Surrounded by forests of sawtooth oak trees, the traditional growing of shiitake mushrooms has long been practiced in this area. Shiitake mushrooms on oak trees grow bigger and plumper. By taking well over two years to grow them, they retain umami and aroma, making them perfect for high-quality dried shiitake with a chewy texture.
Touted as the Jewel of Suruga Bay, Sakura ebi or Sakura shrimps are only 4 to 5 cm in size, yet they pack full of umami and flavor. They are translucent while in the water but once on the shore, their light pink pigments become more apparent, making them appear pink in color just like Sakura, or cherry blossoms. For conservation purposes and to protect the ecosystem, only the Shizuoka Prefecture has the permit to harvest them in Japan.
Introducing Bara-yaki, a home-cooked dish enjoyed around the Towada area. Bara-yaki is made by cooking bara beef (meat around ribs) and a plenty of onion on a hot iron pan seasoned with soy-based sweet and spicy sauce. The concept comes from Bulgogi, a Korean dish with grilled beef. These days, it’s not only a popular home-cooked dish, it’s now served at local restaurants in the area.
Aomori Prefecture is known as the biggest producer of garlic in Japan, producing over 70% of the annual yields in 2020. Towada city in Aomori is one of the leading areas in growing garlic. Their garlic is rather big in size with pure white, packed with strong umami.
Ehime Prefecture has over 200 islands off the coast of the Seto Inland Sea and the Uwa Sea and it is known as the leading producer of citrus fruits. Yawatahama has famous terraced mikan orchards on the slopes made with stones stacked from the coastline. Taking in all the sunlight from the sky, the sea, and the stone slopes, unshu mikan oranges grown here are high-quality in terms of sweetness and color.
Hegi Soba is Tokamachi’s signature local dish with a supple and chewy texture. Even though there are many types of soba in Japan, what makes Hegi Soba different from the rest is the process in which a seaweed called Funori is used as a binder while kneading. After the soba is boiled. it is then laid out on a wooden tray waving the hand.
In Yukiguni country, people spend the entire year with the upcoming long winter in mind. When the snow melts, they store mountain vegetables in the spring, summer vegetables in the summer and mushrooms in the autumn. They store the vegetables in various ways, some are salted and others are dried. When the winter comes, they use the stored vegetables in nimono, stir-fry or soup and various recipes.
Otawara city is the leading producer of red pepper in Japan. The red peppers they produce are certified as Tochigi Santaka Togarashi by the city. Many restaurants in the city serve fried chicken seasoned with certified red pepper, which is spicy and packed with umami, making them such a popular food among customers.
Variety of ayu dishes are served in regional cuisine restaurants and hotels around the Maze area. The most popular one is none other than the salt-grilled ayu. The entire fish is slightly salted, while a generous amount is pressed onto the head, backfin and tail. It is then skewered and grilled over a charcoal fire. Ayu in the Maze River has dense flesh with a distinct sweet aroma.
Bishamon’s ice is made from the japan famous water where from Mount of Bishamon. This Bishamon’s Shaved ice is fluffy and full of minerals. Then syrups are also made from local produce, with the tomato syrup which highly recommended.This shaved ice can be eaten at the Kannon Teahouse, located at the Chichibu mountain range. Also recommended are the ‘shin udon’ and ‘shin soba’ noodles which are made from Chichibu-grown wheat and carefully prepared by the shop owner every day.
