A Food Lover’s Tour of Japan – Kagawa and Sanuki Udon

It’s the perfect time of year for luscious noodles in hot, savory broth. And Kagawa Prefecture, famous for its udon, is our destination this month!

Kagawa Prefecture lies on the northeastern part of Japan’s Shikoku Island. Its southern border is the Sanuki Mountain Range and the Seto Inland Sea borders the north. In between the mountains and the sea is a fertile plain of land where cotton, sugar, salt and wheat grow, and where cities famed as centers of trade and transportation have flourished since feudal times.

Takamatsu is the capital of the prefecture, serving as a hub for the rail system throughout Shikoku Island and the administrative, economic and cultural center of Kagawa Prefecture. In feudal times, Takamatsu Castle served as the area’s citadel and was surrounded by Ritsurin Garden and near to Honen-ji Temple. The old town is now surrounded by the modern city, and is a wonderful area to visit while journeying along the Kagawa coast, where one can visit Yashima, a 961-foot high lava plateau with breathtaking views of the islands in the Seto Inland Sea. Of the 116 islands in the Seto Inland Sea, Shodoshima Island is famous for its olive groves! This small island enjoys a surprising Mediterranean climate, making it ideal for cultivating olives, herbs and citrus fruit. And the island is also home to sheer cliffs and scenic valleys, making it a nature lover’s paradise.

The view from Kotohira Shrine

Because of the prefecture’s central location and access to various trade routes, many influences helped shape the culture of the area. Buddhism with a special emphasis on protecting sailors and travelers thrived here. Konpira-san, the protector god of sailors, is revered at the Kotohira Shrine. The shrine is located half-way up the side of Mt. Zozu and visitors must climb 1,368 steps to reach the inner shrine. If you can’t climb yourself, you can hire a palanquin to carry you! No matter how you get to the top, the view is worth it as you can see across the Sanuki Plain all the way to the sea, and can visit the treasure and art-filled rooms of the complex.

History, nature and religion aren’t the only attractions in Kagawa. Naoshima Island boasts world-class art, architecture, literary culture and environmental stewardship. The small island inspired Raymond Benson’s The Man with the Red Tattoo and the stunning art collections at the Benesse House and Chichu Art Museum, both of which were designed by world-famous architect Tadao Ando. Not to be missed are traditional bunraku puppet shows and a stay at a ryokan or minshuku.

Takamatsu Castle

Regardless of where you visit in Kagawa Prefecture, you’ll be amazed at the delicious offerings of world-class udon. Japanese udon are thick wheat noodles that are cooked until chewy and firm, then served in a soy-based soup. Udon is said to have been introduced to Japan from China. Today, many types of udon are made throughout Japan, with regional specialties adding unique and gourmand options to menus across the country.

Udon can be prepared and served in numerous ways, but at the heart of the preparation is the careful boiling of the noodles in hot water. After cooking, the noodles are served either hot in a tsuyu, or soup broth, or cold, zaru-style with a side of dipping sauce or bukkake-style with a chilled broth and toppings of scallions, ginger, sesame, nori seaweed and powdered chili pepper. Regional udon recipes include adding tempura, kakiage, raw eggs or tofu skin to the dish, and two very popular variations are to serve the noodles in a Japanese curry or as a stir-fried yaki-udon dish.

Chilled zaru udon

There are so many varieties and combinations of how to prepare, serve and eat udon! In Kagawa, where a regional specialty called “sanuki udon” is so loved that the prefecture has been nicknamed the “Udon Prefecture”!

Sanuki udon got its name from the ancient ancestral name of the prefecture, called Sanuki. In this version of udon, the noodles are boiled in hot water and then removed from the cooking liquid. They are then added to a hot tsuyu broth and topped with an egg and finely chopped scallions. Udon is such a famous dish in Kagawa that “udon meguri”, or udon restaurant crawls, are common activities for locals and tourists alike. Each restaurant features their own take on sanuki udon, with some making tsuyu with their own special recipes and others offering unique and varied toppings. Most people can’t eat more than what they sample at three restaurants, but each day offers a new and interesting group of venues!

We love udon so much that we’ve features many recipes on our website. Whether or not you can sample authentic sanuki udon, try our recipes for Chilled Zaru Udon, Homemade Teuchi Udon, Hearty Tempura Udon, and Stir-Fried Yaki Udon. Each and every one of these dishes is sure to become a favorite!

We know you’ll love udon as much as we do, and can’t wait to see your comments below!

A Food Lover’s Tour of Japan – Miyazaki for Shochu & Nikumaki Onigiri

As the seasons bring cold weather, we travel to Miyazaki Prefecture, located in the southern region of Kyushu in Japan, for its relaxed pace and pastoral lifestyle. Miyazaki Prefecture borders the Pacific Ocean on the east and is surrounded by mountains–many volcanic–to the north, west and south. The central part of the prefecture is cattle country, where wild horses roam and prized wagyu beef is bred. And in its northwestern region, legends about the birth of Japan abound.

We start our tour this month in Miyazaki City, the political, economic, cultural and administrative center of the prefecture. Less than half a million people reside in Miyazaki City, yet the city offers numerous traditional and modern experiences. The city is fabled as the home of Japan’s first divine emperor, Jimmu, who was said to have lived during the 7th century BCE. The Hakko Ichiu Pillar was erected in the Miyazaki Culture Park in the 1940s to commemorate his rule and the “birth of Japan” and is a beautiful monument to visit along with art museums, science centers and museums focused on nature and history. Miyazaki City also boasts an impressive torii gate made entirely of cedar wood at the Miyazaki Shrine.

Takachiho gorge

From Miyazaki City, traveling north and to the west takes you into the Kyushu Mountains, where the Gokase River has carved the Takachiho Gorge through mountains and solitary forests. Going through the gorge, you see sheer red lava rock walls and Manai Falls, which drop water from 56 feet high to mist the passage along the river. Here, in the gorge, the Shinto Sun Goddess Amaterasu escaped her brother to burst forth through the mountains, bringing the sun and life to the earth and founding the line of the emperors of Japan.

Traveling from the Takachiho area to the southwestern part of the prefecture takes us into the Ebino Plateau Area, where high lakes dot the volcanic highlands. From here, we go through the central part of Miyazaki Prefecture, where prized Japanese Black cattle, or Kuroge Washu, are bred for their succulent, marbled beef and where you can find hundreds of ancient kofun burial mounds from the 4th century BCE. The Nichinan Coast along the Pacific Ocean boasts beautiful beaches and is the launch point for Aoshima Island, famous for the basalt rock formations called the Devil’s Washboard. These rock formations hide under the sea until low tide, when their striped patterns can be seen far into the ocean.

The Devil’s Washboard in Miyazaki Prefecture

While Miyazaki Prefecture is slower-paced than areas with megalopolis like Tokyo and Kyoto, it is famous for its gourmet foods. Taiyo no Mango, one of Japan’s most exclusive fruits, is famous for being the most expensive mango in the world. These mangoes are cultivated on trees grown in greenhouses, where the fruit is ripened until it falls off the tree and sold for thousands of dollars! Shochu is also famously produced in this region, and the highly regarded distilled alcohol is paired with many local delicacies. Perhaps one of the most quintessential Miyazaki foods is nikumaki onigiri, a simple rice ball wrapped in thinly sliced pork. Cooked, salted rice is shaped into small balls and wrapped with raw, thinly sliced strips of pork. The rice ball is cooked until the meat is tender and juicy, and then basted with a mixture of soy sauce, mirin and sugar, enhancing the savoriness of the meat.

We know you’ll love this dish as much as we do, and can’t wait to see your comments and photos below!

A Food Lover’s Tour of Japan – Asakusa Area, Tokyo

We’ve waited many months, but our Food Lover’s Tour of Japan finally brings us to Tokyo!

The capital of Japan, Tokyo is a bustling megalopolis, housing millions of people and serving as one of the economic, industrial, governmental and cultural centers of Japan. The city of Tokyo consists of 23 wards and two island archipelagos, with world-famous locations such as Shinjuku, Ginza, Shibuya, Tsukiji, Akihabara, Harajuku and Ikebukuro for their unique open-air markets and luxury shops, arts, nightlife, architecture and of course, restaurants. Attractions such as the Meiji Shinto Shrine, the Imperial Palace, which is surrounded by a picturesque moat and breathtaking gardens, Edo Castle and the iconic intersection at Shibuya Station draw thousands of people every year.

Akihabara at night

One of the most famous areas of Tokyo is the Asakusa Area, home of traditional Edo-era living and the Senso-ji Temple, which was built in 628 by two fishermen who saw the image of Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy, in the Sumida River and sought to enshrine the area. To understand Asakusa’s significance, it’s important to understand Tokyo’s history. Tokyo is situated on an alluvial plain in the fertile Kanto Region of Japan, with many rivers and tributaries that drain into Tokyo Bay. In Neolithic times, this area was settled by fishers, hunters and gatherers, who thousands of years later learned to cultivate rice. They practiced an animist-based religion called Shinto. While ancient Tokyo remained a small set of villages, Japanese government and culture thrived in the Kansai Region, where Kyoto, the then capital of the Imperial State, flourished. Kyoto influenced Tokyo during feudal times, when the daimyo, or feudal warrior lords, were sent to the various regions of Japan to rule on behalf of the Divine Emperor. During this period, Tokugawa Ieyasu established a government in the area, drained the alluvial waterways and swampland, built Edo Castle and invested in the growth and development of the villages.

Over time, Edo grew, and absorbed the Asakusa Area into its city borders, and during the Meiji Restoration period, the city became the capital of Japan.

The Kaminari-mon Gate in Asakusa

Today, the Senso-ji Temple is still a prime destination for visitors to Japan. The Kaminari-mon Gate is a sight to see, with its bright red paper lantern adorned with the symbol for the God of Wind and the God of Thunder. Leading up to the temple is Nakamise-dori Street, where shops sell beautifully crafted paper artifacts as well as traditional snacks. And along with Sumida Park and a burgeoning entertainment district, Asakusa has many restaurants and eateries, and of course, a signature delicacy!

Kaminari-okoshi is a snack that can be purchased from street vendors along the route to the Kaminari-mon Gate of Senso-ji Temple. These snacks are made by roasting sweet rice until it pops, then mixing the puffy rice with sugar syrup and other ingredients such as peanuts. The mixture is formed into squares or rectangles for easy eating. The name of the snack stems from the Kaminari-mon Gate and “okoshi”, which means to establish a family or name, and is therefore thought of as a good luck item!

Kaminari-okoshi is hard to find in the US, but our Crispy Rice Bricks come close. Similar to rice crispy treats, our Crispy Rice Bricks are made with puffed rice and sweet additions…and we hope that as you make them, you’ll remember Asakusa and the good-luck souvenir kaminari-okoshi!

Be sure to share your comments and photos below!