Local Cuisine

Local Food that Brings People Together with Smiles

Hokusei Area

Kuwana Meshi

These are foods that have been certified by Kuwana City for having the flavor of Kuwana and contributing to its public relations. They include shigure meat-wrapped rice balls, Kuwana curry, Kuwana croquettes, and many more.

Kuwana Meshi

Inabe Country Soba

Inabe has a climate well suited for pollinating and cultivating soba (buckwheat). The city began cultivating soba in 2002, and now has many restaurants serving handmade noodles made from the local soba flour.

Inabe Country Soba

Yokkaichi Tonteki

This is Yokkaichi City’s stamina food. A thick cut of pork shaped like a baseball glove is sautéed in a dark sauce of garlic and Worchester sauce, and served with a heaping of shredded cabbage.

Yokkaichi Tonteki

Kameyama Miso Yaki Udon

Udon noodles, meat, cabbage, and other vegetables are grilled on a hot iron plate and seasoned with a reddish-brown miso sauce to create this tasty dish with a rich salty-sweet flavor.

Kameyama Miso Yaki Udon

Kameyama Ramen

Kameyama Ramen is a beef bone miso ramen with a soup base made from an original blended miso. The noodles are made from Nishi no Kaori, a Mie-produced flour. Mie mushrooms are used as one of the toppings.

Chunansei Area

Eel Cuisine

Tsu once had Japan’s highest per capita consumption of eel, so the eel cuisine is much-loved among locals. Over 20 eel restaurants are dotted throughout the city, each with its own unique sauce and grilling method. Recommended is to visit several restaurants and compare the different tastes.

Eel Cuisine

Tsu Gyoza

Tsu gyoza are large dumplings made by wrapping a filling in a dough skin 15 cm in diameter and then frying until crispy. They are extremely popular at festivals and special events. The gyoza are sometimes served for lunch in Tsu city schools, so it’s a taste residents know from childhood.

Tsu Gyoza

Horumon-Yaki

In Matsusaka, which is famous for its beef, there are many restaurants specializing in horumon-yaki, a dish of liver and other organs covered in a sauce and grilled. Each restaurant has its own unique sauce and way of grilling, such as over charcoal.

Horumon-Yaki

Matsusaka Chicken Yakiniku

Akamiso, a reddish-brown miso is a much-loved ingredient of Matsusaka region. That’s why the region’s yakiniku is uniquely marinated in a salty-sweet miso sauce and then grilled on a grill wire mesh. The miso’s savory aroma will whet your appetite.

Matsusaka Chicken Yakiniku

Ise-shima Area

Ise Udon

Ise udon is a traditional local specialty of thick noodles served in a dark, rich sauce of tamari soy sauce added to a broth of dried bonito, small dried sardines, and kelp. The dish is characterized by its refined simplicity that celebrates the ingredients: thick noodles made soft by being boiled for several hours and served with a simple garnish of chopped green onions.

Ise Udon

Mikedon

Geku is where the god of food is enshrined, so mikedon (a dish of rice topped with various ingredients) originated here to promote local food. Mikedon is a rice bowl topped with various ingredients from the Ise-Shima region, with individual shops having their own unique arrangements. There are original ones available only at certain shops, and common ones available in many. Some of the common ones include “Dondonbi rice bowl” that consists of marinated chicken with a heaping of Japanese radish served over rice and “Tai no Ise-cha rice bowl” where combinations of sea bream, famous Ise rice crackers, and Ise tea poured over rice can be enjoyed.

Mikedon

“Toba”rger

The “Toba”rger (Toba burger) is an exciting new product developed in 2007 through the cooperation of Toba City and its local restaurants. To be certified by the city as a “Toba”rger, the product must meet the following conditions: (1) at least one of the patty ingredients must be Toba-grown, (2) the burger must be made after an order is taken, and (3) it must be sold within the city. You can enjoy freshly made burgers with patties made out of spiny lobster, octopus, oysters, fish, turban shells, and other fresh ingredients.

“Toba”rger

Tekone-Zushi

Tekone-zushi is a type of sushi and a local delicacy made by marinating bonito or other red-fleshed fish in soy sauce and mixing it with sushi rice. Sometimes said to have been originated from a quick meal eaten by fishermen on their boats, this sushi is actually a delicacy fondly eaten to celebrate big catches and other happy occasions.

Tekone-Zushi

Tamaki Curry

Tamaki curry uses delicious Tamaki-grown rice and Tamaki’s proudly produced brand pork, which is juicy, tender, and free from smell. Each shop has its own original menu. This delicious curry can only be enjoyed in this town of Mie.

Iga Area

Tofu Dengaku

Tofu dengaku was treasured as a valuable source of protein in the Iga region long ago when seafood was difficult to obtain. To make tofu dengaku, homemade miso is shaped into balls and hung outside to mature. Later, squares of tofu are coated with the miso and fragrantly grilled over charcoal.

Tofu Dengaku

Nabari Gyujiru

This is a soup of Iga beef, leeks, and local vegetables in a Japanese-style soy sauce broth. The taste varies depending on the restaurant, with the dish served by itself or as part of a set meal.

Nabari Gyujiru

Higashi-kishu Area

This website introduces the delicious food, cuisine, and restaurants in the five cities and towns of the Higashi Kishu region, the proud host of the World Heritage Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage Routes. Please take a look.

Higashi-kishu Area

Mie Terrace–Tastes of Mie to Enjoy in Tokyo–

Explore, savor, and get in touch with Mie. The gateway to the characterful Mie awaits you in Nihombashi, Tokyo.