Incredible Hot Dog and Butcher Shop

I am happy to report that there are a lot of good places to buy sausages and weiners around Ibaraki. I have written about a few of them in the past. Twin Peaks has an excellent sausage plate at the brewery, Tsukuba Ham is pretty good, Metzgerei Tamon in Mito makes excellent sausages and hot dogs. I love hot dogs and sausages. It is always great to find a new hot dog or sausage place. I was craving a hot dog recently when I remembered a recommendation from a few friends who live in Tsukuba. They told me that I had to try this place, and that I would not forget how delicious their hot dogs were. Last Saturday, I decided to take a little trip to Tsukuba and that is how I found myself at Ham Koubou Hisamatsu.

Ham Koubou Hisamatsu

Ham Koubou Hisamatsu is a small butcher shop in the Sakemaru area of Tsukuba. My friend who recommended this place also told me that Hismatsu has won many awards in Germany for their meat, and that the family who runs this place is 4th generation pig farmers. That is a lot of history and experience. The left side of the building is the butcher area, and the right is the eat-in area. If you decide to visit Hisamatsu, I should warn you that it is better to come by bike or car. There is nothing around Hisamatsu except some houses and a lot of farmland. Once you navigate through the winding streets like I did, look for the German flags waving by the shop and park your car or bike across the butcher area.
For this adventure, I was unfortunately alone. My wife was working and could not join me for some hot dog goodness. Don't worry, I did bring back some sausages and salami for her to try.
After parking my car, I walked inside the big wooden door at Hisamatsu.

Inside

Once I walked inside, I liked the decor and atmosphere of the place. Everything was made of wood, with German things around the eat-in area. In the eat-in area, there are stools by a wooden counter to eat your hot dog or sausage plate. I think there were about five stools, so not many. But there are wooden picnic tables outside in case it gets too crowded inside. There is a small open refrigerator in the middle of the eat-in area, which has an array of sausages, bacon, and different meats to take home.
After checking everything out, I approached the ordering counter and looked at the menu.

The Menu

The menu isn't that big, actually, there are only three menu items. The hot dog, the sausage plate, and German beer. There is also a small separate menu, but that is the butcher menu, which has ham, salami, and prosciutto. The butcher's menu is all by the grams.
I came for one reason and one reason only. The hot dog. That is what I ordered.

Tsukuba Dog

After ordering the hot dog, I grabbed a stool and waited. A few minutes later, the staff member by the register called me over and presented me with a beautiful-looking hot dog. This hot dog had a very long sausage between two pretzel buns. Inside the buns were mustard and mustard seeds. On top of the sausage was relish (I think) and ketchup. By the way, the ketchup is optional.
I grabbed the pretzel buns, and they were warm. The staff member warmed them up in a cute little oven, so I didn't have to eat cold buns. I took a bite out of the sausage first. Look at how long that sausage is! There is no way I can fit all that plus the buns in one bite. After taking a bite of the sausage, I got a taste of a meaty, fresh, and delicious sausage with a hint of some herbs in it. It was incredible. After a few bites, I was able to try the buns, mustard, relish, and everything else on the hot dog. After tasting that amazing pretzel bun, which was a bit hard on the outside but soft and warm on the inside, with that amazing mustard, and that tasty relish, I have to admit that this hot dog may be one of the top hot dogs in all of Ibaraki. It is certainly high up on my list. I loved every bite of my hot dog. I can't wait to have it again. I hope I can bring Mrs. Ibaraki Eats during Golden Week so she can try this fantastic hot dog.
After finishing my hot dog, I had to get going, but not before I took some meat home. I grabbed 100 grams of salami and some sausage to take home.

Salami

I had made a salad for dinner later that evening when Mrs. Ibaraki Eats came home. I told her about my adventure and introduced her to the salami I bought. Hisamatsu's salami is amazing. What I love about it is that it has the right balance of meaty and salty. My wife and I enjoyed the salami with our salad. I kind of regret my dinner choice. I should have made a pizza and used the salami for that pizza. Oh well, there is always next time.

Herb Wiener

A few days later, my wife and I decided to have hot dogs at home. I had bought some herb wieners from Hisamatsu, and we decided to use them for our at home hot dogs. We had to use regular Japanese-style hot dog buns from our local supermarket, which was a bit of a bummer, but the wieners were a huge hit with my wife. She loved how there were a bunch of different spices and herbs in the wiener and how soft they were. We added some ketchup and mustard and enjoyed our amazing hot dog dinner.

Hisamatsu, you are an amazing butcher shop. I can't wait to visit you again, hopefully during Golden Week. I plan to bring Mrs. Ibaraki Eats, and we plan to have some hot dogs with some of that German beer you have on the menu. See you soon!

So if you are around Tsukuba and are looking for a tasty hot dog for lunch, why not give Ham Koubou Hisamatsu a chance? Who knows? You might see us there. Enjoying some fantastic hot dogs while sipping on German beer.
Enjoy!

For more information on Ham Koubou Hisamatsu, check out their Instagram page:
https://www.instagram.com/ham_hisamatsu/?hl=en