About food in Japan

Restaurants across Japan 2016

On our facebook page, we featured 15 recommendable restaurants across Japan.

Here we put the list of 15 restaurants for your reference.

To see the original post with detail information, click the title or restaurant name.

 

No1Ramen SORA, Chitose airport, Hokkaido

 

 

 

No.2 Picante Sapporo Ekimae, soup curry, Sapporo

 

 

Ｎo.3 Aomori Gyosai Center, seafood bowl as you like, Aomori

 

 

No.4 Umaiya, gyoza restaurant, Utsunomiya, Tochigi

 

No.5 Funabashiya, traditional Japanese sweets cafe, Kameido, Tokyo

 

No.6 Hananomai, Sumo themed restaurant, Ryogoku, Tokyo

 

No.7 Restaurant LUKE, upscale restaurant with night illumination view, Tokyo 

 

 

No.8 Matsunami, tonkatsu(deep fried pork) restaurant, Narai, Nagano

 

 

No.9 Kaiho, restaurant in Himi Fish market, Toyama

 

No.10 Higashiyama Mizuho, Japanese casual restuarant, Kanazawa

 

 

No.11 franc jeu, French restaurant with excellent views, Wajima, Ishikawa

 

No.12 Taikan & Midori, cafe at Adachi Museum of Art, Shimane

 

No.13 Bistro Bon Gout, Naha, Okinawa

 

No.14 Yakiniku syokudou Yanma, quality beef focused restaurant, Narita International Airport Terminal 1

 

No.15 Tatsu, Japanese casual dining, Narita International Airport Terminal 1

 

 

 

Sweets in Okinawa

Finally at the end of Okinawa series blog posts lasting for 2months, like as the last dish of course diner, we will introduce some SWEETS found in Okinawa.

 

Traditional Sweets

As introduced in our previous post reporting Makishi Kosetsu Ichiba (public food market), Matsubaraya Seika (松原屋製菓) provides traditional sweets of Okinawa.

It is outside of Kosetsu Ichiba on the main street of shopping archade. You will find many mounts of sweets piled at the shop. Most of them are uniquely available in Okinawa but some, for example almond cake, are a bit similar to ones available in Europe.

   

Traditional sweets by Matsubaraya Seika

So many different and unfamilar sweets are available there.

It costs around Yen 100-200 per piece.

It's a fun to choose some of them from the wide selection,

even if we do not know well what is inside and what kind of taste it is actually.

 

Popular local brand x local ingredient

Formost Blue Seal ice cream company was founded in Okinawa in 1948. Originally it came from U.S.A. and served in American base camp. Now the brand name of Blue Seal ice cream has been known even in Tokyo as one of the item to try in Okinawa. 

We had been almost given up to try it on the trip in winter actually, because many others were also on the list to try. But at the end we found the sign of Blue Seal at Naha ariport just before onboarding.

 

Soft cream purple potato flavor

Purple potato (紫イモ) is also one of the local specialty in Okinawa.

The strong purple color has big impact visually and is often used for local sweets for souvenir.

The taste of the potato is not so strong as the color has.

So simply we can enjoy the cool texture.

 

 

 

National brand x local specialty

Last two are the ones we found either at a supermarket or convenience store.

Japanese major sweets comapny provides local products in Okinawa, which are not available in Tokyo, even though we wish to have them.

 

 

Chinsuko Ice cream

"Chinsuko" cookies is one of the most popular sweets. 

It is Okinawa version "British Short bread" if we explain it.

Crunched Chinsuko is in vanilla ice cream, as it is for Cookie & Cream.

     

Easily can imagine, it is GOOD!!

 

 

Another local version product by Meiji is

Shiikwaasaa (citrus depressa) jelly

  

It has fresh rich citrus flavor.  

Amazing to be able to get it at very reasonable price

a bit over Yen 100 for 3 packs.

 

 

Well, this is really the end of Okinawa series.

We wish you have enjoyed and could get some ideas what we should try on the southern island and how it is different from Tokyo and other mainland cities.

Hopefully we will be able to start next series Hokkaido, the northern land from May 2014.

It must be a good chance to find a big contrast between south and north of Japan!!

 

 

 

 

Mizuho Shuzo, Awamori distillery, Naha - 瑞穂酒造, Okinawa

Our Okinawase series is now close to the end and today we introduce an Awamori distillery in Naha, which is accessible easily by public transportation.

First we will review what is Awamori(泡盛). It is local distilled alcohol drink uniquely exists In Okinawa. Awamori has been produced for over 600 years in the south islands since it was introduced from Thailand as the result of trading business between Rykyu Kingdom(current Okinawa) and South East Asian countries. The way to produce Awamori has not been changed since that time. Imported Thai rice is fermented with black east and distilled.

As Japanese distilled alcohol, Shochu (焼酎) from Kyushu region may be better known. Shochu, which is produced from Japanese rice, wheat or potato, is the one evolved from Awamori, after it was introduced to the region. 

Well, among 48 Awamori producers in Okinawa, the distillery we visited is called “Mizuho Shuzou”(瑞穂酒造). It is found in 1848 with over 160 years history and is the oldest distillery among 3 in Shuri (首里) Castel area. Mizuho shuzou welcomes tourists to visit its storage room located just a few minutes from a monorail station. (advance reservation required) It is also 2 stops from Shuri castel area.

Mizuho shuzou is just a few minutes walk

from Shiritsu Byoinmae （市立病院前） monorail station.

The sign says “Kusu (vintage Awamori)” is a treasure of Okinawa.

 

When we arrived in front of the distillery Tenryu-kura

(if we translate the name of storage “Dragon in the sky”),

it smelled awamori alcohol.

 

A staff welcomed us and explained about Awamori and Mizuho distillery, then introduced Tenryu storage.

 

 

Thousands of earthen pots occupies the storage on the ground floor, while 640,000L Awamori stays in several tanks on underground where the temperature can be kept consistent level even in the night and day, in winter and summer.

 

  

It means we stand out over Awamori. We could see that is true as the staff opened a cover on the floor and showed us inside of the tank.

Wow, it’s a pool of Awamor!!

Wanna swim here?!! Or drink directly?!

No, no we could not be too exciting and had to be calm down.

 

After all displayed and the underground tank were introduced,

we could have tasting opportunity.

 

 

Many bottles and small cups are on the table and we were told

“Help yourself as much as you want”.

 

 

Wow again,

exciting moment to try many different Awamori and other alcoholby Mizuho Shuzou.

 

What we should try is especially the ones called "Kuusu"(古酒), Awamori which is 3 years or older. Some have been kept long years, over 10 years (like this photo). It contains higher degree of alcohol and rich in taste and floavor, like vintage wine. 

We have to be careful not to drink too much and have to keep our brain enough clear and available to function so that we can go back to our hotel by monorail.

 Another good news abour Awamori is its advantage to good health. Awamori contains a certain type of enzyme that can disolve bloog clot much more than red wine and other alcohol. It's a good reason to take the local alcohol everyday little by little!!

 

 

Visiting distillery is free and available only on weekday. Advance reservation is required.

 

Spot name : Mizuho Shuzo (瑞穂酒造)

Address: 4-5-16 Shuri Sueyoshi-cho, Naha city, Okinawa

Official homepage (in Japanese): http://www.mizuhoshuzo.co.jp

 

Okinawa, Gyuya(牛屋) for local specialty beef and pork

Following our last post featuring “Momogami”, an Izakaya or local cuisine restaurant operated by a local brewing company in Naha, today we will talk about another restaurant recommendable to try local specialties of Okinawa in Kokusai-dori area.

If you visit the capital of Okinawa, Naha-city, you will surely find Kokusai-dori (国際通り) the main street of the town. We can find many types of service from Starbucks, Department store, to Kosetsu-ichiba (local food market) in the area. With the ample choices, it will be a bit hard to choose where to dine.

Beef and pork meat are also Okinawa’s local specialty. Beef bred in Ishigaki Island and Okinawa’s brand pork Aguu are a few of them. Then we can also easily find several steak restaurants such as 88 or Captain’s along the main street. But if you feel better to enjoy Okinawa’s meat in local and peaceful air rather than lively touristic atmosphere, we recommend today’s feature, Gyuya(牛屋).

 

 

Gyuya is also situated on Kokusai dori, relatively West side. If we see the location on a map, it is almost in-between two monorail stations, Makishi and Kencho-mae.

The restaurant’s entrance is on the ground floor and it will be easy to find with this sign. The name Gyuya represents “House of beef”. The trademark seems to come from it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is good for Gyuya is the decoration inside. It looks like an old house in traditional style and like a storage house of Awamori (distilled sake, exclusively found in Okinawa)!!

 

On evening, it offers Okinawa’s local dishes like an Izakaya, while for lunch time Ishigaki beef steak and other meat main dishes are available as lunch set like a steak house. Considering the quality of food and volume, lunch sets at around Yen 2000 are good value.

 

My order was Hamburg steak with Ishigaki beef

 

Of course, as we can imagine from the decoration with bottles and pots fully placed around the counter, it is also a good place to enjoy local alcohol, Awamori. The restaurant offers “full” selections of Awamori from all 48 breweries in Okinawa.

 

However, this is just tap water for lunch time,

although the logo on the glass shows my favorite Awamori brand

from Miyako Island.

 

Whether it is for lunch or dinner, enjoy Okinawa’s local specialty, especially Ishigaki beef and Aguu pork with Awamori there.

 

Restaurant name : Gyuya (牛屋)
Address: 2-5-12 Matsuo, Naha-city, Okinawa

 

Okinawa, Noren Ichiba (農連市場) ending Showa style food market

This is the third post introducing food market in Naha, Okinawa, following last two about Kosetsu Ichiba and Sakaemachi Ichiba.

Noren Ichiba(農連市場), founded in 1953, is situated in south east part of Naha central town. It is a bit far from any of Mono-rail station but is about 15minutes walk from Kosetsu Ichiba and Kokusai-dori or 10minutes from Yachimun (pottery) street. Otherwise public bus runs from Kencho-mae(Prefecture government office). For those who are interested in local food markets, it will be worth taking 15 minutes walk to go/from. 

 

 

We visited Noren Ichiba in very early morning, a bit late from 6a.m.

The market opens from 1a.m. in the morning and serves mainly to professionals such as restaurant operators until around 5a.m. After 6a.m., the market targets more widely to public, general consumers. 

 

The vast area of Noren Ichiba is similar size with a baseball stadium. The flat building looks rustic with thin roof and wooden flames in some parts. However the building was designed well to let wind out from all four dimensions and it remains since the foundation over a half century ago by managing to survive in several typhoon hit every year. The appearance was not changed since that time. Because of that, the market was filmed even for a popular drama “Churasan” by NHK(Japanese national broadcasting station).

   

Unfortunately, from 2014, this year!!, the market will be demolished block by block for re-development. So if you are interested in viewing this Showa style old-day market, just hurry up!!

 It won’t be difficult to walk around inside the market even without a map, while finding local agricultural products, sweets etc.

 

Here what we found there are..

Shima-Tofu (島豆腐Tofu in Okinawa local style)

Tofu in Okinawa has less water (75%), compared with ordinary one (82%) sold in mainland of Japan. Due to the harder solid characteristic, Shima-Tofu is often used to fry with vegetable etc, like Goya-chanpuru the most popular local specialty of Okinawa.

 

 

Kubu Irichi

(クーブイリチー kobu kelp and DaikonJapanese radish sautee)

Fried Kobu and Daikon is popular dish in Okinawa. It can be often seen as a side dish of set menu in local restaurants. Kobu kelp is not produced in Okinawa but is “travelled” from Hokkaido, the most north of Japan. It is brought as the result of Okinawa’s former position, a trading hub in East Asia a few hundreds year ago in Edo period.

 

Moyashi (soy bean sprout)

We have never seen such large volume of moyashi.

 

Place : Noren Ichiba (農連市場)

Address: 2-4-1 Okegawa, Naha-city, Okinawa

Close: Sunday

Okinawa, Sakaemachi Ichiba (栄町市場), a place to find a piece of local life

As a series of Okinawa report, following our last post introduced the most popular local food market Kosetsu Ichiba, here we show another food market in Naha, the capital of Okinawa.

Sakaemachi Ichiba (栄町市場), founded in 1949, is situated a minute walk from Asato(安里) station on mono-rail. It is known that the market remains un-changed since the beginning just after the World War II and it shows us the life of Showa period over decades ago. 

Sakaemachi Ichiba is a kind of local shopping arcade. Under the covered semi-transparent roof, we can find food grocery shops, delicatessen (if we express in modern way), restaurants & bars and kitchen goods store etc. It’s a great chance to see a piece of local people’s life.

 

 

 

In some parts, we can find the iconic scenes of local markets in Okinawa. Local farmers sell vegetables on the road, while working and preparing bean sprout. 

 

 

 

 

 

On January, some cakes for Chinese New Year event are on the shelf.

 

One of the most famous local restaurant,

Urizun (うりずん) is also accommodated in Sakaemachi market. 

 

On the visit, thanks to recommendation by a local guide,

we visited a restaurant which provides very unique local food.

 

Manpu (万富) is casual local dining with several seats along a counter. Its specialty is called “Muji-jiru”(むじ汁). We, the ones come from Tokyo, have never heard the word, muji, apart from the well-known variety store MUJI. Here “muji” represents leaf of taroimo (a kind of yam potato). At Manpu, muji is carefully prepared through several process to cook and freeze it once in order to make the taste better. 

 

Muji-jiru, thick soup in a big bowl is almost filled with the fibered vegetable.

 

Thanks to the great effort by the cook or restaurant owner, the texture is very soft and no strong perfume nor bitter taste. After having muji-jiru, I felt warmer and healthier by myself. It should be good especially in winter.

 

Two different side dishes, both home-made recipe.

The madam of the shop owner proudly told that sometimes she welcomes even guests from abroad. The restaurant was recently featured by national TV network, NHK.

 

 

In addition, a new face of Sakaemachi Ichiba is “Bistro Le Bon Gout” is located near the East Gate.

The cute sign of gray goat on the orange color background implies something good for us, even though it had not been opened yet when we visited late January 2014. It provides goat meat, one of Okinawa’s specialty as well as sophisticated Western food made from fresh Okinawa’s local ingredients. Next time we are looking forward to visiting it!!

Facebook page of Bistro Le Bon Gout: https://www.facebook.com/Bistro.Lebongout

 

 

Okinawa, the biggest local food spot, Makishi Kosetsu-Ichiba (food market)

We found our first post of Okinawa series got big attention of many food lovers on our facebook and twitter page. Thank you for those who share and do Like! on it. On this second post of Okinawa series, we introduce the most important spot to find local food of the region.

The most popular local food market is officially called “第一牧志公設市場” (the first Makishi public market). Simply it can be referred as “Makishi Kosetsu Ichiba” or “Kosetsu Ichiba”. The local food market is just off from the city’s main street, Kokusai-dori and is accessible by anyone including tourists. It won’t be difficult to find it through a indoor shopping arcade.

 

 

The food market has been loved by local people for over 60 years in central town of Naha, the capital of Okinawa.

With over 400 shops, it provides any kind of local food, from seafood, vegetables, fruits, meat to processed food, seasoning. In other parts of Japan, especially in Tokyo and surrounding area, such vital food market is rarely found nowaday, apart from Tsukiji market, and that sort of commercial facilities have been replaced by supermarkets. Because of the vital atmosphere and variety of local food demonstrated in Makishi Kosetsu Ichiba, it becomes popular among Japanese tourists as well.

 

On the second floor, large food court is available, where some of restaurants accept to cook food brought from the market shop with fee Yen 500 per piece.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So exciting to be close with such gorgeous seafood...

even though we can't take it to eat.

 

 

Fish in the sub-tropical ocean has beatiful colors!!

Rare to find even in Tsukiji market.

 

 

In Okinawa, every part of Pork become food.

This image shows that.

 

Around the main market hall, we can find some interesting food store.

    For example, Matsubara-ya Seika(松原屋製菓) provides tradtional local sweets.

I found some of them are similar to ones available in Europe or other parts of the world.

 

 

Place: Daiichi Makishi Kosetsu Ichiba (Makishi public food market)

Address: 2-10-1 Matsuo, Naha-city, Okinawa

Close: 4th Sunday, new year, Chinese new year etc

Businss hour: 8:00 - 20:00

Official website (in Japanese) : http://kousetsu-ichiba.com/ichibaannai.html 

大きな地図で見る

Okinawa local food collections

In Tokyo, the weather of the month February is chilly and hard. We feel that the spring is still far away. As you may know, Japan’s area is long from North to South. It means we can find many different culture, climate etc, when we move within this small Far East country.

Last month, the owner of About Food in Japan visited Naha, the capital of Okinawa prefecture, Japan’s southern the most island. As a series of blog post, from today we will introduce local food and related spots in Okinawa.

The first post here is introduction. A bit more about Okinawa(沖縄) region,

Okinawa prefecture consists of over 360 islands within the area of 1000km East-West, 400km North-South the Pacific Ocean. The capital city, Naha is located on Okinawa main land. It is 1500km away from Tokyo and accessible by air.

View Larger Map

 

The climate is in subtropical zone and the average temperature in winter season is 18 degree, much warmer compared with one in cities of Japan main land.

Situated between Taiwan and Japan main land, the Ryuku (Okinawa) kingdom was a prosperous for centuries as an important trading point. Because of such historical background and geographic characteristic, Okinawa has unique and different culture from other parts of Japan.

 For the unique culture, food is also not the exception, of course. As the first introduction part of Okinawa, here we list-up local specialty food in Okinawa.

 

*Pork

Pork meat is traditionally taken by local people and their local pork brand “Agu” is known as the top 3 best pork in the world with Iberico in Spain and Jinhua(Kinka, 金華) pork in China.

It can be served in many different style. 

For example, “shabushabu”

 

 

Or one of the Okinawa’s most known specialty “rafte” (ラフテー、simmered pork)

 

 

The local people use every parts, even ear, face skin, of pork as food.Foot is also popular ingredient and called “tebichi” in local dialect.

 Fried pork foot

 

 

*Seaweed

Two well-known local specialty of seaweed are...

Umi-budo (sea-grape, as looked)

 

Mozuku

Often served with sour sauce at everywhere from local casual dining to hotel breakfast. The style is also widely available at supermarkets in Tokyo, while tempura is rare to be found out of Okinawa. Actually Mozuku tempura is one of the best local specialties for me.

 

Mozuku tempura

 

 *Tofu

We found different version tofu and its cooking way in Okinawa. Tofu in Okinawa has less water inside and because of that, the texture is harder. Hence it is often cooked and fried with vegetable.

 

 

 

Atsuage – deep fried local style tofu

 

 

Tofuyo – fermented tofu

This is really like “cheese”!! With strong perfume and good match with alcohol drink.

 

Peanuts tofu – also popular side dish here

 

 

 *Goya

You may know goya or nigauri (bitter ground). The most famous Okinawa dish is Goya-chanpuru (fried goya, tofu, vege and egg etc). It is so popular and surely available at restaurants specialized in Okinawa dishes in Tokyo. So..we did not take this menu in Okinawa actually, while we were busy and full with other dishes not available in Tokyo. Then sorry no photo!!

 

*Drink(alcohol)

Awamori

Distilled sake made from rice.

We visited a distillery during the trip and will report it on a further post.

 

 

Orion beer – Local beer brand from Ishigaki island available

at most of restaurants in the region.

 

 

On coming several posts, as a series of Okinawam, we will introduce food markets in Naha as well as some local restaurants etc.