Today I had lunch at a recently opened restaurant in Matsumoto.
It’s called Gusuku (城-GUSUKU) and it opened only one year and a half ago in 2022.

I was happy to find this restaurant today because a lot of the places I usually go are closed on Wednesdays.

Up to 2022 this used to be a store that sold sweets. Now it’s a restaurant where you can enjoy simple but tasty dishes.

You can choose between some snacks like pork onigiri, or red potatoes croquettes, or a more elaborated dish like Okinawa soba or Tako rice.

Today I tried this tofu and egg soba for 880 yen:

As some of you know, soba is famous in Nagano, but this kind of soba is completely different from shinshu soba as you can see from the picture below.

I was happy to find a dish with tofu and egg, and to enjoy a healthy lunch.
In fact, Okinawa is actually an area known for the longevity of the inhabitants and the food is famous for being linked to this longevity.
Some ingredients are red potatoes, tofu, eggs, bitter melon, and pork.

I plan on coming back one evening to enjoy draft Orion beer (which is difficult to find) or awamori (a liquor from Okinawa), which I have never tried with some snacks.

I never had the chance to visit Okinawa, so I was happy to find this shop and I am excited to visit again in the evening with my friends!

A message from the owner:

“We serve some Okinawan dishes, but we offer a sanzokuyaki (Matsumoto’s typical fried chicken) menu as well. We want both visitors and people from Matsumoto to come to our restaurant!”

If you go:
城-GUSUKU
3-4-16 Central, Matsumoto, Nagano 390-0811

Budget: 1000 / 2000 JPY