Land and Cuisine in Japan
The cuisine born from the nature and lifestyle of each region of Japan is called “Local cuisine”.
Local cuisine,which has been handed down in the region since ancient times,
uses ingredients from the region and cooks from in a way that is unique to the region.
Let’s enjoy these local delicacies when you visit.
Hokkaido
Sanpei-jiruA stew of salmon,herring,and other fish with vegetables.
Squid riceSquid stuffed with rice,seasoned,and cooked slowly in a pot.
Imo mochiMash steamed potatoes,shape them into a ball,and bake them.
It can be arranged in various ways,such as with butter or cheese inside.
ZangiRich taste chicken fried.
Chan chan yakiA dish of salmon and vegetables steamed and seasoned with sweet and spicy miso.
image photo Genghis Khan
A dish in which lamb meat is marinated in a special sauce and grilled with vegetables in a Genghis Khan pot.
Tohoku
Ichigo-ni (Aomori)Sea urchin and abalone soup
Harako-meshi (Miyagi)Salmon meat and salmon roe on cooked rice,garnished with mitsuba.
Morioka-jajamen (Iwate)Flat noodles similar to udon noodles,tossed with meat miso,cucumber and scallions.
Serve with chee tang tang.
Imoni (Yamagata)A hot pot dish using taro.
image photo Kiritanpo Nabe (Akita)
A nabe dish made by mashing rice,wrapping it around a skewer,and backing it,called “tanpo”
Kanto
O-kirikomi (Gunma)Wide,fresh noodles made from wheat,simmered with vegetables.
Shimotsukare (Tochigi)Salmon head,beans,grated daikon,carrots,etc..stewed in sake lees.
Namero (Chiba)Freshly caught fish,finely chopped with a knife and added with soy sauce and spices.
Ankou Nabe (Ibaraki)A stew of seven ingredients (liver,stomach,ovary,skin,fins,gills,and meat) and vegetables.
image photo Kusaya (Tokyo)
Dried fish.Dried fish with a distinctive smell and flavor.
Central Japan and Koushinetsu
Houtou (Yamanashi)Noodle dish with wide flat noodles and vegetables seasoned with miso.
Noppei-jiru (Niigata)A lightly seasoned stew with root vegetables,mainly taro,chicken and mushrooms.
Goheimochi (Gifu)Crushed rice wrapped around a skewer and baked with sauce.
Oyaki (Nagano)Baked dough made of wheat or buckwheat,wrapped with vegetables or mushrooms.
image photo Deep-fried chicken wings (Aichi)
Deep-fried chicken wings with sweet and spicy sauce.
Hokuriku
Heshiko-zuke (Fukui)Preserved food made by soaking salted mackerel in bran.
Masuzushi (Toyama)Pressed sushi made with salted trout.
image photo Jibu-ni (Ishikawa)
Stewed duck meat,bamboo blinds,and seasonal vegetables.
Kansai
Kushikatsu (Osaka)Meat and onions skewered,covered with bread crumbs,and deep-fried.
Obanzai (Kyoto)Everyday side dishes in Kyoto.
Akashiyaki (Hyogo)Baked octopus in a dough made of flour,wheat starch,and eggs,and served in a broth.
Funa-zushi (Shiga)Japan’s oldest type of sushi made by pickling Carassius auratus from Lake Biwa in salt,
then marinating it in rice to ferment.
Kakinoha-zushi (Nara)Pressed sushi made with salted mackerel and vinegared rice wrapped in persimmon leaves.
Tecone-zushi (Mie)Chirashi-zushi made by marinating red meat sashimi such as tuna and bonito in a soy sauce sauce sauce and combining it with vinegared rice.
image photo Okonomoiyaki (Osaka)
Vegetables,meat,seafood,and other ingredients are added to a flour batter,
cooked on a griddle,and served with sauce or mayonnaise.
Chugoku and Shikoku
Matsuri-zushi (Okayama)Sushi made with fresh seafood and colorful ingredients such as vegetables,mushrooms,and wild vegetables.
Hiroshima-yaki (Hiroshima)Thinly baked dough with cabbage or pork underneath and steamed.
Served with yakisoba noodles made separately.
Azuki zoni (Shimane)A mildly sweet zoni made with red beans and rice cakes.
Tai-meshi (Ehime)A whole sea bream is cooked with rice,and the meat of the bream is broken up and mixed with the rice.
Sanuki Udon (Kagawa)Strong udon noodles,eaten in a variety of ways such as zaru udon,kama-age udon,and shippoku.
image photo Fugu cuisine (Yamaguchi)
In Yamaguchi Prefecture,the word “fugu” (blowfish) is called “fuku” (fortune) for good luck.
It is eaten in a variety of dishes such as fugu chiri,fugu sashimi,and fried fugu.
Kyushu and Okinawa
Game-ni (Fukuoka)Chicken with bones and various vegetables are voiled together and called Chikuzen-ni throughout Japan.
Chicken rice (Kagoshima)Chicken rice is rice topped with shredded chicken,
egg,shiitake mushrooms,pickles,seaweed,chenpi,and condiments,and served with soup.
Chilled soup (Miyazaki)Cold barley rice topped with fish paste,miso,sesami seeds,cucumber,and dashi broth.
image photo Sara udon (Nagasaki)
Chanpon noodles.
Deep-fried or stir-fried noodles topped with pork,seafood,vegetables,bamboo rings,and other ingredients.