When you think of summer in Japan, what do you think of besides the humidity and heat? If you are like me, you constantly think about the ocean. How great it would be to go for a swim, relax in the sand, and have a BBQ. What if I told you, that there was a place in Hitachi city that had a beautiful ocean view, an area for a BBQ, and you can stay in an air-conditioned room overnight? If you want to go for a swim, the beach isn't too far. There is a place like that, and that place is Outdoor Bar Kuokoa.
Outdoor Bar Kuokoa
Outdoor Bar Kuokoa is located in the Osecho area of Hitachi city. You can get there by bike from Hitachi station but it is quite a long and physically demanding ride. I recommend coming by car. If you come by car, the entrance ramp to Kuokoa is quite narrow so be careful.
The entrance to Kuokoa has two white-painted containers with a bunch of lights in-between them. It looks really pretty at night. The whole area around those containers has a sort of resort vibe to them. Music is playing on the outside speakers, there is a table and chair area, a counter area as well, and an open space for BBQing or, as the owner told me, a place for dancing when a DJ comes by. The outside is very nice, but if you feel like relaxing inside with air conditioning, Kuokoa has an indoor restaurant area as well.
Inside
Want to dine in an air-conditioned room? No problem, Kuokoa has an indoor restaurant area. There are two tables with four chairs each and a bar counter area. So this part of the restaurant can seat up to 12 people max.
Reservation Room
Remember how I wrote that the entrance is two white-painted containers? Well, one of those containers is the inside restaurant area and kitchen. The other is the reservation and overnight room. When my wife and I visited, this room was already reserved by another group so we couldn't sit inside. It is a nice comfy room with AC and a huge teddy bear. The owner told me that at least four people can stay in that room. The sofas are comfy and can be used as beds. My wife is interested in staying overnight, so I am sure we will at some point this summer. If you want to stay at Kuokoa, you have to make a reservation through the outdoor bar's website, or by phone. If you do decide to stay, you should know that Kuokoa has showers, so no need to worry about that.
The View
Make sure to check out the view while you are there. Hearing the waves crashing on the shore while enjoying a cup of coffee or a nice cold beer is a great experience. The bar is close to the street so sometimes a loud car or truck may interrupt your ocean view bliss, but it is still a nice view to check out.
The Menu
I have talked about the view and the rooms, now let us talk about the food and drinks. The menu is very extensive, so I will only talk about the main dishes. Most of the dishes look kind of artistic and healthy. There is a spicy keema curry dish, an avocado toast dish, a fish rice bowl, sandwiches, and desserts. The drinks range from soft drinks to liquor, and coffee. Sorry, no English on the menu.
Bourbon Infused Coffee
I was driving the day my wife and I visited, so no beer for me. But I decided to have some coffee that tasted like I was having a glass of bourbon. And what a tasty coffee it was. Don't worry. This coffee has no liquor in it so I was still able to drive. It did taste like I was having a strong bourbon mixed in with my coffee. I was very impressed and would like to have this coffee again.
Avocado Toast
I know some of my readers are rolling their eyes and thinking, "Really? You're going to talk about a food fad from 2010?" Yeah, it was a food fad in the States 13 years ago, but this is Japan so this once-popular dish is now making the rounds here. So how was Kuokoa's avocado toast? It was a delicious avocado toast. The avocado was very creamy with some nice spices to it. That other pink-looking sauce is Tartar sauce which I don't think it needs. This would be a delicious and healthy breakfast option in my opinion.
Keema Curry
I wasn't expecting much from this curry. I have always lived by the rule that if the curry doesn't come from a curry house or restaurant, it is going to be subpar. This keema curry surprised me. It was a very light but flavorful curry that went well with the yellow rice. My wife and I were pleasantly surprised with this curry dish and we wouldn't mind ordering it on our next visit.
Strawberry and Mascarpone Canapes
Now, this amazing-looking dish was the star of the show during our meal. At the time of writing this post, this heavenly dish was available, but I am not so sure now since strawberry season is over. The strawberry and Mascarpone canapes come with either honey or balsamic vinegar. We couldn't decide which to pick so the owner said we could do half and half. After trying both, I have to tell you to definitely get the balsamic vinegar. The Mascarpone cheese with strawberry and balsamic vinegar was a perfect mix. Biting into that sweet salty mix was like a perfect symphony of flavor in my mouth. I wanted another, I still want another.
I should mention that all the dishes come with a small side of salad. But this plate of perfection had a salad with prosciutto on it. How much better can it get?
My Wife Made This
We enjoyed our meal and time at Outdoor Bar Kuokoa. My wife is definitely making plans for us and our friends to stay there one night this summer. I am sure we will be having that delicious keema curry with hopefully, that amazing strawberry Mascarpone canapes. Then we will knock back a few beers while watching the waves crash onto the Hitachi shoreline. Sounds like an awesome evening to me.
So if you are around Hitachi city and would like to enjoy a meal with an ocean view and some great scenery, why not give Outdoor Bar Kuokoa a chance? Who knows, you might see me there, enjoying that bourbon-infused coffee while looking out at the ocean.
Enjoy!
For more information on Outdoor Bar Kuokoa, check out their website:
Update
Our Stay at Kuoka
On the long weekend of Marine Day, my wife, a few friends, and I stayed at Kuoka. We brought a tent, some change of clothes, and our hammock. That's right. We have a traveling hammock and I thank my wife every day for buying it. We also brought our drinks. If you plan to stay at Kuoka, you can bring your beer and other drinks. Of course, you can order drinks from the restaurant as well.
Four of us slept in the nice air-conditioned reservation room, which is pictured above, and one of us slept in the tent. The maximum number of people allowed to stay in the reservation room is four, so one of us needed to sleep in the tent. I'll just say that it wasn't me who stayed in the tent. I am not a camping guy OK!
Once we set up our tent and got our drinks ready, our BBQ set was coming our way.
BBQ Set
I have stayed at glamping sites before that give you mediocre food for a very expensive price. Kuoka doesn't do that. Everything in the BBQ set was amazing. Fresh-cut vegetables, Hitachi beef, oysters, chicken, and wait is that lobster?
Lobster!
That is lobster! I was shocked that there was lobster in the BBQ set. The owner set up the grill and everything we needed to start BBQing. He then went back to the kitchen and left us on our own. I was completely fine with that and we started BBQing all our meat and vegetables.
I was not disappointed. Everything in that set was delicious. The beef was very soft and flavorful, the oysters were fresh and delicious, and the lobsters were out of this world. We were given some butter for our lobster and dipping a piece of that lobster in the butter was an amazing experience.
Camp Fire
After we finished our amazing BBQ, we headed to the small spot where we would hang out by the campfire. The owner of Kuoka gave us firewood and again left us to our own devices. We started the fire, grabbed some seats, sipped on some beer, and enjoyed. The fire was pretty hot for a summer evening but there was something so relaxing about watching the campfire while sipping on a beer. The campfire is a small extra charge of 600 yen. I highly recommend getting that option if you stay at Kuoka. I did want some s'mores with my campfire but that would have to wait for another time.
After we ran out of firewood, and all the beer was gone. We all headed to our bed and tent to get some sleep. Then, my wife woke me up at 4:20 am.
Sunrise View
I am not a morning person. So being able to get up and walk at 4 am is not something I can do easily. My wife guided me to the ocean view area and there it was, a beautiful sunrise view, that I couldn't see because my eyes were half closed. After a minute or two, I willed my eyes to open a little wider and then I really saw the view. It was glorious. I implore you to check out the sunrise view. I know it will be hard to wake up for it, but if I can do it so can you. Besides, after I checked out the view, I went right back to bed.
Everyone in our group enjoyed our stay at Kuoka. The campfire was nice, the room was comfortable, and the BBQ set was magnificent.
I do have to say one thing. My wife had told me that after 17:00, we were supposed to have the place to ourselves. But a party of ten people showed up to drink and sing karaoke inside the restaurant. It was funny to hear people butchering Michael Jackson while we hung out by the campfire but a little uncomfortable. It was also difficult to order anything because every time I went inside to order a drink, it felt like I was crashing a party and the staff didn't help matters. My wife was not happy about that at all.
Besides that, our group had a great time at Kuoka!
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