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SoraNews24
10 hours ago
- SoraNews24
Here are all of the reasons why you should go to Kumano, Mie Prefecture, for summer sightseeing
Spectacular fireworks, ancient pilgrimage routes, water excursions, and local cuisine are all definitive reasons to visit Kumano this summer season. Our team of SoraNews24 writers love visiting off-the-beaten-path locales in Japan. We've journeyed to the north, the south, and plenty of places in between, but there will always be more hidden gems waiting to explore. While we wouldn't exactly call the UNESCO World Heritage Site 'The Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range' under the radar, we would venture to say that it can be overshadowed by the popular cities of Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka that are in close proximity. Given the unprecedented numbers of foreign tourists in those cities as of late, if you're looking for a combination of ancient and modern wonders without the crowds, we'd highly recommend heading a bit farther south to the Kii Peninsula. Today, we'll be introducing a variety of highlights from the area centered on Kumano, Mie Prefecture, a city nestled snugly between the mountains and the ocean. First things first–Kumano is home to the Kumano Fireworks Festival (熊野大花火大会), one of the premier displays of fireworks in all of Japan. Held annually, 10,000 fireworks explode 600 meters (656 yards) in the sky over the ocean at Shichirimihama Beach. This year's festival is slated for August 17 from 7-9 p.m., with backup dates of August 19, 21, 26, and 28 in case of inclement weather or unruly waves. Similarly, a bit to the north in the town of Kihoku, the Kihoku Lantern Festival (きほく燈籠祭) is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the town's establishment after two smaller towns were merged. The festival was held on July 26 at Kiinagashima Port with a special decorative lantern float of local mascot characters Kiihokun and Kussun fishing alongside a fireworks display designed to mimic the plumage of a peacock over the ocean. Those who wish to see the decorative lantern are still in luck because it will be displayed at the World Expo that's currently taking place in Osaka. ▼ Posters for this year's Kumano Fireworks Festival and Kihoku Lantern Festival The name 'Kumano' may ring a bell if you've ever heard of the Kumano Kodo, a series of ancient pilgrimage routes that connect important shrines and temples secluded in the mountains of the Kii Peninsula. Traversed by spiritual pilgrims for over 1,000 years, the old-growth forests practically feel like they're buzzing with mystical energy. We'll introduce two recommendations for must-see stretches of the routes. First, the Matsumoto Pass (松本峠) is located between Kumano's Odomari and Kinomoto localities and is only about a 30-minute hike from the popular Onigajo (鬼ヶ城) natural rock formations/caves sightseeing attraction. You'll be rewarded for your uphill climb with sweeping views of the coast and mountains. You should also be on the lookout for a Jizo statue at the summit of the pass riddled with bullet marks from when a hunter mistook it for a monster in centuries past. ▼ A section of the Matsumoto Pass © SoraNews24 ▼ The Jizo statue at the top of the Matsumoto Pass ▼ The Onigajo ('Demon Castle') rocks along the water are well worth a visit before or after visiting Matsumoto Pass. © SoraNews24 Second, the Magose Pass (馬越峠) is located between Kihoku and Owase and is fantastic for anyone who wants to be swept up in the tranquility of nature. This stretch of the route is marked by abundant hinoki cypress trees and cobblestone paths, but be careful not to slip as the area receives some of the highest annual rainfall in the country. ▼ A section of the Magose Pass Meanwhile, if a stroll on the beach is more your style, you'll have plenty of walking to do at Shichirimihama Beach (七里御浜海岸)–yes, the same place where the Kumano Fireworks Festival takes place. Spanning 22 kilometers (13.7 miles) from Kumano to the town of Kiho to the south, it's Japan's longest sand and gravel beach that's filled with colorful pebbles shaped by the waves. It's also a landing spot for loggerhead turtles. ▼ Shichirimihama Beach ▼ People who plan to attend the Kumano Fireworks Festival stake out prime sections of the beach for their blankets weeks in advance. © SoraNews24 This next spot holds incredible significance in the mythical history of Japan. Hananoiwaya Shrine (花の窟神社) is said to be one of the oldest (some say the oldest) Shinto shrine in all of Japan. It's even mentioned in the Nihon Shoki , the second-oldest collection of Japanese historical writings dating to 720 AD. The reason for its importance is that it enshrines Izanami no Mikoto, the mother/creation goddess of Japanese mythology, and the grounds contain a cave that is believed to be Izanami's grave as well as the entrance to the underworld. ▼ The entrance to the underworld at Hananoiwaya Shrine…? © SoraNews24 The shrine is also famous for a ritual held twice per year–on February 2 and October 2–called the otsunakakejinji (御綱掛け神事). During these occasions, dances are offered to the gods and then a 170-meter-long shimenawa rope, the longest in all of Japan, is stretched across the shrine grounds and hung between the 45-meter-high sacred rock face marking the entrance to the underworld and a sacred pine tree. It's a sign of good luck if the rope remains intact until the next otsunakakejinji. ▼ The rope being prepared for the otsunakakejinji ▼ The rope-hanging ritual is depicted in beautiful fashion on Hananoiwaya Shrine's goshuincho shrine/temple seal record book. © SoraNews24 By the way, we'd be remiss not to mention the famous Shishiiwa (獅子岩) 'Lion's Head Rock' located on Shichirimihama Beach just a short walk down the road from the entrance to Hananoiwaya Shrine. It makes for an awesome photo op in the background. ▼ The Shishiiwa looks out over the ocean as a protective guardian © SoraNews24 If you've had your fill of culture and are eager to get your feet wet–literally–in some kind of leisure activity, Kumano's got you covered several times over. First, at the Yume Kodo Owase (夢古道おわせ) bathing facility in Owase, you can relax in a tub with deep sea water pumped from 400 meters below. It's the only deep-sea water bathing facility and mist sauna on the Kii Peninsula and is renounced for its water's heat and moisture retention qualities. When you've worked up an appetite, there's an on-site food court with ramen and fried foods made using the deep sea water, as well as locally caught fish on the weekends. ▼ Yume Kodo Owase You might also like to dip your toes into the cool basin at the bottom of the 30-meter-tall Hisetsunotaki waterfall in Kiho's Hisetsunotaki Camping Ground (飛雪の滝キャンプ場). There are also three kinds of tent saunas on the grounds. ▼ Hisetsunotaki Camping Ground There are also more active options in the form of sea kayak guided night tours at Owase's Mikisato Beach from June through October. The highlight of these tours is the chance to see large swaths of noctiluca scintillans, a species of bioluminescent marine eukaryotes nicknamed 'sea sparkles' that make the sparkling waters appear to blur together with the twinkling of starry skies. June to August tours last from 7:30-9 p.m., while September to October tours last from 7-8:30 p.m. ▼ Sea kayak night tours Finally, the Sandanbo Sightseeing Experience (三反帆遊覧体験) is an hour-long cruise down the Kumano River in a traditional boat with three sails. Besides enjoying the beautiful scenery from a unique vantage point, it's also a chance to follow in the wake of aristocrats of old who visited the Kumano Kodo by water. ▼ Sandanbo Sightseeing Experience Foodies can now rejoice because we've saved your favorite for last. Every region of Japan boasts its own unique local cuisine, and we've got four top recommendations for you to sample the gastronomic delights of the Kumano area. The Michi no Eki Kii-Nagashima Manbo (道の駅 紀伊長島マンボウ) roadside stop in Kihoku has some unique seafood offerings for you to try, including Pacific saury sushi, fried ocean sunfish skewers, shark skewers, and fried moray eel. Mehari sushi (めはり寿司) is a famous local specialty of the region found in various places. It consists of a rice ball wrapped in pickled leaf mustard (takana) greens that packs a flavorful punch. The town of Mihama, located on the coast between Kumano and Kiho, is famous for being Japan's biggest producer of mikan by growing 200,000 kilograms (220 tons) of them per year. However, the area also produces lots of Meyer lemons (マイヤーレモン), a natural hybrid fruit that's juicy and well-suited for use in sweets. Better pucker up! Finally, you may be tempted to think that Kumano's most famous for seafood, but that's certainly not all. There are several brand meats that are well-known to the area as well. Pictured below clockwise from the upper-left corner are: ● Mikumano beef (美熊野牛)–The cows are raised on high land overlooking the ocean. ● Kumanojidori chicken (熊野地鶏)–This chicken is a cross between the Mie shamo yagido, Iseakadori, and Nagoya Cochin varieties of fowl. ● Iwashimizu pork (石清水豚)–The pork is named after the pure spring water that flows from the local mountains. There you have it–plenty of reasons to make the Kumano region your go-to destination for your next Japan travels. With summer festivals in full swing across all of Japan at the moment, we encourage you to get out there, explore, and experience everything that this season has to offer. Source: PR Times Images: PR Times, SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
SoraNews24
a day ago
- General
- SoraNews24
Is katsudon a dish best served cold? Trying out the new Hiyashi Dashi Katsudon in Tokyo【Taste test】
West Japan pork cutlet chain has arrived in Tokyo, and it's brought something unusual for the summer. Most people would say that there aren't a lot of similarities between revenge and a pork cutlet bowl/katsudon. Among other key differences, revenge often leaves one feeling empty and consumed by sadness, while consuming katsudon is one of the quickest ways to achieve both fullness and joy. But could it be that these two things, opposites in so many ways, are both dishes best served cold? We're willing to accept the old adage about the ideal temperature of revenge at its word, but testing the merits of cold katsudon is a little trickier. Unlike, say, soba noodles or edamame, which are commonly eaten both hot and cold in Japan, pretty much no restaurants serve cold katsudon. Nobody, that is, but katsudon chain Yoshibei. Until very recently, if you wanted to go to Yoshibei you had to go to either Hyogo or Osaka Prefecture. Luckily for us, though, just this past June Yoshibei opened its very first east Japan branch, in downtown Tokyo's Ikebukuro neighborhood, not too far from SoraNews24 HQ. This meant we were now within lunchtime striking distance of Yoshibei's cold Hiyashi Dashi Katsudon, a special limited-time item it's added to the menu for the summer. The 980-yen (US$6.75) Hiyashi Dashi Katsudon's rhyming name is a result of it not only being served cold ('hiyashi'), but also with dashi, a mixture of bonito stock and soy sauce. After ordering the Hiyashi Dashi Katsudon, we waited for the server to bring us our katsudon… …and its accompanying bottle of dashi, which had been thoroughly chilled and was very cold to the touch. At this point, the katsudon is basically a variant on 'sauce katsudon,' with a glaze brushed onto the top of the cutlet, but with the addition of some sliced negi (green onion), nori (dried seaweed) and sesame seeds. The final step to transform it into Hiyashi Dashi Katsudon is left to diners themselves to perform, by raising the bottle and pouring its contents into the bowl. It was at this point that it dawned on us that the katsudon's additional toppings of nori and sesame seeds are also common components of ochazuke, a bowl of rice with dashi and/or green tea poured over it. And sure enough, the Hiyashi Dashi Katsudon's rice now tasted amazing, with the mixture of strong flavors and cold temperature refreshing and invigorating us on what had been another in the long string of super-hot days Japan has had this summer. Turning to the cutlet, it too had absorbed the additional flavor of the dashi, and to our surprise, the breading on the pieces of pork had retained its light crispiness, with no unpleasant sogginess having been introduced to the texture. However, things were about to get kicked up even one notch higher on the scale of deliciousness. If you've got sharp eyes, you might have noticed one ingredient in these photos that we haven't mentioned yet, and that we didn't expect to see either because it's left out of the Hiyashi Dashi Katsudon's name: yuzu kosho. This citrus chili paste is a zesty wasabi substitute, and mixing it into the dashi enhanced it with a quick kick of tart spice. ▼ The yuzu kosho sits atop the rice when the Hiyashi Dashi Katsudon is served, but Yoshibei has sort of buried the lede by leaving it out of the dish's name, since it's not a standard katsudon condiment. Put it all together, and the Hiyashi Dashi Katsudon is unique without feeling discordant, hearty enough to satisfy a healthy appetite but cold enough to still feel refreshing. Add in the fact that, like with ochazuke, it's OK to eat it with a spoon, and we polished ours off, happily, in lightning time. So, as weird as the idea seemed to us at first, cold katsudon really is great, and while you can only take revenge once, we're looking forward to repeating this meal a few more times before summer is over. Related: Yoshibei location list Photos ©SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! [ Read in Japanese ]
SoraNews24
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- SoraNews24
What is Japan's new 'summer matcha' ice cream flavor from confectioner Morinaga?【Taste test】
More matcha from Mow Matcha. Japan has an array of seasonal sweets flavors, and summer is no exception. Some of these are connected to produce that's in season, like watermelon and peach, while others flavors are summer favorites because of their refreshing or cooling sensations, like mint chocolate and lemon. But we were puzzled when, on our most recent dessert run, we saw that one of our options was 'summer matcha.' Matcha has become such a staple flavor of the Japanese sweets scene that it's really a year-round thing, and the green tea harvest season starts in spring. Adding to the mystery is the fact that Morinaga, the makers of the Mow brand of ice cream, are selling both the limited-time Mow Uji Matcha Summer Scent Matcha at the same time as their always-on-sale regular Mow Uji Matcha flavor. ▼ Summer matcha on the left, year-round matcha on the right. And if you're wondering about the brand's name, 'Mow,' pronounced with a long O like in 'mow the lawn,' is the onomatopoeia in Japanese for the sound of a cow mooing. So yes, we were puzzled by the unexpected appearance of 'summer matcha,' but also curious. More than anything else, we were hungry, and one of the philosophical pillars that SoraNews24 is built on is that whenever the possibility to do so arises, one should always pursue the truth by eating double desserts, so that's what we set out to do. Popping the tops off of both cups, we could see that the Summer Scent Matcha's shade of green was a touch deeper than the regular version's. We figure that's a result of how while both flavors source their matcha from the Kyoto Prefecture town of Uji, the Summer Scent boasts that its matcha comes from specialized tea merchant Marukyu Koyamaen. Grabbing two spoons, so as not to mix their flavors, we then took a taste of each… …and… …couldn't immediately tell the difference. In and of itself, this wasn't such a huge problem, since it's hard to get upset about not being able to instantly differentiate between 'delicious' and 'delicious,' which were our first impressions of both Mow matcha flavors. Still, there has to be something that's supposed to set one apart from the other, right? As is so often the case in life, it turned out that the correct course of action was to keep eating ice cream. Making our way closer to the bottom of the cups, the sadness that we now had less ice cream than we did just a few moments before was counterbalanced by the newfound knowledge that Mow's Summer Scent and regular matcha flavors are, in fact, different. The regular version, pictured above, starts with a sharper hit of green tea bitterness, and the strong matcha notes continue down to its core. After a few bites, the bitterness never disappears from your palate until sometime after you've completely finished the cup, making for a mature, soothing flavor profile. Meanwhile, the Summer Scent Matcha, while still having a properly pronounced green tea taste, is gentler. It leads with more sweet and creamy flavors, for a lighter, more refreshing effect, which meshes with the idea of making a more 'summery' matcha flavor, which Morinaga says was its goal. We don't have any equipment with which to measure whether or not the Summer Scent Matcha is actually more fragrant than the regular Mow Matcha, but with the bitterness being less insistent and attention-grabbing, we did feel like we could notice a stronger tea aroma too. Price-wise, we paid 184 yen (US$1.30) for the limited-time Mow Summer Scent Matcha and 102 yen for the regular matcha, though we found the latter at a discounted price during a multi-market grocery shopping trip, so the price differential probably isn't usually that large. To really appreciate the differences between the Summer Scent and regular Mow matcha, it's probably easiest to eat them both in the same sitting, so we recommend either saving extra room for dessert or enlisting a friend to split the two cups half-and-half with…or maybe inviting three of your friends if you want to add the two different Häagen-Dazs Japan green tea ice creams to your bill of fare as well. Photos ©SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! [ Read in Japanese ]
SoraNews24
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- SoraNews24
Visiting Hokkaido's adorable and awesome Asahikawa rice paddy art【Photos】
Mascot characters, a hometown hero, and creative ice cream make this a great place to pull over in Japan's northernmost prefecture. Once you get out of the city centers, Hokkaido Prefecture has some of the most expansively wide-open spaces in all of Japan. But if you're driving through the rural farmland of the town of Asahikawa right now, at one spot you'll probably notice more cars parked than at the average field in the area. This is the parking lot for JA Taisetsu, a small produce market and space for local community events. As for why there's an observation platform next to the main building? That's so that you can climb the steps up to the top… …and observe… …the amazing rice field art! Though most rice stalks turn a golden light brown in the fall around harvesting time and the grains are then polished (ground, actually) to a white color, depending on the specific type of rice the plants can appear as a variety of hues, from pale green to dark brown, during the summer months. Because of that, artistically minded agriculturists can, with careful planning and precise hand-planting, make mosaics out of the crops. Planting takes place in the spring, though, and it's not until months later that the plants will have matured and the full artistic effect can be appreciated. But right now this year's Asahikawa rice paddy art is reaching its peak beauty, or perhaps its peak adorableness is the better description. The town changes the design every year, but for 2025 it features Asappi, Asahikawa's polar bear/spotted seal mascot character, and Attakasu-kun, the hawk goodwill ambassador for Takasucho, the district of Asahikawa that includes the rice paddy art field. Also represented in this year's paddy is Haruka Kitaguchi, the Asahikawa-born track and field athlete who won the gold medal in the women's javelin throw at the 2024 Paris Olympics. There's no admission fee charged to walk up to the top of the observation deck and take in the view, and while you're up there you can also see all the way to the the Daisetsuzan mountain range. There is, however, a donation box for those who'd like to voluntarily contribute to the rice paddy art's development and maintenance. Another way you can show your support is to buy something at the attached shop that's periodically open. On our visit, we treated ourselves to some hojicha (roasted green tea) ice cream with grains of locally grown rice in it, and also picked up some corn soup packets to take home, all of which was delicious. ▼ The location of the paddy As a living work of public art, Asahikawa's 2025 rice paddy art won't last forever, but it should still be looking good through mid-August. And if you want to experience even more of this unique art style, there's a paddy worth checking out in baseball star Shohei Ohtani's hometown in Iwate Prefecture too. Location information JA Taisetsu Rice Paddy Art / Aたいせつ田んぼアート Address: Hokkaido, Asahikawa, Higashi Takasu, Route 7 Website Photos ©SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! [ Read in Japanese ]
Japan Today
3 days ago
- General
- Japan Today
Japanese pop star Ado wants to know if Americans actually eat one of Japan's favorite 'Western foods'
By Casey Baseel, SoraNews24 For several decades, beef teriyaki has been one of the most popular menu items at Japanese restaurants in the U.S. It's flavorful and hearty, and doesn't use any ingredients with tastes or textures that would startle the average American diner. What can be surprising for American beef teriyaki fans, though is when they come to Japan and find out that the dish doesn't really exist here. Sure, Japan has beef, and Japan has teriyaki, but the latter isn't used as a seasoning for the former in the sauce's country of origin. Of course, this sort of situation, where one country mistakenly thinks something is a staple food in another culture but it really isn't, isn't something that only happens in America. As a matter of fact, J-pop mega star Ado recently took to X to ask her followers if something that's widely seen by Japanese people as an archetypal example of yoshoku ('Western cuisine') is something that she'd be able to find in the U.S. To clarify, Ado isn't asking about hamburgers, as it's common knowledge that there are burger joints all across the U.S. Instead, she's talking about a patty made of ground meat, onion, egg, and breadcrumbs that's eaten with a knife and fork. A hamburger steak, as hamburg is also sometimes called, can be accompanied by rice or bread, but the bread is always a thick slice or a dinner roll served on the side, not a bun, and hamburger steak isn't eaten as a sandwich. ▼ A Japanese hamburger steak/hamburg Image: SoraNews24 Hamburger steak is extremely easy to find in Japan. Pretty much every casual chain diner like Denny's or Gusto has it on the menu, and even some beef bowl chains, like Matsuya, offer hamburger steak set meals. Then there are all the restaurants that specifically specialize in hamburger steak. But as many commenters quickly explained in their replies to Ado, hamburger steaks aren't nearly as big a thing in the U.S. as they are in Japan. 'I don't think I've ever [eaten] a hamburg steak outside of Japan…America doesn't have them super often.' 'There are some in Little Tokyo, although I don't remember exactly where,' 'I don't think I've seen them at a restaurant.' 'Some Japanese restaurants in major cities have them.' 'Only in Japanese Restaurants.' The closest analogy in American cuisine, others offered, is Salisbury steak. However, many pointed out that Salisbury steak isn't an exact match, as it's often covered in a gravy unlike any sauce used for hamburger steak in Japan, and sometimes topped with sliced mushrooms as well, or may have things like diced mushroom or bell pepper within the patty itself. One commenter boiled the differences down to 'We do have Salisbury steaks, which are smaller, and worse.' Others theorized that America's version of the hamburger steak is meatloaf, but that has a different texture and flavor, as it's baked while hamburger steak is flat-grilled, often being finished on a hot iron plate at the table as it's served. Some commenters also mentioned loco moco, the patty for which bears a strong resemblance to Japanese hamburger steak, but it's more of a local Hawaiian food than something you'll regularly find across America's other 49 states (and, incidentally, is said to have been originally popularized by a Japanese-American chef). Considering that Japan loves both hamburger streaks and hamburgers, and sees both as culinary imports, Ado might be surprised to find out that America's tastes are so overwhelmingly tipped towards hamburgers that a hamburg will be hard to find. As alluded to by a couple of commenters, though, in a case of food ideas ping-ponging back and forth between cultures, hamburger steaks are starting to establish fanbases among American restaurant-goers who see them as a kind of Japanese food, so maybe they'll actually become a more common part of the American diet in years to come, and maybe even Japan's hamburger steak sushi will one day catch on over on the other side of the Pacific. Source: X/@ado1024imokenp Read more stories from SoraNews24. -- Which Japanese conveyor belt sushi chain has the best hamburger steak sushi?【Taste test】 -- One Piece singer Ado announces partnership to bring her music to the U.S., rest of the world【Vid】 -- Our Japanese Reporter Eats Donut Burger in Search of 'Real' American Hamburger, 'I never want to eat that again' External Link © SoraNews24
