Eat

Tataki no Ikkyu Tsuchiura Branch

Tataki no Ikkyu Tsuchiura is an uncommon restaurant that combines warayaki (a cooking method that sears the surface of food with straw fire) from Kochi Prefecture and Ibaraki ingredients. The restaurant's most highly recommended dish is the fragrant warayaki bonito. Ibaraki Prefecture has a strong bonito-eating culture and the highest consumption of this fish in the entire country. Additionally, the restaurant specializes in local ingredients with a menu that includes straw-roasted Tsukuba chicken, braised Hitachi no Kagayaki (Ibaraki pork brand), fresh Kujihama whitebait, and Tsuchiura lotus root tempura. They even offer desserts made with dried sweet potatoes from Kurosawa Farm, which has a history of winning first place for its products. The restaurant is also committed to the quality of its alcohol menu, serving Japanese whiskies such as the rare Yamazaki and Hakushu, as well as Japanese sake collected from various sake breweries within the prefecture.

Hitachi Wagyu Beef Hitachino

This restaurant serves a range of beef dishes including yakiniku (Japanese-style grill your own meat), sukiyaki, steak and barbecue dishes. The restaurant uses Hitachi Wagyu Beef and charcoal made from oak trees grown on Mount Tsukuba.
The food isn't the only thing that draws people to Hitachino - the restaurant itself is built in a traditional Japanese style with a steep thatched roof and offers great views of the Mount Tsukuba area, whatever the time of year.