tohoku– tag –

The brewery describes Urakasumi Zen as gently fruity, fresh, and moderately savory. Zen is restrained rather than strongly perfumed, which makes it, in our view, an easy partner for sushi and grilled fish. Yet behind the bottle lies a re...

Tatenokawa (楯野川) is best known for a sake made from rice polished until only 1 percent of its original weight remains. Yet the brewery is more than one record number. In Sakata, on Yamagata's Shonai Plain, it has built a whole range a...

Today, fragrant ginjo sake is easy to find in Japan and overseas. In 1980, however, few everyday drinkers knew the word "ginjo." Dewazakura is a sake brewery founded in 1892 in Tendo, Yamagata Prefecture, in Japan's northern Tohoku regio...

Obanazawa watermelon, or Obanazawa suika (尾花沢スイカ), is a summer fruit from Obanazawa in northern Yamagata Prefecture. Growers there work in a mountain basin where August days turn hot, while the nights cool sharply. That gap is gene...

Sasa kamaboko, also called sasakama, is a leaf shaped grilled Japanese fish cake from Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture. Makers grind white fish into a seasoned paste, press it flat, then grill each piece until the surface browns lightly. For ...

A lot of dishes and sweets use walnuts, but did you know there are local dishes that use them too? In the Tohoku region, there's a special dish called walnut tofu. It lets you taste the natural flavor of walnuts, and the way you eat it i...

Yamagata Prefecture is the ramen kingdom with Japan largest ramen consumption. The number of stores per capita is also the fiercest battleground in Japan. Most of the residents of the prefecture love ramen so much that it can be said tha...

INTRODUCTION TO IMONI Heading somewhere north eastern part of Japan this fall? Why not try this traditional cuisine of Yamagata City! Imoni is a hearty Japanese meat stew which includes a type of taro and meat soup. It is eaten tradition...

INTRODUCTION TO AOMORI MISO CURRY MILK RAMEN Ever heard a ramen with milk? Yes, there's actually a food like that! If there's a Black Ramen in Toyama, this is Aomori Miso Curry Milk Ramen, also called as white ramen. This unique ramen is...

A lot of dishes and sweets use walnuts, but did you know there are local dishes that use them too? In the Tohoku region, there's a special dish called walnut tofu. It lets you taste the natural flavor of walnuts, and the way you eat it i...

INTRODUCTION TO AOMORI MISO CURRY MILK RAMEN Ever heard a ramen with milk? Yes, there's actually a food like that! If there's a Black Ramen in Toyama, this is Aomori Miso Curry Milk Ramen, also called as white ramen. This unique ramen is...

INTRODUCTION TO IMONI Heading somewhere north eastern part of Japan this fall? Why not try this traditional cuisine of Yamagata City! Imoni is a hearty Japanese meat stew which includes a type of taro and meat soup. It is eaten tradition...

Yamagata Prefecture is the ramen kingdom with Japan largest ramen consumption. The number of stores per capita is also the fiercest battleground in Japan. Most of the residents of the prefecture love ramen so much that it can be said tha...