Bus tour to Mt. Ibuki (1) - Vegan ox tongue popular among travelers

Last Sunday, my mother and I took a one-day bus tour of Enshu Railway Co., Ltd. (generally called Entetsu). This company provides many tours from Hamamatsu to all over Japan at relatively reasonable prices. This time, we were going to Mt. Ibuki on the border of Gifu Prefecture (Central Japan) and Shiga Prefecture (Kansai District). The departure time was 7:20, and the bus stop for the tour was on the south side of Entetsu Department Store.

We were glad that the weather was fine. The bus left the department store punctually and went to the parking lot near Hamamatsu-Nishi IC. They picked up some tourists who had come there by car and parked. We, who came from downtown, got off the bus and went to toilet. I thought it necessary as the bus didn’t have one. The attendant of the tour told us that Tomei (Tokyo-Nagoya) Expressway might be crowded as the holiday season had just begun. In Japan, many companies have summer holidays during Bon Festival in the middle of August.

The bus entered Tomei Expressway and passed by the north of Lake Hamana. The lakeview in the morning was wonderful. Soon we came to Aichi Prefecture, and the bus ran smoothly until Kamigo SA in Toyota, where we got off and take a rest. Service areas along an expressway usually have a restaurant and a shop providing local specialties, but it is often difficult for vegetarians and vegans to find suitable food. My mother bought a box of mackeral sushi wrapped with persimmon leaves. I went to a convenience store FamilyMart on the premises and bought a rice ball with a picked plum and inarizushi or rice stuffed into pouched of deep-fried tofu.

As the expressway was crowded around Nagoya, the bus driver took another road. I saw the big planetarium of Nagoya City Science Museum in the downtown of Nagoya and wished to visit there soon. We ate our brunch in the bus. Shortly before 11:00, we came to Yoro SA (Gifu Prefecture) in Meishin (Nagoya-Kobe) Expressway. There they sold Yasunaga-mochi, a specialty of Kuwana in Mie Prefecture. Later, I learned from Wikipedia that the manufacturer of Yasunaga-mochi, Nagamochiya Shinise (餅屋老舗), was founded in 1934, and Yasunaga-mochi was popular among travelers in Edo Period. It was also called Ushinoshita (ox tongue)-mochi because of its long shape.

According to my mother, Yasunaga-mochi is a famous sweet, but I ate it for the first time. It had a toasted color on the surface. The ingredients were glutinous rice, sugar, adzuki beans, starch syrup, and fine rice powder. It was soft and sweet and went very well with green tea served in the bus!