Day 82-85 Prepare to Drool! Through Typhoon into Nagoya

Feb 3 • Blog, Honshu • 2785 Views • 4 Comments

Let’s go back. Back to the time I was cycling in Nagoya last year. A slight delay I admit, but the deliciousness in Japan has not changed since.

Vividly I remember how windy it was heading to Nagoya. A big typhoon had just passed, and of course, I decided to cycle along Kiso River where the road was higher than the other ground. A lovely idea for such nice view, not so when the wind was gusting so badly I could hardly be standing still with my loaded Sakura. I was trying to go forward by cycling very slowly, but I felt like a piece of paper. I had to stop and keep my body low for a while. The moment the wind got weaker, I walked my bike to the end of the road. The day got whole a lot more fun when I took a turn and the wind was on my back. Have you ever cycled with the left-over typhoon wind? It’s a turbo engine!

The golden “shachihoko” (mythical protector that looks like half carp and half lion) were sparkling on top of the roof of Nagoya Castle. Nagoya is one of the major cities in Japan, where its surrounding region is known for auto industry. Toyota City is near here too.

Nagoya is known for some great food, including this Hitsu-mabushi. It’s grilled eel on top of white rice in hitsu, which is this round container with lid. Grilled eel is one of the popular Japanese dishes that are served in different ways region to region. This is Nagoya style.

The friends that I stayed with in Kyoto introduced me to their friends in Nagoya. This family with two little children was a joy to be with, accompanied with their favorite food from the city. Guess what’s in this cover on top of the hot teppan (iron board).

It’s asari steamed with sake. These are so delicious, often steamed with a little bit of butter too. The equivalent in the West would be white wine steamed moules.

Not so classic, but decadent was grilled scallops wrapped with beef. Now, that was surf & turf gone Japanese.

Cooking on a hot, sizzling table is fun!

May I introduce you to some more Nagoya’s signature dishes? “Nabe yaki udon” is Nagoya’s famous udon noodles in miso broth, served hot in a clay pot. Nabe is the pot, and yaki means to grill or to heat.

Tenmusu is shrimp tempura in musubi (another name for onigiri / rice ball).

In between the delicious tasting of the city, I visited the Toyota Museum with the family. They had a great collection of cars, not just Toyota’s, but of the history of cars. Even if you weren’t so into cars, it’s fun to admire the beautiful cars from old to new, from all over the world.

A nice surprise in the museum was a display of bicycles. Go wheel power!

After a few days of tasty rest, Nagoya’s kishimen sent me off to the road again. It is their flat noodles, which became my favorite. Typhoon wind? Not a problem, it pushed me to wonderful new friends and Nagoyan delicacies!

This post is also available in: Japanese

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