Toyama’s Ebitei-Bekkan keeps traditions fresh

Toyama, home to the restaurant Ebitei-Bekkan, is the capital of Toyama Prefecture facing Toyama Bay to the north and the Tateyama range to the east in the Northern Japan Alps. While it is Japan’s second-largest regional capital in area and has a population of over 400,000, a little less than 40% of its land is habitable, and as a government-designated “environmental model city,” it is currently aiming for a “compact city” urban design. Historically, the area flourished as a castle town around Toyama Castle and had devoted followers of the Jodo Shinshu (True Pure Land) school of Buddhism. The Etchu Owara Kaze no Bon festival is held in the city’s Yatsuo district in September, and throngs of tourists come to see dancers parade through the streets until dawn.

Ebitei-Bekkan is located on the bank of the Matsukawa River, one of Japan’s top 100 cherry blossom-viewing spots. Its predecessor was a traditional restaurant that opened in 1911 under the name Ebitei. The restaurant’s fourth-generation owner-chef is Kentaro Mura. After training at the restaurant Aoyagi in Tokushima Prefecture, Mura took over the family business in 2004 following the death of his father. Ebitei-Bekkan had previously been transformed from an inn to a restaurant and hosted weddings and banquets. He remodeled the restaurant in 2009 and changed its menu as well. The culinary style featuring simmered dishes (a foundation of Japanese cuisine) and matcha did not seem to go down well with the existing customer base, however, and business had declined sharply. Still, Mura’s cuisine gradually gained attention. After a famous guidebook bestowed a high rating and the opening of the Hokuriku Shinkansen train line brought more visitors to Toyama, business flourished. But in 2018, when the restaurant was on track to expand further, Mura closed its doors.

Mura said, “It was time to rebuild the restaurant, since the structure was deteriorating with age and our financial outlook was good, so I made up my mind to go back and study cuisine again.” Though people he knew were astonished that he was starting afresh at the age of 40, Mura headed to Tokyo, where he went to work at a highly regarded Japanese restaurant. With the renewal of Ebitei-Bekkan in 2022, he made further changes to the restaurant. The atmosphere is modern and the course menu, which starts at ¥27,500 ($180) including tax, is served at a counter and in private rooms. The ingredients used are from Toyama Prefecture and other areas of the Hokuriku region. In spring, there are Japanese glass shrimp, cherry salmon and firefly squid. The winter menu includes crab as well as more unusual ingredients such as bear or boar meat. The generous use of superb antique dishes handed down over generations is a luxury unique to such a venerable establishment. Incorporating fresh ideas while preserving and carrying on tradition is an approach that matches the character of Toyama.