At night in Nakasu, Fukuoka, you may find yourself drawn to a delicious aroma drifting out of nowhere and come upon a bustling motsunabe restaurant about 10 minutes from the main street. Founded in 1978, Motsuko is a long-established restaurant that has supported Hakata's motsunabe culture for many years.

The soup for the signature dish, Motsunabe, is a unique recipe that is similar to Mizutaki. The taste, which the founder perfected after much trial and error, is still passed down and continues to evolve under the second-generation owner, Matsuo Kazuhide. Let's unravel the origins of Motsuko, which was born in the city of Hakata.

Founding Vision

Motsunabe is said to have originated as a stamina meal eaten by miners from around 1945. In the late 1970s, it began to spread as a taste for the common people in the food-rich city of Hakata. Gradually it began to be featured in the media, and by the 1990s it had become famous nationwide. It has become popular among a wide range of age groups because it is healthy and filling.

Motsuko was founded in a corner of Hakata in 1978, at a time when motsunabe culture had yet to take root. The restaurant's founder, Matsuo Yoichiro, was a businessman who had traveled to Korea and encountered dishes using offal. Offal dishes, which use innards that were once discarded, were unfamiliar to Japanese people, but he was unable to forget the taste and decided to open a restaurant with the desire to "let the people of Hakata enjoy this taste as well." Initially, the restaurant offered a variety of dishes, including a miso-based horumon nabe, but motsunabe gradually grew in popularity and eventually became established as the restaurant's signature dish.

"My father was a man of ideas and good at doing things that no one else had done, and when it came to Motsuko, he suddenly decided to start up his own restaurant. At the time, motsunabe was not widely known, so at first there were days when we didn't have a single customer. But it gradually gained popularity, and now it has become a specialty dish that represents Hakata. I grew up seeing the restaurant in operation from a close distance, so I was impressed by my father's foresight," Matsuo recalls.

Inherited taste and technique

The founder, Yoichiro, continued to research flavors together with his wife Kaoru, and established their own unique style of motsunabe, which is made with a chicken bone-based soup and vinegared soy sauce.

"The key to the flavor of Motsuko is the carefully selected domestic offal and the soup recipe, which has remained unchanged since the restaurant opened. We also serve it cooked in chicken broth and dipped in our homemade vinegar and soy sauce, like mizutaki, or with gyoza skins, which have become flavors unique to Motsuko. Our final champon dish, made with plenty of white sesame seeds, also has many fans. My mother, who is in charge of cooking, is particularly particular about the flavor, and we continue to preserve this traditional taste to this day," says Matsuo.

Soy sauce and miso are the mainstream when it comes to motsunabe, but the soup at "Motsuko" is characterized by a light seasoning that brings out the full flavor of the ingredients. Therefore, it is easy to eat not only for die-hard local fans, but also for female customers and tourists, and has gained a reputation for being "something you can eat over and over again."

Matsuo-san is creating a restaurant that meets the needs of the modern era while preserving the traditional flavors inherited from his predecessors. In order to stick to the same flavor and quality of the soup since the restaurant first opened, he manages every detail from daily purchasing to cooking.

Connecting with the local community and moving forward with the city

As an important supporter of Hakata's food culture, Matsuo also values his connections with the local community.

"We have maintained the same relationships with our suppliers for the offal, noodles, and alcohol we sell since we first opened. We sometimes have them use our restaurant when they participate in the Hakata Yamakasa Festival, and we also often get contacted by nearby hotels. In recent years, we've also had more and more foreign visitors coming to guide us around."

While adapting to changes in the environment, such as relocation due to local redevelopment, Motsuko continues to maintain its ties with the local community and move forward together with the town.

Future outlook

Currently, about 140 customers visit the store on weekdays, and the number of customers increases during tourist seasons and local events. In particular, during events such as the Hakata Dontaku festival, the store is said to be bustling with many customers from lunchtime onwards.

"We have received requests for branches, but our first priority is maintaining quality. We would like to aim for higher quality than is currently the case while preserving our traditions," says Matsuo.

About 50 years after its founding, Motsuko has continued to grow as an important presence supporting Hakata's food culture. Matsuo-san, the second-generation owner, protects the traditional flavors inherited from his predecessor while also flexibly responding to modern needs. Cherishing his deep ties with the local community, Motsuko will no doubt continue to support Hakata's food culture in the future.

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Motsunabe Specialty Restaurant Motsuko
Phone number: 092-291-5046
Address: 7-14 Tsunabacho, Hakata Ward, Fukuoka City
Access: 10 minutes walk from HOTEL RESOL TRINITY HAKATA
HP: http://motsukou.web.fc2.com/index.html
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/motsukou_hakata/
X: https://x.com/hakatamotsukou
Blog: http://motsukou.blog.fc2.com/

For details on opening hours and closing days, please check the link above.