Kamameshi rice dish (Kamameshi "釜飯")
A traditional rice dish served in an individual small pot

First of all, the presentation of the dish is very attractive. It is served individually in a mini "hagama" traditional rice cooker.
Before the diffusion of the gas stoves, a cooking stove called "kamado", which is like a hearth surrounded by walls made of clay, was widely used in Japan. "Hagama" is a cookware specially made to cook rice with "kamado". It has a brim around it to fix itself to the "kamado", and the lid is made of wood which is thick and heavy to give pressure on rice while cooking. Nowadays, most of the Japanese people cook rice using an electric rice-cooker.
However, this traditional pair for cooking rice is still alive in the world of "kama-meshi" in a miniaturized scale. Rice is cooked with the ingredients of your choice in the mini "hagama", and when ready it is placed on the wooden "kamado" like stand, and brought to your table. What the diners do after being served is; opening the wooden lid, stirring the rice and ingredients with a scoop, and dishing up the rice into a small rice bowl. This process is also a part of the delightful moment on “kamameshi” dining. Of course, the taste of the rice which absorbs the essence of the ingredients cooked together with is superb. “Kamameshi” is relatively inexpensive but it is a very luxurious way to eat rice.

More about kamameshi rice dish

History
Varieties of kamameshi rice dish
How to eat kamameshi rice dish

Restaurants which serves kamameshi rice dish

Torigin at Ginza

Add.: New Ginza Bldg. no.6, B1. Ginza 5-5-7, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 
Tel.: 03 3571 3333
Website: http://www.torigin-ginza.co.jp/list

This is the first restaurant in Ginza which started to serve kamameshi rice dish shortly after the Second World War. It has an atmosphere of old Tokyo despite of its location in the middle of Ginza - the most fashionable place in Japan -. Yakitori grilled skewered chicken is their another specialty. Kamameshi, yakitori, and sake will be a unique and unforgettable combination to end up a night in Ginza.

For some more information on this restaurant,
please visit my facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/Hiroko.Obata.Japan.Food.Tours 

(posted on the 3rd October 2015)