Tororo Rice Bowl Specialty Shop Kokutoya Opens at Gardens Where Hanakoko Used to Be

A “Jinenjo Tororo Rice Bowl Specialty Shop, Kokutouya” has opened in the first-floor food court at Gardens.

It’s in the spot where Japanese pasta and barley tororo restaurant “Hanakoko” used to be.(Hanakoko appears to have closed on October 22.)

※Screenshot from the official Kokutou page (2019/10/24)

Here it is on the map↓

Kokutouya’s Menu

Kokutouya specializes in tororo rice bowls.

They have all kinds of tororo rice bowls.

• Fried chicken
• Salmon avocado
• Fried chicken cheese
• Okra, nameko mushrooms, and soft-boiled egg
• Tuna yukhoe
• Grilled pork belly kabayaki-style
• Kasumi sweet shrimp special

They also have daikon soup for 100 yen. You’d definitely want to order it as a set.

Soft drinks are a bargain at 150 yen.

Final Thoughts

If you love tororo, this place is probably hard to resist.

Apparently, both the former Japanese pasta restaurant “Hanakoko” and the newly opened “Kokutouya” are operated by a company called Potomak. It seems to be run by “Kokutou,” a Japanese restaurant with its main location in Kobe. The tapioca drink specialty shop The Alley, which opened in LaLaport, is also operated by the same company.

Just to say the name one more time to be safe: it’s “Kokutouya.” Calling it “Kurojuya” would be a little embarrassing.（Also, 自然薯 is read “jinenjo.”）