It's been quite awhile since I've visited Japan, exactly almost 3 years before the March 2011 tsunami and earthquake. This is a country that has always held a special place in my heart (other than Austria for a different reason altogether) and hence the repeated visits previously. What's there not to love about the fantastic food, friendly people, great weather and beautiful scenery? Strangely enough, I've always found it funny how people always recommend Tokyo as a starting base for first-timers to Japan but oddly, there's nothing there that really fascinates me to this day. Perhaps it's the shopping, the Otaku culture, tall skyscrapers and the excitement of a city that stays awake till late in happening places such as Roppongi. Or perhaps it's just me being a boring old fart who just can't seem to appreciate these bright lights.
But seriously folks, there is so much more to discover outside of Tokyo!
Anyway, I decided I had to take a break after a hectic 5 months at work. I went back in early Nov 2013, mainly covering Osaka, Takayama, Shirakawago and Kanazawa. Also known as Japan's Kitchen, Osaka is renowned for local street food such as Takoyaki(fried octopus balls), Okonomiyaki(pancake smeared with tonkatsu sauce) and Yaki Soba(fried noodles). It's pretty easy to spot them along the bustling streets of Dotonbori. You can find them at both roadside stalls and restaurants and as long as you see a somewhat queue forming somewhere, you know for sure it's got to be good!
But seriously folks, there is so much more to discover outside of Tokyo!
Anyway, I decided I had to take a break after a hectic 5 months at work. I went back in early Nov 2013, mainly covering Osaka, Takayama, Shirakawago and Kanazawa. Also known as Japan's Kitchen, Osaka is renowned for local street food such as Takoyaki(fried octopus balls), Okonomiyaki(pancake smeared with tonkatsu sauce) and Yaki Soba(fried noodles). It's pretty easy to spot them along the bustling streets of Dotonbori. You can find them at both roadside stalls and restaurants and as long as you see a somewhat queue forming somewhere, you know for sure it's got to be good!
Takayama was a lovely rustic little city that had the juxtaposition of both Old Takayama Town and the newer part of the city next to each other in some kind of strange time warp. Well technically, the Old Town area was just one lone street stretching for about 500 m or so. Everything else surrounding it were cafes, souvenir shops, the occasional butchery and little restaurants.
When in Takayama, you would be missing out if you didn't try their Hida Beef and Hoba Miso. The former is a special grade of beef you can only find in the Gifu region and is a kind of black-haired cattle reared in the Hida prefecture, hence the name. Comparing between Kobe and Wagyu beef, I would say Hida beef has a exceptional quality that is quite unmatchable in terms of marbling, texture and taste(spoken like a true plebeian LOL). As for the Hoba leaf, it actually is a species of Magnolia leaf used for grilling food together with a locally produced miso paste. Again, this seems to be a specialty dish in the region. It can be used for almost anything, from grilling Hida beef to mushrooms, leeks and vegetables. The leaf reacts with the miso paste when barbecued over a slow fire to release an aroma to the foods on top of it.
I guess it's somewhat similar to our local rice dumplings(ba zhang) being wrapped in bamboo leaves and steamed over high heat (ok maybe not somewhat but you get the drift).
So it was obviously a no-brainer for me to choose to eat Hoba Miso Hida Beef on the first night I arrived at Takayama. Which is kind of a good thing on hindsight cos silly old me burnt my tongue being too impatient to try the dish and I ended up not being able to enjoy anything else for the next 3 days. Bleah.
When in Takayama, you would be missing out if you didn't try their Hida Beef and Hoba Miso. The former is a special grade of beef you can only find in the Gifu region and is a kind of black-haired cattle reared in the Hida prefecture, hence the name. Comparing between Kobe and Wagyu beef, I would say Hida beef has a exceptional quality that is quite unmatchable in terms of marbling, texture and taste(spoken like a true plebeian LOL). As for the Hoba leaf, it actually is a species of Magnolia leaf used for grilling food together with a locally produced miso paste. Again, this seems to be a specialty dish in the region. It can be used for almost anything, from grilling Hida beef to mushrooms, leeks and vegetables. The leaf reacts with the miso paste when barbecued over a slow fire to release an aroma to the foods on top of it.
I guess it's somewhat similar to our local rice dumplings(ba zhang) being wrapped in bamboo leaves and steamed over high heat (ok maybe not somewhat but you get the drift).
So it was obviously a no-brainer for me to choose to eat Hoba Miso Hida Beef on the first night I arrived at Takayama. Which is kind of a good thing on hindsight cos silly old me burnt my tongue being too impatient to try the dish and I ended up not being able to enjoy anything else for the next 3 days. Bleah.
After spending 3 nights vegetating in slow-paced Takayama, I decided it was time to take a train out to Kanazawa. Kanazawa was a lot more interesting IMHO because it actually had a dedicated city area and hence more nightlife than Takayama which is pretty much dead after 5 pm everyday. Kanazawa has one of Japan's finest gardens aka the Kenrokuen and it's situated right next to the Kanazawa castle. It's also got one of Japan's largest fish markets, the Omicho market. What I really love about visiting these Japanese markets is just hobnobbing with the locals and taking in the smells of the fresh seafood amidst the bustle of stall hawkers calling out to customers.
Kanazawa by the way is also situated right next to the Sea of Japan, which means it always gets seafood fresh off the sea.
Kanazawa is renowned for its ancient entertainment tea houses, known as Chaya, where geishas used to perform. There are a few of these districts in the city area, of which Higashi Chaya is one of the larger and more well-known ones around. I happened to visit the place both during night and day and boy, was the atmosphere different! It's basically a cluster of traditional Japanese wooden houses and it reminded me a lot of the beginning scenes in the movie "Spirited Away". During the night, most of the houses were dark and seemed unoccupied but for some, they radiated an orangey or reddish glow from within and hypnotically slow traditional Japanese music which seemed rather spooky altogether. I wonder if there are still any real geishas performing inside some of these houses today?
Kanazawa is renowned for its ancient entertainment tea houses, known as Chaya, where geishas used to perform. There are a few of these districts in the city area, of which Higashi Chaya is one of the larger and more well-known ones around. I happened to visit the place both during night and day and boy, was the atmosphere different! It's basically a cluster of traditional Japanese wooden houses and it reminded me a lot of the beginning scenes in the movie "Spirited Away". During the night, most of the houses were dark and seemed unoccupied but for some, they radiated an orangey or reddish glow from within and hypnotically slow traditional Japanese music which seemed rather spooky altogether. I wonder if there are still any real geishas performing inside some of these houses today?
I spent my last night at the Imperial Hotel in Osaka and though it was a bit out of the way from the main shopping area, there was a hotel shuttle bus that took you to Osaka station every 15 minutes so it was really convenient. Not to mention the hotel room more than made up for it in terms of comfort and service level!
Oh yes and if you happen to be walking around the Dotonbori area, you would notice a restaurant with a fixture of a giant crab mechanically waving its arms and legs as if to beckon you into the restaurant. This crab restaurant is actually pretty famous in Osaka and is known as Kanidoraku. The food here is pretty expensive though, granted it's a paradise for crab lovers. From crab shabu to crab barbecue to sashimi to fried crab croquettes, this restaurant has got it all. I had the crab hotpot and the croquettes and the bill came to SGD 70. It was actually decent cos I got a huge plate of snow crab and vegetables and for that price, you'd never get anything close to that here in Singapore.
Oh yes and if you happen to be walking around the Dotonbori area, you would notice a restaurant with a fixture of a giant crab mechanically waving its arms and legs as if to beckon you into the restaurant. This crab restaurant is actually pretty famous in Osaka and is known as Kanidoraku. The food here is pretty expensive though, granted it's a paradise for crab lovers. From crab shabu to crab barbecue to sashimi to fried crab croquettes, this restaurant has got it all. I had the crab hotpot and the croquettes and the bill came to SGD 70. It was actually decent cos I got a huge plate of snow crab and vegetables and for that price, you'd never get anything close to that here in Singapore.
I also found a restaurant on the 7th floor of Takashimaya near Namba station which specializes in one of my favourite Japanese foods...the Hambagu steak! It's actually the Japanese version of the hamburger steak but instead of a patty sandwiched between two pieces of bread, it comes cooked in a sealed up tinfoil and you have to poke the package with your knife to open it up. And have I mentioned the appetizer that comes before that? It's a cold broiled tomato sitting on top of some kind of tuna and cream and when you bite into it, there's nothing quite like the taste of the succulent tomato dancing with the flavours of the tuna and cream.
I guess that's enough rambling from me for now. And so I will leave you with some of my favourite food pics from my previous trips.