Food Tours Japan

17/03/2026

I love the way peach blossoms arrive without the huge cherry fanfare, or the early plum blossoms.

30/01/2026

Marvellous! I do love a pagoda, and a snowy at that.

How about a snowy trip to Hiroshima? 😍❄

The five-storied pagoda in Miyajima, Hiroshima Prefecture, is said to have been built in 1407. This gorgeous structure is a fusion of Japanese and Chinese architecture and an iconic part of Itsukushima Shrine in addition to its famous torii gate. The pagoda is open to view by the public, but visitors may not usually enter inside.

📍Miyajima / Hiroshima

📸 IG: @ black_rabbit_3

30/01/2026

𝗗𝗮𝗶𝗸𝗼𝗻: 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗝𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗖𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲’𝘀 𝗨𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗲𝘀

Daikon is a large Japanese radish, and one of the quiet, unsung heroes of Japanese cooking. It’s not a showy ingredient, but it absorbs flavour beautifully, which is why it turns up in so many everyday Japanese dishes.

I’ve always appreciated how versatile daikon is. You’ll find it simmered slowly in dashi, pickled for crunch and tang, grated as a sharp, refreshing condiment, or cooked until tender and almost melting. Sometimes it’s the main focus of a dish; other times it quietly supports richer or heavier flavours.

One of my favourite ways to enjoy daikon is raw with sashimi, finely shredded and served as a crisp, cooling base. I love how it refreshes the palate between bites of fish. It’s simple, clean, and one of those small details that makes a sashimi meal feel complete.

Compared to smaller red radishes, it’s far milder and less sharp, with a clean, juicy crunch when raw and a soft, gently sweet character once cooked.

Daikon also feels deeply tied to seasonality and everyday comfort in Japan. In winter, it’s central to warming dishes like oden and nimono.

In warmer months, it often appears raw or lightly dressed, offering a fresher, lighter contrast. It’s affordable, widely available, and a genuine staple in home kitchens across the country.

Simple, adaptable, and endlessly useful, daikon underpins a huge range of classic Japanese recipes, and it’s one of those ingredients I strongly associate with honest, comforting Japanese food.

Classic recipes using daikon:

- Daikon Oroshi (大根おろし) — Freshly grated daikon served as a sharp, refreshing condiment
- Daikon Miso Soup (大根の味噌汁) — Daikon slices cooked in miso broth with tofu and greens
- Daikon no Nimono (大根の煮物) — Daikon simmered in a light dashi-based broth until tender and flavourful
- Oden Daikon (おでん大根) — Daikon slow-simmered in oden broth, absorbing deep savoury flavour
- Furofuki Daikon (ふろふき大根) — Thick rounds of boiled daikon served with miso sauce on top
- Daikon Sunomono (大根の酢の物) — Thinly sliced daikon dressed in a sweet vinegar marinade
- Takuan (たくあん) — Pickled daikon, fermented and sweet-salty, often served with rice
- Kiriboshi Daikon (切り干し大根) — Sun-dried daikon rehydrated and simmered with soy, mirin, and vegetables
- Daikon Salad (大根サラダ) — Julienned raw daikon tossed with sesame or ponzu dressing
- Daikon Kimchi (Kakutegi / カクテキ) — Cubed daikon fermented in spicy Korean-style seasoning

Image credit: Susan Slater - Wikipedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:7_-_IMG_20171106_163552.jpg

#大根 #和食 #日本料理 #家庭料理 #旬の食材 #刺身

27/01/2026

Wow! Oh, wow!! Stunning snowy scenery and the striking red bridge.

26/01/2026

Kushikatsu is my favourite Osaka soul food 😍

Have you tried it?

24/01/2026

Kifune to Kurama Walk

I visited Kifune once when it was like this and snowing all day. It's a beautiful place, and I always recommend it to people who want to get out of Kyoto city for a day in the mountains.

From Kifune, you take a mountain trail that goes past many shrines and temples to Kurama. At Kurama, there's a wonderful and relaxing onsen that overlooks a mountain forest.

It's a marvellous experience going for a mountain walk followed by a soothing hot bath. I highly recommend it.

During spring and summer, Kifune is famous for 'kawadoko' — where you can eat on wooden platforms above a river. This has a cooling effect and a welcome respite from Japan's brutal hot and humid summer.

22/01/2026

𝗧𝗼𝘆𝗼𝘀𝘂 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗧𝘂𝗻𝗮 𝗔𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝟱𝗮𝗺 𝗧𝘂𝗻𝗮 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

Early buyers inspecting frozen tuna at the world's biggest tuna auction at 5am at Toyosu Market, Tokyo. Around 200 fresh and over 1,000 frozen tuna are auctioned here five days a week.

Frozen tuna arrives at Toyosu Market from all over the world, mostly from specialised Japanese tuna fishing boats. After the auction, it's distributed around Japan and worldwide.

You've got to get up early to see the tuna auction, and you can enter a lottery to get closer. I took this photo from the public viewing windows, which are open to everyone.

#豊洲市場

28/05/2025

Tonkatsu, a unique and favourite Japanese dish, is a classic consisting of a thick, juicy pork cutlet breaded with panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and deep-fried until golden and crispy.

There are two main cuts of tonkatsu pork: Rosu-katsu (loin) for a fattier, more flavourful bite or hire-katsu (tenderloin) for a leaner option. The rosu-katsu tends to be juicier since it contains layers of marbled fat, while the hire-katsu tends to be more expensive because the meat must be of a higher quality to avoid becoming dry when deep-fried. Nevertheless, both cuts are delicious, so it all comes down to personal preference.

Tonkatsu is often served as a set meal (teishoku) that includes:

- Shredded raw cabbage (often with sesame or tonkatsu sauce)
-Tonkatsu sauce (a sweet-savoury, tangy brown sauce often made with Worcestershire Sauce and tomato ketchup)
- Steamed white rice
- A bowl of miso soup

#とんかつ