Imabari’s Yakibuta Tamago Meshi: 3 Long-Established Shops Compared (Roast Pork & Egg Rice Bowl)
If you only try one local dish in Imabari — the Shikoku-side gateway of the Shimanami Kaido cycling route — make it yakibuta tamago meshi: rice topped with sliced roast pork, soft fried eggs, and a sweet-savoury sauce. Around sixty shops in the city serve their own version, but three long-established restaurants are the ones that appear on national TV again and again. Here is how they differ, so you can pick the one that suits you.
First, what is yakibuta tamago meshi?
Yakibuta tamago meshi is Imabari’s signature “B-kyu gourmet” — inexpensive, unpretentious local comfort food. It began as a quick staff meal (makanai) in the kitchen of a Chinese restaurant called Gobankaku, now closed. The cooks loved it, took it with them when they opened their own places, and over time it spread across the city; today it is said around sixty restaurants serve it.
One reason it became a local staple is speed. As a former staff meal it was built to be made fast — Japanese TV programmes have highlighted just how quickly a bowl can hit the table. That quick, filling, well-priced character is a perfect match for a hungry traveller between rides or sightseeing stops.
1. Hakurakuten — the classic, standard sweet sauce
Another old favourite that TV crews love, Hakurakuten is the place to try the “standard” Imabari flavour. Its sauce is the definitive sweet style — some say it tastes even sweeter than eel (unagi) sauce — and it has become something of a benchmark for what local yakibuta tamago meshi should taste like. The roast pork is sliced large and thin, easy to scoop with a Chinese spoon and quick to blend into the rice and egg, so almost every bite carries a piece of pork. It is a reliable, welcoming introduction to the dish.
Hakurakuten (白楽天)
Address: 4-1-19 Tokiwa-cho, Imabari City, Ehime
Tel: 0898-23-7292
Hours: 11:00–14:45 (LO 14:30) & 17:00–21:15 (LO 21:00)
Closed: Tuesdays and year-end/new-year holidays
Official site: hakurakuten.net
Read more: Full guide to Hakurakuten
2. Daikokuya Hanten — pork chopped fine for perfect mixing
Sitting along Imabari’s industrial road, Daikokuya Hanten is another shop with a long history of TV coverage. Its trademark is roast pork that is cut into small pieces from the start: the owner explains that yakibuta tamago meshi tastes best when everything is mixed together, so the pork is chopped fine to make that easier. The result is an especially well-integrated, easy-to-eat bowl. It draws customers from well beyond Ehime, and the small car park means a short queue of waiting cars is a common sight at busy times.
Daikokuya Hanten (大黒屋飯店)
Address: 6-1-23 Kitamura, Imabari City, Ehime
Tel: 0898-47-1828
Hours: 11:00–14:00
Closed: Wednesdays
Please note it is open for lunch only, so plan an early visit.
Read more: Full guide to Daikokuya Hanten
3. Shigematsu Hanten — the orthodox line and a richer flavour
Shigematsu Hanten was opened by a cook who trained at Gobankaku, the very restaurant where the dish was born, making it the “real-deal” orthodox line. Its flavour is a touch richer and more robust than the others, with generous portions that have long made it a favourite of students and working people. The savoury-sweet sauce and roast pork are wrapped together by the soft egg, and it is a dish that keeps the chopsticks moving. The walls, covered in signed boards from visiting celebrities, are a sight in themselves.
Shigematsu Hanten (重松飯店)
Address: 5-4-47 Taisho-machi, Imabari City, Ehime
Tel: 0898-22-6452
Hours: Tue–Sat 11:45–14:00 & 18:00–22:00; Sun & holidays 11:45–14:00 & 18:00–21:00
Closed: Mondays
Read more: Full guide to Shigematsu Hanten
Which one should you choose?
If you want the definitive, textbook sweet flavour and a convenient central location with lunch and dinner, go to Hakurakuten. If you love a bowl where pork, rice, and egg are fully mixed into one harmonious mouthful, aim for Daikokuya Hanten (lunch only). And if you want the orthodox original line with a richer, heartier taste — plus those famous celebrity walls — choose Shigematsu Hanten. Serious fans do all three and compare.
Traveller’s FAQ
How much does it cost? Yakibuta tamago meshi is B-kyu gourmet, so it is very affordable — typically under 1,000 yen for a bowl, depending on size and shop.
How do I order without Japanese? All three are casual local diners with photo menus; pointing works fine.
Can I do more than one in a day? It is possible if you keep portions small, but note that Daikokuya is lunch-only and Hakurakuten and Shigematsu also serve dinner — so a lunch-and-dinner “crawl” across two shops is the easiest way to compare.
How does this fit a Shimanami trip? All three are in or around Imabari city, close to the Shikoku end of the cycling route, so any of them makes an ideal refuelling stop before or after crossing the bridges.
A tasty way to remember Imabari
These three shops are the long-established names that keep appearing on national television, and locals are proud that a humble staff meal has become known all over Japan. Beyond them, the city is full of restaurants serving their own take — so the real fun is finding your own favourite bowl.
Original article in Japanese: 「焼豚玉子飯」お店によって全然違う！今治市のB級グルメが食べられる老舗有名３店
