UENOHARA, Yamanashi – Additive-free sausages made by a master are the specialty of Hayari Terrace, a cafe just one minute’s walk from the south exit of JR Uenohara Station.
The cafe is owned by Takeshi Murakami, 39, an expert on sausages from around the world. He has even written a book on the subject. Murakami runs the cafe with his wife, Mayumi.
In November 2009, Murakami opened a restaurant serving sausages from around the world in the Ebisu district of Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, and it soon took off.
While searching for an ideal place to make a factory that would efficiently produce sausages on the outskirts of Tokyo, Murakami found a building in Uenohara that used to be a restaurant. He opened the factory there in 2014.
Although he often used to travel between Tokyo and Uenohara to operate the restaurant in Tokyo and the factory in Uenohara, he finally moved to Uenohara in April last year, impressed by the rich and varied foodstuffs available there.
Last September, he opened a cafe at the factory, hoping to make it a place where local people can drop by.
Among the cafe’s popular dishes is the Yamanashi Plate (¥1,300 (S$16.10)). The dish is served on a large plate, including the sausage of the day, a salad made from vegetables grown in Uenohara, special eggs and rice with mixed grains.
The dish is only served to five people a day and reservations are required in advance.
A hot dog option called “30 centimeters! Uenohara Hot Dog” (full portion ¥980, half portion ¥500), which uses a new sausage made with miso paste made in Uenohara, also sells well at the cafe, and Murakami said many people buy it after they eat the hot dogs.
Many people tend to associate sausages with Germany, but Murakami says there are various types around the world, including France, Italy, Mexico, Peru and China.
“Sausages are a tube-shaped food stuffed with local delicious ingredients,” Murakami said. “In a way, the food can be seen as a memory stick filled with local culinary culture.”
*Hayari Terrace
Open: Noon-5 p.m. for cafe. Sausages are sold until 7 p.m.
Closed: Thursdays
Address: 983 Arata, Uenohara, Yamanashi Prefecture
http://hayari-sausage.com/ (in Japanese)
Credit cards not accepted.
