There’s a new Michelin-recognized restaurant in town, but it’s not as high-brow, high-priced as you might imagine. Yes, this is a post for foodies. But yes, this is also 100% connected to the Hanshin Tigers.
Pizzeria da Tigre can be found in Shimmachi, Osaka (see Google Map below for details), and boasts a simple menu and simple motto: enjoy pizza the way you would a bowl of ramen or a donburi.
Owner, founder, and hardcore Hanshin Tigers fan Kentaro spent over a year of his life in Naples, Italy, devoted to learning about the art of pizza making. He took some great advice from his master, and has done what he could to recreate an authentic Italian experience (and pizza pie) right in the heart of Japan.
His walls have been painted a similar color to that of the pizzeria where he apprenticed. The little arch, the counter seating, the marble tabletops, the oven, all are as close to authentically Neapolitan as can be. In fact, Kentaro had the oven shipped over from Italy!
Naturally, the tiles are from Japan. The marble countertops are also Japanese, but the concepts are all Italian. And the pie?
It definitely lives up to its billing. The freshly-crowned Michelin shop not only offers delicious ‘za, it’s also reasonably priced. (The above pie was ¥1500, but you can get a simpler one – same size – for just ¥700.) It was more than enough for one person – 27 cm (11″) in diameter.
And the clincher is that the owner, founder, and chef (same guy) is about as big a Hanshin Tigers fans as you’ll find. The shop shows no visible traces of his fandom, other than the restaurant name, of course.
I talked to Kentaro about his life as a fan, and it didn’t disappoint. I automatically assumed that since he grew up in Osaka, he was born following the Tigers. Not so, though. His father, he says, was a huge Yomiuri Giants fan. His house always had the TV on Giants’ games, and he was given Tatsunori Hara and Warren Cromartie merchandise. Whenever he went to Koshien, he sat on the third base side, somewhere behind the visitor (Giants) dugout. Then one day at school, he noticed that his swag was different from everyone else’s. WHAT? You mean Osaka is Hanshin Tigers town??? What a revelation!
Upon getting his own part-time job, he bought his own game tickets for the first time, and of course, found himself in the right field stands. The rest is history. Well, in a way. But how did he get into the pizza business? He majored in Italian (language) in university, and went to study abroad for a year. Kentaro said he never really wanted to join the regular workforce upon graduation, and thought that it would be a good idea to pick up another part of Italian culture while abroad, not just language.
What better than pizza? He never intended to open his own shop in Osaka, but definitely wanted to come home with a solid skill. Ultimately, he saw a market that really was not saturated – a casual pizzeria where people could eat a simple meal at a reasonable price. He said that in Italy, pizza is as casual a food as ramen is here in Japan, and he wanted to bring that mindset into his new endeavor.
For the record, apparently Fumihito Haraguchi listed pizza as his favorite food in his official player profile, and it has become Kentaro’s dream to have Haraguchi walk through the front doors one day. I’m sure that day is not far away!
So there you have it! He has done a wonderful job of paying tribute to the Naples, and even named a pizza after his master. You can see it on the menu on the signboard in the picture below. It kind of has a star-shape, and is called the Attelio.
While this might not be “Around Koshien” or easily accessible before/after most Hanshin home games (Kyocera Dome games are a different story), but if you’re in the general Namba area, you absolutely MUST check out Pizzeria da Tigre! I will be back there for sure!
