Located a short 5 minutes walk from the Gora train station (platform to board the Hakone Tozan Train and Cable Car) at Hakone, lies the Gyoza Centre - a gyoza specialty shop. The snaking queue outside during lunch time is a huge giveaway to its popularity, so you know it's good. The Gyoza Centre is the perfect lunch stop point as you embark on your sightseeing activities in Hakone.
Gora Station Website: https://www.hakonenavi.jp/international/en/station/gora
The interiors of the Gyoza Centre has a rustic charm to it and the decorative mobiles hanging from the ceilings added a homely feeling to the shop.
There is something for everyone even for the fussiest of eaters. Delve into the divine dumplings based on your favourite fillings. We were so impressed with the fried gyozas that we went back twice in a row for lunch, and ordered 3 plates of gyozas to share each time.
You can tell that years of experience have gone into perfecting their gyozas. Look at the crisp bottoms of the gyoza skin.
We tried the Regular, Sutamina (chopped garlic fillings), Crabmeat, Shrimp, Squid, Octopus over the course of 2 days. Our pick is the Shrimp and Octopus ones but it's really hard to pick a favourite as each gyoza was packed with generous fillings of your choice with cabbage.
You can order the gyoza sets which comes with rice and miso soup, but I would highly recommend you skip the carbs so that you can have more of the gyozas instead.
Leave enough room to order some of their awesome side dishes. Gyoza Centre does their fried items so well and you can't leave without trying them. The squid tentacles were fried to perfection and the stuffed chicken wings which were crisp on the outside and juicy inside were irresistible too.
Deceptively simple, do drop by Gyoza Centre for the most delicious gyozas and a hearty lunch that will fuel you with energy to continue your sightseeing odyssey in Hakone. The perfectly crispy gyozas are seriously good despite the higher price point as expected in the touristy Hakone area.
Gyoza Centre
Address: 1300-537 Gora, Hakone, Ashigarashimo District, Kanagawa 250-0408, Japan
Opening Hours: Mon-Sun 11.30am-2.30pm/ 5-7pm, closed on Thursdays
Hakone, Japan