Delight in the high-class ingredients and sea foie gras “Filefish”! Experience the gourmet trip recommended this winter by Toba's ryokan "Bashinsui"

Article production / Mie Travel Ambassador Mio Ieda

▼Table of contents

• Enjoy the view of Pearl Road and go to an inn that prides itself on its cuisine.
• Stay in a newly renovated room in July 2023
• Plenty of seasonal seafood dishes unique to a fishing town
• Savor filefish, which becomes more delicious the colder it gets.
• Purchase only wild fish at the Toba-Shima fish market
• The large public bath has also been renovated to make it even more comfortable.
• Business information and access for Basshinsui

My name is Mio Ieda and I am Mie Travel Ambassador.

I usually travel around Mie Prefecture as a freelance writer and photographer.

In this article, I will report on my stay for 1 night and 2 days at the popular ryokan "Bashinsui" in TobaCity.

We will introduce recommended seafood gourmet foods that you should especially pay attention to this winter, so stay tuned!

Enjoy the view of Pearl Road and go to an inn that prides itself on its cuisine.

First, let me introduce how to access Mr. Basashin.

Basshinbu is a Japanese-style inn located in the fishing town of Minamitoba.

It is convenient to travel to the site by car, but there is also a free shuttle bus from the Kintetsu side exit of Toba Station (three times a day (14:30, 15:30, 16:30) *advance reservation required). If you are traveling by public transportation, please use this bus.

It takes about 20 minutes to drive in the direction of Pearl Road, and as you drive and enjoy the scenery of Pearl Road, which is a driveway overlooking the ocean, you will see a signboard, so turn left there.

After that, just follow the signs and landmarks and arrive in about 3 minutes from Pearl Road.

You can finally enter through the stately entrance with large white bricks.

Stay in a newly renovated room in July 2023

After checking in and being welcomed by the smiling and lovely staff, we will move to the room where we will be staying for the night.

Our guest rooms feature tatami mats and large beds that combine the comfort of a Japanese-style room with the livability of a Western-style room, allowing you to relax both physically and mentally.

It was just renovated in July 2023, so it's a beautiful and very comfortable space.

On this day, we arrived after sunset, so it was dark and we couldn't see the scenery, but on a clear day, you can see the beautiful stone-mirrored sea from your window, so if you want to enjoy the scenery, please come and visit us. hey.

Now, after changing into the provided yukata and taking a short break, let's head to the biggest treat of the day: dinner.

Plenty of seasonal seafood dishes unique to a fishing town

Meals will be served in the dining room "Komaitei".

Each table is separated, so you can enjoy your meal at your own pace and enjoy your privacy.

The cuisine is creative Kaiseki cuisine that incorporates not only Japanese cuisine but also the essence of French cuisine.

So, first of all, let's take a look at the contents of this luxurious dish.

How about this assortment? There are plenty of seasonal flavors that can only be found in a fishing town.

This day's course begins with an aperitif,

• Appetizer - Salted and spicy octopus with sea urchin flavor, taro with sesame sauce, ginkgo nuts, mukago pine needles, horse mackerel with truffle, roasted chestnut castella, lotus root chips
• Sashimi - Today's sashimi
• Mukai duck loin pastrami with truffle sauce
• Tableware - rich shrimp soup, spiny lobster, and white onion shabu-shabu
• Special plate - steamed oysters
• Chilled bowl - cold simmered seasonal vegetables
• Medium plate - Seafood pie wrapped in pumpkin cream
• Fried food - fried oysters with sesame mustard sauce
• Spices: black sesame burdock pickles, nozawana and cabbage pickled in wasabi
• Rice - Koshihikari rice from Mie Prefecture
• Aquatic food - Matcha milk pudding

(The sashimi and steamed oysters pictured are for two people).

Savor filefish, which becomes more delicious the colder it gets.

The most recommended item is the sashimi made from filefish caught in the local sea.

Also known as ``foie gras of the sea,'' the liver (the one in the yellow bowl on the left in the image above), which gets fatter and thicker the colder it gets, is dissolved in ponzu soy sauce and served with a little bit of ususukuri.

The melt-in-your-mouth flavor of the liver combines with the light yet elastic white meat for an outstanding taste!

The white meat alone has a subtle sweetness and is very elegant, but adding the liver ponzu sauce gives it a rich flavor that instantly elevates it into an unforgettable dish.

I was left speechless by the taste, and proceeded to take two and three bites with my chopsticks.

The sashimi that day was filefish and hagatsuo (the lean meat in front of the plate).

Hagatsuo, also known as ``foxbonito,'' is a fish that has a lot of fat like fatty tuna, but has a refreshing taste that is less addictive than bonito.

As I was eating, I was groaning at the deliciousness of dishes made with seasonal seafood caught in the Toba-Shima region, such as steamed oysters and fried oysters from local Uramura, and pumpkin cream seafood pie wraps (lol). appeared with steam rising.

As soon as you open the lid, the whole area is filled with the scent of spiny lobster!

This is a hotpot dish in which lobster meat, white onions, and mizuna mustard are simmered in a rich soup stock made from the heads and shells of lobsters.

At first glance, the ingredients may seem unsatisfying, but since this is a dish where you can enjoy the rich spiny lobster soup stock, they actually make enough of an impact.

You can cook it thoroughly, or you can quickly dip it into the soup stock to preserve its texture, depending on your preference.

If you pour the stock over white rice and eat it, it will end up filling you up even though you are full.

I am proud of the skill of this pot, which I am proud of and took a year to complete.

After this, we had a hearty dessert and thanked everyone for the feast.

My stomach is so full that I can't eat anymore...

Purchase only wild fish at the Toba-Shima fish market

In Toba-Shima, many dishes center around oysters and spiny lobsters in the winter, but the ingredient Basashin-san recommends this winter is filefish.

Filefish is often eaten boiled, but the reason you can eat it raw, including the liver, is because the inn is located near the fishing grounds.

Mr. Tsuji, the representative director in charge of purchasing,

“We want you to enjoy a meal that is surprising and memorable.”

Starting early in the morning, I visit Toba-Shima's fish markets, including the local Ishigami fish market, as well as the Wagu market in ShimaCity, and directly participate in the auctions, purchasing seasonal and local products.

Only wild fish are purchased.

Therefore, in addition to filefish, we also proactively purchase and offer fish that are not often found at general fish stores, such as cherry sea bream, pepper sea bream, and sardine sea bream.

``Bashinsei-san saved me a rare fish,'' he says, and now he is respected by the people at the market.

If you want to fully enjoy the bounty of the sea in Toba-Shima, which is a treasure trove of seafood, there are a number of dishes that you must try.

The large public bath has also been renovated to make it even more comfortable.

In December, the large public bath and private open-air bath were renovated, making the inn even more comfortable and comfortable.

Be sure to visit Basshinsui this winter to enjoy our signature cuisine and warm, homely hospitality.

It is sure to be a memorable trip.

Business information and access for Basshinsui

[Address] 1850-33 Uramuracho TobaCity

[Telephone number] 0599-32-6100 (Reception hours 10:00-18:00)

[Access by public transportation]

・About 25 minutes by free shuttle bus from JR/Kintetsu Toba Station

[Access by car]

・About 30 minutes by car from Ise Futami-Toba Line "Toba IC"

[Parking] Available (free)

[Price] Ponzu sauce with filefish liver, plus oysters and spiny lobsters 2 people/1 room (price per adult) ¥20,100 (tax included) ~

[URL] Click here for the official website