Japan's first cafe specializing in plums in Oarai, Ibaraki [ume cafe WAON].

  • Ibaraki
  • Eating
Ibaraki is famous for its ume (plum) festivals, such as Kairakuen, Kodokan, and Mt. In fact, there are spots where you can not only view ume blossoms but also eat them! Ume Cafe WAON is a ume specialty café run by Yoshida-ya, a long-established pickle shop that has been around since the first year of Tempo in the Edo period (1603-1868). You can enjoy a wide variety of ume dishes, from rice balls and pasta to ume sweets.
Appearance of "ume cafe WAON

ume cafe WAON" to learn about the deep appeal of ume

ume cafe WAON, a rare ume specialty store cafe in Japan, is about a 20-minute walk from Oarai Station. You can enjoy a wide variety of pickled plums, as well as meals and sweets unique to Yoshidaya, a long-established pickle shop that makes the most of the individual characteristics of each variety. As the center of Ibaraki's ume culture, the shop offers a variety of ways to enjoy ume. In addition to using Yoshitaya's pickled plums in their meals and sweets, they also use a wide variety of Ibaraki ingredients. Yoshitaya's Hitachi-no-Ume is a plum produced in Ibaraki Prefecture and developed by Yoshitaya in collaboration with the JA Tsuchiura Chiyoda Ume Club.

The store offers a complete lineup of Yoshitaya products, from pickled plums to pickles. There are nine different kinds of pickled plums to sample, so you can find the flavor you like best.
Inside "ume cafe WAON

ume cafe WAON" menu

Meals include the standard menu of ochazuke, rice balls, and pasta with a choice of nine types of pickled plums, as well as seasonal alternatives such as the spring plum viewing plate and the fall new rice set meal! For sweets, in addition to the only standard "Hitachi-no-ume roll cake with two-color ume confiture and ume jelly," you can enjoy a new menu each season. Of course, ume is used in every menu item.
Hitachino-ume roll cake with two-color ume confiture and ume jelly

Choice of 9 kinds of pickled plums!

We recommend the Yaki Onigiri Ume Chazuke and Onigiri, where you can choose your favorite pickled plums! There are a whopping nine types of pickled plums to choose from! Whether you like sour or sweet pickled plums, you can have chazuke and onigiri with your favorite pickled plums.
Ochazuke with a choice of 9 kinds of pickled plums
Onigiri rice balls with a choice of 9 kinds of pickled plums
Here are 9 kinds of umeboshi.

8th generation

With a low salt content of 10%, they are not too salty, and you can directly feel the crisp sourness of the plums that will awaken your eyes.

Sannen Ume

It is a traditional signature product of Yoshidaya. Because it is aged, the salt is absorbed and the taste is mellow. The lightly seasoned pickled plums do not lose their flavor, making the sourness and saltiness easy to enjoy. They are large and soft.

Rural pickled plums

The taste reminds one of one's grandmother's pickled plums. It is a sour and salty pickled plum that seems to blow salt on the surface as it dries.

Honey three-year ume

It has the subtle sweetness of domestic honey and the freshness of aged plums. It is Yoshidaya's most mellow side dish umeboshi. Even those who are not so fond of umeboshi can easily eat it, but it is not too sweet, and the flavor is exquisite.
8th generation
Honey three-year ume

Katsuo Ume

The flavor of dried bonito flakes makes this umeboshi appetizing. Usually made with smaller plums, Yoshikodaya's is based on three-year old plums, which are thicker and larger in size. The aftertaste is clean and refreshing, with a hint of a more seaside flavor.

Shiso pickled three-year ume

This fruity red pickled plum is made by marinating matured three-year ume with natural shiso extract. Recommended for those who like red pickled plums with shiso flavor.

Sweet Ume

It is like a plum dessert! Honey flavored snack umeboshi with extremely low salt content. Individually packaged, these pickled plums are effective in relieving fatigue and can be easily eaten at the office or while traveling.

Gift of Ibaraki

These pickled plums are made from "Kaga Jizo," an Ibaraki premium variety for which Kasumigaura City in Ibaraki Prefecture has been designated as a breeding ground. It is characterized by its large size, thin skin and soft flesh, and rich flavor. The aftertaste of plums lingers in the mouth even after eating.

UMEFULL

Made from plums and fruits grown in Ibaraki Prefecture. Kaga Jizo," with its thin skin and melt-in-your-mouth flesh, is pickled in the juice of Okkuji apples, Hokota melons, and Hitachiota grapes. It is a new type of refreshing sweet with a soft fruit aroma despite being pickled plums.
Shiso pickled three-year ume
Gift of Ibaraki

Sanpo Sangyo × Yoshikodaya Ume-Shirasu Yuba Pasta

Sanpo Sangyo x Yoshikodaya Ume-Shirasu Yuba Pasta, which uses yuba as pasta noodles, is also popular! This cream sauce pasta, made in collaboration with Sanpo Sangyo, a yuba and tofu specialty store in Ibaraki Prefecture, is topped with pickled plums.
Sanpo Sangyo × Yoshikodaya Ume-Shirasu Yuba Pasta

Enjoy a refreshing plum menu in Ibaraki

We introduced ume cafe WAON, a cafe specializing in ume that ume lovers can't get enough of. There are various types and flavors of pickled plums, and it will be fun to compare them. Why don't you visit us in Ibaraki to enjoy pickled plums in a way that only a long-established pickle shop can devise?
JR East View Dynamic Rail Package" for train + accommodation in Ibaraki area.
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