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Shango Tonyamachi Honten

Little knownBarely documented in English. This is the kind of place the site exists for.

Researched and written by Hinato

Takasaki pastaShangoTakasakilocal foodItalian

Gunma · Takasaki

36.3506°N, 139.0091°E

Shango Tonyamachi Honten isn't trying to be a destination restaurant, which is exactly why it's worth the detour.

Takasaki calls itself a pasta town, and the reason is partly that Gunma grows a lot of wheat and partly that Shango got there first. It is not a dish that exists in Italy, and it is not trying to be.

The Tonyamachi head shop is a full old-school Italian restaurant rather than a novelty stop — the company makes its own sauces and cakes at its own factory and runs several branches around Takasaki. Portions are large by any standard, which is the other thing the town is known for. Anyone in Takasaki over about thirty has an opinion on this restaurant.

What to know before you go

When to go

Year-round

Serving hours

11:00 AM – 9:30 PM (last order 9:00 PM)

Closed: Closed Mondays (open if a national holiday, closed the following day) and the second Tuesday of the month

Time to allow

60–90 minutes

Cost

Dinner budget around ¥1,000–2,000 per person

Finding the spot

Getting there in detail

Takasaki. Short walk from Takasaki-Tonyamachi Station on the Joetsu Line. Closed Mondays — open if the Monday is a national holiday, closing the following day instead — and the second Tuesday of the month. Dinner budget around ¥1,000–2,000. Phone.

Beyond the guidebook

**Order the Shango-fu once.** Every other pasta on the menu is competent, but the cutlet-over-meat-sauce plate is the dish the town is known for and the one the restaurant was built on. Try it before ordering something more conventional. **Portions are the local joke.** Standard sizes here are large, and larger sizes exist. If you intend to eat anything else that day, order one dish between two rather than one each. **Closing days shift around holidays.** Mondays are the rest day, but a national-holiday Monday is a trading day and the following Tuesday closes instead. The second Tuesday of the month is also closed. Check the calendar rather than assuming. **There are branches.** Several other Shango locations operate around Takasaki, including roadside ones with easier parking. The Tonyamachi shop is the head restaurant, but if you are driving through, a branch serves the same food. **Fit it around the station.** Takasaki-Tonyamachi is one stop north of Takasaki on the Joetsu Line, which makes this an easy stop when changing trains rather than a detour.

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