Get to Know Hamamatsu
- Eat
Sanwa Livestock’s “Tonkii” boasts the most delicious pork in Japan! The direct sales store and directly managed restaurant are also popular
There is Meat Restaurant Tonkii, where you can enjoy meat dishes such as pork cutlets, and Farmhouse Restaurant, where you can enjoy a buffet style meal mainly featuring local agricultural products.
These two restaurants, located in Nakagawa, Hosoe-cho, Hamana-ku, Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, are run by Sanwa Livestock Ltd., a pig farming company.
Sanwa Livestock has been in the pig farming business for 56 years, and instead of using any additives such as preservatives, antibacterial agents, or colorings that are commonly used in pig feed, they feed their pigs with safe and reliable grains that they have mixed themselves.
This month’s recommendation is Sanwa Livestock Co., Ltd.
"Meat Restaurant Tonkii" and "Farmhouse Restaurant"
Sanwa Livestock’s directly managed restaurants, Meat Restaurant Tonkii and Farmhouse Restaurant, are located in Nakagawa, Hosoe-cho, Hamana-ku, Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture.
The pork served here is “Hamanako Sodachi,” a brand of pork that won first place in the taste category of the “Brand Pork Liking Contest.”
The pork is produced under strict quality control, including hygiene checks by a veterinarian twice a month, resulting in moist and juicy pork.
We have received many positive comments, such as “This is the first time I’ve ever eaten such tender and delicious pork!”
It’s a popular restaurant that sees up to 350 visitors a day on busy days.
History of Sanwa Livestock
Mr. Yoshio Suzuki, the representative of Sanwa Livestock, was born into a farming family that mainly cultivated grass and fruit trees, and also raised a few pigs.
“I found mandarin orange cultivation interesting, but I thought to myself, ‘I really want to work with pigs,’ so I decided to go into pig farming. That was the beginning of Sanwa Livestock when we brought in 30 sows,” he recalls.
This year, 2024, marks the 45th year since the company was founded, and the company currently runs a pig farming business together with its son and grandson.
With the aim of becoming a business that will last for 100 years, the company plans to expand its business by strengthening its online sales and exporting frozen foods, and also plans to open a new facility called Tonkii Pork & Potato Park, where customers can enjoy barbecue, pizza, and other dishes, within the next few years.
Representative Mr. Suzuki talked about his new vision, saying, “I plan to create a facility that will excite everyone through food.”
The secret to Tonkii's delicious pork lies in the feed!
Feed is so important in the pig farming industry that it is said that “80% of pork’s flavor is determined by the feed.”
Therefore, Sanwa Livestock produces additive-free feed in its own feed factory by adding corn and soybean pomace to feed rice made from locally grown rice.
The fat of pork raised on an all-grain diet is very sweet, and the starch contained in the grains gives the meat its umami flavor!
The soft, odorless brand pork “Hamanako Sodachi” won first place in the taste category of the Brand Pork Liking Contest.
When heated, the meat becomes overflowing with delicious juices, allowing you to really enjoy the flavor of the meat itself.
We also raise the highest quality black pigs and premium Kinka vanilla pigs.
Sanwa Livestock also produces black pork with a focus on deliciousness.
The rearing period for regular pigs is about 180 days, while that for black pigs is longer at about 240 days, so they are not often raised by profit-minded pig farmers.
The middlemen who handle these pigs also tend to want standard pigs with a quick cycle, so the current situation is that there is little distribution.
However, at Sanwa Livestock, we spare no effort in producing black pigs in order to preserve the delicious genes of black pigs for future generations.
Among them, “Premium Jinhua Vanilla Pork” has a gene that tenderizes the meat, and its tenderness has been confirmed in taste tests.
In addition, because Jinhua pork also has the characteristics of high-quality fat, Sanwa Livestock carefully raises it as “high-quality pork.”
“Premium Jinhua Vanilla Pork” can be purchased at Tonkii’s direct sales store, so please be sure to give it a try.
The rice is grown using nutritious fertilizer made from eel waste.
Sanwa Livestock’s directly managed restaurants also place great importance on the deliciousness of the rice they serve.
The rice used is “Hosoe Maihime”, which is grown using special, environmentally friendly cultivation methods.
Hosoe Maihime is grown in rice paddies that nurture a wide variety of small lives in the Satoyama area, such as eels, loaches, and killifish, and has been approved by a rice paddy environmental appraiser.
The secret to the fertile rice fields where “Hosoe Maihime” is grown is said to be the nutritious fertilizer made from eel waste.
“Hosoe Maihime” can also be purchased at Tonkii’s direct sales store.
For more information on paddy field environmental appraisers, please see the following page:
Tonki Direct Sales Store Popularity Ranking
From here, we will introduce some popular products from Tonkii Direct Sales Store, operated by Sanwa Livestock.
1st: Sliced roast pork
Roast pork slowly and tenderly seasoned with a special sauce that contains no artificial seasonings.
Our roast pork, which has been made using the same method since we first opened, is our most popular item, coated with our secret sauce and can be enjoyed as both a side dish or a snack.
2nd: Smoked sausage
No preservatives or colorings added. A sausage that lets you enjoy the flavor of meat.
3rd: Bacon
This authentic handmade bacon is aged for a week and then dry-smoked over charcoal.
4th: Boneless ham
This authentic handmade ham is aged for a week, then charcoal dried and smoked.
5th: Lake Hamana Sodachi Loin Shabu-shabu
Loin shabu-shabu meat from Tonkii’s original brand, “Hamanako Sodachi.”
This product is raised on a safe feed made from a homemade mixture of high-quality corn and rice, without any additives, resulting in a soft, odorless, and delicious product.
Very popular with children! Handmade sausage experience
Tonkii offers hands-on classes where you can make your own sausages.
The “Homemade Sausage Experience” program, which began about 15 years ago, was started as part of nutrition education, with the desire to teach children the importance of food.
It is made without any additives, using only spices such as nutmeg, sage, coriander, salt, pepper and pork.
The sausage-making experience class is very popular with both children and adults, and can be participated in by groups of 10 or more people.
Make a reservation here
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From Tonkii Farm! Experience making sausages using ingredients grown in Lake Hamana
A message to our readers from Mr. Yoshio Suzuki, president of Sanwa Livestock
My name is Suzuki, the representative of Sanwa Livestock Limited Company.
I have been in the livestock business for 56 years. In order to deliver safe and secure pork, we carefully raise our pigs in a thoroughly controlled environment, from the pigs’ living environment to their feed. We would be delighted if you could try it once. We look forward to your visit.
What did you think?
We introduced Sanwa Livestock Co., Ltd., which operates “Meat Restaurant Tonkii” and “Farmhouse Restaurant.”
Please try the pork from Sanwa Livestock, a company that takes the importance of food seriously and raises and provides safe and secure pigs!
[Tonkii Direct Sales, Sanwa Livestock Co., Ltd.]
〒431-1304
1190-1 Nakagawa, Hosoe-cho, Hamana-ku, Hamamatsu-shi, Shizuoka
☎053(522)2969
[Official website]
[Shopping site]
[Photo courtesy of Sanwa Livestock Co., Ltd.]
