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【Adachi Mystery Hunter】 Bunka-Fry, Cheap Sweets... Soul Food in Adachi City was cheap and nice!
2019年4月26日
December 22, 2021
A very nice day in the spring continues after finishing Toneri Park Senbon-Sakura Festival.
It has been a year since I started working as an Adachi Mystery Hunter.
I have challenged many mysteries in Adachi when I looked back my job, such as Mystery of Kenaga-hime, Shinsengumi, Kondo Isami his last 19 days, Goshuin of Kohoku Hikawa-jinja shrine and so on.
When I got in contact with Adachi residents through various interviews, what I felt was their warmth and nostalgic humanity that was being lost in modern Japan.
There were many wonderful encounters unique to downtown.
This time, the mystery is about the cheap and delicious gourmet, which also leads to Adachi attraction.
Here is a request from Adachi City Tourism and Exchange Association.
"I want you to find and introduce a cheap and delicious gourmet in Adachi! Of course, something original with no other!"
Is it just my fancy that I was treated roughly little by little?
However, I have been searching for interesting spots in Adachi for over a year, and I am a man who has solved the mystery. I will surely find it!
In the name of "Adachi Mystery Hunter"!
The ramen is 40 yen !? A candy shop run by a 86-year-old shop owner is also flourishing today
I love ramen, and Adachi is a ramen hotspot.
Each shop competes keenly, and makes ramen better, but an unbelievable information came to me, there is a ramen can be eaten at only 40 yen.
It is Sekino Shoten located in 3-15-11 Shinden, Adachi.
When I went soon straight to the place, I found a group of schoolchildren gathering the store.
Sekino Shoten is a cheap candy shop that featured on the Internet around 2015, so some people might know it, but the shop was once reported to be closed in 2016. I wonder if the shop is still open...
Still eaten! The 40-yen ramen!
At first glance, it is an old house that can not be seen as a candy shop, but you can hear from the inside "Aunt, 3 lots!" "Aunt, juice!", such a lively voice of the children.
Apparently the store is open. Looking into it, there is a woman who seems to be a shopkeeper with the children in a small space.
"I want to eat a 40-yen ramen ..."
A women kindly said to me, "Please have a seat and wait for a while ~", when she put a ramen-snack in a plastic cup, and skillfully sprinkled Tenkasu and then poured kelp soup from the pot.
And she served it with a plastic fork,
"I used to give this soup spoon, but it takes me a lot of time to wash it."
said to me.
This is a shopkeeper, Yayoko Sekino.
To my surprise, she is 86 years old.
I could tell the ramen had a familiar yet new taste.
I felt it seemed to be a real ramen despite a ramen snack, which was made with a thick kelp stock and Tenkasu topping.
"Life is fun!" The shopkeeper who led a stormy life
Yayoko was very busy with the children, while I was eating a delicious 40-yen ramen.
I dared to talk to her about how she started the shop during a pause in their conversation.
"It was 1967 when I started the shop. My husband worked at JNR (now JR), but we have run a bicycle shop as well. (bicycle repair etc. Now my son takes over it) As I also wanted to do something, I've started to run a Oden and cheap candy shop."
54 years! What a long standing shop it is!
Seems like some people come to the shop over three generations as well as two generations of the family.
She could not help talking and I could not help having interest in her story, so Yayoko-san talked away about her life a lot ....
Yayoko was born to her parents who had run a tourist home in Kumamoto Prefecture. When she was 17-18 years old, she run away from home for something with a theatrical troupe (the name seemed to be Shingetsu troupe), which stayed at the home at that time.
Along with the troupe, she traveled all over Japan and got into show business as a disciple of folk singer Fumio Otsuka.
What an eventful life she led! However, Yayoko said many times with a smile, while talking,
"Life is fun!"
After that she went to Tokyo to work at an airport in Fuchu. Then, she met her husband and started the shop, Sekino Shoten. (As there were more interesting stories, I want you to hear directly from her!)
"What makes you work even at the age of 86?" asked her.
"Because I can get energy from the children!"
said vigorously.
She is so cheerful as if I can get energy from her while talking.
Nowadays parents often bring their children, so there are also beers for adults.
I want you to go this candy shop where you can enjoy across generations.
First of all, going to the spot is a little adventure.
The nearest stations are "Nishiarai Daishi Nishi Station" "Jujo Station" "Oji Station" "Akabane Station", but it is a little tough to walk from all those stations.
I recommend taking a bus.
"40-yen ramen".
This is Adachi original food symbolizing "cheap and nice". I immediately report to the Tourism Exchange Association.
"Well, you done it! I believed Mystery hunter could surely find it! It seems a very famous shop! ... and is there anything else?"
Oh, you said more.
But, you should not underestimate my information network.
In fact, I was offered a strong information around Senju area.
| Sekino Shoten 3-15-11 Shinden, Adachi Tokyo 123-0865 (MAP [Nearest station] 3 min. walk from Shinden 2-chome bus stop |
Can't eat anymore !? Searching for rare Bunka-Fry
The only way to astonish the Tourism Exchange Association is to find Bunka-Fry.
It can be said that this Bunka-Fry is the very cheap and nice food of Adachi origin.
But Bunka-Fry is extremely rare food now.
I will introduce readers who do not know Bunka-Fry.
Bunka-fry was a very popular food among children in Adachi around 1955-65.
The well-kneaded flour dough, which is made in the shape of Koban, is battered and deep fried.
There are no ingredients inside, and you eat putting sauce plentifully on it.
Bunka-Fry was the specialty of Adachi along with Senju-no-Suzume-yaki (grilled small carps on a skewer), Botta (monja), and Kusadango.
Hasegawa Shoten in Umeda, Adachi is the birthplace of it.
A woman named Masako Hasegawa invented it, but while the recipe was kept secret, she passed away in 2006.
Since then, there have been many similar foods, but the true Bunka-Fry has disappeared from the world.
Secret recipe.
You can say that this is Adachi mystery.
I will introduce the comment of a man who actually ate Bunka-Fry when he was a child.
"I was eating on the day of Enma opening festival of Akamondera (Shosen-ji) temple where they were sold at about 10 or 20 yen. It was a bit expensive, because I could buy other cheap sweets at 1 or 2 yen at that time. So, it was a very special for me as I could only eat it at the festival. Actually, I didn't remember the taste so much (lol), but the smell of the sauce was very impressive. There were some stands selling Takoyaki or Fujitayaki made with flour at that time, but a stand selling deep fried food was very rare, so it was catching the eyes of the children. "
The only restaurant in the world you can eat this legendary Bunka-Fry is Kougetsu, which is an okonomiyaki/monjayaki restaurant in Kita-Senju.
The restaurant has bought Bunka-Fry from Hasegawa Shoten for a long time, and the owner finally revived Bunka-Fry trusting his memory of the taste after he put a lot of effort into it with his passion.
Bunka-Fry researchers also guaranteed its taste, and it became one of the specialty of the restaurant.
Oh, this is the second food that can be proud of in Adachi as the symbol of cheap and nice! When I was excited to enter Kougetsu through a shop curtain, I found a face who I have ever seen before .... it was my client of Adachi City Tourism and Exchange Association.
"Oh, hunter... I thought you would surely find this restaurant! Come on, sit down! Eat Bunka-Fry!"
I see. you are the person who knows everything about Adachi City.
No wonder that he has already known Kougetsu too, but he dared to let me dig deep into the mystery ....
Well ... Speaking of the original ....
When I took a bite of a crispy Bunka-Fry turning over in my mind, a salty and a slightly sweet taste filled my mouth.
It was strange that it had a familiar taste, despite my first eating. Somehow the scenery of the old downtown district came to my mind.
In the end, we had a very good time talking about the food of Adachi.
| Kougetsu 3-68 Senju, Adachi Tokyo 120-0034 (MAP) [Nearest Station] 3 min. walk from Kita-Senju Station |
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