Restaurant OH! LA! HO One Paragraph Review
Restaurant OH! LA! HO is one of the best places to eat and drink beer in Japan. Of course, it’s a long way to go for most people and is only accessible by car or taxi from the nearest station, but if you’re in the area, then it comes highly recommended. Some spectacular views, with very good cheap beer and also a wide selection of dishes meant time seemed to fly by while I was there. There is no table charge; however, confusingly tax is not included in the prices so add on 8% for some of the prices.
A bit dark but really much brighter than this as my flash didn’t go off.
Restaurant OH! LA! HO Full Review
Let me get this off my chest, as I’ve been feeling guilty about this review. I first went here almost a decade ago in 2006 when my wife and I were young, childless and carefree. With time on our hands and a young labrador, Nagano has always been the perfect area for us to get away to and stopping over at Restaurant OH! LA! HO meant whoever was driving could take a break and have a beer after some hard driving on the Kan-Etsu and Jōshin-etsu expressway. For those that have driven on that road, when they’re clear, they are a breeze with some amazing views as you drive in and out of tunnels, crossing prefectural borders. When they’re bad, it’s REALLY bad. This review isn’t that old, but we did go to Nagano again in October 2015, but this time we’re older, with kids and not so care free.
With a view like this, I could stay here all day and then some.
Restaurant OH! LA! HO is the restaurant/bar for the Oh! La! Ho Beer company and it is located in Tomi city, Nagano. Located on a back road, in a small area called Agri Village, in between Tōbu-Yunemaru IC and Ueda-Sugadaira IC, the area isn’t the easiest place to get to, but with the views over the sprawling area, especially with Mt. Omuro in the background, it is a great place to relax. Oh! La! Ho know this and there is also an onsen on-site for you to rest your weary muscles from drinking. Unfortunately there didn’t appear to be a hotel on-site though there are plenty in the local vicinity with shuttle buses to and from the Agri Village.
As Restaurant OH! LA! HO is the brewpub for the Oh! La! Ho Beer company, the only beers on tap are their own beers. Not a bad thing at all as we like all of their beers. The beers come in two sizes: half pint (236ml) for ¥430 and US pint (473ml) for ¥670. Prices don’t include tax but at that price, you can’t really complain at all. It’s crazy how they can charge such cheap prices for beer produced on site when other breweries that have on-site pubs charge much more. There are five beers on tap all year round, the Oh! La! Ho Golden Ale, Oh! La! Ho Kolsch, Oh! La! Ho Pale Ale, Oh! La! Ho Amber Ale, and our particular favourite, Oh! La! Ho Captain Crow. Throughout the year, there is also the Oh! La! Ho Biere de Rydeen range of seasonal beers on tap as well.
Chips, beer, and a great view.
Foodwise, well, of course we had the BeerTengoku favourite of chips – they seem to be THE food for us now without even realising, those the ones at Restaurant OH! LA! HO were more potato wedges than chips. Along with an (un)healthy amount of bacon on top too. There are set lunch and dinner menus too, along with an eat-as-much-as-you-want option too, that also includes a drink-as-much-as-you-want option too for an additional ¥2000, which includes the Oh! La! Ho Beer range.
Restaurant OH! LA! HO Details
Open: 11:30 ~ 21:00 (Last orders 20:30) Lunch (weekdays) 11:30 ~ 14:30 (weekend) 11:30 ~ 15:00 Dinner 17:30 ~ 21:00
Closed: Wednesdays
Phone: 0268-64-0003
Homepage (in Japanese): http://www.tomi-kosya.com/ohlaho/ohlaho.html
Social Network: Facebook
How to Get to Restaurant OH! LA! HO
With Restaurant OH! LA! HO being located in the middle of nowhere, it isn’t the easiest place to get to. If you’re driving, then the closest junction is Tōbu-Yunemaru IC on the Jōshin-etsu expressway. If you’re coming by train, then the closest station is either Oya or Tanaka on the Shinano Railway Line. Take a taxi from there to Restaurant OH! LA! HO.
[ezcol_1half]Travelling By Car[/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end]Travelling by Train/taxi[/ezcol_1half_end]
2 comments
I’ve cycled there, from Yokohama. Almost decided to sleep there but camped down by the river (not recommended as the whole area is like quicksand and dug out like a huge quarry with big trucks going to and fro – very weird and scary in the dark).
another 2 reasons to hit Oh!La!Ho (man, I hate typing that)are the farmers’ market and the good cheap onsen, on complex. There, you have a restaurant that doesn’t have views but has cheaper, more stick to your ribs food and draught as well as cheap canned craft beer. The onsen has views and is pretty good, considering the price.
I’m not too fond of the main restaurant as it seemed always full and had weird opening times the 3 times I have been there plus more than once, there were free tables but the waitress refused us entry, saying they were full and wouldn’t let us stop for just a beer or two, minutes after food last orders another time.
That made me basically say F you guys, I’ll go to the onsen restaurant, about 50m away and had a god time in there instead and saved money.
I’m hoping their service has improved and look forward to visiting this weekend or Monday, after Snow Monkey.
How was it the last time you went?