I've come to the Hamura Intake Weir. Also the source of the Tamagawa Aqueduct, the river water is clear and beautiful. So beautiful, in fact, that it's hard to imagine it's a Tokyo river. The birds playing in the water sooth my heart.

This is the Former Shimoda Family Residence, a Nationally Designated Important Tangible Folk Cultural Property. The set of the building and the daily commodities inside are a "Nationally Designated Important Tangible Folk Cultural Property." Inside, there is a real fire in the irori hearth. Outside is the sound of firewood being chopped, and it feels like somehow I have slipped back in time.

The characters spelling out "unagi (eel)" appear suddenly before my eyes. I had to check it out. The customers in front of me were two couples, probably locals. I sat at the counter.

I ordered the Grilled Unaju Lunch for 1,600 yen, Sanriku oysters for 600 yen, and a Hakkaisan sake for 800 yen. Since it's lunch, the unagi is a bit small. I was not at all expecting my first lunch in Hamura to be raw oysters and unagi. But these kinds of surprises are the real pleasure of traveling. Thank you for lunch!

After getting my fill with unagi and oysters and having some sake and enjoying myself, I headed next to "54 CAFE and CREPE." I ordered the "Hamura Rice Crepe," a cheap local food in Hamura. The crepe batter with rice flour is not that thick, but it has a great chewy texture and is just slightly sweet. It is pretty filling.

I headed out into the town at night in search of the "Ham Rice Burger," the pioneer of ham rice cuisine. I headed to "Daytona Café," a shop 5 minutes on foot from Ozaku Station.

I ordered a "Ham Rice Burger with Poached Egg" at Daytona Café. The rice buns are thoroughly grilled so that can be picked up, so they are a bit hard. Thanks to this, the burger can be eaten easily with a knife and fork. The combination of the sourness of the mustard sauce spread on the bottom and the saltiness of the bacon is phenomenal. This is delicious!

Exploring Hamura Zoo. A red panda focused on its food. The scene of the red panda holding back the bamboo is so irresistibly cute! "The red panda looked my way! Yay!" I thought excitedly to myself. Too cute.

The hamsters at Hamura Zoo. There are so many!

About 10 minutes on foot from Hamura Station. Right in front of the cafe is an elementary school, and children's voices can be heard coming from the schoolyard. Inside the shop are an array of ceramic pieces. These are all the work of the owner's mother. They sold sake vessels, plates, bowls, and other items. The coffee cups used in the cafe are also apparently the work of the owner's mother.

This is the Ham Rice Risotto, a cheap local cuisine from Hamura, at "Cafe Gallery Aki." Tender asparagus, a slightly salty cheese sauce, and ham. I kept moving on this trip, so my stomach ate this up without any trouble. The seasoning was irresistible, making for a great dish.