The producers are proud to show us their products. Seasonal fruits and vegetables, fish, tsukémono, yakitori and octopus fritters… A delight for our senses. (Photo Olivier Derenne)
Myoga, or Japanese flower ginger, already features on the tables of our chefs and discerning food lovers.
Yamatoimo, nagaimo and gobo are the three latest references introduced to our plates by Nishikidori. Admittedly, their use will require a little education for the curious and/or epicureans of the city.
The opportunity to experience new textures and appreciate new flavours remains no less enticing for everyone. Already, enquiries and orders are flooding in…
Imagine that powerful scent of fresh ginger at harvest time! Right on the damp soil, in the early morning, the rhizomes are sorted on the spot. (Photo Olivier Derenne)
Did you doubt it? Japanese cuisine is, in itself, a sufficient reason to visit the Japanese archipelago!
From the finest restaurants in the heart of Tokyo, to a seaside establishment battered by sea spray facing the Kurushima Strait, a traditional brewery in the Kôchi region; the famous table of a Michelin-starred chef in the hills of Hiroshima, the conviviality of a shared plate of gyoza in a narrow alleyway. The pleasure of savouring a curry with a fork at the Jardin de Monet restaurant in Kitagawamura; impatience leading us to burn our fingertips grabbing a few takoyaki octopus fritters fried at the Kochi market, savouring a perfectly organised bento lunchbox — as beautiful as it is delicious — at a hurried lunch aboard the Shinkansen, a skewer of roast chicken outside a supermarket, a few segments of mikan warmly offered at a rest stop by a farmer with impeccable French, the tangy burst of a freshly picked yuzu from the terraced fields of the Kôchi mountains. A sweet snack, deliciously nostalgic, yellow and pink cat-shaped treats, between two trains or two metro rides…
With objectivity, curiosity and openness, let us admit it: we discovered Japan with all our senses!
Crispy fish and kabocha tempura, convivial sukiyaki or nabe, udon served piping hot, tsukémono presented as a garnish and/or offered for tasting at the food market, tonkatsu and finely shredded cabbage salad eaten on the go at a roadside inn, kare raisu (rice with curry), yakitori, okonomiyaki, tofu, natto, sashimi, chikuwa, sushi and miso soup…
For 8 days, we indulge ourselves and considerably broaden our palates and our gustatory knowledge!
Japan ignites our senses and stimulates our taste buds. Settled in comfortable Japanese lounges, leaning at a restaurant counter, facing the sushiman preparing with unparalleled dexterity the very famous fugu — a matter of life or death!? Kindly invited to the back of a tiny restaurant, between the storeroom and the stock, having placed our order and paid at the vending machine by the entrance…
As the days and our journey unfold, we move from one wonder to the next in this Japan, so traditional and so modern at the same time.
Between simplicity, conviviality, expertise and precision of gesture: welcome to the land of paradoxes!
Apart from the shop windows or restaurant fronts and the plastic reproductions of the dishes to be served inside, nothing guides the Western tourist further. Fortunately, we are accompanied and our hosts take great care of us. Naturally, we have experimented, tested and tasted dishes, sweet and savoury specialities and all manner of delicacies. It will henceforth be our responsibility to introduce them to you and help you appreciate them.
No, Japan is not solely the land of sushi!
Did you know: Tokyo holds the record for the highest number of Michelin-starred restaurants in the entire world! Japanese gastronomy remains accessible to the greatest number there (notably through the set menus offered at lunchtime).
As for the city of Osaka, whose motto "Kuidaore" (eat until you drop) invites the most indecent gluttony, it reveals a Japan that is both gourmet and gourmand. Unquestionably, the Japan we love.
Throughout our stay, no two dinners are alike. Japanese cuisine is varied and flavoursome, rich in an astonishing diversity of colours, textures and flavours. Japan: paradise of discerning palates and empire of exceptional products. Fish, meats, in soup, nabe or tempura style, marinated, infused or grilled: Japan offers us a plethora of choices, a varied, infinitely rich, delicate and surprising cuisine.
At the market, fruits, fresh vegetables and fish, naturally. (Photo Olivier Derenne)
How does one narrate excellence in the Japanese way?
Down to the choice of crockery at the finest tables, a heightened sense of detail. On the other side of the counter, the sushiman faces us and excels.
Take it from amateur restaurateurs: it would take years of training to master the cutting and preparation of the ocean sunfish!
From renowned tables to the simplest inns, the ingredients on offer are scrupulously chosen and meticulously prepared. Japanese gastronomy: an art mastered with the utmost precision. The presentations leave us speechless. What can be said of Japanese hospitality, this need to please at any cost and to astonish no matter what… Eyes wide open, bellies full; so ends this gustatory journey, a harbinger of new discoveries to be perfected on our future travels.
Address book in Japan:
Le Jardin Gourmand, Hiroshima
Nabeno-Ism, Tokyo
Nin-Nin, Osaka
