Konamono (flour-based griddle dishes)

No single place of origin4

• Funayakia flour-and-water crepe folded into a boat shape
• Hirayachian Okinawan wheat-flour pancake scattered with garlic chives
• Jiriyakia miso-flavored okonomiyaki once cooked slow over hearth ashes
• Okonomiyakia savory wheat-flour pancake loaded with cabbage and pork

The dishes behind chain flavors

The flavors of national chains are said to trace back to dishes from particular places. Pick a chain to see the dish behind it.

• Gindaco — nationwide takoyaki chain born in Gunma

  Gindaco is said to have refined the texture and method of Osaka-born takoyaki and spread it nationwide and overseas.

  • →Takoyaki — round griddle-cooked batter balls filled with octopus
  • →Akashiyaki — egg-rich octopus batter balls dipped in warm dashi

• Dotonbori Kukuru — Osaka's creative takoyaki chain

  Kukuru's takoyaki are said to carry Dotonbori's Minami-Osaka takoyaki culture nationwide and overseas, alongside creative menu variations.

  • →Takoyaki — round griddle-cooked batter balls filled with octopus
  • →Akashiyaki — egg-rich octopus batter balls dipped in warm dashi

• Wanaka — Osaka Sennichimae's neighborhood takoyaki shop

  Wanaka's takoyaki are said to carry on the takoyaki culture long loved by locals in Sennichimae, Minami Osaka.

  • →Takoyaki — round griddle-cooked batter balls filled with octopus
  • →Usu-yaki — a thin, soy-brushed wheat crepe sold at Morioka's shrine festivals

• Dohtonbori — nationwide okonomiyaki chain named after Osaka's Dotonbori

  Dohtonbori's okonomiyaki, named after Osaka's Dotonbori, is said to have spread the Kansai style of eating okonomiyaki nationwide.

  • →Okonomiyaki — a savory wheat-flour pancake loaded with cabbage and pork
  • →Tarashi-yaki — a farm-break wheat pancake ladled thin onto the griddle

• Chibo — Osaka Sennichimae's okonomiyaki chain

  Chibo's okonomiyaki is said to have carried the teppan-grilled food culture born in Sennichimae, Osaka, to stores across Japan and overseas.

  • →Okonomiyaki — a savory wheat-flour pancake loaded with cabbage and pork
  • →Usu-yaki — a thin, soy-brushed wheat crepe sold at Morioka's shrine festivals

• Tsuruhashi Fugetsu — Osaka's Tsuruhashi-born okonomiyaki chain

  Tsuruhashi Fugetsu's okonomiyaki is said to carry on the taste of a shop started by a couple in postwar Tsuruhashi, Osaka.

  • →Okonomiyaki — a savory wheat-flour pancake loaded with cabbage and pork
  • →Tarashi-yaki — a farm-break wheat pancake ladled thin onto the griddle

• Botejyu — Osaka's mayo-topped okonomiyaki chain

  Botejyu's okonomiyaki, born in postwar Osaka's Tamade, is said to have popularized topping okonomiyaki with mayonnaise and the "modan-yaki" noodle-okonomiyaki combination.

  • →Okonomiyaki — a savory wheat-flour pancake loaded with cabbage and pork
  • →Usu-yaki — a thin, soy-brushed wheat crepe sold at Morioka's shrine festivals

• Tsukishima Monja Moheji — seafood-focused monja chain

  Moheji's monjayaki is said to carry on Tsukishima's monja culture, run directly by a seafood wholesaler.

  • →Monjayaki — a loose, watery batter scraped hot off the griddle with a spatula
  • →Okonomiyaki — a savory wheat-flour pancake loaded with cabbage and pork