I make it a rule that, for wherever I travel to, the destination must have good food. That’s one of the main reasons I travel to Japan time and time again, more so for Tohoku Region (東北地方), a wonderland for hot springs, pristine natural sceneries, and of course, delicious foods. If I were to highlight any prefecture in the region that has great food, my pick would be Fukushima.
My foodie article trail continues: Akita was my first, Yamagata was my second, and now Fukushima’s my third. In this article, we will learn a bit about the different gastronomical regions of the prefecture and explore some of the prefecture’s iconic dishes. By looking at the prefecture’s scrumptious delicacies, we will have a clue as to why the name can be translated as “blessed island”.
Aizu: Fukushima’s cuisine mecca
Aizu (会津) is the westernmost region of Fukushima and has the bulk of gastronomical highlights in the prefecture. It is also known for its historical significance: the region boasts of its rich samurai heritage, where many powerful clans have come and overseen different parts of the region. Thus, it is home to imposing landmarks such as the recently restored Tsuruga Castle (鶴ヶ城 Tsuruga-jō), idyllic post-town ОOuchijuku (大内宿), and the picture-perfect No. 1 Tadami River Bridge (第一只見川橋梁). We kickstart our journey here, where its rich history is reflected in its cuisine.
① Kozuyu (こづゆ)
When it comes to soul food, every rural region in Japan has their unique answer. In Akita, there’s kiritanpo (きりたんぽ). Yamagata has imoni (芋煮). Fukushima (Aizu)? It’s kozuyu, a wholesome dish that makes eaters feel like they’re back in their hometowns in the countryside. It’s a hearty soup whose ingredients vary according to household, but the key ingredient for kozuyu is dried scallops, which form the base of the broth. Standard ingredients such as carrots, bamboo shoots, mushrooms (usually wood ear or shiitake), and konjac are diced and added to the soup, and seasoned with mirin and soya sauce to create a deep and mild flavour that combines the best from the sea and mountains.
As Aizu is located deep in inland Fukushima, it’s far from the sea and thus lacks access to fresh seafood. Therefore, kozuyu uses dried ingredients instead of dried scallops as the sole seafood component. Traditionally it is served in red Aizu lacquered bowls—which are prized crafts from the region―during wedding ceremonies, New Year celebrations and birthdays. These days, every household has their own variation of this dish and it can be enjoyed throughout the year.
② Aizu Sauce Katsu-don (ソースかつ丼)
Katsu-don is typically a rice bowl topped with deep-fried pork cutlets, and often topped with an egg and soya or sweet sauce. It’s one of the most ubiquitous dishes in Japan, with many specialty standalone eateries and chain restaurants serving it since its inception during the Taisho Period (1912–1926). However, perhaps unbeknownst to many people, Aizu has its own variation of the beloved dish called Aizu sauce katsu-don.
As the adage goes, “the secret is in the sauce”. Indeed, what distinguishes Aizu sauce katsu-don from other regular ones is the sauce and how the dish is prepared in general. The pork cutlets are completely smothered in the sauce, so diners can fully experience the sweet-and-savoury taste of the sauce permeating the fatty meat.
There are even small variations of the dish in Aizu. Some restaurants serve an egg on top of the cutlet, while others such as Yanaizu sauce katsu-don place the egg underneath it. Plus, visitors are bound to find differences in the dish depending on where they go, be it in the thickness of the cutlets or the taste of the sauce, but that’s the fun part. Isn’t it fun not just to find this dish in Aizu, but to explore the best one in the region? One thing’s for sure: this is one dish that visitors will have to try, at least once.
③ Nishin-no-Sanshozuke (にしんの山椒漬け)
It’s no secret that Japanese people love their fish. Ask the average person what fish they eat all the time, and they would think something like salmon, tuna, or sardines. But perhaps something closer to the Japanese heart is the Pacific herring (鰊 nishin), which is more integral in their staple than most people would think. In Fukushima, it is enjoyed as nishin-no-sanshozuke, and this one’s not exactly for everyone.
Nishin-no-sanshozuke is pickled herring where the fish is first dried, then layered with Japanese peppers (山椒 sanshō), and finally pickled with a concoction made with soya sauce, sake, sugar, and vinegar. Herring is in season in early spring so making them takes place around this period. The Japanese peppers in the pickling process help to mellow the strong dried herring taste, resulting in a unique flavour that perfectly complements sake (Fukushima is also famous for sake). As such, you can find this at most Japanese bars (居酒屋 izakaya). When you have a drinking session, spice up your experience by checking out this dish.
④ Miso-dengaku (味噌田楽)
If you’re in the mood for something addictive in the region of Aizu, then check out miso-dengaku, which are grilled tofu skewers covered in a special miso sauce mixed with Japanese peppers. Other ingredients such as mochi, taro, eggplant, konjac and even herring can also be used instead, and they are grilled around a charcoal hearth, in the same style as kiritanpo.
Miso-dengaku’s roots are traced back to the days of the samurai in the Edo Period when the warriors prepared this as part of their field cooking. Nowadays, they can be found easily at restaurants in the Aizu region and have become a favourite for the locals. This is one dish you wouldn’t want to miss.
⑤ Negi soba (ネギそば)
Soba is famous in Aizu because of the region’s nutrient-rich soil, an essential component in making high-quality buckwheat flour used for making the noodles. Negi soba is famous in Aizu region, but perhaps not for conventional reasons. Eaters don’t use chopsticks to eat the soba, as they naturally would; instead they use the leek given as chopsticks. Using the leek itself is not just for novelty purposes, however; it supposedly gives the soba a deeper taste upon eating, making the dish more pleasurable (and memorable).
Negi soba has an interesting history: it is also known as Takato soba (高遠そば) because its origins can be traced to Takato town (高遠町) in the city of Ina (伊那市), Nagano Prefecture (長野県). Historically, it was imported to Aizu by Hoshina Masayuki (保科正之), a daimyo when he transferred to Aizu in the early Edo Period. It became popular, especially in Ouchijuku, and adapted to the local palate. In 1998, it was “re-imported” back to Takato where it is officially recognised as Takato soba.
⑥ Kitakata ramen (喜多方ラーメン)
This is a shout-out to all ramen lovers out there: Fukushima is home to one of the iconic ramen types in Japan. In the northwesternmost part of the prefecture lies Kitakata, a quiet city where the Kitakata ramen is born. Kitakata’s shoyu ramen is one of the three most popular ramen types in Japan, along with Sapporo’s miso ramen up in Hokkaido and Hakata’s tonkotsu ramen down in Kyushu. As such, the ramen type can be found everywhere in the country, but when it comes to exploring its roots, heading to its birth city is a must.
Kitakata specialises in shoyu ramen which includes green onions, fish cake, roasted pork, and bamboo shoots, and uses wavy noodles that are thicker than your average ramen noodles. It’s one of the most prevalent styles of ramen found in Japan, so much so that if you come across a ramen with these characteristics, chances are it’s Kitakata-style.
I mentioned before in my Yamagata food guide article how that prefecture has the greatest number of ramen stores per capita. Kitakata however, has the honour of being the city with the greatest number of ramen stores per capita. It’s a testament to how much the locals love their ramen, and visitors (especially ramen lovers) must make room to have this ubiquitous dish right in its city of origin.
⑦ Kitakata ramen burger (喜多方ラーメンバーガー)
If ramen is a tad traditional for your liking, how about having it in the style of a burger? Kitakata is also home to the quirky ramen burger, where the buns are made from ramen noodles that use Kitakata’s Yukichikara flour as its main ingredient. Sandwiched between the ramen buns are roasted pork, fish cake, bamboo shoots, and green onions, and topped with shoyu-flavoured sauce. Essentially, it’s all the ingredients you find in Kitakata ramen.
The idea of Kitakata ramen burger was first conceived by a roadside station in Aizu named Michi-no-Eki Kitakata (道の駅喜多方), and to this day this can only be enjoyed at that particular station. When you’re on the road to Aizu, make sure to pinpoint the location of this station if you want to sink your teeth into one of the region’s more eccentric dishes.
Nakadōri: Heart of food trail
Our foodie tour continues to Nakadori (中通り), the midlands of Fukushima. This region is home to some of the prefecture’s major cities such as Kōriyama (郡山市) and the capital Fukushima (福島市), two cities where the Tohoku Shinkansen (東北新幹線) passes through, thus serving as the main gateway to other cities in Japan. Nakadōri is not short of offering its own delicacies, as you will see below.
⑧ Enban gyо̄za (円盤餃子)
Gyozas are a staple in Japanese cuisine, and they are prepared in many ways: boiled, steamed, pan-fried, etc. In Fukushima, gyozas are pan-fried but with a twist. Enban gyо̄za are arranged in a circle upon frying on a round hotplate, and the batter fuses to the bottom until all the gyо̄zas form a disk, hence the name (“enban gyо̄za” translates as disk gyо̄za).
Enban gyо̄za’s filling includes lots of vegetables and pork (Egoma pork, a Fukushima specialty, are often used), and its light and crispy texture makes it the perfect side dish to main courses or on its own alongside beer or sake.
⑨ Kōriyama green curry (郡山グリーンカレー)
If you ask the average Japanese what is probably the most prevalent dish in contemporary Japanese cuisine, you might be surprised to hear that it’s curry. It can be found almost everywhere in the country, where it has been adapted to the local palate and carved its unique reputation to become Japanese curry. The city of Kōriyama in Nakadōri is home to another kind of curry, one that has its unique take.
At first glance, the average person would mistake Kōriyama green curry for Thailand’s famous version. However, there are some big differences: whereas Thai’s green curry uses a lot of spices such as chilli peppers, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, and most importantly, coconut milk, Kōriyama’s version predominantly uses the prefecture’s local seasonal vegetables, with spinach as its main ingredient that gives it that greenish hue. As a result, the latter is a lot milder in taste, and suited for the Japanese palate.
⑩ Shirakawa ramen (白河ラーメン)
Kitakata ramen not enough for you? Nakadōri has its own variation in the southern city of Shirakawa (白河市) called Shirakawa ramen, and it bears some resemblance to its counterpart from Kitakata, for it has a shoyu base with curly noodles, and is topped with roasted pork, bamboo shoots.
Though it looks like Kitakata ramen, the broth has a stronger soya sauce aftertaste. The noodles are traditionally pounded with a wooden stick, cut using a knife, and then curled and kneaded by hand, resulting in a texture that’s fat and chewy. This is your quintessential classic shoyu ramen done perfectly right, and ramen lovers will vouch for its simplicity and orthodox taste.
⑪ Shirakawa daruma burger (白河達磨バーガー)
If Shirakawa ramen is not enough for you, then try Shirakawa daruma burger, the city’s own “kawaii” take on the classic comfort food. Daruma is a traditional Japanese doll modelled after Bodhidharma, the founder of the Zen tradition of Buddhism. Though it is considered a toy in modern times, traditionally it is a good-luck charm that symbolises perseverance. Shirakawa is a city known for its traditional handicrafts, so Shirakawa daruma burger incorporates this into their dish that’s almost too adorable to eat.
Though burgers are often thought of as unhealthy fast food, Shirakawa daruma burgers use ingredients that are carefully chosen, embodying the idea of slow food (スローフード) concept. The heart-shaped are made with 100 percent rice flour, and their Shirakawa daruma pork burgers’ patties are made from Shirakawa Kogen Seiryu Ton (白河高原清流豚), which are high-quality pork from pigs raised in Shirakawa highlands where there are clear and clean mountain waters. And of course, as a nice touch, the buns are sometimes inscribed with the message “I LOVE 白河”. This is one dish in Fukushima that will bring a smile to your face.
Hamadōri: Bounties from the sea
Our final destination brings us next to the Pacific Ocean, the last region being Hamadori (浜通り). The region name can be translated as “coastal path” as its eastern front runs completely along the sea. Our foodie trail stops here, a befitting end where Fukushima’s cuisine is completed with gifts from the sea.
⑫ Dobu jiru (どぶ汁) / Anko nabe (あんこう鍋）
During the cold winter months, the go-to dish to warm up the body is the hotpot (なべ nabe). Every region in Japan has their own specialty hotpot that is best enjoyed during the frigid period, including Fukushima. For their special hotpot, they use a not-so-usual fish of choice: the monkfish.
Monkfish (あんこう ankō), otherwise known as anglerfish, is a type of deep-sea fish known for unusual look (specifically, its large mouth and jagged teeth). The fish is especially popular among fishermen who would use it to make a meal and enjoy onboard their ships called dobu jiru or anko nabe. To make the hotpot, the fish liver (あんきも ankimo) is fried, then mix it with the fish meat and vegetables, and finally seasoned with miso paste. Dobu jiru and anko nabe slightly differ in one aspect: the former uses no water at all, and the soup is drawn only from the fish and fried liver, resulting in a broth that’s immensely thicker and richer than the latter.
The hotpot is enjoyed specially in winter in southeastern Fukushima and the northern city of Kitaibaraki (北茨城市 Kitaibaraki-shi) that borders between Ibaraki (茨城県 Ibaraki-ken) and Fukushima. It’s an incredibly hearty dish that spans across prefectures and best enjoyed in groups.
Closing
The prefectures of Tohoku Region have some of the most diverse and delectable cuisines in Japan, and Fukushima is a fine example. Whether it is ramen or soba or hotpot, there’s always something delicious to look forward to when in the prefecture. Plan your next epicurean tour to Fukushima and experience a cuisine that you won’t forget.
JR EAST PASS (Tohoku area)
The JR EAST PASS (Tohoku area) is an affordable pass that offers unlimited train rides on JR East lines, including bullet trains, within the valid area for 5 consecutive days. It’s only ¥30,000, and you can use it to travel by train from Tokyo to Fukushima and back, and to the different regions of Fukushima. Pass holders can also reserve seats online for up to a month in advance for free on the JR-EAST Train Reservation.
Header image credit: 福島県観光物産交流協会
