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Hiroshima

Hiroshima

About Hiroshima

Hiroshima is well known for its history with the atomic bomb and the Peace Memorial Park. Although it is a rather large prefecture, the main sites are in or near Hiroshima-shi, and it is an easy city to get around.
Travel Season: Spring, Autumn, Winter
Transportation: Public transport + Foot

Top 3 Foods:

1. うえの (Ueno)

I would say the anago (conger eel) I had the morning I arrived in Hiroshima was my best meal there. The reason is that I had never eaten anago as a donburi; rice bowl topped with something. Although I have unagi (eel) once in a while, I never really knew the difference and through this experience, I learned I prefer anago.

The reason why I like anago better is that it isn’t as oily as unagi. The anago on the left is called a shirayaki meaning there is no oil, salt, or anything used when grilling the item. Therefore it was served with some salt and wasabi on the side. It is great if you want to taste the anago as it is.
The donburi was even more enjoyable, with the dried sansho pepper condiment. The Miso soup and tsukemono (Japanese-style pickles) that came on the side, made it a very pleasant and luxurious breakfast.
The store opens at 10:00am but the waiting area next to it was packed at 9:30am. I was able to get in the first round, however, you will be seated with other customers. For me, this was quite interesting. You may also be seated at a counter if you are alone or a small group. I highly recommend you arrive before 9:30am if you are visiting on a weekend and not willing to wait.

2. 中ちゃん (Naka-chan)

Naka-chan is a restaurant that pops up in an anime called Wakako Zake. The anime is based in Hiroshima, and Wakako-san the main character visits a new restaurant in each episode to find the perfect match of tusmami and drink after a day of hard work.

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The foodie that I am, there was no way I was going to miss the uni-kureson (sea urchin and watercress saute) from that show. It was a Saturday night, and I had no reservation, so I called the minute they opened at 6pm, and they allowed me to have a table until 7pm.

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I loved it and managed to scoop every last drop of sauce of the plate. Because we didn’t have much time, there wasn’t much that we could order. I have had better okonomiyaki but I found that the uni-kureson was better than the uni-horen (sea urchin spinach saute) that I tried the next day. It was just a dream come true!

3. 獅魂 (Shikon)

Surprise! I only had two days in Hiroshima, so I managed to squeeze in a second dinner the same night I went to Naka-chan. We only really ended up finding the place, because we had started our night so early, and had a lot of time to wander before feeling hungry enough.

I went in with no expectation and was just looking for tasty Hiroshima sake and some decent tsumami, but ended up finding some very nostalgic items such as the soramame beans above. The sashimi was fatty and tasted great. There were many other items on the menu was interested in, and had no space.
Although I did not have anything Hiroshima exclusive, other than the sake, it is a place I would definitely stop by when in Hiroshima the next time.

1. 宮島 (Miyajima)

My favorite place to visit in Hiroshima is Miyajima aka. Yakushima. This place is famous for its torii and shrine that come in and out of the water based on the tide. If you have enough time, you can time your visit, so that you arrive at high tide and leave at low, or vice-versa.
Do not miss the shrine! You have to pay to get in, but it is beautiful, and I like to walk through it everytime I go.

Momiji-Manju is a common omiyage (souvenir) in Japan. Although I love it the way it is, the deep-fried version is a specialty I can only get, while on Miyajima.

Since I started retraveling Japan, I have started to focus on alcohol in the different prefectures. Hiroshima is famous for its lemons, and one of the sake shops in Miyajima happened to offer a Hiroshima original Gin. These kinds of small interesting shops can be found behind the main street so you might want to do a little exploring.

Have fun!

2. 平和記念公園 (Peace Memorial Park)

Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures last time I went. Although I had been before, I had just watched この世界の片隅に (In This Corner of the World) which is about the Hiroshima and the atomic bomb and wasn’t handling everything very well. However, it is really a peaceful park, and it is amazing that there is no anger there.

There is a free tour of the park given by volunteers, in which you can go in small groups. I highly recommend you visit the Peace Memorial Park even if you don’t like history… like me!

3. 呉 (Kure)

I only found out about Kure after watching この世界の片隅に (In This Corner of the World). I am not sure if it is worth going to if you are not traveling in a car, which is not necessary for Hiroshima, but the Yuugure tour in which you learn about the cargos and navy ships parked in the area was nice.

Kure also offers a nice view from on top of the mountain. It is a little bit hard to get to if you mess up the road to get on, but I enjoyed the ride as well.IMG_8543

Fukuoka

Fukuoka

About Fukuoka

Fukuoka is considered the main city of Kyushu; the southern part of Japan. As a person living in Oita, I go to Fukuoka for concerts or other larger events. While I am there, I try to get some shopping done. I basically treat Fukuoka like a mini mini Tokyo.
Travel Season: All year
Transportation: Public transport + Foot

Top 3 Foods:

1. 魚忠 (Uochuu)

I always like to arrive in Fukuoka in time for lunch, just so I can visit this restaurant. Uochuu serves a number of Japanese style set meals that all come with rice which you can get refills of. It tastes good, and it’s reasonable!

They have the well known Japanese dishes such as Tempura, Tonkatsu, and Karaage, as well as the rather simple traditional dishes. If you have no plans to drive, I highly recommend trying the Tanaka Rokujyugo a Fukuoka originated sake with a very clear fresh flavor.

2. もつ幸 (Motsukou)

Motsukou is a Motsunabe restaurant. Motsunabe is a combination of the word motsu, meaning intestine, and nabe meaning pot. It is like a hotpot with cow and pig intestines. I know it sounds terrible if you are not used to eating anything alike in your culture.

 

Until I went to Motsukou I was the same and I couldn’t eat motsu for the 20+ years of my life. I remember walking into the store thinking I might have to go to bed on an empty stomach. But it is a flavor that matches very well with alcoholic drinks, and a famous Fukuoka cuisine, so whenever I am in Fukuoka, I choose to have this for dinner.

3. 鉄なべ (Tetsunabe)

Tetsunabe is famous for their gyoza made in a tetsunabe; an iron pan. Gyoza originated in China, but the pan-fried style is Japanese, and the tetsunabe gyoza is another Fukuoka famous cuisine. If you like Japanese beer, this might end up being your favorite combination. The beer balances out the oiliness of the gyoza, the more gyoza, the more beer.

Unfortunately, there are no photos for this restaurant because there is no photography allowed inside. If you like to document everything you eat, this might not be the place for you. But sometimes, it’s great to put down your phone and enjoy a meal.

1. Concerts

Fukuoka is one of Japan’s main cities, and if bands tour they are likely to perform in the 5 main cities: Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, and Sapporo. If you are into music, you may want to check if there are any performances going on while you are there.
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2. Events

Again, because Fukuoka is one of Japan’s main cities, it does have quite a few events going on. If you are from a large city, I’m sure this is nothing special, but there is always something going on.

3. Shopping

Although there are malls where I live, the number of stores and the number of options do not compare to a city. When I go to Fukuoka, I make sure I get my shopping done.

Hokkaido

Hokkaido

About Hokkaido

I LOVE Hokkaido! The air is fresh and clean, seafood tastes great, and it’s big!  I have been there once on a family trip, back in elementary school, and once again, with my SO the summer of 2017. Unlike the other places, I traveled when I was younger, the memories from Hokkaido stuck with me. And, the new memories just made the place better.
Travel Season: Summer
Transportation: Car

Top 3 Foods:

1. みどりや (Midoriya)

Midoriya is a place I found on the internet when I got hungry while in the Yoichi area. The day before I had a disappointing bowl of Uni-Ikura Don in Hakodate, but wanted to end the trip on a positive note. As I looked for a place that was close and had decent reviews, I found Midoriya.

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This was the highlight of my travel, and my partner and I still talk about it all the time. Everything tasted wonderful, and none of them had that unpleasant smelly taste of unfresh seafood. There were some uncommon sushi and very fatty good tops, and I was very impressed.
If you like sushi and enjoy trying new fish, definitely try Midoriya.

2. だるま (Daruma)

A Hokkaido famous cuisine is Jingisukan. It is like a mutton BBQ, on a special half sphere shaped grill. You are to put a piece of fat on the top of the grill, and it slides down the sphere, helping the meat from sticking to the grill and giving the vegetables sitting on the bottom, some flavor.
When people hear of mutton, there is an image of smelliness, and commonly there are herbs used to get rid of this smell. However, with Jingisukan you don’t use herbs and instead, Daruma offers a soy sauce based sauce in which you can add as much garlic and  Japanese chili.

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 Daruma is a famous restaurant, they are all over the Hokkaido guidebooks and internet posts, so when we arrived at the restaurant, there was a pretty long line. However it didn’t take as long as I expected, and the food arrives very fast. I tried another more highend Jingisukan restaurant, but enjoyed Daruma better. It was a great start to my Hokkaido trip.

3. サッポロクラシック (Sapporo Classic)

This is the Sapporo beer. It is served in restaurants in Hokkaido, and can also be found in cans at the convenient stores there. This is another thing that my partner and I talk about all the time, and if any friend goes to Hokkaido, I always make sure they get enough of it.

This is a picture of my last meal in Hokkaido. You can see I never got enough of it, and I am not embarrassed to say, there were still another 4 cans in my suitcase I brought back to Oita with me.

Activities:

1. 旭山動物園 (Asahiyama Zoo)

I went to Asahiyama Zoo back in elementary, and I still went back as a 20-year-old. It is one of the best zoos I have been to and I would still go back again. There is a wide range of animals including penguins and polar bears that are not very common in many zoos.
Even if you’re not an animal lover, it’s worth giving a try.

2. The road trip

In Hokkaido, most of the time is spent on the road. Long drives are tiring, but they’re not all bad. If you take a break and step out of the car, many times you can find some nice scenery, and the fresh air always just makes thing better.