Senhime Chaya
Himeji

Halal food at Senhime Chaya, just a stone’s throw away from Himeji Castle.

Muslim-friendly menu in the city of World Heritage Site.

Himeji Castle is the very first Japan’s UNESCO’s World Heritage Site, which is attracting so many tourists every year. Although the city is famous for UNESCO site, it is still sad to say that the city is not fully ready to welcome Muslim travelers.

At Senhime Chaya (千姫茶屋), a restaurant located 5-10 minutes away from the Himeji Castle, is now serving Muslim-friendly menu for their local specialty. The great thing is that they are offering Japanese meals, including some local’s specialty! This is the taste you can only enjoy while in Himeji.

What is local specialty in Himeji?

In Himeji, local specialty are as follows:

  • Conger Eel bowl (あなご丼)
  • Somen noodle (そうめん)
  • Oden Simmered Surimi and vegetables (姫路おでん)

Conger Eel looks like eel fish, but with less fat and the taste is plainer. The meat is very soft and is served in Sushi restaurants, too.

Somen is a type of noodle made from flour, and they are usually very thin. Himeji and the surrounding area are considered as one of the top 3 areas that manufactures this noodle.

Oden is a dish that simmers vegetables, fish surimis and sometimes meat together in a Dashi broth. They are available throughout in Japan, but the one from Himeji is very famous. They add a little bit of ginger as an accent in their dish.

These foods would never contain ingredients from pork but contains alcoholic seasonings like Mirin or Soy sauce, which is the reason why Muslim travelers would like to avoid if possible.

So, what is available at Senhime Chaya?

As of January 2023, the restaurant is not fully ready to serve Halal or Muslim-friendly menu because of pandemic, however, they are planning to resume Muslim-friendly menus.

Their menu is as follows:

  • Beef bowl
  • Beef curry
  • Ramen (beef)
  • Curry Udon (beef)
  • Wheat noddle with meat
  • Udon with grated kelp
  • Udon with raw egg
  • Wheat noodle with sweet fried Tofu
  • Assorted Oden
  • Baby sardine rice bowl
  • Conger eel rice bowl
  • Assorted Tempra
  • Dried Wheat noodle with shrimp Tempura

Their menu is wide in choices. The prices shown in the picture will be changed when resuming the service.

Menu and price may change when resuming the service.

Is the restaurant Halal or Muslim-friendly?

The restaurant is serving as Muslim-friendly style, which means the restaurant is trying their best to avoid all the possible haram ingredients. The restaurant is not Halal certified yet. Their Muslim-friendly policy is as follows:

Senhime Chaya Muslim-friendly policy
Muslim-friendly policy at Senhime Chaya.

What do we need to know?

Even though Senhime Chaya is serving wide variety of Muslim-friendly menu, it is not a Halal certified restaurant, which means they cannot handle only Halal ingredients. For example, there is an Oyster soy sauce on the table for the customers to use. However, this soy sauce contains a little bit of alcohol inside, so that it is better to be avoided by Muslims.

The price and the menu may have changed, too, so we would like to ask you to check on the information before ordering. The staff are very polite and kind, they are happy to help you.

Soy sauce contains alcohol
It says it contains alcohol.

Details of the restaurant

Name:Senhime Chaya (千姫茶屋)
Address:290-68, Honmachi, Himeji, Hyogo 670-0012 兵庫県姫路市本町68-290 イーグレひめじ1階
Genre:Japanese food
Tel:079-288-4567
Closed :Irregularly

Information as of January 2023.
The restaurant is not Halal certified, so there is a small risk of contamination or unknown haram ingredients included which we cannot be responsible of.