A combination of steaming white rice, miso soup, pickles, and grilled fish makes for a home-style meal that feels comforting and relaxing.
Near Kurashiki Municipal Kawabe Elementary School in Mabi, there is a restaurant with red lanterns hanging outside and a navy noren (traditional shop curtain) bearing the words “sake,” “rice,” and “coffee.”
The restaurant is called “Noraneko Shokudo Mabi Branch.”
It opened on August 1, 2019.
After the July 2018 Heavy Rain, RACCO, who had been organizing community meals centered around Kawabe Elementary School, opened the restaurant in response to requests from local residents.
Here’s what makes Noraneko Shokudo Mabi Branch a place you’ll want to keep coming back to!
It closed on March 31, 2022.
The information below is from when it was open.
The information presented was accurate when this article was published in August 2020. Please note that it may differ from current information.
About Noraneko Shokudo Mabi Branch
The restaurant opened on August 1, 2019, in response to comments from Mabi residents that “there are no jobs left” and from tradespeople that “there’s nowhere to get a meal,” following the July 2018 Heavy Rain.
It is about 250 meters north of Kurashiki Municipal Kawabe Elementary School, along the old Sanyo Road.
This small restaurant was created by renovating the parking area on the first floor of a home belonging to a Mabi resident whose home was damaged in the disaster.
It’s a cozy little restaurant with two four-person tables and eight counter seats, for a total of 16 seats.
▲The chairs at the tables are made from sake crates.
The interior has a nostalgic Showa-era feel and is so comfortable you’ll want to linger.
Noraneko Shokudo’s menu is packed with irresistible variety!
Noraneko Shokudo has an extensive menu, from snacks that go well with drinks to set meals that are perfect for hungry diners.
There are also home-style dishes such as salted mackerel, tonkatsu, katsu curry, and yakisoba.
In addition to the printed menu, there are strip-shaped menu cards posted on the walls.
The cat character Su-chan, hand-drawn by the owner, RACCO, is absolutely adorable.
Drinks include everything from soft drinks to beer, cocktails, and other alcoholic beverages.
Regular customers can also keep a bottle of liquor at the restaurant.
The wakame seaweed salad is made with seaweed shipped directly from Kobuchihama, Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, where the owner provided support such as serving community meals after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.
Another recommendation is the “Sanriku Street Surfer” cocktail, made with Muscat Cider from Rikuzentakata on the coast of Iwate Prefecture.
You can enjoy specialties from the Tohoku region, which has been rebuilding since the Great East Japan Earthquake.
All menu items are available throughout the day and evening, so you can enjoy drinks at lunchtime or tuck into a hearty set meal at night.
For big appetites! Set meals that will fill you up
▲The aji fry set meal is a great deal, with three pieces of fried horse mackerel.
Best of all, you can get free refills of rice with any set meal!
▲“Tokyo Tanaka’s Ginger Pork Sauté” is made with a whole slice of pork.
The recipe for this dish was provided by Tokyo Tanaka, vocalist of the rock band “MAN WITH A MISSION (Man with a Mission),” who is friends with the owner of Noraneko Shokudo!
The pork is crisp and fragrant on the outside and tender inside. Coated in a sweet sauce, it goes perfectly with rice.
▼There are six set meals (as of July 2020):
- Tokyo Tanaka’s ginger pork sauté
- Fried chicken
- Ginger-fried pork
- Aji fry
- Salted mackerel
- Chicken nanban
Each set meal comes with a main dish, white rice, miso soup, and sides such as mini chilled tofu and pickles.
You can also order just the main dish.
“Meshitori Monogatari,” a side dish made with bamboo shoots from Mabi
▲“Meshitori Monogatari,” a side dish made with bamboo shoots from Mabi
Since immediately after the July 2018 Heavy Rain, RACCO has supported recovery efforts by removing flooring from flooded homes and serving community meals.
Working together with Mabi residents, RACCO opened Noraneko Shokudo Mabi Branch as a new way to address “local employment” and “the lack of places for recovery workers to eat.”
“Meshitori Monogatari” was created by also equipping Noraneko Shokudo Mabi Branch as a place to process bamboo shoots, a Mabi specialty.
“Meshitori Monogatari” comes in two varieties: spicy, made with a kick of green chili pepper, and mild, with a miso flavor that children will enjoy too.
Enjoy it in many ways: as a snack with drinks, spooned over freshly cooked rice, or mixed into a stir-fry.
Tasty snacks that pair perfectly with drinks
“Fried corn” is a popular item on the Noraneko Shokudo menu.
The corn’s concentrated sweetness and fragrant aroma will whet your appetite.
Enjoy it while it’s piping hot and freshly fried, but be careful not to burn yourself.
▲A new menu item at Noraneko Shokudo Mabi Branch in July 2020: “Grilled Pork Tongue”
Try topping the crunchy grilled pork tongue, seasoned with black pepper, with white leek and “Meshi-tori Monogatari.”
“Grilled Pork Tongue” goes perfectly with beer!
▲Noraneko Shokudo Mabi Branch’s signature “Kaguyamochi”
Kaguyamochi is a creative dish made with “Meshi-tori Monogatari,” a side dish made with nanban miso and bamboo shoots from Mabi.
The outside is crisp, while the mochi inside is soft and chewy. The saltiness of the green chili peppers and Korean seaweed in “Meshi-tori Monogatari” makes this a spicy snack that keeps you coming back for more.
“Kaguyamochi” is also sold at outdoor stalls at events.
Hard rock music plays in the restaurant. RACCO, the owner of Noraneko Shokudo, is the vocalist in their own band.
We spoke with RACCO, who is involved in a range of activities, including music, running a restaurant, and disaster relief, about how they came to open a restaurant in Mabi.
Noraneko Shokudo Mabi Branch details
| Name | Noraneko Shokudo Mabi Branch |
|---|---|
| Address | 946-2 Kawabe, Mabi-cho, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Contact | 086-454-8865 |
| Parking | Available |
| Hours | 11:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m.–11:00 p.m. (Fridays and Saturdays only) |
| Closed | Sunday |
| Payment methods |
|
| Reservations | Accepted |
| Seating | Counter seats: 8 Four-person tables: 2 |
| Smoking | Smoking permitted |
| Restroom | Western-style toilet |
| Website | Noraneko Shokudo Mabi Branch (Instagram) |
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