Place
Shizuoka
静岡県
36 items
● 29 born here(Abekawa Mochi, Bokumeshi, Fujieda Asa Ramen, and more) / ● 1 raised here(Fuji Kinka) / ● 6 prepared here(Kuro Hanpen, Mago Chazuke, Narutomaki, and more) / ○ 10 known for it here
Born here29
- Abekawa Mochi安倍川もちfresh-pounded rice cake dusted in sweetened soybean flourFresh-pounded rice cake is dusted in soybean flour mixed with sugar. Named for the Abe River, it's said to have been famous among Tokaido travelers as a teahouse specialty and to appear in the travel novel Tokaidochu Hizakurige.
- Bokumeshiぼくめしmixed rice with simmered eel and burdock rootSteamed eel and shaved burdock are simmered together and folded into freshly cooked rice. Its name is said to trace to oversized eels unfit for sale, used in staff meals at eel farms along the Oi River — a mixed rice dish of the region.
- Fujieda Asa Ramen藤枝朝ラーメンShoyu — soy saucemorning ramen, hot bowl then cold bowlA town that eats ramen at breakfast — often a hot bowl followed by a cold one.
- Fujinomiya Yakisoba富士宮やきそばPostwar Shizuoka yakisoba with chewy steamed noodles and pork-lard bitsIt grew up as a postwar snack at Fujinomiya's candy shops and okonomiyaki stalls. Its identity rests on three local staples: chewy steamed noodles, pork-lard cracklings called nikukasu, and a sardine-powder topping called dashiko.
- Gawaがわa chilled miso soup of raw bonito, cucumber, and pickled plumRaw bonito is minced and mixed into a chilled miso broth with cucumber, pickled plum, and shiso. Its name is said to come from the "gawa-gawa" sound of stirring miso into ice water aboard a fishing boat — originally a summer meal made at sea.
- Gennari Zushiげんなり寿司a large pressed sushi topped with seasoned golden eye snapperVinegared rice packed with sweet-simmered carrot is pressed in a mold and topped with pink and white flaked golden eye snapper. Made for weddings and coming-of-age celebrations, its name is said to come from how filling — gennari, or wearying — just eating it could be.
- Heso Mochiへそもちa dimpled rice dumpling set out for the harvest moonRice flour dumplings are shaped flat with a dimple pressed into the center, then steamed. Specific to the central and western region west of the Fuji River, they're said to be made from that year's new rice for the mid-autumn and later moon-viewing nights.
- Iruka no Misoniイルカの味噌煮dolphin meat simmered with burdock root in misoDolphin meat landed by the traditional drive fishery of the Izu coast is stir-fried with burdock root, then simmered in sake, soy sauce, sugar, and miso. It's said to carry the memory of a hunt traced back to the Jomon period, once an everyday home dish in Izu.
- Kinme no Nitsuke金目の煮付けgolden eye snapper simmered sweet with gingerGolden eye snapper is simmered hard in a soy, sake, and sugar glaze with skin-on ginger. Made with fish landed at Izu peninsula ports including Shimoda, said to be the country's top golden eye snapper port, it's known for the fish's rich fat.
- Kiriboshi Imo切り干しいもsun-dried sweet potato slicesSteamed sweet potato is sliced thin and dried in the sun. Local lore ties the potato's arrival to a rescued Satsuma ship, and the region's dry winter wind and long daylight hours are said to have suited it well to drying.
- Kuro Hanpen Fry黒はんぺんフライKuro-hanpen fry — Shizuoka's grey fish cake, breaded and deep-friedGrey fish cake made from mackerel, horse mackerel, and sardine ground bone and skin included, breaded and fried. Its flavor runs stronger than white fish cake, and the fried crust is said to have made it a household side dish across generations.
- Mikuriya Soba御厨そばsoba in a chicken broth, bound with wild yamFrom the Mikuriya area of Gotemba, Shizuoka: hand-cut soba in a chicken-bone broth. It's said to have begun with binding the dough using wild yam instead of water, giving the noodle its easy, smooth swallow.
- Namaribushi to Shiro Tamanegi no Saladなまり節と白玉葱のサラダsmoked half-dried bonito tossed with sweet white onionNamaribushi — half-cured bonito, a step before katsuobushi — is blanched and flaked, then tossed with a sweet white onion bred from a variety brought from Aichi. Made from bonito landed at Yaizu port, boiled and smoked into the cured form.
- Okiagari沖あがりraw sakura shrimp simmered with tofu and scallion, sukiyaki-styleRaw sakura shrimp is simmered sukiyaki-style with tofu and scallion in soy sauce and sugar. Sakura shrimp are landed only in Suruga Bay, and the dish is said to have begun as something fishermen in Yui ate over drinks after coming ashore from the day's catch.
- Orido Nasu Dengaku折戸なすの田楽a native eggplant variety grilled and topped with sweet misoOrido nasu, a native eggplant grown in Miho, Shizuoka, is grilled on both sides and topped with red miso simmered with sake, sugar, and mirin. Said to be the eggplant of the "first Fuji, second hawk, third eggplant" New Year's luck saying, its richness is said to suit miso well.
- Ozakuおざくa simmered vegetable soup of taro, daikon, and carrotTaro, daikon, and carrot are roughly chopped and simmered in dashi with soy sauce and sugar. Said to have been made for weddings, funerals, and other gatherings, with neighbors each bringing vegetables from their own fields.
- Rakkasei Namasu落花生なますdaikon and carrot namasu softened with ground roasted peanutsJulienned daikon and carrot are dressed in vinegar mixed with ground roasted peanuts. Around Fujinomiya and Fuji, where peanuts are a local crop, the nut's richness is said to soften the vinegar's sharpness in this red-and-white New Year namasu.
- Saba no Hakozushi鯖の箱寿司mackerel-topped pressed sushi from the Izu coastFlaked simmered mackerel, carrot, and shiitake are laid over vinegared rice packed into a wooden box and pressed. Local lore ties its origin to a fisherman who once carried meals in a lattice box to the exiled priest Nichiren — a festival-day pressed sushi of the Izu coast.
- Sakura Ebi no Kakiageサクラエビのかき揚げa fritter of raw sakura shrimp from Suruga BayRaw sakura shrimp is bound in a batter of flour and water, then deep-fried. Sakura shrimp are landed only in Suruga Bay, and the fritter is said to be made widely across the prefecture's homes and restaurants, not just near the fishing ports.
- Shida-kei Ramen志太系ラーメンShoyu — soy saucea lineage of clear, fat-trimmed soy broths from the tea country of ShidaA soy ramen lineage from the Shida area around Fujieda and Yaizu, built on a fat-trimmed, clear pork-bone broth sharpened with bonito dashi. Shops modeling themselves on one said to date to the Taisho era, customers often order a hot and a cold bowl together.
- Shimizu Motsu Curry Ramen清水もつカレーラーメンBesides shoyu, miso, shio and tonkotsua postwar port-town fusion of Manchurian curry and simmered offalA ramen topped with motsu curry, a stewed-offal curry said to have originated in Shimizu, Shizuoka City, blending curry know-how learned in Manchuria with a simmering style reminiscent of Nagoya's dote-ni. Ingredients and curry color vary from shop to shop.
- Shizuoka Oden静岡おでんOdenoden simmered in a broth blackened with dark fish cake and beef tendonBeef tendon, dark fish cake, fish cakes, daikon, and egg are skewered and simmered in a broth cooked nearly black, then dusted with green laver and dried fish powder. Popularity is said to have grown after the war, when once-discarded beef tendon and offal became a filling.
- Someii染飯steamed rice dyed yellow with gardenia seed, pressed thin and driedSteamed sticky rice is dyed yellow with gardenia seed, mashed, and pressed thin into a portable travel food. Sold at teahouses along the old Tokaido in present-day Fujieda since the Warring States era, it's said to have earned a reputation for easing travelers' tired legs.
- Takenoko no Arame Ni筍のアラメ煮bamboo shoot simmered with a coarse local kelpBamboo shoot, dried daikon strips, and arame — a coarse local kelp — are each rehydrated, then simmered together. Said to have begun with kelp gathered after washing up on the central coast, it remains a dish that signals spring.
- Tamago Fuwafuwaたまごふわふわa whipped egg poured into clear broth until airyMade from nothing but egg and dashi, this clear soup is whipped into a soft, foamy texture. A travel diary from the Edo period is said to record it being served for breakfast at the Fukuroi post town's main inn, later revived by the local tourism association.
- Tokimiso Ramen溶き味噌ラーメンMisoShimizu's ramen you flavor yourself by stirring in miso halfway throughA ramen from Shimizu, Shizuoka City, eaten by stirring house-made miso into a light salt broth partway through. The flavor is said to shift twice within a single bowl, and a dash of bonito flakes changes it again.
- Tokorotenところてんchilled agar noodles cut from boiled Izu seaweedAgarweed is boiled with water and vinegar, set in a mold, then pushed through a press into long strands. In the Izu peninsula, said to be the country's leading agarweed source, it was made at home and sold at candy shops alike, settling in as a children's treat.
- Tororo Jiruとろろ汁grated mountain yam soup poured over barley riceGrated wild mountain yam is thinned with dashi and miso, then poured over barley rice. A specialty of the old Tokaido post town of Marico, in present-day Shizuoka, it's said to appear in Jippensha Ikku's travel novel and a Basho haiku, once favored by travelers on the road.
- Tsuke NaporitanつけナポリタンFuji City's tomato-broth noodles, eaten dipping-noodle styleThe dish was created in September 2008 through a collaboration between a TV town-revitalization segment and the Yoshiwara shopping street in Fuji City. Thick noodles are dipped tsukemen-style into a double stock built on a tomato base with chicken broth, and a local neighborhood group later took up promoting it citywide.
Raised here1
Prepared here6
- Kuro Hanpen黒はんぺんKuro-hanpen — Shizuoka's dark, unbleached fish cakeKuro-hanpen is a Shizuoka fish cake made from mackerel or sardine paste, worked in with skin and bone, and shaped into a half-moon. Its blue-gray color and strong fish flavor are its signature, and it's a fixture in local oden.
- Mago Chazukeまご茶漬けpounded raw horse mackerel over rice, doused in hot teaPounded fresh horse mackerel is piled on rice and doused with hot tea or water, seasoned with soy sauce and wasabi. Its name is said to come from a call to eat quickly between hauls — a fisherman's meal found across the Izu peninsula.
- Narutomakiなるとthe swirl-patterned fish rollNarutomaki is a cylindrical fish cake made by rolling white and red-dyed paste into a spiral. Its cross-section reads like the character "no," and roughly nine in ten are said to be made in Yaizu, Shizuoka.
- Shizuoka-cha静岡茶By growing regiona prefecture of contrasting tea landscapesA tea-producing prefecture where distinctly different growing areas coexist — from the vast flatlands of the Makinohara plateau to mountain gardens like Kawane and Honyama. It's said to be one of the country's largest tea-producing regions.
- Shizuoka Kinzanji Miso金山寺味噌Kinzanji miso — a chunky fermented paste studded with summer vegetablesRice and soy koji ferment summer vegetables — winter melon, eggplant, ginger, shiso seed — into a chunky paste eaten as-is rather than used to season. Originally a temple preserve for carrying summer vegetables into winter, it's said to be eaten across the prefecture and as far as Wakayama and Chiba.
- Wasabi-zukeわさび漬けWasabizuke — chopped wasabi worked into sake lees, a Shizuoka station souvenir since 1889Chopped wasabi stem and root worked into sake lees. Cultivation is said to trace to Utogi, a valley Tokugawa Ieyasu once forbade anyone to carry wasabi out of, and the pickle became a fixture of Shizuoka Station's platform stalls from 1889.
Known for it here15
- MaguroマグロKnown sourcetuna — the modern king of sushiToday's king of sushi, served soy-cured in old Edo. Oma, Nachikatsuura, Misaki and Yaizu are its famed landing ports.
- KatsuoカツオRed-fleshed fishKnown sourcebonito — the fast-swimming icon of early-summer JapanA migratory fish riding the Kuroshio current north each spring, lean in early summer and richer once it turns south in autumn. Seared with straw as tataki or served raw, with flavor prized most near the ports the current runs closest to.
- AjiアジBlue-backed fishKnown sourcehorse mackerel — the fish behind Japan's everyday fry and sashimiA blue-backed fish sold year-round, served raw, minced as tataki, or fried. Fish that settle in one fast-flowing strait rather than migrate firm up and fatten, and are pole-and-line caught there under premium regional brand names.
- UnagiウナギFreshwater fishfreshwater eel — grilled and glazed for a summer stamina mealGrilled and glazed as kabayaki, traditionally eaten on the midsummer Day of the Ox for stamina. Eastern Japan steams before grilling while the west grills straight through — towns by brackish lakes rich in glass eels built eel-farming into local fame.Abundant glass eels once caught in the brackish Lake Hamana gave rise to a major eel-farming industry, making the city a kabayaki stronghold.
- NijimasuニジマスFreshwater fishrainbow trout — an introduced trout now farmed across JapanA trout native to North America, introduced to Japan in the Meiji era and now farmed nationwide. Spring-fed farms hold a steady temperature that keeps flesh firm year-round, and it is served salt-grilled, fried, or even raw.Fed by spring water from Mt. Fuji, this city is said to be where rainbow trout farming began in the Meiji era, and calls itself its birthplace.
- KisuキスWhite fishKnown sourceJapanese whiting — a light summer fish taken from sandy shallowsA white-fleshed fish of sandy shallows, best known as a tempura staple. Mild and thin-fleshed, it fries through quickly, and shallow-bay towns have also long prized it as a favorite target for shore anglers.
- KinmedaiキンメダイWhite fishsplendid alfonsino — a deep-red fish prized for its rich fatA vivid red deep-sea fish, richly fatty when simmered or served raw. Coasts where the seabed drops away steeply support pole-and-line fishing close to shore, and the short trip back to port helps land it fresh enough to fetch premium prices.The steeply plunging seabed of Sagami Bay forms the fishing grounds, with pole-and-line 'ji-kinme' known through the ports of Inatori and Shimoda.
- ShirasuシラスBlue-backed fishwhitebait — the tiny, translucent juveniles of sardineThe tiny, translucent juveniles of sardine and related fish. Kettle-boiled or sun-dried, served over rice or with grated daikon — bays where seabed topography drives upwelling currents draw the densest shoals and anchor the main fisheries.The deep seabed topography of Suruga Bay drives upwelling currents, supporting active whitebait fisheries at the ports of Yui and Mochimune.
- Sakura Ebi桜海老Shrimp and craba shrimp whose commercial catch is licensed in only one bayA small, translucent red shrimp about 4cm long, named for its cherry-blossom hue. Eaten shell and all, fried into fritters or briefly boiled for a toasty crunch. Commercial fishing for it is licensed in only one bay in Japan.Suruga Bay's steep undersea topography makes stocks highly variable, so only two ports fish it, in two short licensed seasons a year.
- Gyoza餃子pan-fried dumplings filled with minced meat and vegetablesA Chinese-derived dumpling of wheat wrappers folded around a minced filling. In Japan the pan-fried style dominates, and the wrapper's thinness, the vegetable mix, and the dipping sauce each carry local character, with some cities promoting it as a citywide specialty.Hamamatsu gyoza are arranged into a circle on the griddle with a mound of boiled bean sprouts in the center — a vegetable-heavy, light-tasting filling promoted as a local specialty through a partnership of the city's chamber of commerce and tourism bodies.
- OdenおでんOdendaikon, fish cakes, and eggs simmered in a light dashi brothA simmered dish of daikon, konjac, fish cakes, and eggs slow-cooked in dashi. Even under one name, the broth's color, the ingredients, and how it's eaten vary sharply from place to place, shaped in part by where it was traditionally sold.Shizuoka oden is marked by a dark broth and dark fish cake (kuro-hanpen), skewered and finished with aonori seaweed and dashi powder. It is said to have been sold more often at candy shops where children gathered than at izakaya, and that everyday setting is said to have shaped the dish's casual style.
- Unagi no Kabayakiうなぎの蒲焼Kabayaki — eel split, skewered, and grilled under a sweet soy glazeEel is split, skewered, and grilled under repeated coats of a sweet soy glaze. Eastern Japan steams the fish before grilling while the west grills it straight through, and even how the fish is split differs by region.Abundant glass eels once caught in the brackish Lake Hamana gave rise to a major eel-farming industry, making the city known as a kabayaki stronghold. The city's own tourism portal calls Lake-Hamana-raised eel "exceptional," promoted citywide as a summer stamina food.
- Shirasu-donしらす丼raw whitebait rice bowlRaw shirasu served over rice with egg yolk and condiments. Both Shonan on Sagami Bay and Shizuoka on Suruga Bay are cited as major sources, with eating it raw said to have taken hold only as refrigeration advanced.Suruga Bay is cited as one of Japan's richest fishing grounds for plankton, and the short distance from landing to table is said to support a culture of eating shirasu raw.
- Katsuobushi鰹節Known sourcesmoked, dried bonitoBonito boiled, smoked, and dried, shaved into flakes and eaten over rice or used to make dashi. Passing through the stages of arabushi, hadaka-bushi, and kare-bushi is said to concentrate its umami further at each step.A port town with a deep-sea bonito fishing base, said to be one of the main hubs of katsuobushi production today.
- Sencha煎茶Green teaJapan's everyday unshaded green teaGreen tea made from young leaves grown without shading, steamed and rolled dry in what's considered the most basic Japanese tea process. It's said to account for the bulk of the country's tea production, prized for a balance of fresh aroma and gentle astringency.Ranging from the vast flatland plantations of the Makinohara plateau to the misty mountain gardens of Kawane, the prefecture is said to be one of the country's largest tea producers.