Japan's Regional Specialities

In Japan regional specialities are an important part of tourism. Every prefecture, and sometimes also certain regions or cities in Japan, has a special food, food product or beverage they are famous for. As a tourist this is an interesting part of traveling in Japan. When I go somewhere I always try to eat something you can only eat there. But Japan also pushes this cultural aspect slightly over the top sometimes.

All restaurants offer the same items

When there is a speciality there will be too many restaurants that offer it. For example, the city of Utsunomiya, in Tochigi Prefecture, is famous for gyoza and you can find over 300 restaurants in the city that serve the dumplings. Some of restaurants serving gyoza are better than others and as a tourist, it is not always easy to find the good restaurants. Also, do you really need so many restaurants that offer the same food?

Personally, I do love Utsunomiya gyoza and would recommend everyone that visits the city to try them, but every time I go there I always go to the same place because I found the place that works best for me.

Souvenirs and merchandise of the regional specialities

Besides the food itself, you also get all sorts of edible souvenirs and merchandise among regional specialities. For example, in the city of Uji, near Kyoto, which is famous for green tea, you can get green tea flavoured curry, green tea flavoured cookies, green tea flavoured candy and just about everything else you can think of. You can even get cosmetic products with green tea, like face creams and facial hydration masks.

If you are into cute things, you can also find keychains, plushies and toys themed around some kinf of regional specialty.

In Utsunomiya you can get small plushies, toys and badges formed like a cute anime-style gyoza.

With Demon Slayer being so popular at the moment, you also find Demon Slayer regional-themed merchandise in most souvenir shops. These mostly are keychains and magnets with illustrations of the characters eating the regional speciality. But these kinds of souvenirs have been around in Japan for a while now. For example, there are a lot of region-limited Hello Kitty keychains that feature regional food specialities, too.

These items are fun to buy when you visit the region, but I get the feeling that, similar to Disneyland headbands with Micky Mouse ears, they lose their charm once you go home.

My recommendations for regional specialities

I am not an expert on regional specialities but I have visited several regions in Japan and here are three recommendations from me regarding which places you can visit to enjoy them.

Kirasse in Utsunomiya

Kirasse is a gyoza restaurant situated in the basement of a Don Quijote store about 10 minutes from JR Utsunomiya station. The interesting aspect here is that you can eat gyoza from different restaurants. You can even get a plate of 5 gyoza that all come from different places and taste differently to compare and find out which one you like best.

They have a different menu for each weekday so you can come back on a different date and enjoy different kinds of gyoza as well.  At around 300 yen per plate, the prices are very reasonable, too. On weekends you might have to line up because the place is rather popular. My favourite gyoza are those from the stores called "Men Men“ and “Men Men Ichiba.”

Fukutaro in Osaka

Osaka is famous for okonomiyaki and takoyaki. I am not such a big fan of takoyaki, but I like okonomiyaki and have tried several places to eat it.  So far the restaurant Fukutaro has been the best. They have a main restaurant in Namba and two other branches in Umeda and in Takashimaya. The main restaurant can be crowded. In my experience, it is easier to get a seat in the other two branches.

Personally, I would recommend the mochi and cheese okonomiyaki.

King Tacos in Okinawa

Okinawa is famous for taco rice - a bowl of rice topped with ground meat, cheese and vegetables covered with a chili sauce. This dish is said to have been created for the American soldiers in Okinawa, to provide a filling and cheap dish.

King Tacos claims it was the first place to offer taco rice. The main store is situated in Kin town that is said to be the birthplace of Taco Rice. You can get taco rice in almost every restaurant in Okinawa but in the town of Kin, you can try the original. They offer fairly large portions for very reasonable prices so if you are not an American soldier you might want to consider sharing with a friend. It is not a fancy restaurant, but the taste is right.

Are you into regional specialities? When you travel in Japan do you research what kind of food is famous in the region or do care more about sightseeing and other activities?