http://www.city-cost.comMon, 11 May 2026 02:11:07 +0900Originally from Australia, I've been living in different parts of Japan since 2006 including Wakayama, Nara, Shiga, Ibaraki and now Kyoto. I love how different each part of Japan is, as well as the culture, history and just every day life-style in this beautiful country. My blog, Where Next Japan, aims to showcase the best of Japan and ask the big questions, like, "Where next?"enCopyright © 2015 - 2026 City-Cost All Rights Reserved.webmaster@city-cost.com (CC Team)http://img.city-cost.com/static/blog_campaign_icon.pnghttp://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/WNJ/wmj9O-food_kobayashicityI love cheese. As much as I love Japan, what I miss from supermarkets in Australia is the long deli counter with rounds and hunks and slices of cheeses: soft and hard, blue and… yellow. Lots of amazing, delicious, difficult to pronounce kinds of cheese.But, in Kobayashi City, down in Kyushu, a place called Daiwa Farm has been winning awards for its natural cheeses. I haven’t been to Kobayashi City sadly, but I do love Kyushu, with its beautiful natural scenery and its onsen. From its informative English tourism portal, visitors to Kobayashi can enjoy hiking, paragliding and SUPing (Stand Up Paddle Boarding). But also, cheese.In the gift box set were 3 cheeses: Tomadaiwa - a hard cheese, aged over two months; Robidaiwa - a soft, washed rind cheese typically more aromatic than your typical camembert or brie; and Mozzarella - the traditional Italian curd cheese most well associated with being the stretchy cheese on pizzas. There were also two, cute bottles of drinkable yogurt. Often in gift boxes, the samples tend to be quite small, but each of the cheeses was a good size and enough to be part of a satisfying meal shared between two. (My husband is more mouse than man.)The first cheese we sampled was the Robidaiwa, smeared across some of my rosemary flatbread, alongside hummus and salad. The cheese had a sweet smell on opening the packet, with a slight alcohol tang, similar to sake lees. The cheese itself was very soft and spreadable. The aroma is mild enough to satisfy any cheese-curious individual looking for something with more impact than camembert. The herbs from the rosemary flatbread paired nicely with the cheese, and it would probably match something like smoked salmon or olives.The next to go was the Tomadaiwa, on a lazy afternoon, as part of an open toasted sandwich. In between slicing cheese for my sandwich, my husband and I sampled some of the chunks uncooked and found the taste creamy and light. The Tomadaiwa melted easily in my little toaster oven, over tomato paste, pepper and salt, and with a few fresh basil leaves from the garden thrown on top. Delicious, and perfect for a Friday afternoon when I lacked the motivation to cook anything more complicated.While I was hoping to make a pizza, the increasing intensity of the Japanese summer heat made me unwilling to use the oven and finally, one hot summer evening, I sliced up the mozzarella along with fresh mini tomatoes, salted, and more basil, and covered everything in olive oil. The mozzarella texture was beautifully smooth. It is the most popular of the Daiwa cheese range and it’s not hard to see why. On rice, with a mouthful of tomato and basil, it is absolutely divine. While not cheesy, I can’t leave out the drinkable yogurts. Obviously made using fresh, high grade milk, the yogurts were thick and the perfect level of sweet (but not too sweet). While they would be great for breakfast, with some fruit, honey or granola, I saved them for my afternoon snack to have with a cup of tea while relaxing on my balcony. I forgot to share the second one with my husband, and he was a little sad.In conclusion, a very tasty sampling of some top notch Japanese cheeses. Next time I am in the neighbourhood of southern Miyazaki Prefecture, I hope that I will get the chance to visit Daiwa Farm and taste test even more of their dairy delights. This post is supported by Kobayashi City Promotion Company Inc., one of City-Cost's Supporters helping City-Cost bloggers to enjoy life in Japan and engage in new experiences.To view the full contents of this page visit www.city-cost.comPostshttps://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/WNJ/wmj9O-food_kobayashicityMon, 15 Jun 2020 18:18:00 +0900https://www.city-cost.comhttps://www.city-cost.com/blogs/WNJ/wmj9O-food_kobayashicity