Surrounded by abundant seas, Japan is a long country stretching from north to south. The food from the sea and mountains brought by the characteristics of the climate and topography, as well as the food culture nurtured by the long history of the country, have given birth to various “local gourmet foods” throughout the country. Kansai’s local delicacies include takoyaki, okonomiyaki, and other “flour-based gourmet foods,” but there are actually many restaurants where you can enjoy local delicacies from all over the country, as if you were visiting the actual place! Here are some restaurants where you can easily enjoy the feeling of traveling around Japan.

1.【OSAKA】Hokkaido│Hakodate KANTARO

2.【OSAKA】Hokkaido│Okhotsk Okoppe Milk Stand

3.【KYOTO】Hokkaido│Hitsuji syokudo

4.【OSAKA】Tohoku region│Gyutanyaki sendaihenmi

5.【KOBE】Tohoku region│Aomori nebuta world

Hakodate Kantero is a popular conveyor-belt sushi restaurant in Hakodate, Hokkaido. Hakodate Kantaro is a popular conveyor-belt sushi restaurant in Hakodate, Hokkaido, that offers carefully selected ingredients with an emphasis on freshness and the skills of its chefs. Fresh seasonal ingredients from Hokkaido are delivered directly to our restaurants. The fish delivered is processed by our chefs and served fresh on the same day. In addition to Hokkaido ingredients, the manager personally purchases local fish from the Osaka fish market and seasonal ingredients from all over Japan. The fish is selected on a daily basis, so you can enjoy a “daily-changing” menu every day.

(Items shipped directly from Hokkaido and items purchased at the Osaka market may not be available due to market holidays, time of year, etc. Please understand in advance.)

A wide variety of freshly caught seafood items and rice made from freshly cooked rice at the temperature of human skin. Kantaro’s sushi combines both of these characteristics, with the neta being larger and the rice smaller.

North Plain Farm, a dairy farm in Okoppe-cho, Monbetsu-gun, Hokkaido, practices “recycling-based dairy farming” and “good food production” based on the principle of “conveying the taste of milk as it is in nature.

The Okokoppe Milk Stand is a sweets store that offers sweet and tasty sweets made from the natural dairy products grown in the land of Okobe Town. The Hanshin Umeda main store is its first store in the Kansai region.

The “Strawberry Shortcake Parfait – Hanshin Umeda Ver. -” is made by squeezing out milk soft serve ice cream in the shape of rose petals to create a finer, fluffier and lighter texture. The parfait is hearty, yet refreshing to the last bite.

In addition to seafood, Hokkaido’s gourmet food is also attractive for the meat and vegetables grown in the rich northern land. One of the most popular meat dishes is “Jingisukan. Jingisukan is a local dish born in Hokkaido, where wool production flourished. Using a special pot shaped with a raised center, mutton, lamb, and other lamb meat is grilled in the center and vegetables on the periphery, making this iron plate dish a delicious way to enjoy vegetables seasoned with the juices from the lamb meat.

“Hitsuji Shokudo” is a restaurant specializing in wine and Jingisukan, where Jingisukan is also available in Kyoto. Jingisukan is grilled over a charcoal fire using a shichirin (charcoal griddle) and served with a sauce rich in onions and apples, and has a reputation for being easy to eat and having no peculiar taste. The restaurant also offers a full menu of healthy lamb dishes such as bone-in lamb, cured lamb ham, and keema curry with ground lamb.

A Sendai chef was impressed by the taste of Western-style tan stew, and after much research to make beef tongue, which was unfamiliar in Japanese cuisine at the time, more palatable to Japanese people, “gyutan-yaki” was born. Furthermore, the set meal style, which includes barley rice, tail soup, and other items designed to balance nutrition, took root, and soon became famous throughout Japan as a “Sendai specialty.

Beef tongue set menus can be easily enjoyed at Beef Tongue Yaki Sendai Henmi. Although it is a simple combination, you can taste the true flavor of the beef tongue itself due to our attention to the ingredients and careful preparation process. Each carefully selected piece of high-quality beef tongue is hand-cut and seasoned with salt and pepper only. After seasoning, the beef tongue is aged and quickly grilled over high heat. The “Superior Thick Cut Beef Tongue” is especially tender and fatty, and is unquestionably delicious.

Located in the northernmost part of Honshu, Aomori Prefecture is surrounded by three seas: the Sea of Japan, the Pacific Ocean, and the Tsugaru Straits. Each region has developed its own unique culinary culture due to the vastly different climates and landscapes of each region. Aomori Nebuta World Sannomiya is a place where visitors can enjoy the local cuisine of Aomori Prefecture with their eyes and taste buds. In addition to the authentic cuisine, you will be greeted by a “Nebuta” at the entrance. The interior of the restaurant also recreates the world of the Nebuta Festival, offering an extraordinary experience.

The restaurant, which is also a member of the Aomori Prefecture Cooperation Agreement, offers Aomori’s freshest ingredients directly from Aomori on a daily basis. In addition to a menu featuring fresh seafood such as scallops and “Aomori Shamorock,” a locally raised chicken, customers can enjoy a variety of Aomori gourmet foods such as the popular B-class gourmet “Senbei Jiru”. In addition, a wide selection of locally brewed sake from various regions of Aomori and “Oirase Beer,” a craft beer made in Oirase, will surely allow you to enjoy the charms of Aomori.

How was it?

The Kansai area, centering on Osaka, which was called “the kitchen of the nation” in the Edo period, still has many restaurants where you can enjoy gourmet foods from all over the country. We recommend tasting not only Kansai gourmet foods, but also local menus that will satisfy Kansai people as well.