“Motsunabe Ichifuji” starts their offal stew with a dashi made of katsuobushi and kombu kelp; after each order is placed, they add vegetables and then offal for umami. Only the small intestine of Black Hair Wagyu is used. And to top it off, in this day and age where frozen meats are commonplace, the restaurant has their ingredients delivered fresh.

Soups come in either miso, soy, or hot pot-style ponzu base; for this particular visit we tried their popular miso flavor. The recipe is a top secret that only the owner knows, and is made by blending several types of miso. The secrecy is taken up a notch in that only the experienced staff are allowed to mix the miso in. The elegant flavor of miso blooms on your palate once you sip some of the soup. Chewy morsels showcase its natural sweetness, deepened by the soup’s umami. Loads of vegetables like cabbage and burdock roots make this a healthy dish.

You’d want to order some beer and “vinegared offal” and “horse sashimi” before your stew arrives at your table. Precious innards, of which only 300g can be harvested from 1 cow, are carefully sliced into thin sheets. Offal meats are usually toothsome, but this dish has a fluffy texture. It’s served with farmer’s yuzu kosho (a peppery paste with Japanese citron), which finishes the dish with a sharp tang. The “horse sashimi” is made from meat that’s been shipped directly from Koga Farm in Kumamoto, and is popular for its sweet flavor that intensifies with each bite.