Nagoya

Nagoya is the major metropolitan city of Aichi Prefecture and was constructed around Nagoya Castle, boasting a history of more than 400 years, where development has continued ever since. While Nagoya is a modern city, it coexists with the traditions of its past even today and is a great spot to stop at and explore as you walk along its streets.

Famous fare of Nagoya

Hitsumabushi

In Japan, eel kabayaki—eel marinaded in a sweet soy sauce and then broiled over an open flame—is an ever-popular menu item. In Nagoya, a somewhat similar version exists with a local twist: Hitsumabushi. Found nearly nowhere else in Japan than Aichi Prefecture, this dish is a must-try meal even if you've had eel kabayaki or are looking for a go-to local treat.
But first, let us explain eel kabayaki a bit more. This cuisine entails putting the eel meat on a skewer, grilling it over fire, and slathering on a sweet and salty soy sauce. The outside is crisp while the inside offers a juicy, moist mouthfeel. To think that snake-like fish could taste so good! But to the Japanese, eel has long been a welcome treat during the dog days of summer to help people beat the heat and regain some energy.
Nagoya's hitsumabushi entails thinly sliced eel kabayaki placed on a bed of rice. Leeks, toasted seaweed, traditional Japanese broth in a pot and a bowl come together as a typical set. The diner can pick and choose the condiments which best please their palate in this unique dining experience.
Try it out for yourself using the dining instructions below.

How to eat hitsumabushi:
1. Slice the hitsumabushi into four like slicing a whole cake.
2. Scoop 1/4 into the bowl and eat as is.
3. Scoop another 1/4 into the bowl and eat with leeks and toasted seaweed.
4. Scoop another 1/4 into the bowl, and eat with broth poured over from the pot.
5. Eat the rest using your favorite condiment.

Himokawa/Kishimen noodles

Japan has nearly countless noodle varieties, but perhaps its most beloved are udon noodles, made from kneaded flour. Flat udon noodles with a thickness of one millimeter and width of seven to eight millimeters are known as "kishimen noodles" and are the soul food of Nagoya. Nearby Kariya City's famous flat himokawa udon noodles are believed to be the roots of kishimen and are said to have been adopted by Nagoya and its bustling commoner culture.
Nagoya's local kishimen noodles have gained the attention of noodle aficionados in recent years. Why? Because of a whole other broad kishimen noodles' entrance onto Japan's culinary stage with two to five times the width of normal kishimen! And these even thicker noodles are receiving praise for the way they go down smooth when swallowed in the slurping fashion many Japanese enjoy. The smoother they go down, the more delicious they taste.
Try not to over chew the noodles, slurping up and swallowing them quickly to enjoy that smooth sensation going down your throat.

Nagoya Cochin chicken (hikizuri / hot pot)

Nagoya Cochin is a said to be the king of local Japanese poultry brands with its quality meat. Cochin chickens are raised approximately three times the time typical broilers are for a more tender and springy mouthfeel as well as a rich umami profile.
It is often eaten in the hikizuri style, which is sukiyaki using chicken meat. Sukiyaki involves meat and vegetables cooked in a soup of soy sauce and sugar, and nowadays uses beef as the protein more often than not. However, chicken used to be the star of the dish in this area and was eaten for fall festivals, celebrations, and the year-end/New Year holiday until around 40 to 50 years ago. The fluffy, tender texture of Cochin chicken's meat and flavors of the accompanying vegetables always have diners coming back for more.
Cooked as a hot pot, or "mizutaki", the chicken's umami seeps into the water in which it is boiled. The bone-in thigh meat and other various cuts are mixed together, creating a palette of diverse flavors. This dish is known for its ability to bring many around a single pot with not only toasty food but heartwarming conversation—a welcome treat for your body and heart during Japanese winters.

Miso katsu

Deep-fried pork cutlet, or "ton katsu", with a panko breading is a beloved fare of Japan. Many areas pour a sauce over it before enjoying, but Nagoya's own standard sauce is anything but. An incredibly sweet miso sauce is slathered on the breaded cutlet, resulting in what is known as "miso katsu". Miso katsu uses the bean miso made in Aichi Prefecture, made a mere two ingredients: soybeans and salt.
This bean miso is used in a wide variety of Aichi's characteristic culinary treasures in addition to miso katsu. And why not? The special miso is only available after a long period of fermentation with the beans, which offers diners sensationally strong sense of umami, adding smooth and mellow flavors to an array of dishes.
If you're visiting Nagoya, miso katsu must not be missed. However, some other miso cuisine, such as miso nikomi udon, udon noodles in miso stew; dote ni, ingredients stewed in a creamy, thick miso sauce; and miso oden, a variety of ingredients simmered in a light soup with flavorful miso added; are some other cuisine to add to your list.

Kaiseki multi-course cuisine

Kaiseki cuisine is a gourmet, multi-course style of Japanese cooking served at banquets and formal occasions. It is offered at Japanese and other high-scale bistros serving food with incredible hospitality. Japanese cuisine differs from other culinary styles like, say French or Chinese, where flavors are added from the outside via sauces and other techniques as it uses the inherent umami of the ingredients used. Traditional Japanese dishes use seasonal ingredients arranged in true beauty—almost to the point where you don't want to eat these precious works of art!
In Nagoya, long-standing bistros once called upon by the feudal lords of the former surrounding Owari Province continue to work their magic to this very day. With those reigning over the land placing such importance on culinary craftsmanship, you can see how Nagoya could be and still is considered a vibrant city of the arts. Drawn to this culmination of the arts, chefs and choice ingredients made their way to Nagoya, giving way to numerous restaurants serving ornate Japanese cuisine.
These Japanese restaurants and the kaiseki cuisine they serve are applauded not only for the quality of their cooking but the decorative dishes and interior design serving to entertain diners' tastebuds as well as the other four senses.

Taiwan ramen

Wait… Why would Taiwan ramen be a famous food in Nagoya? Because it isn't actually from Taiwan but Nagoya City. The naming may a bit hard to wrap you head around, but actually came about when a Chinese restaurant in the city created a ferociously spicy variation of ta-a mi—a sort of Taiwanese noodles served in small dishes as a snack. This version of the dish took on its own identity and is unavailable even in Taiwan.
Taiwan ramen is topped with browned ground meat, Chinese chives, and loads of chili peppers. You'll start sweating just looking at it, not to mention the perspiration which ensues once you take a bite. Don't be surprised if everyone at the eatery you choose is coughing and crying as they dine with the devil in this culinary concoction from Hell!
Even so, this torturous treat is addictive with diners coming back for more time and time again. Now, you can find Taiwan ramen in many different Chinese restaurants around Aichi Prefecture, so order a bit for yourself... if you dare!

Ankake spaghetti

Nagoya's famous ankake spaghetti covers super thick spaghetti noodles with a gooey, spicy ankake sauce. All sorts of toppings deliver delightful variations differing by eatery. A typical variety, known as the "Mirakan" style, includes onions, green peppers, and mushrooms for vegetables and sausage as well as thinly sliced ham and bacon for proteins. The impact delivered by the dish and its sheer volume has long made ankake spaghetti a favorite among Nagoya's businessmen during lunch breaks and other culinary outings.

Cute sweets available at Nagoya Station

Uiro bars

Uiro bars are an easy-to-eat take on a traditional steamed confection known as "uiro", made from rice powder and sugar, and "nairo" with fine adzuki bean paste kneaded into uiro dough. Familiar and cute designs as well as a size which is easy to finish put smiles on the face of anyone receiving uiro bars as a souvenir.

Piyorin

Piyorin cakes are made with Nagoya Cochin eggs in the charming shape of a baby chick. Inside this darling confection, you'll find baked custard, Bavarian cream, chocolate, and sponge cake. The softness is such that the difficulty involved in carrying it around has actually become a topic of discussion. And, a famous Japanese shogi—or Japanese chess—player helped to create a Piyorin boom around Japan when he ate the cake during a match.

Kerotozzo

This manju bun with a cute frog face and adzuki bean paste inside is an endearing version of the signature pastry from a long-standing confectionery well known for baking and selling sweets which are characteristically Nagoya. Even the name charms patrons as it combines the Japanese onomatopoeia for a frog's ribbit—"kero"—with "maritozzo" Italian cream buns which gained popular ground in Japan some time ago. Thin breading filled with plenty of fine adzuki bean paste sandwiches a cream concoction consisting of a heavy cream and cream cheese mix.

Toyohashi

Toyohashi City is one of Japan's foremost agricultural hubs, shipping out delicious fruits and vegetables around the country. It is also known as a surfing mecca and beloved for its retro city scape and alluring museums. With so much to offer, you'll never find yourself bored during a visit to Toyohashi.

Famous fare of Toyohashi

Toyohashi curry udon noodles

Toyohashi curry udon noodles were born in Toyohashi City as part of a community revitalization project in 2014. Curry udon noodles had originally existed with a curry soup poured over udon noodles, but Toyohashi's curry udon noodles take things to the next level. At the bottom of the bowl is rice with grated, sticky yam on top, followed by a layer of noodles with a curry soup poured over. Bouncy, handmade udon noodles and a Japanese-style broth teaming up with a gooey curry soup have brought new meaning to curry and udon noodles' relationship.

Nameshi dengaku

Dengaku is a local style of cuisine entailing skewered tofu smothered in a sweet and salty bean miso sauce. Add a side of nameshi, rice with diced daikon leaves mixed in, for the winning combination that is nameshi dengaku. This cooking style quickly became a hit some 400 years ago when Toyohashi was a post town along a major historic highway. You can also enjoy it in the castle town of Inuyama in northern Aichi.

Toyokawa

Toyokawa City sits to the southeast of Aichi Prefecture and is home to one of Japan's Great Inari Shrines: Toyokawa Inari Shrine. The god of commercial prosperity is worshipped here and brings in pilgrims by the droves.

Famous fare of Toyokawa

Inari sushi

Toyokawa City is said to be one of the founding spots of inari sushi with bistros all over the city offering the food since antiquity. But what is inari sushi? This sushi variety packs sushi-grade rice into an envelope of deep-fried tofu—known as "abura-age"—with a sweet flavor. In Japanese Shinto culture, the Inari god's servants are foxes and fond of abura-age, said to be the origins of inari sushi's name. Inari sushi's modern and unique arrangements now found in Toyokawa have become sought-after products and the topic of conversation. New spins differ by restaurant and offer intriguing insight into the age-old dish.

Nishio

Nishio City is surrounded by mountains, the ocean, and rivers—the perfect natural environment for so many tea fields which act as the source of matcha green tea. Historic sites and famous spots dot the city with numerous traditional festivals and arts.

Famous fare of Nishio

Matcha sweets

Matcha is the powdered form of quality green tea leaves, ground down with great time and effort. In traditional Japanese tea culture, a spoonful of matcha is added to warm water and vigorously whisked before drinking, but nowadays, you'll find many Japanese people drawn to sweets using the powdered tea.
And with Nishio City being such a major producer of matcha, you'll find many confectioneries offering such sweets. The city's matcha is known for its incredible quality and the matcha produced here is even shipped out to matcha shops in New York, where the spark for a worldwide matcha frenzy was lit. Matcha works well with Japanese confections but also cakes, parfaits, pudding, ice cream, and a whole host of other Western sweets. Once in Nishio, you're sure to find the matcha sweets to satiate your sweet tooth.