Japan Van Life Ch 36 – Japan travel guide to Toyokawa: the origin of Japan’s best comfort food and home to 1000 foxes pt. 1
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If you Google “Japan”, you will be greeted with images of three major tourist sites: Mt Fuji, views of Mt Fuji from Yamanashi’s Chureito Pagoda, and the vermillion torii gates of Kyoto’s Fushimi Inari Taisha. While many Japan tourists flood to see Kyoto’s famous fox shrine, there are two others that make up the “Big 3 Inari Shrines” that are far too frequently overlooked; Yutoku Inari in Saga Prefecture and Toyokawa Inari in Aichi in Central Japan.
⛩ While Toyokawa Inari is not as colourful as its sister shrines, it is truly unique in that is it both a Shinto Shrine AND Buddhist Temple and it boasts a collection of thousands of fox statues! Not only that, but the surrounding streets of Toyokawa City are home to Japan’s tastiest comfort food! Today we’re taking you to eat the BEST pork katsu in Japan and the fox god’s favourite; inari sushi! You won’t want to miss a visit to Toyokawa, Aichi on your next Japan trip!
🍣 Inari sushi – the best sushi for vegetarian travellers!
A favourite amongst Japanese fox gods and vegetarian and vegan travellers to Japan alike, inari sushi (or “inarizushi”) is a special variety of sushi with vinegar rice stuffed into sweet abura-age (deep-fried tofu skin) which finds its origins in Toyokawa City, where residents have offered the sweet sushi to the Shinto Inari Okami (fox god) since the beginning of the 19th century. Toyokawa’s inarizushi comes in a unique variety of flavours with locally sourced toppings such as grilled eel and miso katsu, and are so celebrated that there are inarizushi festivals and the 17th of every month has been designated as “inari sushi day”. They’re a must-eat if you’re visiting the Inari shrine!
🥢 Japan’s best katsu!
It’s claimed that people from Aichi Prefecture will put miso on anything. Well, with the deep smoky notes of Aichi’s red miso, we can see why! But why is Aichi’s miso SO tasty? Apparently it’s all down to the number of soybeans and the length of the fermentation process, with Aichi’s red miso being stuffed full of the beans and taking longer to ferment than your regular white miso. If you visit Aichi, there’s no limit to the number of restaurants where you can try it, either in the form of soups or slathered on top of a thicc fried pork cutlet!
If the rumours are true, Aichi is in fact the birthplace of miso katsu, and the culinary invention came as a complete accident some time in the 1940’s when a customer at a stand in Nagoya City dunked a pork katsu skewer into a miso hotpot, exclaimed how delicious the combination was, and his fellow patrons followed suit. Whether the rumours are true or not, miso katsu continues to reign as Nagoya’s (and Aichi’s) favourite speciality. Nowadays, you will find miso katsu far flung around Japan, but to try the best of the best katsu in Japan, you need to visit Aichi in central Japan, where fried things rule!
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📍 LOCATIONS:
Inarizushi at Washoku Matsuya (三河の逸膳 松屋)
(Check this website for other recommended inari sushi restaurants:
Miso katsu at Hoseiken (豊盛軒)
both in Toyokawa City (豊川市), Aichi Prefecture (愛知県）
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Want to taste more tasty local specialities in Aichi Prefecture? Why not try these?
5 Famous Foods You’ll Find In Aichi:
No.1 Tebasaki (chicken wings)
No.2 Red miso
No.3 Miso katsu
No.4 Hitsumabushi (chopped baked eel on rice)
No.5 Chikuwa (fish paste tubes)
Source:
Learn more about Japan’s most famous Inari Fox Shrines here:
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