NEGISUKI Walking into a Yakitori shop, the first two things you’ll notice are the smokey atmosphere and the smell of fried chicken. These are’t bad things mind you either – few things can beat the smell of grilled chicken. Yakitori shops usually have a fun, casual atmosphere, bustling with character, and hence whenever I have…

BUTTER AZUKI MOCHI Of all the various mochi confectionary I’ve eaten through my travels, this was the one I feel most favourably about. Imagine a Turkish delight, flattened into a pancake and filled with red bean paste, and you’ve got Butter Azuki Mochi. The mochi is so soft that I found it difficult to get…

KIRITANPO, in Akita Kiritanpo is arguably Akita’s most iconic dish; freshly cooked rice is pounded and mashed up, before being formed into cylinders around Japanese cedar skewers, taking on the appearance of giant rice lollipops. They’re then toasted over an open hearth and served with miso or in soup. We tried them at Kiritanpoya, a…

NEGISUKI When I hear the word ‘Sukiyaki’, the first thing that springs to mind is the infamous 1960’s Sakamoto Kyu song, ‘Ue wo Muite Arukou’, which is the only Japanese song to have reached the top of the US billboard charts. The song was about a man who’s walking along whilst crying, and who looks…

White chocolate cake, Merchen Kamakura What are the ingredients? Just a kind of aerated light white chocolate foam inside wrapped by white chocolate. This is the kind of snack that you keep in your fridge as the delicate chocolate starts to melt as soon as you grab it. The sensation in mouth is spectacular and…

LEEK RAMEN Japan adapts its meal according to the seasons, that is why the menu in many restaurant change according to this. I was wandering in Akita city and stumbled across Kara Hashi Chaya restaurant, serving seasonal ramen dishes, with fresh ingredients from around Akita. Between all the kanji on the menu I was a…

OYAKODON ‘Oyakodon’ literally translates as “parent-and-child donburi” – donburi meaning a rice bowl dish. The dish gets it’s name from the ingredients that go into Oyakodon; eggs and chicken fillet. Hence, somewhat poetically, the ‘parent’ refers to the chicken and the ‘child’ refers to the egg. The dish takes on the texture and appearance of…

KINMAN If you ask a local in Akita what the most famous confectionary from the region is, one of the answers is likely to be “Kinman”. (In fact, this is exactly what we did in a confectionary shop in Akita city). The sweet has the initial appearance and texture of a mini sponge cake, and…

YAKINIKU, grilled meat Yakiniku which literally means “grilled meat” is a popular way of enjoying meat in Japan, and is something that I can’t help but wonder, why it hasn’t yet found it’s way to the UK. After all, Yakiniku is essentially a BBQ where you self-cook the meat according to your tastes on a…

BEEF BOWL Gyudon literally translated as beef bowl and is usually a very cheap, common dish that you can grab at Japanese fast food restaurants such as Sukiya and Yoshinoya. AND THEN THERE’S WHAT WE HAD IN YURIHONJO. Seriously, who knew beef draped over rice, with a vingerette jelly sauce could be so spectacular. Yurihonjo…