Oyakuen Garden is a representative Japanese garden of Aizu Wakamatsu and used to be the garden of successive lords of the Aizu Domain. The name “Oyakuen” translates literally as “Garden of Medicine.” This is derived from the villa built by Morihisa Ashina in 1432 and later in 1670 by Masatsune Hoshina, the second lord of …
Based on the residence built by Naomori Ashina in 1384, Ujisato Gamo built the first full-scale castle tower in eastern Japan in 1593 and named it “Tsurugajo” (Tsurugajo Castle). The castle features red roof tiles (“kawara”) with iron-rich glaze to withstand the low temperatures and snowfall of the snowy region and is currently the only …
“Hiyashi Ramen” (cold ramen) was developed in Yamagata Prefecture in 1952 as a meal to help people survive the hot summer. The first owner of Sakae-ya Honten in Yamagata Prefecture spent a year improving the soup so that the oil in the soup would not solidify even at low temperatures. Toppings vary from restaurant to …
This yakisoba (“stir-fried noodle”) dish originated in Yokote City, Akita Prefecture, around 1953. Yokote yakisoba features cabbage and ground pork as ingredients, with a fried egg and fukujin-zuke (“sweet sliced vegetable pickles”) as toppings. 前 次 Holidays Depends on each shop. Business hours Depends on each shop. Budget Yokote Yakisoba: 500 – 900 yen How …
Zunda is a paste made by peeling off the thin skin of boiled edamame and mashing it with salt and sugar. It is a local specialty of Miyagi Prefecture. (There are other Zunda or Zunda-like dishes in Miyagi’s neighboring prefectures, but generally, Miyagi’s is the most famous.) The most traditional and popular way to eat …
Wanko soba is a type of soba noodle served in a single mouthful portion in a bowl, and when the customers eat up the noodle, the server beside them puts in the next noodle one after the other. The server will keep putting in the next noodle until the customers place the lid on their …