Michinoku Coastal Trail

Seafood

Sushi and sashimi, of course, are staples in Japan, and when you’re on the coast – the variety of dishes available is incredible.

Scabbardfish sashimi is a meaty delicacy that washes down well with a beer, sake, or a healthy green tea. Grilled squid, prawn dim sum, mackerel nigiri rolls, octopus tempura, yellowtail tuna, scallops – the list goes on.

Mountain Food

As you move further into the mountains, local plants and animals make their way onto the menu. Mushrooms, in particular, have a special place in Japanese cooking, and many come with amazing health benefits too.

Shiitake, eryngii, enoki, maitake, matsutake – again, the list goes on, as do the dishes they’re in. Shiitake mushrooms are probably the most well-known, and with a meaty, smoky flavour, you’ll often find them in soups and stir-fries. They’re also anti-viral, stimulate immunity, lower your cholesterol and help promote cancer resistance. So when you’re served a plate of them – eat up!

You might find eggplant presented in a tasty broth with umami miso sauce, delicately sliced beef with a sesame dressing, Japanese curry with croutons, and if you’re lucky and brave enough – you might have the chance to eat Hachinoko or ‘bee children’.

Served with a siding of rice, Hachinoko is the cooked larvae of the Japanese Giant Hornet, and is said to have a rich earthy taste.

A culinary adventure indeed.

Kaiseki ryori haute-cuisine

Although your meals in a Ryokan will be vast, varied and, most importantly – delicious, they’ll also follow a well-established routine.

Kaiseki ryori is traditional Japanese haute cuisine, and although chefs can vary the courses to highlight regional specialities, they’ll generally appear in the following order, with the mains representing a particular cooking method.

Typical Starters

Shokuzen-shu

Your meal begins with a sweet wine or a locally brewed alcohol of some kind.

Appetizers

A variety of carefully prepared, and beautifully presented appetisers will begin to give you a taste of the region.

Common Main Courses

Suimono – Soup

Your soup dish is often a clear miso broth with simple vegetables, mushrooms, tofu or seafood.

Otsukuri – Sashimi

The Japanese staple of fresh, thinly sliced raw seafood. Generally delivered with soy sauce and wasabi and served on a bed of daikon – Japanese radish.

Nimono – Boiled Dish
Seafood or meat is either simmered, boiled, or stewed along with some vegetables in a sweetened soy sauce and cooking sake broth.

Yakimono – Grilled Dish
The local speciality will generally be grilled and served for this dish. Be it seafood of some kind, Wagyu, or Kobe beef, for example.

Agemono – Deep Fried Dish

Your Agemono is often tempura, consisting of locally grown or foraged produce, served with a light soy dipping sauce.

Mushimono – Steamed Dish

This dish may come in a little teacup, with a little lid, and a little spoon to eat it with. If it’s Chawanmushi, however, it certainly doesn’t come with a little flavour – the savoury custard with seafood, fish stock, chicken, mushrooms and ginkgo nuts is packed with flavour, and utterly wonderful.

Sunomono – Vinegared Dish

This is often fish, or octopus swimming in a vinaigrette dressing with a sprinkling of vegetables, although it could be anything really, so long as it tastes good in vinegar.

Shokuji

After your mains, there’s another set of courses before your dessert. Are you still hungry? Full up already?

Rice

It’s incredible how even a plain bowl of rice in Japan can be as delicious as it is.

Some chefs experiment and add some local flavour; others keep it old school, fluffy, and unbelievably good.

Miso Soup

Another Japanese staple that tastes so much better in Japan than it does anywhere else. Miso paste and vegetables in a clear, tasty broth. Yum yum.

Tsukemono – Pickles

Rounding off this course is an array of pickled vegetables such as cabbage, plum and daikon.