Kissa Tanaka
10-minute walk from Nakatsugawa Station. A long-established coffee shop founded in 1953 (Showa 28). The signature dish is meat spaghetti served on a hot iron plate with homemade meat sauce prepared daily by the proprietor alone. The family recipe emphasizing 'meat texture and ingredient umami' has been unchanged for over 70 years. So popular it's now sold online as 'Nakatsugawa's specialty product'. Often sells out shortly after opening.
Exceptional Yahoo! Maps rating of 4.43 (51 reviews) and 79 Tabelog reviews. Consistent praise: 'worth traveling far to eat', 'served on a hot iron plate so you can enjoy it piping hot until the last bite', 'absolutely delicious'. Local blogs describe it as 'Nakatsugawa citizens' soul food'.