentation was very nice. It looked very professional. My wife grabbed some noodles with her chopsticks and got a good slurp. She gave me the thumbs up and told me that the texture of the noodles went well with the soup. The soup wasn't too salty, and the thin noodles were great. After trying her ramen, I had to agree. The soup and noodles were great. The chashu was OK, but the salty ume on top was a nice little touch to the ramen. All and all, it was a very tasty ramen.

Maze Soba

I went with the less healthy option and got the maze soba. When it got to our table, it also had a nice presentation. I couldn't wait to dig in. I dropped a nice cooked egg in it and started mixing everything up. I slurped up some noodles and loved how the fried onions went so well with the thick noodles in my maze soba. I added some mayo, which made the maze soba taste even better. The soup at the bottom was a thick salty base that mixed well with everything in the maze soba. The one thing I will say is the cubed chashu did not feel right for this bowl of maze soba. It was a bit hard and had less flavor than my wife's chashu. I think this place should revisit what chashu to use for their maze soba.

After we all finished our ramen and talked for a bit, we decided to head home. Us heading back to Tsuchiura, and my wife's sister and husband went back to Hitachinaka. It was a lovely evening and a tasty ramen adventure. The event we went to before the restaurant was amazing. I honestly hope my wife and I can attend next year and maybe even camp at that campsite.

So if you are around Omitama and are looking for some tasty ramen, why not give Demon Slayer Sakura a chance? Also, why not check out the lumberjack event next year? Who knows? You might see us there. At the restaurant having ramen, and at the lumberjack event using the chainsaw.
Enjoy!

For more information on Rokutanya Field Campsite, check out their website:
https://www.maki-gennboku-rokutanya.com/

For more information on Demon Slayer Sakura, check out their X page:
https://x.com/kimetsunosakura