Today, I finally went north of Tokyo with two places in mind: Numata and Niigata. This would be a day trip, so I would need to be back in Tokyo by midnight.

Tonkatsu Tomita

My first stop was Numata. Numata is special because it is adjacent to Maebashi, which is known as the “city of pork.” Ever since watching Chris Broad’s video on a restaurant called “Tonkatsu Tomita” in Numata, I’ve wanted to visit and try it out. I was determined to make this my lunch.

Funnily enough, I was in Kagoshima a few weeks earlier, famous for its 黒豚, or kurobuta pork, so I was already spoiled for choice when it comes to well-renowned tonkatsu.

I left Tokyo around 11 a.m. and boarded the Shinkansen towards Takasaki. Mid-transit, I realized that I had forgotten to tap my Suica card when I went through the Shinkansen gates (as I had transferred from a JR line). I knew that would cause issues when I arrived in Takasaki and my transfer window to the next train was very tight.

My suspicions were confirmed as I got the red light of shame from the Shinkansen gate. I was able to quickly resolve it by bringing my remaining ticket and Suica card to the nearby office. I quickly walked to the next train platform and made it in with about 3 seconds to spare. The next train wouldn’t arrive for another hour, so this really did matter. If I didn’t make this train, I probably would’ve given up on Numata. At this point, I was the only foreigner on the train, which gave me hope that I had truly found a hidden gem and not an overhyped restaurant catering to tourists.

Just under another hour later, and I arrived at Numata Station. From here, I took a bus to Tonkatsu Tomita. Conveniently, the bus stop is directly in front of the restaurant.

I was worried that the restaurant would be extremely crowded. Several times on this trip, I’ve gone to restaurants a bit off the beaten path just to be greeted with a line out the door. I didn’t have as much time to spare today unfortunately, so I was pleasantly surprised to arrive to a waiting list with only a few people ahead of me. It seems like this place is fairly popular with the locals, as pretty much every other customer drove there with their car. The waiting list even asks for your license plate number.

My wait was fairly short and I was taken into the dining area. You can be seated at a table or on a tatami mat. The tatami seating has a clear view of the surrounding mountain range. I sat at a table, but could still see the outside from where I was seated.

The menu had a few options for tonkatsu set meals: filets and loins, each with two size options. Filets are more tender and lean, with a milder flavor, while loins are more flavorful with more marbling. Loins are the traditional tonkatsu experience, so I went with that. My meal was served with cabbage, miso soup, and salad. It also came with sauce, lemon slice, and mustard for the pork.

After a trip with several exceptional tonkatsu experiences, it’s hard for me to rank them, but this was definitely a highlight. Tonkatsu Tomita definitely delivered on a delicious meal with an impressive atmosphere to boot. It was a long journey to get here, but it was certainly worth it. If you’re headed up towards Niigata and have some extra time on your hands, it’s worth visiting. That said, I understand that Numata is far out of the way for most itineraries, so don’t feel pressured to go. There are plenty of high quality tonkatsu restaurants across Japan and if you’re a tourist, your time is valuable.

Niigata

From Tonkatsu Tomita, I took a bus towards Jōmō-Kōgen Station, a Shinkansen station just north of Numata Station. I was the only one waiting on the platform. Once my bullet train arrived, it was a 40 minute train to Niigata.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew very little about Niigata and wanted to go in relatively fresh. The little I knew came from Chris Broad’s video on Niigata’s sake vending machines and the Japanese music group “Negicco,” who are locals to Niigata and often act as ambassadors for the city.

At this point, it’s about 5 p.m., so I would need to make haste. After getting my station stamps from Niigata Station, I took a bus towards Tower Records Niigata. For those who don’t know, while Tower Records in the United States went the way of the dinosaurs, Tower Records Japan went independent before the bankruptcy, meaning there are plenty of stores across Japan. I wanted to see their selection of Negicco music.

I was happy to see a small rack dedicated to the group towards the back corner of the store, adorned with handwritten notes from the group.

I picked up two 7” albums from Kaede, one of Negicco’s members.

From here, I took a bus back to Niigata Station to try the famous sake vending machines. This place is called Ponshukan. It’s nestled within Niigata Station, outside the gates by Hotel Mets. It can be a bit difficult to find, so you may need to ask an information counter for assistance.

For 500 yen, you’re given a small cup and five tokens. You’re greeted with a wall of over one-hundred sake dispensers. Some are one token, while others cost more.

With my five tokens, I sampled three different sakes. First, I tried 巻機　純 (#60), or Makihata Jun. Next, I tried 天領盃　冴 (#1), or Tenryohai Sae. I picked this one just because it was the very first one. Finally, I spent my last two tokens on 彌彦　極 (#22), or Yahiko Kiwami, as it was ranked as the most popular sake. I’m by no means a sake connoisseur (and I don’t remember anything about each sample I had), so I can’t give my thoughts on them, but I enjoyed the experience. Once finished, I returned my sake cup and set my sights on dinner.

I wanted to try one of Niigata’s specialty dishes, hegi soba, soba noodles made with seaweed and presented in bundles. I went to a place called Suzakaya Soba, which was a short walk from Niigata Station.

Finally, I went to the Furumachidori neighborhood by bus. Negicco has done a few concerts in this area and one of the members painted a mural here as well.

At this point, I’d like to note that the transit in Niigata is mostly buses, at least from my experience. While there are JR lines, I didn’t find any opportunities to take them. At Niigata Station, there is a massive bus terminal, but be sure to know which stop number to look for and which side of the street it’s on, since you’ll need to wait for the walk signal.

The Return Trip

At about 8 p.m., I bought my Shinkansen tickets on the second to last train back to Tokyo Station. I was traveling the full length of the Joetsu Shinkansen line (about two hours), so I decided to try the GranClass car for the first time. Either because of the route or the time of day, meal service was unavailable, meaning my ticket was discounted.

In GranClass, you’re treated to a luxury reclining chair, which has extra luggage space. They even provide you with slippers for the journey. As nice as the normal seats are on a Shinkansen, GranClass is on another level. That said, it’s something I wanted to try out one time. I’ll probably stick with standard and Green Car tickets.