A gastronomic journey from the Japanese capital to Kansai

Tokyo and Osaka, temples of popular gastronomy

Thanks to their international airports, Tokyo and Osaka are the gateways to and from the archipelago for travellers wishing to set foot on Japanese soil. It is therefore perfectly possible (and advisable) to land in Tokyo and take off from Osaka, and vice-versa. This allows you to enjoy a complete overview of the country's popular gastronomic culture, in two lively and engaging megalopolises. Between saturated neon lights, steaming stalls, glass skyscrapers and timeless alleyways, the two cities' fascinating contrasts intoxicate every curious traveler who ventures there, offering a tasty change of scenery around every corner. Culinary metropolises par excellence, Tokyo and Osaka like to surprise their guests with a multitude of flavors that intermingle in a captivating and/or gourmet symphony of tastes. In their lively streets, you'll enjoy strolling in search of street food stalls, restaurants with the charm of yesteryear, lively places where businessmen flock at the end of the day... Don't miss the takoyaki, little balls of dough made from flour and pieces of tender octopus, passionately cooked on a hot plate. Yakitori, grilled meat skewers, will also satisfy your taste buds after a long day out.

In the Japanese capital, it's customary in the evening to visit izakaya, traditional Japanese bars and bistros, where you can sample a multitude of dishes and share them with your friends, accompanied by sake or nama draught beer. Try karaage, crispy yet tender fried chicken, or yakisoba, noodles sautéed with vegetables and meat. Small plates of fish of all kinds are also commonplace. The streets of the capital are crowded with izakaya, but the Shimbashi district is one of the most representative, with its many establishments set up along the railways. Some izakaya even offer typical dishes from other regions of Japan, a gastronomic journey without leaving old Edo.

Now we'reheading for Kansai and Dotonbori, Osaka's must-visit place to indulge your culinary desires, stroll through the dazzling neo-Japanese lights and stay out until the wee hours. A veritable institution, the traditional Okaru restaurant serves its customers delicious okonomiyaki, flour patties mixed with cabbage, pork or cuttlefish, vegetables, a slightly sweet sauce and mayonnaise. They're prepared right in front of you, on the hotplate integrated into your table. A change of scenery is guaranteed. As the crowds can quickly take over the bustling streets of Osaka, the curious traveler can simply wander from stall to stall, stall to stall. The magic of the Osaka night is immediately apparent. For coffee lovers (increasingly numerous and pampered in the Archipelago), there's a rather unique place: the RJ Café. In a vintage setting lulled by jazz, the charming staff offer excellent espresso... served in an Ecopresso cup. This tasty invention is defined by an edible cup with slightly sweetened walls. The sugar diffuses slowly into the coffee, and you can finish your treat by biting into the cookie. It's delicious and eco-responsible!

To continue your discovery of local Nipponese cuisine, we recommend a trip to Sakai, a veritable breeding ground for talented artisans, located a 30-minute train ride south of Osaka. Famous for its emblematic cutlery, renowned and adored by the world's great chefs, Sakai offers a plethora of stores and craft workshops, enabling everyone to choose their favorite knife, depending of course on its specific use (vegetables, fish, meat...). Baba Cutlery Works is one of the best places in town to experience local cutlery and fall for a magnificent one-off. The Tokyo equivalent of Sakai, all things considered of course, is the Kappabashi district, where a multitude of kitchen-related stores mingle. Japanese cutlery is very well represented here.

To get to Osaka from the capital, and vice versa, the shinkansen, Japan's high-speed train, is definitely a must. The journey takes just 2h30. But for travelers in less of a hurry, it's also possible to make a stopover in Shizuoka, capital of the eponymous prefecture. Once again, this culinary destination, just 1 hour from the capital, has its share of gustatory delights, some of which are less familiar to travellers. Here, you can tryoden, a type of nabe, the Japanese stew. This healthy and inexpensive culinary specialty is made up of a multitude of ingredients, such as white radish, hard-boiled egg, yude tamago, konjac paste, fried tofu, or a small bag of fried tofu with pounded rice, kinchaku. Visit Takano, a small, typical restaurant specializing in oden, which offers a truly exotic experience in a popular, lively setting! You can wash down your meal with cold beer as you enjoy the dishes piling up on the table. The evening can also be continued in one of the bars of WCB (West Coast Brewing), an excellent local microbrewery.

Ancestral culinary art and umami

One of the five basic tastes, along with sweet, sour, bitter and salty, umami means "essence of delight" in Japanese. Its meaty, salty taste deepens and reveals the flavor of Japanese cuisine! In fact, it's in the presence of a matching aroma that umami's effect is felt, like a flavor that sublimates the whole. A veritable cornerstone in the DNA of Japanese gastronomy, umami can be discovered both at the table and through key visits to experience the breadth of local culinary craftsmanship, to which the Japanese are so attached.

When it comes to umami, some of the mainstays of this flavor always come to the fore: dashi, green tea and katsuobushi, the latter being the preparation of dried, fermented and smoked bonito. All three are well represented in the Shizuoka and Kansai regions. As for dashi, the famous broth on which many dishes are based, Kyoto Rikyu is an excellent place to discover, taste and buy it. Located in Fushimi-Inari, in the Kyoto prefecture bordering Osaka, this historic dashi maker also specializes in dashimaki, a creamy Japanese omelette cooked with... dashi. It's a fantastic experience, because here, the gourmet must first taste the four house dashi to find out which one he or she prefers. The omelette is then prepared with the dashi of their choice. Bonito dashi, the most traditional, is the result of konbu seaweed and dried bonito shavings boiled in water, and is divine. Also in Fushimi-Inari, you'll find the Gekkeikan Okura Sake Museum, where you can immerse yourself in the world of sake, from production to tasting, in beautiful buildings.

For the more curious, you can learn more about katsuobushi, the technique of dried bonito, by visiting Kanesa Katsuobushi Shoten in Nishiizu, on the Izu peninsula in Shizuoka prefecture. This traditional institution takes the curious through the various stages of this technique, from cutting the fish to drying it. You can taste freshly grated bonito shavings on the spot, and experience a dashi broth infused with the shavings, like a tea recipe. The west coast of Izu, where Kanesa Katsuobushi Shoten is located, is also well worth a visit. Natural, rugged and melancholy, this coastline is a hymn to strolling and good times, which are all too rare. It's possible to put down your bags for a night or two a few kilometers away, at the Izu Glamping Resort Ishiki 385, a glamping resort in the heart of lush nature, run by a most friendly and generous owner and a very bon vivant cook, who likes to share the local game around a gargantuan barbecue.

When it comes to umami, it's easy to overlook the fact that green tea is one of them. In fact, green tea contains a significant amount of glutamate, which gives it that fifth flavor. And it's no surprise to find green tea in Shizuoka, a prefecture renowned for its tea plantations. On a mountainside not far from the city of Shizuoka, you can meet a young grower, Takuya Shigeta, who helps his mother with the family business, Ihachi Farm. The setting in which they farm is sumptuous. The fields are perched 600 meters above sea level, overlooking Shizuoka Bay below. You can taste several types of tea directly in the heart of the field, alone in the world, on a wooden terrace. Another unique tea experience awaits the most discerning gourmets, once back "on earth", at Kakuya bessho. This elegant restaurant in the city of Shizuoka presents a meal with tea pairings, an original taste experience that leaves no one indifferent. The chef and tea specialist are on hand to offer an explosion of flavors to customers, who are taken aback by the impressive number of possible combinations between tea and local cuisine.

To continue your tea adventure, head to Uji, in Kyoto, a destination renowned for its green tea, Uji tea being considered one of the three great teas of Japan. With its long history, Uji is known as "Japan's tea country", as the techniques for producing green tea(sencha), refined green tea(gyokuro) and matcha spread throughout the archipelago from this region. Fukujuen Uji Tea Factory offers a wide range of tea-related activities, providing an excellent transition between hands-on experience and tea tasting.

Culinary milestones between two megacities

A trip between Tokyo and Osaka, by train or by car, is an opportunity to discover endearing regions, rich in culture and varied culinary delights. The journey can be punctuated by a number of stops, if you allow yourself time away from timed visits. In the heart of the Izu Peninsula, the charming spa town of Shuzenji, which embodies the very essence of tranquility and authentic gastronomy, is a favorite destination of Shizuoka Prefecture, nestled in the heart of verdant mountains. Shuzenji is renowned for its natural hot springs, so let yourself be tempted by a moment of relaxation in one of the many traditional ryokan, such as the renowned Arai Ryokan, famous for its intimate atmosphere and attentive service. Here, you'll discover refined kaiseki cuisine, a Japanese style of cooking that emphasizes the freshness of local seasonal ingredients and offers a feast in several elegantly prepared and presented courses. And don't forget to try one of the region's (and Japan's!) emblematic ingredients: wasabi. This aromatic plant with its pungent, delicate taste is grown locally. It's a regional emblem and the pride of the local players, who don't hesitate to use it in all sorts of sauces. Yes, wasabi ice cream does exist!

Wenow headfor the Nara countryside, for an unforgettable nightat Nipponia Tawaramoto (the Nipponia group's concept is to choose old buildings and restore them to create a refined, comfortable environment, a blend of modernity and tradition). At Nipponia Tawaramoto, housed in a formershoyu sauce factory lost in the Japanese countryside, visitors are guaranteed a memorable experience. Guests sleep in one of seven rooms, decorated in perfect harmony with the original wooden buildings. After dark, the establishment serves a refined and tasty dinner, featuring local produce, in a fabulous setting of wooden house, elegant objects and garden views. The kind of culinary experience you'll never forget. While in Nara, you can also head to Sakurai to discover Miwa Yamamoto's somen. These fine, delicate noodles, often eaten cold, offer a refreshingly pleasant taste experience, especially on hot summer days. After such a delicate meal, it's off to the Omiwa-jinja shrine, serving Mount Miwa, which rises behind it. A pleasant, historic stroll in an exceptional setting that is the perfect end to a gastronomic journey between Tokyo and Osaka.

Itinerary recommendations:

Itinerary 1: Tokyo to Osaka by train (5 days)

To take full advantage of Japan's gastronomic offer and its wealth of experiences, in a short space of time, spend one night in the capital, visiting a lively izakaya in the Shimbashi district in the evening. You can then reach Shuzenji, in the center of Izu, in about 1h45 by train (1 change) to enjoy the town, its history, its onsen baths and its kaiseki meals. After an overnight stay, take the train to the city of Shizuoka (less than 1h20 by express train, 1 change). Spend the evening immersed in the city's oden culture. From Shizuoka, you can easily travel to Kyoto to enjoy the local gastronomy ( dashi and sake in Fushimi-Inari, green tea in Uji...). If time permits, you can reach Sakurai in less than 1h30 from Kyoto, to experience the somen and visit the lovely Omiwa-jinja shrine. After your stay in the ancient capital, spend a night in Osaka to immerse yourself in the tasty, lively street food culture. You can then fly to Europe from Kansai International Airport. This itinerary works in both directions.

Itinerary 2: Tokyo to Osaka by train + rental car (6/7 days)

To experience Japan off the beaten track, it's best to rent a car in less accessible areas, such as the west coast of Izu. Buses can be an alternative, but the scattered stops and low number of daily runs may put many off. First, spend a night in the capital, visiting a lively izakaya in the Shimbashi district. Then travel by shinkansen to the city of Shizuoka (approx. 1h). Spend the evening immersed in the city's oden culture. From here, you can rent a car for 2 days to explore pretty Izu, stopping off at the prefecture's tea fields. In Izu, you can visit the south and its geopark, then head west, stopping off at a katsuobushi factory and spending a night at the Izu Glamping Resort Ishiki 385. Once back in the city of Shizuoka, take the direct train to Kyoto to enjoy the local gastronomy ( dashi and sake in Fushimi-Inari, green tea in Uji...). From the south of Kyoto, you can rent a car for 2 days to explore Nara and the Sakurai region, with its somen and sanctuary. Stay overnight at the exceptional Nipponia Tawaramoto for an unforgettable culinary experience. After returning the car in Kyoto, take the train to Osaka and spend a night there to immerse yourself in the tasty, lively street food culture. You can then fly to Europe from Kansai International Airport. This itinerary works in both directions.

Practical information and addresses:

OFFICE NATIONAL DU TOURISME JAPONAIS
https://www.japan.travel/fr/fr/
Facebook: Découvrir le Japon
Instagram: visitjapanfr

BABA CUTLERY WORKS

Open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
3-3-22, Shukuya-cho Higashi, Sakai-ku, Sakai-city, Osaka 590-0936
http://www.baba-hamono.com/en/

FUKUJUEN UJI TEA FACTORY
Open from 10am to 5pm. Closed Mondays.
Yamada-10 Uji, Kyoto 611-0021
https://www.fukujuen.com/en/

GEKKEIKAN OKURA SAKE MUSEUM
Open 9:30am-4:30pm.
247 Minamihama-cho, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, 612-8660
https://www.gekkeikan.co.jp/english/kyotofushimi/museum.html

IHACHI FARM TEA TERRACE
1381 Ushizuma, Aoi Ward, Shizuoka, 421-2106
https://ihachifarm.com/

KAKUYA BESSHO
Lunch: open 11:30am-2pm, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays only.
Dinner: open 5:30pm-10pm (Fridays and Saturdays 10:30pm).
Closed Tuesdays and 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month.
1-15 Shichikencho, Aoi Ward, Shizuoka City
https://www.nasubi-ltd.co.jp/kakuya/

KANESA KATSUOBUSHI SHOTEN
Open from 9am to 4pm. Closed Sundays.
600-1 Tago, Nishiizu, Kamo District, Shizuoka 410-3515
https://katsubushi.com/

KYOTO RIKYU
Open from 10am to 5pm. Closed Tuesdays.
45 Nakajimatobarikyucho, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto, 612-8459
https://kyotorikyu.com/

MIWA YAMAMOTO
Open 10am to 5pm.
878 Hashinaka, Sakurai, Nara 633-0072
https://www.miwayama.co.jp/en/

OKARU
Open from 12 noon to 2:30pm and from 5pm to 9:30pm. Closed Thursdays.
1 Chome-9-19 Sennichimae, Chuo Ward, Osaka, 542-0074

RJ CAFE
Open 11am-9pm (6pm on Sundays). Closed Tuesdays.
3 Chome-2-1 Tenma, Kita Ward, Osaka 530-0043
https://www.10sense.co/cafe

TAKANO
Open from 4.30pm to 10pm. Closed Sundays.
5-4 Koyamachi, Aoi Ward, Shizuoka, 420-0852

VISIT SURUGA
https://www.visit-suruga.com/en

Overnight stays :

ARAI RYOKAN

970 Shuzenji, Izu, Shizuoka 410-2416
http://arairyokan.jp/en/
HOTEL OLE INN
2 Chome-1-1 Tokiwacho, Aoi Ward, Shizuoka, 420-0034
https://www.ole-inn.com/en/
HOTEL THE LEBEN OSAKA
2 Chome-2-15 Minamisenba, Chuo Ward, Osaka, 542-0081
https://leben-hotels.jp/en/
IZUGLAMPING RESORT ISHIKI 385
385 Ishiki, Nishiizu, Kamo District, Shizuoka 410-3512
https://izuglam385.com/
NIPPONIATAWARAMOTO
170 Iyodo, Tawaramoto, Shiki District, Nara 636-0243
https://maruto-shoyu.co.jp/
SHINAGAWA PRINCE HOTEL
4 Chome-10-30 Takanawa, Minato City, Tokyo 108-8611
https://www.princehotels.com/shinagawa/