Hotokura Funari Kawaguchiko 餺飥蔵 歩成 河口湖店 (Fujikawaguchiko, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

This is the only day on our current trip where we needed a rental car. So, last night I already gave the team heads-up that we have to wake up very early this morning. The plan was to have the rental car picked up by 8:30am and hopefully, the paperwork won't take very long. 

But as it turned out, it wasn't the paperwork that was holding us up. It was the traffic jam en route to Kawaguchiko. Almost an extra hour was tagged on top of the one and a half hour of travel time from Tokyo to Kawaguchiko under "normal" circumstance. By the time we arrived at our lunch venue, it was already a little after noon hour.

And more waiting time ahead at Hotokura Funari Kawaguchiko (餺飥蔵 歩成 河口湖店), our lunch venue.



Hotokura Funari Kawaguchiko is a spacious restaurant near the lake that serves hoto dishes (餺飥), a miso-based noodle soup originated in Yamanashi (山梨), Japan.

Because the fact that it was built around a slope, it felt like we were climbing uphill going from the back to the front of the restaurant.

The key was to get the window tatami seat with a Mount Fuji view but it didn't happen for us as we were late getting here this afternoon. It likely didn't matter though. The sky was too cloudy and foggy today so the mountain view was almost fully blocked due to poor visibility. But at this point, no one was really paying attention to the view since it's been at least 4 hours since we last had something to eat.

Grilled abalone steak (1,430 yen) – The abalone was fairly tender but the sauce was a tad too salty for my palate.

Potato croquette (495 yen) – Everybody loved the crispy crust on the outside but the mashed potatoes could have been a little more silky (with less butter).

Ougon Hoto with chicken (1,430 yen) – Here comes the piping hot stewed flat udon noodles and vegetables served in the miso-flavored broth. I bet it's quite an experience enjoying these noodles in the freezing temperature during winter time.

This one came with chicken fillet, pumpkin, mushrooms, cabbage, bean curd, tofu and carrot. The miso flavors were really strong in this one but overall, not bad.

Ougon Hoto with pork (1,430 yen) – Same broth, udon noodles and vegetables but served with slices of fatty pork instead of chicken.

Ougon Hoto with lobster and pork (1,760 yen) – This broth was cooked with lobster head and coral so the flavors were extra strong. 

After the meal, we made Lake Kawaguchiko the first stop of our sightseeing tour near Mount Fuji. 

The clear blue skies were a welcome sight for us as we aimed to capture some stunning photographs but the persistent presence of clouds casted a shadow of doubt over our hopes of securing that perfect shot of Mount Fuji.

We all agreed that hoto dishes are probably not for everyone since the miso-broth could be a tad too strong and intense for some of us looking for a lighter and healthier diet.

Food Rating: 4.4/10

Price: ￥￥

Address: 6931 Funsatsu, Fujikawaguchiko, Minamitsuru, Yamanashi 401-0301, Japan

Tel: +81 555-25-6180

Website: www.funari.jp

Opening Hours: 11:00am - 9:00pm daily