Submitted to the November 2011 J. Festa “Dining in Japan,” hosted at Japingu. Part 1 is here. To recap– In September, a friend and I traveled to Takayama, about 3 hours from Kanazawa. Located in Gifu near the border of Nagano, the old towns of Hida (飛騨） and Takayama (高山）are a food tourist’s paradise….
Category: Culinary Travel
Travel Checklist: Local Foods in Hida-Takayama, Part 1
Submitted to the November 2011 J. Festa “Dining in Japan,” hosted at Japingu. Part 2 is here. In September, a friend and I traveled to Takayama, about 3 hours from Kanazawa. Located in Gifu near the border of Nagano, the old towns of Hida (飛騨） and Takayama (高山）are a food tourist’s paradise. Since the town…
Apple “Hunting” in Kurouchi Orchard Fruit Park, Hida-Takayama
This article is featured in the J. Festa October 2011 edition: “Entertainment in Japan,” hosted at japingu. The second three-day weekend of “Silver Week,” the week in mid-September with both the national holidays of the Autumnal Equinox (shûbun no hi, 秋分の日) and Respect for the Aged Day (keirô no hi, 敬老の日), found me and a…
A Love Letter to Omicho Market
Submitted to the Japan Blog Matsuri for Sept. 2011, “Reasons to Visit Japan,” hosted by A Modern Girl. I didn’t truly understand the charm of shopping in downtown Kanazawa until I relocated to the city. Before I moved here, Omicho Market* (近江町市場) was usually the first stop on my walking tour of Kanazawa for visiting…
Kaga Yasai: Aka-Kabocha with Sesame Sauce
This article will be featured in J. Festa August 2011 edition: “Food in Japan,” hosted at japingu. ほっこりしている (hokkori shiteiru): to be warm and fluffy Traveling around Japan has really widened my understanding of Japan’s local foods. For instance, because dried apricots are nearly impossible to find in my bayside town, I assumed that there…
Yamada-ya Momiji Manjû, Miyajima
In addition to Iwakuni and Hiroshima proper, I also went to Miyajima on Golden Week, where I decided to try as many flavors of momiji manjû (紅葉饅頭) as I could carry home. Hiroshima area is famous for its beautiful fall foliage, specifically the maple trees; these famous manjû are shaped like momiji, maple leaves. I…
Jerk Kitchen, Hiroshima
I am woefully behind on my food tourism posts about my Golden Week trip to Hiroshima and Iwakuni. When I travel, I try not only to eat the local specialties but also to try the kind of cuisine I can’t find in rural Hokuriku. I spotted the Jerk Kitchen from the window of the Hiroden…
We’re All Rooting for You: Tohoku Zunda Kitkats
郷土料理 (kyôdo ryôri): local cuisine My local Family Mart never has interesting KitKits, but this weekend, I stumbled upon something special: Zunda KitKats. I had just seen The Food Librarian‘s post on zunda, too– what luck! Zunda is a specialty of Tohoku (northeastern Japan), more specifically Sendai. Usually served on or with mochi, zunda is…
Iwakuni Renkon Soba
3. Soba Noodles Made with Lotus-Root もちもちつるつる (mochi-mochi tsuru-tsuru): springy and smooth (texture) (usually used separately, but the ad for the noodles uses both in combination) Looking back on all the places I’ve lived, the two things that make me happiest about a residence are farmers’ markets and quaint historic districts with locally run businesses….
The 100 Flavors of Iwakuni
I have a favorite local ice cream shop in every town I have lived in, and what will win you points with adult me is your selection of unusual flavors.
Golden Week is For Foodies: Iwakuni-zushi
型枠 (katawaku): mold (for shaping things) This Golden Week, a friend and I finally ventured out to southwestern Honshû to see Hiroshima. I’ll be doing a separate post on all the tasty things we ate in Hiroshima City and Miyajima, but I wanted to start out with some of the dishes we had on our…
Taiyaki Tour
ほかほか (hoka hoka): steaming hot food “So, taiyaki is shaped like the tai, which is considered to be—well, you know how this sentence is going to end. The way all my explanations end.” “’Good luck’?” my mother asks. “And also the other way all my explanations end: filled with bean paste.” There’s nothing like biting…
I'll Make It Myself! 
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