Kozuyu A Festive Bowl at the Heart of Aizu Tradition

Kozuyu is a traditional dish handed down in the Aizu region. Indispensable at weddings, New Year, and other happy occasions, its refined dried scallop broth is deeply comforting. It has been cherished since the late Edo period as a dish of the Aizu samurai households and a feast for common people alike.

Highlights

Taro, carrot, wood ear mushroom, konjac noodles, and small wheat gluten balls are cut small and simmered in a broth made from dried scallop. Using an odd number of ingredients, such as seven or nine, to invite good fortune is also a hallmark. Far from the sea, Aizu prized dried goods as precious ingredients, and this dish is a work of wisdom that draws out their full umami. It is traditionally served in an Aizu lacquer bowl called an oohira and portioned into small red lacquer dishes called teshiozara. Kozuyu alone may be requested for refill after refill at a celebration without any rudeness, and taking many helpings has long been considered good manners.

Enjoying the Seasons

It appears especially at New Year and celebrations, though in recent years it can be enjoyed year round at local cuisine restaurants. In winter it makes a warming bowl to enjoy between stops on an Aizu tour.

Access and Basic Information

It is served at local cuisine restaurants and inns in Aizuwakamatsu. Around Nanukamachi Street in the city center you will find eateries that convey Aizu tradition. With its lacquer vessel, it is a dish that pleases the eye as well.

Practical Travel Notes

• Where to eat: Local cuisine restaurants and inns in Aizuwakamatsu, with eateries dotting the area around Nanukamachi Street
• Occasion: Originally for New Year, weddings, and other special days, though some shops now serve it year round
• Manners: Portion into small dishes and take repeated refills, the Aizu form of courtesy
• Vessel: Served in a red Aizu lacquer bowl, a pleasure for the eye as well

A Quick Tip

Its charm lies in a broth that is mild yet profound. Paired with a local Aizu sake, the umami of the dried ingredients stands out all the more.

Practical Information for Your Visit

• Main area where it is served: The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries' Uchi no Kyodo Ryori (Our Local Cuisine) database gives the area where the dish has been handed down as the Aizu region excluding Minamiaizu. It was once served divided between two bowls, called ichi no ju and ni no ju, and from around the Showa 60s era (the late 1980s) it came to be served in a single bowl.
• Public facility where you can taste it: At Kuuberu, the farmers' restaurant inside Michi-no-Eki Aizu Yugawa and Aizubange roadside station (78-1 Aza Gochonome, Oaza Sanome, Yugawa Village, Kawanuma District / 0241-27-8853, open 9:00-19:00, closed on the 3rd Wednesday of February), Aizu Local Cuisine Kozuyu is on the menu as a side dish for 400 yen.
• Takeaway: Ready-to-eat retort-pouch kozuyu is sold, as are kozuyu sets that even come with the traditional teshiozara serving dish.

Note: Opening hours and prices at individual shops vary from establishment to establishment.

(Sources: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Uchi no Kyodo Ryori: Kozuyu, Fukushima Prefecture; official website of Michi-no-Eki Aizu Yugawa and Aizubange; official website of Yugawa Village)

Information Sources

This article is compiled from tourism information for Aizuwakamatsu City and Fukushima Prefecture and from information published by the individual shops. Prices and product line-ups are subject to change, so please check the official information of each shop for details.

Travel Checklist

• Budget guide: From a few hundred yen a bowl, and souvenir sets are reasonably priced too
• Where to eat it: Local cuisine restaurants in Aizuwakamatsu and souvenir shops (dried ingredients and retort pouches)
• Best time of day: Both lunch and dinner, paired with other Aizu local dishes
• Avoiding the crowds: Local cuisine restaurants are busy at weekends, so book ahead or shift your visit outside peak hours
• Great to combine with: Aizu's basashi (raw horse meat) and local sake, and Aizu lacquerware tableware