A quick look at Japan’s top 10 culinary destinations (part 3)

Today we’ll be concluding our look at Japan’s top 10 culinary destinations for all the foodies out there considering to travel to the Land of the Rising Sun.

Takayama

This is a great Central Japan destination for those interested in the country’s alcoholic beverage of sake. But we’re talking about food here so we’ll focus on the sansai-ryori – or dishes made from the local mountain veggies, ferns and plants. Make sure you try the hoba miso while here, which is beef or vegetables mixed with miso paste and roasted on a magnolia leaf above a small charcoal brazier.

Fukuoka

This city is known for its speciality foods made of fugu fish – blowfish – but the potentially poisonous fish is best sampled during the winter. In case you’re not going there during the winter you can always try a steaming bowl of tonkotsu ramen – a rich pork broth noodle dish also known as Hakata ramen. The best places to try out these noodles ar at yatai – street stalls that dot the entire city.

Takamatsu

This northern coast city is associated with sanuki udon – chunky white what noodles. These are usually served plain and are meant to be dipped in a separate flask of stock which you can flavor with all manner of condiments – wasabi being a favorite.

Naha

Now we’re changing from the north to the far south where all parts of the pig are used in the cooking process, from tibichi – trotters – to mimi – ears – but as you might expect there’s also a considerable amount of seafood thrown in the mix as well. Try out the various dishes made from these ingredients and many more at the stalls above the lively food market Dai-Ichi Kosetsu Makishi Ichiba in Naha.