With the start of the crab season, Hotel Kinparo in Toyooka, Hyogo, will begin offering a special plan that uses two local tagged matsuba crabs from Thursday, November 12, 2026. The plan is called "Selected! Live Matsuba Crab Feast 2026 (Two Local Tagged Matsuba Crabs)" (【地物タグ付き・松葉がに２匹】厳選！『活松葉がにづくし』2026).
The hotel is known as the root of the crab restaurant chain Kani Doraku (かに道楽). Its staff handle everything from purchasing and cooking to serving, and the hotel manages the whole process in-house to serve fresh local matsuba crab.
Hotel Kinparo, the Root of Kani Doraku
Hotel Kinparo is a five-minute drive from the well-known hot spring town of Kinosaki Onsen. Since its founding in 1934, it has operated on the philosophy of making the most of nature, drawing on the scenery of the Sea of Japan, the Hiyoriyama Onsen (日和山温泉) hot spring that wells up on site, and local ingredients such as matsuba crab and Tajima beef.
Yoshio Imazu (今津芳雄), the founder of Kani Doraku, was the younger brother of the founder of the company behind Hotel Kinparo. In 1958, to bring guests to Hotel Kinparo, he opened an information office for the hotel near Dotonbori in Osaka. A restaurant serving seafood dishes, "Sengokubune" (千石船), was attached to it, and this became the beginning of Kani Doraku.
Business in Osaka, a city known for "kuidaore" food culture, got off to a difficult start. However, Imazu came up with "kani-suki," a crab hot pot using crab landed in the Tajima region of northern Hyogo, his home area. It was well received by Osaka's food lovers and quickly became a great success. Kani Doraku opened in Dotonbori in 1962 and now operates across Japan.
Hotel Kinparo and Kani Doraku were born as sister companies and have grown together by making use of the local crab resources. The hotel says it serves matsuba crab with strong attachment and pride.
Authentic Matsuba Crab, Served with Pride
The Tajima region in northern Hyogo, the root of Kani Doraku, has one of the largest snow crab catches in Japan. The tag attached to a claw is proof that the crab is local. Snow crab caught here is called "matsuba crab," and fishing takes place only from November 6 to March 20, making it a precious gift of nature. To bring out the full flavor of the ingredient, the operating company has professionals in each field.
- Auctioneer: It is very difficult to tell from the outside how much meat is inside a crab's hard shell. At the morning auction every day, the operating company's auctioneer selects good-quality crabs and sends them directly to Kani Doraku, Hotel Kinparo, and others.
- Chef: The cook for the matsuba crab is 上田正一, who became the new head chef in 2026 and serves dishes with a fresh sensibility.
- Service: Hotel Kinparo is a long-established hotel that has reached its 90th year since its founding. Each dish is served at the best timing, so guests can take their time while looking out over the Sea of Japan.
Menu
Plan name: Selected! Live Matsuba Crab Feast 2026 (Two Local Tagged Matsuba Crabs) (【地物タグ付き・松葉がに２匹】厳選！『活松葉がにづくし』2026)
Dinner:
- Aperitif substitute
- Small dishes to accompany sake (酒菜)
- Banquet dish (宴菜)
- Sashimi: assortment of 5 kinds, including live matsuba crab
- Vinegared dish (酢肴): live matsuba crab served whole, 1 crab
- Main dish (強肴): charcoal-grilled live matsuba crab and crab miso grilled in the shell
- Hot pot (焜炉): live matsuba crab kani-suki in a large pot
- Rice: zosui (rice porridge)
- Pickles: seasonal vegetables
- Dessert: fruit
The menu may be partly changed. The photo shows two servings.
Because crab fishing is on break over the year-end and New Year holidays, December 29 to January 13 is excluded from the plan.
Hotel Information
Hotel Kinparo
Located in San'in Kaigan National Park, the hotel offers views across the Sea of Japan. Its own spring, Hiyoriyama Onsen, is a hot spring that wells up from a 20,000-year-old stratum and is also called "fossil water." Once the body warms up, the warmth is said to last a long time. Dinner features carefully selected local ingredients such as matsuba crab and Tajima beef.
- Address: 1090 Seto, Toyooka City, Hyogo
- Phone: 0796-28-2111
- Number of rooms: 70
- Website: https://www.kinparo.com/
