Yokochō in Japanese means small alley with copious small eateries and bars great for gatherings and/or a drink after work. At Hachinohe, there are a total of eight Yokochō. Seven out of eight Yokochō have existed long ago since the Showa period. The Hachinohe Yataimura Miroku Yokochō (八戸屋台村みろく横丁), on the other hand, was only created in response to the opening of the Hachinohe Shinkansen Station.
In contrast to the other seven Yokochō in the city center, the eateries in Hachinohe Yataimura Miroku Yokochō are just stalls with transparent walls. This is good for us tourists because it won’t be too hard to figure out what dishes the restaurant serves!
A great thing about Hachinohe Yataimura Miroku Yokochō is the variety of restaurants. The association controls the types of restaurants that want to station here. You shouldn’t find more than two restaurants offering similar menus at the same time.
As each stall only has a small space, most stalls only have a capacity of 8 people. If the booth you are interested in is full, you can wait around, and a seat should be vacated soon.
Each Restaurant is only at Hachinohe Yataimura Miroku Yokochō for Three Years
Furthermore, one of the aims of the facility is to provide entrepreneurs with a space to test the water. Each restaurant has a three-year contract. Within three years at Hachinohe Yataimura Miroku Yokochō, they get to build up their customer base, gain a grasp of the market trend, and save funds to upgrade their stall to a restaurant somewhere else in the city.
Things to Be Aware of at Hachinohe Yataimura Miroku Yokochō
While Hachinohe Yataimura Miroku Yokochō is a great place to get a feel of the local eating culture and even strike up a conversation with the locals and the owners of the stalls, it is not vegetarian-friendly. As you can imagine, seafood (and meat) can be found everywhere in a city close to the beach like Hachinohe.
Tip: What you can do is head to the skewer stalls that do have vegetarian skewers. And if you don’t mind the seafood stock used to cook oden, you can enjoy radish, deep-fried tofu, mushrooms, and other vegetable-based dishes at an oden stall. You might also find the phrases in our Essential Japanese Travel Phrases for Vegetarians and Vegans article useful when ordering.
How to Get to Hachinohe Yataimura Miroku Yokochō
It is just a 10-minute walk away from JR Hachinohe Station (八戸駅).
Most stalls at Hachinohe Yataimura Miroku Yokochō have business hours from 4 – 6 pm onwards.
Discovering Other Attractions in Hachinohe
The city of Hachinohe is definitely one of the more unique cities in Japan. The biggest morning market in Japan is found here. The city also has a beautiful coastline that you can easily spend half a day trekking.
To find out more about what to do and where to go in Hachinohe, please refer to our Hachinohe article (=ﾟωﾟ)ﾉ.
