Having had a taste of Taicha Fukuno’s egg on rice (TKG) the other day, I searched the Internet for another restaurant specializing in egg on rice. And I found the restaurant I am introducing here. I heard it is also called “the paradise of egg on rice” by TKG fans…

Benten no Sato｜One hour by bus from Kameoka Station, Kyoto! A restaurant specializing in egg rice that is very popular among road bike touring customers

The restaurant is located deep in the mountains of Kameoka City… “Benten no Sato” on the border of Kyoto and Osaka prefectures. From Kyoto City, head to Kameoka Station, and from there take another bus for one hour. The restaurant is located on Route 423, also known as the Settan Highway, heading south, and soon to be next door to Toyono-cho in Osaka Prefecture….

On holidays, many people come to this Route 423 to enjoy touring on their road bikes. Although the restaurant is located along the national highway in a place where many old-fashioned houses stand in the neighborhood, it is crowded with many customers during lunch time on Saturdays and Sundays.

Benten no Sato has only one menu item on the menu: a set meal with egg on rice (450 yen). You can add a small bowl of fried bean curd and several other side dishes, but that is really all there is to it. The main reason why so many customers throng the restaurant on weekends is that the fresh and delicious eggs from the “Mizuho Farm” are sold directly at the restaurant, and are all-you-can-eat! The main reason is that you can eat all the fresh and delicious eggs you can get at the “Mizuho Farm Direct Sales Store” located next door!

Three types of soy sauces specially made for egg rice…can you leave the restaurant without trying them all?

Three types of soy sauce are used to bring out the flavor of the eggs: a special soy sauce for omelette rice (normal), garlic flavor, and sansho (Japanese pepper) flavor. The rice is Koshihikari rice produced locally in Kameoka. With all these conditions, any TKG fan would say, “I can’t leave until I try all three kinds of soy sauces! Don’t you think so?

So, even though I’m too much of a geek to call myself a TKG fan, I decided to try all three flavors…

First, the normal (yellow) flavor…

Then garlic flavor (white)…

And Sansho flavor (green)…

You might think “It smells like garlic…” or “Isn’t sansho spicy?” Don’t worry. Both of them are only slightly flavored so that you can’t tell if you don’t put too much of them on. So you probably won’t smell garlic inside your full face after eating. It is delicious no matter which one you put on, but my personal recommendation is the sansho flavor.

I recommend the sansho flavor. Just add a lot of eggs, pour a lot of soy sauce, stir it around, and eat it like ochazuke (rice with green tea). You can have another serving of rice for 150 yen for a medium portion or 200 yen for a large portion, so you can be sure to be satisfied with your meal for only 1,000 yen per person.

Please note that the road is closed during snowfall! To get to Benten no Sato, take the Keihan Kyoto Kotsu Bus from Kameoka Station.

Now, here are the details of the store. Restaurant data is here…

To get to Benten no Sato… First, take Keihan Kyoto Kotsu Bus No. 60 from in front of Kameoka Station to the facility called Galleria Kameoka. Here, change buses to F22 and it takes about 45 minutes to the Kamiji bus stop!

One last note. Because it is deep in the mountains, the road may be closed when it rains or snows heavily. Be sure to check the weather forecast and traffic information before visiting, especially in winter.

P.S. Deep in the mountains, inaccessible by public transportation, there is a legendary restaurant specializing in egg and rice dishes, where people have waited in line for five hours…

P.P.S. If I could eat this kind of egg rice anytime, I would be so happy…