Restaurant Mutou: A Slow, Quiet Lunch in Gero, Japan
On the way down to the village, I spotted a few foot baths. My feet were starting to ache from walking so much it felt like a hike, so finding a foot bath right there was perfect.
Here in Gero village, there are public foot baths open to everyone. Various ryokans (traditional inns) have set up small spaces in front of their shops, or right in the middle of the street. It seems the local community decided to offer a certain number of free foot baths for residents and tourists alike, and it's a really charming setup. Towels aren't provided, so you have to carry your own, but since anyone can use them, you can casually enjoy a foot bath just like popping into a coffee shop.
Watching this quiet village from the warmth of a foot bath makes your mind go completely blank.
Whether it was because of the cold weather or because everyone was inside the hot spring baths at their ryokans, almost all the foot baths were empty. Seeing the quiet streets and empty foot baths, it was definitely the off-season. Because of that, hardly any shops were open. After finishing my foot bath, I needed to grab lunch, but it was well past lunchtime and with so few places open, I started getting a little anxious. So, without overthinking it, I just walked right into an open restaurant that looked good.
The restaurant's name is Mutou (むとう).
I walked in, and the place was incredibly small. Plus, the owners were a hunched-over elderly couple. Anywhere you go in the world, this style of restaurant is either an absolute hidden gem or a total disaster where you put your spoon down after two bites. Feeling a bit nervous, it was time to choose from the menu!
After agonizing over it for about five minutes, I went with the katsudon (pork cutlet bowl), and Chef Kim chose the warm soba.
This is definitely not the kind of place where a chef chops and stir-fries like crazy, whipping up your order in five minutes flat like you see on TV. The grandma in charge of the kitchen cooks so quietly you wonder what she's even doing, and just when you think, "Ah, it's finally out," the food goes to the table next to yours. Even though it takes a long time to prepare the food, strangely, the wait doesn't feel as rushed as it would in Seoul or Nagoya. I think it's the magic of Gero, where time seems to stand still; oddly enough, the waiting time here doesn't feel wasted.
Overall, the seasoning is just right, though it has that characteristically mild Japanese taste. However, the sauce on the katsudon was very salty. It seems like they might use a store-bought sauce rather than making it from scratch. It was fine once I scraped off more than half of what was poured on top. As for the soba, Chef Kim said it was the best meal he's had in Japan and that he'd ask for the recipe if only there wasn't a language barrier. He's much pickier than I am about food cooked by others, so it must have been truly excellent.
You don't go to this restaurant because the food is fancy and gourmet like a hotel, but rather to experience the old-school atmosphere and the rustic (yet massive) meals that match it. If I had to describe it in one word, it would be "home-style."
I was really worried since we just walked in blindly, but it feels like we stumbled upon an incredible spot. I don't think there's a better place to grab lunch in Gero. Since it's a tourist town, it's mostly heavy foods meant for dinner, or just coffee shops and sandwich joints. Mutou is the only place where you can get a perfectly light lunch while also feeling the warmth of Japan through this elderly couple. I personally highly recommend it. And for the menu, I recommend the soba dishes.
Hayashi Razan, the man who put Gero on the map. I wondered just how great of a person he was, but looking at Wikipedia, he was truly remarkable. He was selected as a tutor for the Tokugawa clan, and the Hayashi family served as their teachers for generations. The Wikipedia explanation was a bit brief so I'll have to read more, but in our terms, it means they were royal tutors generation after generation. I wonder how smart he must have been and how well he educated his children to achieve that. Since a man like this called it the best hot spring in the land, it was bound to become famous...