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Feb 10, 2024

Not to be missed culinary experiences

I'm thinking about my next travel destination in Japan and culinary or local produce that I ought to try to savor authentic flavors and preparations. What foods or cuisines do you recommend where you live?

TonetoEdo

TonetoEdo

Living between the Tone and Edo Rivers in Higashi Katsushika area of Chiba Prefecture.

4 Answers



Best Answer

  • genkidesu

    on Feb 18

    This site might also be of interest to you: https://dining.japan.travel/en/ It's from the JNTO, and it's got some good food-themed inspiration from different spots around the country.

    1
  • genkidesu

    on Feb 11

    Great question! I definitely think culinary-based journeys are fun, and every prefecture really has something unique and different to enjoy. Niigata is famous for a few things -- hegi soba and sasadango are the first two that immediately came to mind. If you like more earthy sweets flavors I think sasadango is delicious, and the presentation is fun, too – the bamboo leaf wrapping is cool from an eco-friendly standpoint. Of course, local rice (koshihikari) and sake are also must-try items here. Hakkaisan sake is really well known even outside of Niigata Prefecture, and it's a Minamiuonuma specialty. A good winter warmer is noppe, which is a stew packed with different veggies, konnyaku, and sometimes meat or fish in a broth made from dashi, soy sauce, mirin, and some other seasonings depending on the place you get it from!

    1
  • TonetoEdo

    on Feb 11

    @genkidesu I alternate between Chiba-grown rice and Koshihikari from Niigata Prefecture. I'm no rice expert but it's fluffy and pearly. I looked up noppe jiru and found some recipes. Thanks!

    0
  • genkidesu

    on Feb 11

    @TonetoEdo My husband has turned into a massive rice snob and is convinced that local koshihikari is better than everything ;) In saying that I do think most Japanese-grown rice is exceptional quality compared to what I was used to back home. Hope you like noppe if you try it!

    0

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