Shoen in Gero, Japan: Hida Beef Teppanyaki

2015-05-09 · Updated: 2026-08-11 · Original (Korean)

This article was translated from the original Korean post with AI assistance. Read the original Korean post →

Since the goal of this trip was relaxation, I spent the whole day alternating between soaking in the hot springs and lounging around. Even after soaking in the water all day, I still wanted to stay longer. But I had to eat dinner, so I headed out around 6 PM. Before grabbing a bite, I needed to book my return train ticket for tomorrow, so I stopped by Gero Station to get that sorted.

Person standing in front of the train station ticket office and ticket gates. — It's a really small countryside train station.

My flight tomorrow is at 11 AM, so I have to take the very first train. While buying the ticket, I realized I made a huge mistake: I won't be able to eat breakfast tomorrow. Because I didn't properly calculate the distance from Nagoya Airport to Gero, I have to wake up super early and skip a proper meal. I paid a premium for a hotel rate that included breakfast, and now I can't even eat it. Figuring out travel times really is the hardest part of traveling.

Underground passage illuminated with blue lights. — This is the tunnel connecting the village and the station. The color of the lights they use at night is quite unique.

Exterior of a restaurant on a street with lights on in the dark evening. — The streets are pretty empty with hardly anyone around, but they are beautiful.

I was debating where to eat dinner, but after getting hit by the biting cold wind a couple of times, I just walked into the restaurant closest to our ryokan without even knowing what it was. The name of the place is "Songwon" in Korean, pronounced "Shoen" in Japanese (I think?). As soon as I walked in, the subtle smell of meat filled my nose, making me feel like I had come to the right place.

Interior of a restaurant with several floor tables in a tatami room. — The restaurant after a large family of about ten finished their meal. There's a separate floor-seating area just like in Korean BBQ restaurants. There's another row of tables not captured in the photo, so the place isn't as small as it looks.

Anyway, I looked to see what this place actually sold... Hida beef!!! It's a beef restaurant!!! No wonder the smell that greeted me at the door was so extraordinary. I asked the owner, and they explained in English that it's a steakhouse. The prices were quite high, but since we had some money left over, beef steak was the winner for dinner. We ordered two servings of Hida beef teppanyaki.

Restaurant menu written in Japanese and English.

Liquor and beverage menu written in Japanese.

Thinly sliced raw meat, vegetables, sauce, side dishes, and a personal grill are neatly arranged on a tray. — Hida beef teppanyaki!!

The way to eat it is by placing the beef on a buttered iron griddle, adding cabbage and bean sprouts, and then dipping it all in sauce. I'm not sure if eating it like this is strictly what they call teppanyaki, but as a country bumpkin seeing this style for the first time, I was fascinated and took a ton of photos.

A piece of marbled beef is being grilled with tongs on a personal iron plate greased with butter. — Placing the beef on the buttered iron griddle.

Cabbage, onions, bell peppers, and bean sprouts being grilled on a small stove. — Stir-frying cabbage and other vegetables alongside it.

Table setting with a grill for cooking meat on a small stove, raw meat, vegetables, and side dishes.

Pieces of red beef with clear marbling, cabbage, and butter are served on a black plate.

Beef, cabbage, and bean sprouts are being stir-fried together on a round iron plate using chopsticks. — How the chef taught us to eat Hida beef teppanyaki. Grilling and eating the beef one piece at a time just teased my appetite, but tossing all the bean sprouts in and stir-frying it like this made the portion feel hearty and tasted even better.

Maybe it's because the quality of the beef is so good, but the taste was truly incredible. Actually, I think beef is universally delicious no matter where you go in the world. This is already my second time having beef since arriving in Japan, and I never expected to eat it this often. Since this was pretty much going to be our last supper in Japan, I asked Chef Kim what the difference was between restaurants in Korea and Japan, and according to him:

"Side dishes like miso soup are cooked the exact same way in every restaurant, so they lack distinctiveness. Therefore, there are no restaurants with terrible food, but there are no restaurants with the absolute best food either. That's why places with high-quality ingredients, like this beef, are bound to be the delicious ones."

That was his explanation.

A group is eating at a dining table set with plates of meat and vegetables, a stove, beer glasses, and rice.

The portion looked small, but after stir-frying it with rice and vegetables, I was incredibly full. We just wandered in by chance, but the quality was so good that I was highly satisfied. Just like at lunch, we hardly had any food failures on this trip. You really can't ignore a chef's intuition. Of course, the food expenses were almost as high as our accommodation costs. The two of us ate for a little under 100,000 KRW.

Cozy restaurant interior with a blue curtain featuring a rabbit drawing, a wooden bench, and decorations.

In the dark night, vertical signs with the Chinese characters for Songwon are lit up on the exterior wall of the restaurant.

Quiet night street scene with a crosswalk and a shop featuring a yellow sign with a Maneki-neko drawing.

Shoen, where you can deliciously enjoy Gero's local specialty Japanese Hida beef, is visible right as you walk out of Suimeikan (our ryokan) toward the intersection. The sign isn't as conspicuous as you'd think, so it's actually easier to look for the Maneki-neko (beckoning cat) on the building next door.

After being in the water all day and then completely stuffing my belly with beef, I'm getting sleepy again.

#Gero restaurant #Truly a great restaurant with a taste I've never had before #Beef is delicious anytime anywhere #Hooray for beef