Nabe Hotpot

All of Fukuoka Prefecture

Fukuoka, the birthplace of two nabe hotpot styles!

Each region of Japan has its own nabe hotpot cooking style. The classic Fukuoka styles are mizutaki and motsu hotpots. Both originated in Fukuoka and spread across the country as popular regional cuisine. The mizutaki style draws its flavor by slow-cooking chicken on the bone, with the addition of vegetables to the broth. One theory for this is that some traditional restaurants around the close of Japan’s Meiji era were inspired by consomme soup and Chinese soup. The motsu style was originally a sukiyaki-style dish with offal and Chinese leek simmered in soy sauce, but it has now become a kind of nabe hotpot with soy sauce or miso-flavored broth. The two styles share the delicious preparation of rustic ingredients, and both are fully enjoyed right up to the shime (in Japan, shime refers to the last stage of a nabe hotpot meal, where the custom is to add rice porridge, udon, or ramen noodles to the hotpot to soak up the broth). These Fukuoka specialties will warm you in body and mind.

Chicken freshly-killed each morning for mizutaki

If you want mizutaki cuisine prepared with fresh local ingredients, head to Toriden. There’s a great range of drinks available too, and you can enjoy leisurely dining in this stylish space. The dining course comes recommended – it allows you to try all kinds of Kyushu cuisine. Naturally, this includes mizutaki, but it also includes more unique local flavors such as gomasaba and toriten. Absolutely no additives are used in the mizutaki here, allowing you to enjoy the essential flavor of the ingredients (the superb broth is made from local Kyushu chicken simmered over 6 hours). This popular dining spot is always bustling with tourists and locals.

Head to Sachi for motsu cuisine with a soy sauce base

While there are a variety of styles of motsu cuisine, if you want to try motsu with a delicious soy sauce base, you should head to Sachi. Since its establishment, this motsu restaurant has been loved by local residents. The main ingredient is fresh “offal,” which is blanched, any impurites removed, and then combined with a soy-based broth made with dashi stock. This timeless flavor always makes for delicious dining, over and over again. At the end of the meal (shime), it’s recommended you add in rice porridge to make the most of the remaining broth. Pair this motsu cuisine with Kyushu shochu liquor, and enjoy to your heart's content.

For reference

Toriden, main Hakata location(Hakata-style mizutaki cuisine)

Address

1F Hakata Kojiyaban Building10-5 Shimokawabata-machi, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka-ken
Telephone

092-272-0920
Open

11:30 A.M. to 11:00 P.M. (last orders 9:30 P.M.)
Closed

No regular days of closure
Prices

Mizutaki set course: 4,800 yen (per person)
Website

http://www.toriden.com/
Access

Fukuoka Airport is a 1 hour, 50 minute flight from Haneda Airport.
Fukuoka Airport is a 2 hour, flight from Narita Airport.
Fukuoka Airport is a 1 hour flight from Itami Airport.
Fukuoka Airport is a 1 hour flight from Kansai International Airport.
Fukuoka Airport is a 2 hour, 15 minute flight from New Chitose Airport.
Fukuoka Airport is a 1 hour, 30 minute flight from Chubu Centrair International Airport.
Fukuoka Airport is a 50 minute flight from Matsuyama Airport.
Fukuoka Airport is a 45 minute flight from Miyazaki Airport.
Fukuoka Airport is a 1 hour flight from Naha Airport.
From Fukuoka Airport Station, take the subway to Nakasu Kawabata Station (10 min).
Toriden is a 3-minute walk from Nakasu Kawabata Station.

Sachi, main location(motsu-style cuisine)

Address

12-12 Yakuin 1-chome, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka
Telephone

092-751-6395
Hours

Weekdays: 5:00 P.M. to midnight (last orders 11:30 P.M.)
Sundays & holidays: 5:00 P.M. to 11:00 P.M. (last orders 10:30 P.M.)
Closed

No regular days of closure
Prices

Wagyu beef motsu-nabe: 1,100 yen (per person)
Website

http://motsu-sachi.com/
Access

From Fukuoka Airport Station, take the subway to Yakuin Odori Station (25 min).
Motsu Sachi is a 3-minute walk from Yakuin Odori Station.