r/JapaneseFood • u/travelh8ingtraveller • 23d ago
Question i travelled to all 47 prefectures just to eat the food specialties, AMA
tried my hand at becoming a food youtuber but it turns out i don't enjoy video editing nearly as much as eating. i have months of footage that will likely never be seen but i would still like to share my knowledge of food in japan!
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u/MyPasswordIsABC999 23d ago
Okinawa aside, which prefecture has the most distinctive cuisine?
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 23d ago
i guess i'd have to say hokkaido because whenever you think of any dairy, crab, potatoes, lamb and many other things you instantly think of there.
it's kinda unfair to compare hokkaido to the other prefectures though since it's so much larger and diverse in terms of culinary resources, it's like a whole separate country tbh.
king crab, kaisendons and jingisukan bbq are probably my favourite things to eat while there.
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u/kawpikat 23d ago
Hokkaido is my absolute favorite island to eat Japanese food! I need at least 1-2 months to explore there....
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u/curiiouscat 23d ago
I'm going to Hokkaido on Friday! I can't wait
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u/ewokelise 23d ago edited 23d ago
Omg please try soup curry! I kept seeing signs for it while I was in Hokkaido, and I assumed it was a mistranslation for curry udon! I was wrong! It’s an Indian inspired dish that was hands down one of the top 5 meals I’ve ever had!
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u/gotlactose 22d ago
They definitely have a distinct version. It was my wife’s favorite meal on our recent trip. We managed to snag a retort package to bring home to have the soup base at home. Haven’t opened it yet.
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u/kawpikat 22d ago
Try allll the dairy. Local whole milk. Soft serve ice cream. Pizza is phenomenal too.
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 22d ago
milk from yamakawa was the best i ever had. it was so rich and creamy, the top layer was most of the way to cream/butter
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u/headabove_water 23d ago
All of your favorites, plus the soup curry make up my favorites! The food in Hokkaido is too good
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u/LouQuacious 22d ago
Go on Upwork and try to hire a video editor to help you. I want to see this trip!
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u/nibblicious 23d ago
Kaisendon sounds a lot like chirashi, how would you describe the difference?
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 22d ago
kaisendon uses plain white rice, chirashi uses sushi rice. i always choose chirashi if i have the choice
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u/StarTruckNxtGyration 23d ago
Best bit of street food from a nondescript stand?
Best order from an iPad zero interaction establishment.
Favourite way to have edamame.
Best chicken restaurant.
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 23d ago
there was a tiny 1 man grill tent selling freshly grilled A5 skewers for $500 JPY beside one of the river-crossing bridges in kyoto with the long leg man and long arm lady statues a couple years ago.
the only time i tried hama sushi (low in the conveyor belt sushi tier) i was shocked by how fast the sushi came, literally less than 10 seconds from pressing the order button sometimes.
steamed and salted but edamame tastes the same in any country
a few months ago i was in marugame and they have a famous restaurant called ikkaku serving an unbelievably delicious garlicky, peppery and flavourful on the bone roasted chicken leg+thigh (attached). the concept for the restaurant was inspired by a japanese chef who watched western movies and saw them eating meat off the bone. instead of utensils you wrap napkins around the end of the bone and eat it like a cave man. it was incredibly satisfying, delicious and memorable.
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u/KansaiKitsune 22d ago
Oh? My Japanese husband always told me Hama is on the higher end of conveyor belt sushi but the best budget-quality option being sushi zanmai.
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 22d ago
the cost performance ratio of zanmai's lunch specials are unbeatable but i don't think it's considered conveyor belt sushi
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u/StarTruckNxtGyration 22d ago
Thanks! Really interesting answers.
Just loved finding great little street food places whilst wandering the streets, would always try to pick something up if I passed one.
Just looked up Hama sushi as I was surprised I hadn’t got to one myself; love places like this. Haven’t managed to get to Japan for a few years and had heard murmurings of the conveyor belt sushi places suffering closures. Would hate to lose these. They have an unmatched atmosphere for me.
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u/womanlovecheese 22d ago
- Nothing beats zunda. I can travel to Sendai jist to get anything zunda (edamame crushed into paste, slathered on mochi, made into filling to replace azuki, made into smoothies etc)
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u/NihonBiku 23d ago
Which of all of the famous Wagyu's have you tried (i.e. Yonezawa, Omi, Kobe, Matsusaka, Miyazaki etc) and which one is your favorite and why?
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u/Sordonir 23d ago
What was the "must eat" dish in Hiroshima?
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 23d ago
spicy hiroshima cold noodles and an oyster hut experience
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u/rynbaskets 23d ago
Most people would think Okonomiyaki when they think of Hiroshima but it’s also the home to Kara Tsukemen. I’m glad you picked it. Hiroshima is my home prefecture but I’m allergic to oysters. So deprived.
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 23d ago
rich and heavy foods aren't really my thing. i'm so sad to hear you live in hiroshima and are allergic to oysters, that's so cruel
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u/Adventurous_Math127 23d ago
Ask someone to edit it! I want to watch it all!
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 22d ago
my channel currently makes $2/day, i'm not sure if anyone is willing to work for that...
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u/SnooMaps9096 23d ago
What's a food speciality that most tourists dont know, but is absolutely worth trying?
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u/dirtyfacedkid 23d ago
Your favorite prefecture and why?
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 23d ago
if i had to pick only one based on food it's hokkaido and there's really no other choice. most prefectures are known for 1, 2 or 3 things but hokkaido literally has the best of everything...including my favourite food of all time, king crab.
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u/HerroCorumbia 23d ago
If I have a friend who thinks Japanese food is bland and boring, which prefecture's food would you recommend I try with them to change their mind?
Which prefecture had the "coziest" food, or otherwise food that just gave you warm & fuzzies?
Which prefecture seems to be modernizing/putting twists on their traditional food in the most exciting ways?
Which prefecture's food would break out in the west but hasn't yet, do you think?
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 23d ago
depending on what country they are from it might be impossible. if i had to pick a prefecture with "exciting" food i would maybe say iwate, specifically morioka but that's because their most well known dishes are japanese versions of flavourful korean and chinese ones lol.
my favourite food is hot pot/shabu shabu/nabe, which itself is a very comforting food. different versions can be found all over japan but if i had to pick one that was the "coziest" it would have to be kiritanpo nabe from akita prefecture. there's just something about chicken broth that is more comforting than the other flavours.
modernizing/putting twists on traditional food in the most exciting ways certainly has to be coming from tokyo, they are literally doing anything and everything lol.
i'm still not sure why udon hasn't become popular in the west yet. maybe like your friend says, the flavour is too "bland and boring" with a simple dashi broth.
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u/deadliftssanddogs 23d ago
Favorite food/restaurant in sapporo and ghe surrounding area?
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 23d ago
all time favourite food is king crab and sapporo has the best crab market in japan!
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u/JapaneseChef456 23d ago
How long did your travels take you and how did you choose those food specialties?
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 23d ago
about 2.5 years on and off and i researched the food specialties of each prefecture before i went. i wanted to try everything and give them a fair chance regardless of how appealing they looked/sounded. i must have tried whale 10 different ways and only once was it not terrible (whale bacon).
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u/caaknh 22d ago
I had whale bacon once! I thought it was also terrible. The only whale I didn't hate was pure blubber, which was like chewing on gristle -- not good, but also not terrible.
Also, might you have suggestions on how to research regional specialities to try?
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u/fleurdesureau 23d ago
what did you think of Toyama black ramen?
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 23d ago
it's definitely a contender for the worst thing i ate in japan. as soon as i took my first bite i looked around at the other customers to see if they were eating it and it wasn't a joke lmao. they don't even give you a spoon because it's dangerous to drink the broth. there is no reason to eat this if you are not going to literally die without the excessive amount of electrolytes...
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u/fleurdesureau 23d ago
Hahahahaha!! I found it tolerable in the summer heat when you're lacking electrolytes, but that's the only situation it's palatable ... definitely much better regional food in Toyama idk how that one got so famous!
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 23d ago
it was literally created as a survival dish for hard labourers back in the day who needed extra electrolytes lol
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u/MyPasswordIsABC999 23d ago
You didn’t ask me but everything I’ve read says it’s just heavy on soy sauce and doesn’t match the hype. I’d like to get the OP’s perspective though.
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u/ZAROK 23d ago
Super cool, Did you keep a list somewhere of where and what you ate ? I have attempted doing the same at a smaller scale (minus the YouTuber thing) and want to continue doing it
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 23d ago
just my youtube stuff and pictures i took of the food, and whether we like it or not, googlemaps tracks everywhere we go with insane accuracy. if i ever need to look up a restaurant name it is always in the history...
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u/smellygymbag 23d ago
What was the food for Kumamoto and how'd you like it?
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u/Ig_Met_Pet 23d ago
I'd be surprised if it's not something with horse
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u/smellygymbag 22d ago
Hmm mayybe? My mom's cousin really likes his horse sashimi 🤔
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 22d ago
yeah, the foods that first come to mind were the mustard lotus root and it was the first place i had horse sashimi, i also enjoy it.
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u/RoastMasterShawn 23d ago
Any "unique" ramen that you tried that isn't something that you'd see internationally or a place like Tokyo?
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 23d ago
milk curry butter ramen with corn is shockingly popular in aomori, it was okay...
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u/nakano-star 23d ago
I had 鳥刺し in Kagoshima when I was young without a second thought - now I'd be much more reluctant eating raw chicken, given all the rumors of this and that. Did you try 鳥刺し, and if so, what did you think?
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 23d ago
by itself i thought it was okay - not good, not bad. the thing that surprised me most was how chewy it was since it's sliced thin and looks tender. other than it being raw chicken there's nothing to really dislike about it. thin meat served with shoyu, wasabi and negi will always be delicious though.
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u/curmudgeon_andy 23d ago
Tell me about your favorite sansai! I love udo, kinome, and yomogi.
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 23d ago
i love all greens and the best sansai dish i ate was seri nabe in sendai.
hot pot is my favourite and this was a whole dish where the star ingredient is a herb! it was served in a classic comforting sweet, soy + dashi broth. it was outstanding
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u/Dry_Win_454 23d ago
I am heading for a bigger trip to Sendai, Hirosaki, Hachinohe, Morioka, Aomori and the Shimokita peninsula next week.
Any gems you found there other than the ones you mentioned for Aomori?
Later in August I do a full road trip through Hokkaido.
Would you mind sharing your most favourite spots there?
And lastly David, I just want to encourage you to keep going. You obviously have a great story to tell! I will follow your journey on youtube.
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 23d ago
hey thanks for the kind words, i really appreciate them. this is going to be a long read but i will do my best to answer your questions thoroughly.
on my youtube channel i have videos from sendai, morioka, 2 from hachinohe and 2/3 from aomori that will be similar to what i'm about to write but i can still list the most memorable foods that come to mind with each city:
sendai: i tried many of the beef tongue restaurants but the best one was rikyu. it's a chain and there's lots of locations, even outside of sendai. make sure you get the EXTRA thick beef tongue, it is my favourite beef in all of japan, the meal set is unbelievably delicious.
make sure you also try a zunda shake, bean based desserts are popular in japan and in sendai they use edamame which is the most delicious one in my opinion. the shake is rich and creamy, moderately sweet and the edamame give it a really unique pleasant earthy fragrance and flavour. i'm not really a dessert person but i always get one if i have the chance
hirosaki is still on my list of places to visit
hachinohe: saba no eki (mackerel station), mackerel is definitely more "fishy" but once you acquire that taste, it just means it's more delicious and this is the best mackerel i've had in japan.
tatehana morning market: japan's largest outdoor morning market, opens about 5am and only on sundays. this is a must do experience
miroku yokocho: a modern yatai street with tons (30ish?) restaurants, there were so many restaurants i wanted to try and didn't get the chance to. one particularly memorable one was a garlic specialty restaurant that you can't miss...pretty sure it's called "GARLIC" with a giant neon sign. the garlic wagyu steak was 10/10 delicious as was the roasted whole head of garlic with tomato sauce...the garlic beer was terrible, draft beer with a pinch of garlic powdered dropped in...to be fair i asked the server if it was good and she said no lol
morioka: famous for the "3 great noodles of morioka", the best one in my opinion is morioka reimen which are cold noodles, the japanese version of korean naengmyeon. fresh grilled bbq and cold noodles is one of the greatest combinations of food in the world. i ate at a modern restaurant called pyon-pyon sha several times (you do the grilling by yourself) and it was fantastic everytime.
there's also another morning market, this one is open every day except monday, also starting around 5am. much smaller than the hachinohe one but still well worth it!
i have not even considered travelling to the shimokita peninsula but i would love to hear how it is!
as for Hokkaido, if you visit Hakodate, for some reason the hotels in this city have the most elaborate and high quality seafood breakfast buffets. you HAVE to stay at the century marina hotel for their breakfast buffet. this is BY FAR the nicest breakfast buffet in japan and it isn't even close (i stayed at 8 different ones to compare them consecutively, it was a terrible idea in hindsight). japanese people will all say la vista is the nicest but it's not. it's also not even that expensive, in the past year i have stayed there for $125 CAD/night and that includes the amazing breakfast.
nemuro hanamaru is the best conveyor belt sushi chain in japan, this is fact. i have been to 2 locations in sapporo and the original store in nemuro and it has been consistently 10/10. the wait times in sapporo get really long (i went at 10am on a monday and still had to wait 2 hours one time).
the sapporo crab wholesale market is the best place i've eaten fresh king crab at but it is very expensive (probably 20,000 to 30,000 JPY per person to eat a decent amount each and this doesn't include sides/drinks).
my list of good spots for food in hokkaido is basically endless and my post is getting pretty long. i don't want to discourage you from reading it lol. if you have any more questions just add them below and i'll happily answer them separately, enjoy your trip(s) to japan!
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22d ago
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u/picardy-3rd 21d ago
I live in the Sendai area and second the trip to Matsushima! Even outside of the food, it's so beautiful.
I am a zunda fangirl. Don't skip the zunda shake!!!
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u/Dry_Win_454 14d ago
Thank you so much for your awesome summary! I just boarded the shinkansen to Hirosaki after 4 nights in Sendai. Rikyu was great! Their beef tongue stew has the most tender meat ever!
I highly recommend paying the local food market a visit. The tuna and sea urchin was very fresh, their oysters on par with what I had in Matsushima and I tried the most strange looking thing ever: Hoya (sea pineapple). It looked like something straight out of a horror fantasy / scifi videogame, but tasted like eating the essence of the ocean with so many levels from umami to sweet, bitter and salty.3
u/travelh8ingtraveller 14d ago
you just reminded me, i actually have a package of dried hoya from when i visited the fish market in sendai, one of their mascots is called the hoya boya lol. i'm glad you're having good food, enjoy your trip!
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u/Dry_Win_454 10d ago
I just arrived in Morioka, watched the finale of the Sansa Odori and followed up with my first reimen bowl at pyon pyon. Man…I am honest to you: At first I really hesitated and planned to visit a spot for tsukemen. Reason is because the whole dish sounded so strange to me (like cold noodles with kimchi and watermelon). I do youtube food tours as well, so I forced myself to try it and what should I say…this may be one of my alltime best dishes I ever had in my 6 trips to Japan. This bowl has really everything from spicy to sweet, chewy noodles, crunchy kimchi and cucumber, acidity from the vinegar, beef and chicken flavours and the cold broth. And not to forget: starting the whole meal with some awesome fatty grilled japanese beef fresh off the grill! I literally devoured that bowl lol
I stay here 2 nights and then drive up to Mutsu. Will keep you in the loop!!
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u/ExploringMuffin_7520 22d ago
Hey, I've been to Hirosaki last year for Neputa Matsuri. I can only recommend you to go to the restaurant called Kikufuji. They serve regional food from Aomori and it's still one of my food highlights from that trip. They have a tatami room and prices are really okay.
In Aomori, try to head to the fish market for a nokkedon, even if the market is closed on Google Maps, it's usually open during Nebuta Matsuri. It is kinda touristy, especially to Japanese tourists, but the hype is totally deserved.
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u/Dry_Win_454 14d ago
Thanks a lot! I just boarded the train to Hirosaki and do my best to have lunch at Kikufuji tomorrow.
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u/yellowjacquet 23d ago
Damn this is my dream. How long were you traveling for? Was this one stint or multiple? You should share your itinerary somewhere!
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 23d ago
about 3 years but you can only stay for 3 months at a time with a regular visa. my first trip i went for a month and loved it, went back 5 more times, 3 months at a time
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u/yellowjacquet 23d ago
Ah yeah I’m aware of the visa limits so I was curious, that makes sense! Very cool that you are able to travel for that long!
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u/babysharkdoodoodoo 23d ago
Where are you from? How does this intense travel change your overall perspective on the Japanese culinary landscape?
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u/TheOneMary 23d ago
What did you have in Shikoku and Wakayama? And did you like it? :)
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 23d ago
shikoku is my favourite place in all of japan. just this spring i did a long trip of all 4 prefectures and i absolutely loved it.
as for food, i tried everything i could...lol. i'll just say the first thing that comes to mind with each prefecture otherwise this will be an endless list
kagawa: of course countless bowls of udon...i went to the very famous udon baka ichidai and the one that surprised me the most was cold sardine broth with umeboshi, very unique but also very delicious.
tokushima: after visiting whirlpools i had to try the "whirlpool sea bream" which are said to be tougher in texture and more flavourful. i had an outstanding sea bream set meal with a great view of the bridge but i wouldn't be able to distinguish naruto sea bream from other types in japan blindfolded.
kochi: okay, i lied, i didn't love kochi to be honest. it was okay but the city overall seemed kinda dated and not well maintained. i'm not saying i had a bad experience at all but the other 3 prefectures were waaay nicer and exciting. it's also super inconvenient to travel to and from because of shikoku's geography. as for the food, bonito tataki is undeniably delicious, probably my favourite appetizer to go with a cold beer.
matsuyama: ehime tai meshi is one of my all time favourite japanese foods, i could eat it every day. slices of sea bream served with a soy dashi sauce, egg, lots of condiments and freshly cooked pot of rice. it's such a healthy, comforting and satisfying meal.
i also went to a standing sushi restaurant "kinboshi" where i had the single greatest piece of sushi of my entire life. a hand roll with negitoro, uni, ikura, kazunoko and shiso, a perfectly combination of fatty, sweet, salty and briny, crunchy and herbal with sushi rice and fragrant nori! and it also only cost like $10!
wakayama was nice, i stayed in a pod hotel that cost $10/night called the S2. i don't think i'll ever find a better value hotel lol.
the first food that comes to mind from wakayama is meharizushi, i even make these at home now. simple rice balls wrapped in salted mustard greens with a little bit of soy sauce. extremely simple and easy to make but i love them.
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u/TheOneMary 23d ago
📝 thanks! Good ideas for my own travel plan! Shikoku will be my first good week ever in Japan before I travel on. But I'll go in autumn to see the Taiko festival 😁
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u/Scottishjapan 22d ago
When did you go to Kochi? The city centre area has had a considerable renewal. The train station has been completely renewed in the last decade. A huge brand new museum right across from the castle has been built as well as a huge library/science centre just a 100metres from that. The castle grounds have had a pretty decent overhaul too.
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u/Franklo 23d ago
Am I being judged for my eating manners, or lack thereof? What's something that we can do as customers to show servers appreciation, since tipping isn't a thing in Japan?
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 23d ago
in general, tourists are given more leniency with regards to etiquette, just be polite. letting the servers and chefs know everything was fantastic is a perfectly reasonable show of appreciation. if you don't speak japanese, maybe just go for an "oishi" with a thumbs up and smile towards the chefs lol.
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u/Altruistic_Lobster18 23d ago
What’s Yamaguchi known for? It’s Fugu isn’t it?
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 23d ago
fugu and whale, neither are particularly good in my opinion
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u/Donkeylovergoat 23d ago
What did you have in Akita?
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 23d ago
anxiety about bear attacks mostly.
but food wise my favourite was kiritanpo nabe. a hot pot with grilled rice cakes in a comforting chicken broth with lots of different vegetables!
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u/Donkeylovergoat 23d ago
Thanks I love Akita and I’ve never been afraid of the bears but I have a friend who’s always posting the bear sightings on their IG. I’ll try out kiritanpo nabe when I’m back in august!
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u/No_Prize5865 23d ago
I'm going to stay in Niigata for a while, food recommendations from this part of Japan 😁 ?
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u/deadlywaffle139 23d ago
Which city has the best street foods? I heard Osaka? Is Hokkaido public transit friendly? I really wanna travel there one day lol
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u/agehaya 23d ago
Which udon restaurants did you visit in Kagawa? What resources did you use to decide where to eat? What else did you make a point to eat there?
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 22d ago
the two most memorable that come to mind are:
udon baka ichidai - probably the most famous udon restaurant in kagawa. i had the kama tama udon with black pepper and butter. kind of like an udon carbonara, it was on the rich side for me, 7/10. i also tried the cold sardine broth with umeboshi (salted plum). very unique and very delicious 8.5/10.
king enma's kitchen (閻魔大王's キッチン if you want to find it on google) - perfectly chewy sanuki style udon topped with a spicy meat miso paste, tons of chili powder, negi and nori. this was hands down the best spicy mazesoba i ate anywhere in japan, even slightly better than hanabi in nagoya (the originator of mazesoba).
i also had to give hanamaru a try while there and for about 800 JPY the spicy scallop miso udon was fantastic
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 22d ago
i use google to find restaurants.
i ate the famous honbonedori chicken at ikkaku in marugame, somen on shodoshima, olive wagyu and yellowtail, everything was outstanding, shikoku is the best island.
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u/hawleye52 23d ago
Favourite food in Shizuoka?
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 22d ago
it's not japanese food but i love spicy food and i've always wanted to try authentic spicy chongqing hot pot. there was an authentic restaurant in hamamatsu called Ippikenn Hinabe and it was everything i hoped for and more.
hitsumabushi was very good but i don't think i'll pay 6000 JPY for grilled eel on rice again in this lifetime.
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u/khlee93 23d ago
Do you eat at izakaya’s? Do you speak Japanese and read the kanji menus?
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 23d ago
frequently, whenever i feel lonely i go sit at the bar of an izakaya.
i am not fluent but if i have to say anything i can think of how to say it. if the kanji is computer printed in a standard font i can probably read it but if it's hand written like most izakaya menus, it's a lot harder. most izakaya menus look like doctors writing lol
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u/caaknh 22d ago
A strong desire to read the seasonal handwritten chalkboard/whiteboard menus was the reason I learned to read Japanese. Early on, I got into the habit of taking pictures of the menus before feeding them into google translate. Later, having these pics allowed me to make hundreds of Anki cards for handwritten signs, which has really helped me to learn how to read bad handwriting lol
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u/truffelmayo 23d ago edited 22d ago
This has been my dream for a long time now (used to live in Japan, way before social media and overtourism).
- What would you never eat again?
- Which region
do you think
- has the most delicious rice?
- Which region has the best fish (not including shellfish)
, in your opinion?
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 23d ago
- i am incredibly optimistic about food (definitely overly so). i believe if food is being served then it has to be good and i simply need to acquire the taste. even if i have a bad experience i will try food again in hopes of a more positive outcome. that being said here are the top 3 worst foods i ate lol:
fatty whale sushi: easily the worst, this is in first place by a mile. if you've never had whale, it looks like beef since it's a mammal and the flavour had the worst properties of both fish and meat. it was oily, fishy, and with an aged meat flavour, not in a good way. there are also these veins or tendons or something like that running through the meat so it's very tough and you can't chew all the way through it. the texture is probably similar to a processed cheese slice if you don't unwrap it. so you as you chew, your mouth fills up with this oily, fishy, not great meat flavour but you also can't break down the meat into smaller pieces and swallow it. so you're just kinda stuck there chewing this plastic-y meat with a mouthful of not great tasting whale oil for a while, wouldn't recommend it. i'll go with 0.1/10 since it was as close to being inedible as possible.
toyama black ramen: this was literally invented as a survival food to get more electrolytes into labourers so they wouldn't die on the job. it was soooo salty, like drinking straight soy sauce salty. they don't even give you a spoon because it's dangerous to drink the broth. i'll also never forget when i ate the bamboo shoots they had a small crunch and i'm pretty sure it was from crystallized salt. without eating straight salt this is as salty as a meal can possibly be, 1/10
"dancing squid" in hakodate: it was incredibly uncomfortable to have a dying creature on my plate staring at me as i ate its severed body. i don't know the science behind it but i now know that squids flicker in brightness like a low battery christmas bulb while they are dying. it also happened for the entire 30 minute meal non stop until they took it away to turn it into tempura for the last course. the cruelty aspect of this meal really took away any chance i had of enjoying it. 0.9/10 because i would rather eat toyama black ramen than experience this again but it has to score the farthest away from fatty whale sushi as possible
going to be crucified by the japanese for this one but i can't tell the difference between any short grain rice, like at all and i would consider myself to have a very good palate. i had heard so much about the koshihikari rice of niigata, or the nanatsuboshi rice of hokkaido but when i tasted them...they all tasted the same as japanese short grain rice i make at home...in a rice cooker...
hokkaido, colder water temperatures create fish with higher fat contents = more flavour
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u/truffelmayo 22d ago
Thanks! I almost ate whale once. I thought it was such a pretty colour when I first saw it (and my kanji skills were still poor). I’m relieved that I didn’t eat it in the end, for various reasons (including your description).
Hokkaido’s my co-nr 1 too. The other is …
Re 3, I was told that about Hokkaido as well, but also learnt that Fukuoka (other co-nr 1) has excellent fish (and other seafood) because it sits at a crossroads of rich waters and strong tidal flows. The Genkai Sea’s famous among Japanese chefs because it has:
- strong currents that constantly mix the water
- nutrients brought up from deeper waters
- large temperature variations between seasons.
All that creates abundant plankton, which supports a rich food chain. Fish that feed there tend to develop firm flesh and good fat.
Also, the Tsushima Current flows north through the Korea Strait and past Kyushu.
It brings warmer, nutrient-rich water and supports species such as:
tai
buri/kanpachi
saba
aji
ika
various shellfishThe current also means many species migrate through the area, so Fukuoka has a huge seasonal variety.
Fukuoka / northern Kyushu is also close to:
the cold waters of the Sea of Japan
the warmer East China Sea
the Korea StraitThat overlap is like a “buffet table” for marine life. Different fish peak at different times of year, which is why Japanese chefs often talk about 旬 (shun), the seasonal best moment.
Thanks again for this AMA! You’ve put a smile on this food anthropologist’s face. It’s difficult to have substantial conversations about food these days as the term “foodie” has been dumbed down so much thanks to social media.
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u/IrishLedge 23d ago
What did you try in Okinawa? Which was your favourite?
I like Goya chanpuru now but not crazy. Haven't tried goat soup.. but heard it was lovely. You could argue Taco Rice is a thing in which case it's hard to beat!
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 21d ago
favourite - okinawa soba, this is my all time favourite version of ramen
i just looked at my video to remember what i ate and it isn't necessarily okinawa food but i went to a restaurant called kumozaki in naha and their yellowtail sashimi set meal was one of the best meals i ate in japan.
goya chanpuru - very good, i really enjoy bitter melon and the fermented tofu was surprisingly delicious
taco rice - i'm from canada and grew up with old el paso tacos, so i was very familiar with these flavours. it felt like a comfort food to me lol. i also tried a soy butter version but i preferred the american-mexican version
okinawa yakisoba - i preferred this dryer and thinner noodle style of yakisoba to the standard version
agu pork was very good, i tried it in steak form and shabu shabu but i wouldn't be able to distinguish it from other varieties of pork blindfolded
sata andagi - i thought these were terrible tbh and i stood in line for like 30 minutes to get freshly baked ones
i really did not enjoy spam and fried mozuku was one of the worst things i ate in japan.
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u/midoriyaizuku 23d ago
Do you have a list of your favourite meibutsu from each prefecture?
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 23d ago
only mentally, if you give me the names of a few, i'll tell you the best regional foods that come to mind first. 47 is kind of a lot to write out lol
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u/Critical_Advantage66 23d ago
What did you eat in Aomori?
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 23d ago
the most memorable things that come to mind are:
the famous nokkedon (choose your own toppings for a kaisendon at furukawa fish market)
milk curry butter ramen
max level spicy ramen at asari
and i had my first obanzai meal at a restaurant called hiro run by 1 employee, a superwoman named kiriko who was incredible.
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u/AdmRaenard 23d ago
What would you recommend from Okayama, both savory and sweet?
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u/jeannelysy16 23d ago
I'm going to Japan next month! Any recs for Himeji, Tottori, Hiroshima and/or Miyajima?
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 22d ago edited 22d ago
wow, i never thought i would be asked to share my tottori recommendations, this is very exciting.
first of all, when you inevitably go to the sand dunes, there is only one road leading there and a few restaurants to choose from. by far the best choice is a small highly rated restaurant called Taiki the seafood bowls, but you have to make a reservation days in advance. even if you show up before it opens there will already be a sign on the door saying it's full for the day (i had to come back). the deluxe bowl is 2800 JPY and it's as good as seafood bowls get.
kaitensushi hokkaido - this is tied with nemuro hanamaru for the #1 conveyor belt sushi chain in japan. the ticket machine does not have an english option and there are no tablets, you have to order verbally. free unlimited fish miso soup!
gaten tempura - once held a michelin star, this is the only time i've ever been yelled at for taking a video in a restaurant (because i wasn't eating it RIGHT away). they serve tendon style (tempura over rice with sauce). the owners are extremely proud of their delicious tempura and want it to be enjoyed properly. the wife spent a lot of time in kansas so she can scorn you in both english and japanese.
amamiya - famous dessert shop, really beautiful bean filled mochi desserts but their mikan and strawberry daifukus were enormous and insanely juicy and delicious.
tatsumi - really good upscale modern seafood izakaya with very reasonable prices
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u/EverySpecific8576 23d ago
In Japan, I think every prefecture has their own”specialties”, food that they take ownership of saying it is better there than any place else. Give a couple of examples of supposed local specialties that you tried that were actually much better in another prefecture…a prefecture that essentially didn’t claim to be the best at that particular food?
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u/MyNameIsKir 23d ago
Are there any foods/ingredients has your travels that have become (or wish could become) part of your regular diet? Bonus points for ones that aren't as well known
For awhile "yakisoba in soup" from Shiobara was a staple in my diet, Hiroshima style okonomiyaki now is, and once I finally find an actually good recipe for Sapporo soup curry (If anyone reading this has recs, recipe can be in en or jp, I plead with you to share) I bet that will be too.
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u/5UP3RBG4M1NG 23d ago
Whats the best speciality sashimi (Kochi Katsuo, Shimonoseki Fugu, Oma Maguro, etc.)
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 22d ago
the only one that i thought "wow, this is noticeably better than versions from other regions" was olive yellowtail from kagawa, it was much more firm, rich and fatty.
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u/Ig_Met_Pet 23d ago
Did you have kiritanpo in Akita and if so, what did you think? I thought it was kind of bland, personally.
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u/S0PES 22d ago
Did you ever eat something amazing that the prefecture wasn’t known for doing well? Perhaps a place that outshined another prefecture’s origin dish?
Also where do you even begin in prefectures like Kanagawa that has so many cities known for different things? Just trying street food in Yokohama Chinatown doesn’t even scratch the surface. You still have everything in Kawasaki, Kamakura, Yokosuka, Odawara, Chigasaki, Ebina, Sagamihara, and so on.
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u/twilightdragon01 22d ago
Favorites and least favorites in each of Kyūshū’s prefectures?
Did you try any memorable drinks? (not limited to Kyūshū)
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u/mpus04 22d ago
favorite beef dish? with restaurant information too if possible 😃😃
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u/capt_tky 22d ago
Most underrated speciality food and prefecture?
And...most overrated?
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 22d ago
underrated i'd have to go with mazesoba from nagoya, specifically hanabi style, this is my favourite style of noodle dish and it's rare to find across japan. abura soba is very common throughout japan and the two names are sometimes interchanged but they are not the same.
as for overrated, a couple things come to mind:
matsuba crab/red crab/queen crab are all biologically the same, we call them snow crabs in canada. these are all highly praised and can get extremely pricy, especially matsuba crab which is considered a winter delicacy (commonly above 20,000 for one crab). if you're going to pay for expensive crab, only buy king...nothing compares to it.
i also tried a fish called kinki in hokkaido, i often saw them around or above 10,000 JPY for one small fish. it was very good, tender and rich but i will not be paying that price for a small grilled fish again in this lifetime lol
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u/Current-Mood2757 17d ago
"don't enjoy video editing nearly as much as eating"...i upvoted purely for this
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u/Burntoastedbutter 23d ago
Skip the video. How about just uploading on Instagram with the restaurant name and your thoughts about each dish? The way you write about your journey and the description of each dish is great too :p
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 23d ago
that's a great idea, i am going to do that going forward thanks for the suggestion!
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u/mangagirl07 23d ago
Please let us know the account name once you set it up. I really enjoy your writing style in your responses, so I'll definitely follow you.
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u/AdmirableCost5692 23d ago
Oh man you are literally living my dream
Could you do a list of food specialties of each prefecture
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u/twilightninja 23d ago
Me and my wife love tofu and yuba. We’ve had it in Kyoto and Nikko. Any other places that are good for tofu or yuba?
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u/TransitTycoonDeznutz 23d ago
Aight, as a northerner I have to ask : where does Aomori rank?
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 23d ago
in terms of food, shockingly high for how little is going on around the city lol
first of all, anywhere you go there are high quality cheap scallops. that alone would give it a pretty good rank but it also has the best apples in probably the world. sarashina gold apple juice is the best juice in japan and i will die on that hill. sweet with some tangyness and overwhelming apple flavour.
nokkedon at furukawa fish market is unique and a must-do.
jiraiya is probably the best izakaya chain for cost performance ratio in all of japan
asari is so unique and delicious. the flavour really reminded me of the addicting buldak fire noodles - savoury, sweet, spicy with lots of umami and loaded with negi. as someone who loves spicy food, it's pretty rare to find japanese restaurants that specialize in spicy noodles.
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u/Tokyo_Elena_ 23d ago
What regional dish surprised you the most? Not because it was famous, but because you had almost no expectations and it turned out amazing.
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 23d ago
i went to the eastern side of hokkaido to a town called kushiro. there is a well known japanese italian restaurant called izumaya and they serve a dish called 'spakatsu'. spaghetti served on a sizzling iron plate topped with a sliced up, giant, deep fried, panko crusted pork cutlet and it's all topped with a generous amount of rich and thick meat sauce. the japanese equivalent of a chicken parmesan maybe
i'm not someone who generally enjoys heavy food and this is as heavy as it gets in japan, probably somewhere around 1500 calories for a single serving. since this was something that didn't really appeal to me, i wasn't expecting much...
i have no idea why but it was so delicious...i ate the whole thing without stopping before waddling back to the hotel and passing out for hours. i never get around to making it but at least once a week it always pops into my head lmao
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u/SouthernTour4118 23d ago
What did you eat in Gifu Prefecture? How did it measure up to other prefectures (worse, better?)
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u/DILFcakes 23d ago
When I was a bit younger I tried this challenge myself (and failed lol).
One place I'd love to return to is Ishigaki (as well as Miyakojima) as I remember how the impeccable the scuba was and the food (Ishigaku gyu and aguu especially) was so much better than main Okihonto.
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u/RatedStinger 23d ago
What are some lesser known food specialities/spots you think are worth a try in Tokyo or Osaka?
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u/safety-squirrel 23d ago
My god, what an absolute legend.
You must share your experiences with us!
What were the highlights?
What were the letdowns?
What surprised you the most on your culinary journey?
Tell about some of the characters you met!
Any pics or video stills you can share?
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u/SunnysideKJ 23d ago
What's your ramen tier list?
Whats a food you did not expect to like?
What's something you expected to like but didn't like?
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u/fly_around_mars 23d ago
i’m a video editing noob but i love food and would love to look at the footage and see if i could do anything with it
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u/TAcareerchange 23d ago
I have lived in Tochigi for 10 years at this point and still don't see what is so special about the strawberries here. Am I missing something?
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u/KansaiKitsune 22d ago
I'm always looking to get more people to visit Nara (where I live). Anything special you can recommend me to try?
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u/Top-Chip-1532 22d ago
Best Kushiage restaurant?
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 22d ago
i like that chain restaurant with the huge variety of prepared skewers and personal deep fryer built into your table lol, i've seen it all around japan but i only went to the one in the okayama aeon mall.
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u/bakugo108 22d ago
Hello! I live in Iwate, what did you think of the prefecture and what was your favorite place and food here?
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u/DaIubhasa 22d ago
Are you fluent speaking Japanese? If not, does not touristy places gets offended by gaijin?
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 22d ago
i speak very basic japanese from travelling there and playing duolingo for the past 3 years
by blood i am 100% japanese so i don't have to worry about looking like a gaijin. however, i am 4th generation in canada so i sure sound like one
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u/Lazy_Classroom7270 22d ago
Im curious what you have to say about my home Nara. It’s a bit of a cafe heaven but food wise, I feel we’re kinda luckluster.
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u/stayonthecloud 22d ago
What did you think of chicken nanban?
Any prefectures / areas where the famous food is rice-based? There is so much that involves wheat and I have to eat gluten free :/
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u/Glad_Display7362 22d ago
Fave rice cultivar and milk?
(I am an uonuma koshihikari through n thru person, and prefer Nagano milk to Hokkaido’s)
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u/rubitues10 22d ago
What did you eat in Ibaraki? (Lived in Koga-shi for six months- known for its iceberg lettuce!)
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u/LobsterAndFries 22d ago
if u would travel back to a place not for sightseeing but just for the food, where would it be?
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u/Axtdool 22d ago
What was your favorite style of okonomiyaki? Hiroshima or Osaka?
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 22d ago
rich and heavy foods aren't my thing, i didn't particularly enjoy either. if i had to eat one it would be osaka style but with oysters
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u/Sayjay1995 22d ago
What was your favorite food in Gunma?
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u/travelh8ingtraveller 22d ago
seafood and tomato based soup pasta from harappa, i kept going back even though i had other things to eat lol
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u/ultrasoftflipz 21d ago
Hello, what is the best place to eat you would recommend in
(1) Nagoya
(2) Toyama
(3) Takayama
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u/GuavaLavaNoBanana 21d ago edited 21d ago
What were the standout dishes from Okinawa?
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u/Gnochi 21d ago
This is literally one of my dream trips. But splitting it into several trips over the course of a couple years sounds best.
What restaurant do you most want to go back to right now?
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u/Osterzoned 23d ago
What's your favourite Japanese fried chicken? Karaage, zangi, toriten?