A Culinary Adventure with Some Visitors from Overseas
A Food Trip to Iga, Home of the Ninja

The Iga region has long prospered with Jingu serving as an important hub of transportation and through its frequent contact with the old Japanese capitals of Kyoto and Nara. Iga’s unique basin climate and abundant supply of water has made it a thriving producer of high quality rice and sake.
Four overseas visitors with an interest in Mie food culture have come to Iga in search of delicious tastes unknown outside of Japan. Let’s follow them on their adventure!

Pictured from left: Mr. Kang (from Taiwan, sightseeing in Japan), Ms. Xie (from Taiwan, resident of Osaka), Ms. Agathe (from France, studying at a university in Mie), and Ms. Song (from China’s Henan province, studying at a Mie university).

———Impressed by Japan’s Beautiful Confections

Confectionery shops line the streets surrounding Iga Ueno Castle. This section of Iga City is also called Jokamachi Okashi Kaido, or Castle Town Confectionery Area.

The group visited a well-established confectionery shop that was founded over 400 years ago.
Previously, everyone in the group had thought of wagashi (Japanese confections) in terms of nama-gashi, the uncooked cakes made from glutinous rice and bean paste. But they were thrilled to be able to choose from a wide variety, including dry and baked confections, yokan, and other treats, with flavors ranging from sweet and rich to plain and simple.

Our four visitors had thought that Japanese confections were made by machine, so they were surprised to learn that they were actually handmade. To convince them, they were given a special demonstration showing how the confections were made. “Just like a magician!” “That’s so cool!” They were quite impressed when they saw the fine, delicately crafted confections that appeared from the Japanese pastry chef’s skillful hands.
They were especially intrigued to hear that the confections represent the seasons, something that’s not so common outside Japan.
*Confection-making demonstrations are not usually given.

———Japanese Pickles: An Ever-Evolving Traditional Taste

After leaving the confectionery, our group strolled the streets for a while before coming upon a Japanese pickles shop established about 150 years ago.
The shop’s leading product is yokan-zuke, a pickled delicacy made by filling cored white muskmelons with shiso, ginger, Japanese radish, and other ingredients, and then letting them mature in barrels of thick soy sauce for one to two years. Some of the barrels have been used for over 100 years.

The group listened with great interest to the shopkeeper’s explanation about the brand name, yokan-zuke. Written with the Japanese characters for “foster” and “liver,” the pickled food was said to foster the morale of the samurai, in other words, to give them guts.
Inside, the group was able to sample various pickles, salad dressings made with pickled vegetables, and even ice cream made with the thick soy sauce that is used in the pickling process.

One member didn’t like the pickled vegetables because they were very salty but ended up loving the dressing on a salad. Trying something in a different form can create new possibilities, can’t it?
The ice cream earned high praise, too. “It’s so savory and delicious!” “It’s like eating caramel!”
Before leaving, the group had "sakurayu," cherry blossom petal infused warm water with pickled cherry blossoms floating in it. All four of them loved it. “That looks so cute!” “There’s nothing like that in my country. This is so Japanese.”

———Japan’s Sweet and Pretty Strawberries: A Global Phenomenon

The cultivation of grapes and strawberries is thriving in the Shorenji Lake area of Nabari City—and visitors can experience the harvest. Strawberry picking takes place from January through May, so the group decided to go and give it a try.
The farm they went to raised various kinds of strawberries, including Akihime, Benihoppe, and Kaorino, a new kind developed in Mie Prefecture.

According to Ms. Xie, Taiwan has a lot of delicious fruit, so she couldn’t get all that excited about Japanese fruit, but that strawberries were special, so much so that she really looked forward to their visit. Of course, everyone liked eating delicious strawberries, but they agreed that searching for ripe ones to eat was even more fun. France doesn’t have this pick-and-eat system, so Ms. Agathe really enjoyed the experience.

All four of our visitors were thoroughly impressed that the farm was so beautiful and sanitary. They’d been under the impression that strawberry picking was something you did in the soil—they were convinced how strawberries are well raised in a greenhouse, and that they didn’t need to bend over to pick them.

———Something that makes you want to eat everyday in a new dining style: Iga beef enjoyed as yakiniku (grilled meat)

Iga beef is the must-eat, signature food of the Iga area.
Approximately 80% of the painstakingly raised beef is consumed locally, making it a delicacy not easily acquired outside the area. It is said that the ninja used dried Iga beef as a portable provision during the Warring States period (1467-1568). To get a taste of this food with such an interesting history, our group visited a yakiniku restaurant.

On average, Westerners consume more meat than Japanese, and one of our visitors said, “I can’t wait to have some meat,” in obvious anticipation. Japanese beef is now available overseas but extremely expensive, so everyone was truly pleased to be able to enjoy it reasonably in Japan.
With all the different cuts of meat and sauces, the menu had much more variety than expected. Needless to say, everyone had a lot of fun choosing what to order. The menu also had sliced raw beef and other raw dishes. Raw meat isn’t usually eaten overseas because of concerns about distribution and contamination, but when our visitors gave it a try, they really loved it. Ms. Song’s favorite dipping sauce was the soy seasoned with grated wasabi.

The meal gave them a glimpse into some of the differences in food culture, such as the unique Japanese-style of eating meat with rice. It’s common overseas to wrap the grilled meat in a leafy vegetable, so they ordered the grilled vegetables and figured it was the cabbage that should be used for wrapping. To help them understand, one of the managers showed them how to grill the meat and it led to various questions. “Why do Japanese grill the beef tongue first?” “What drinks go well with yakiniku?” All their questions were answered politely and in detail. Such lively communication makes the food taste even more delicious, doesn’t it?

Our four visitors thoroughly “savored” their Iga food trip. During the trip, they were often posting messages about their food adventure. We hope they’ll continue to search for delicious Mie food.

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