At this fantastic thatch-roofed ex-farmhouse the staff use oven mitts to grill dengaku (skewers of vegetables, meat including Aso beef, fish and tofu covered in the namesake dengaku: sweet miso paste) at your own irori embedded in the floor. It's a few minutes by car or taxi (about ¥600) from central Takamori. Cash only.
After lunch, stop by the restaurant's gift shop and cafe. Its atmospheric building was a Meiji period rice dealer's shop.