Yamaguchi Fugu Sashimi The mix of the meat of the fish with its skin and leeks is divine. Wash it down with a glass of dried-fugu-fin sake (rice wine) and we are talking heavenly.

Yamaguchi Fugu Stew (nabe) Their is no texture like boiled food. Not chewey but firm. Not too firm but soft.

Yamaguchi Mountain Pirate Chicken Though much of Yamaguchi Prefecture borders the Seto Inland Sea coast and its rich seafoods, its mountainous areas have come up with other ways to meet their protein needs.

Hiroshima Seaweed Salt People who inhabited these islands thousands of years ago had the wit and ability to create healthy and tasty salt. People who inhabit the islands today were wise enough to rediscover the healthy and tasty salt.

Hiroshima Shiba Mochi / Sea cucumber Being able to eat this dish is very special now that only 3 people in all of Kamagari are actually growing it.

Hiroshima Fried Oysters, Cooked Oysters For hundreds of years water from the Ota River have carried nutrients down from the Chugoku Mountains to the Hiroshima Bay where oysters and oyster cultivating have thrived.

Hiroshima Mixed-Grain Rice This dish is super nutritious. Most rice in Japan is stripped of its nutrition when it is polished and bleached.

Ehime Sea Bream Sashimi, Ehime Tangerine The Seto Inland Sea is famous for its Sea Bream, one of the kings of fish in Japanese cooking. This is one of the first fish that I was told that I should eat at the Inland Sea.

Okayama Live Shrimp The shrimp tail was still moving as I put the shrimp in my mouth...! This was definitely a first for me. Fresh, chewey, and shrimpy is the best way I can describe it.

Okayama Fried Wild Boar and Shiitake, Soft Persimmon Okayama Prefecture is blessed with both mountains and the ocean. Particularly in the mountains, hunting wild boar has been an important source ofprotein. On the other hand, villages along the Seto Insland Sea coast are much more dependent on fish for the same purposes.

Okayama Kimuchi Nabe, Festival Sushi Fresh from the garden and treated with no chemicals, the vegetables are healthy and safe.

Tottori Matsuba Crab, Ume Dumpling Sweet, but not too sweet. Sour but not too sour. Just right for a dumpling.

Hyogo Black Bean Eda Mame Mountainous central Hyogo Prefecture is one of the top growers of black beans. They have come up with several ways of making the beans into delicious dishes. Eda mame is one of them.

Hyogo Tajima Beef Delicious!!!!!!!!!!! I have never had meat so tender. Mix it with cooked vegetables and ummm!

Hyogo Akashiyaki Soft and soupy. The flavor is also very thin and plain compared to the sweeter takoyaki.

Osaka Grandma's Ume (Japanese plumb) Extract Effective on food poisoning and recovering from exhaustion. If you always have it handy you may not need a doctor.

Osaka Takoyaki (octopus balls) In either case, takoyaki has been loved by Osakans for decades. Takoyaki shops can be found in almost any neighborhood.

Osaka Ohagi and Sakura Mochi It tastes like an in-side-out manju! Delicious. People tell me Americans have a sweet tongue but Japanese sweet beans have a sweetness all their own.

Kyoto　Yuba, Cooked Eggplant Kyoto vegetables are the result of farmers trying to make flavorful vegetables that suit the environmental conditions of Kyoto (in other words, vegetables that were easy to make).

Kyoto　Chawan-mushi Uji Green Tea Uji tea is now a very famous green tea nationwide. It is said to be one of the origins of the Japanese traditional tea ceremony.

Shiga Funazushi、Ochazuke Funazushi is said to be the roots of the sushi you and I eat today!

Shiga Black Bass Sushi and Fry Similar to funazushi, much better than its reputation. The sushi is a little bit tougher than most white fish meat you will find in restaurants.

Gifu　Baby Bee Tsukudani / Cooked Sparrow Ten on the 1 to 10 scale of tsukudani (a type of dish which uses soysauce, sugar, and mirin to boil down and preserve any of many types of small fish or insects). It was very soft, sweet and even had a slight tender meat taste to it.

Nagano　Red Bee Shochu / Gohei-mochi MMNnhh.... mmmmm! I have a soft spot for sesame and miso and the combination with nuts and rice, cooked over a fire. This is in my top-ten.

Shizuoka　Yam Soba / Fresh vegetable Tempura At the base of Mt. Fuji, Shizuoka is blessed with clean water of Mt. Fuji. Mmmm! You don't often feel so much "love" in cooking.

Yamanashi　Sake Dumplings This is a treat that was enjoyed by the merchants. With the help of Mrs. Wachi a Sake dumpling pro, the first year students at Heiwa Middle School made these!

Yamanashi　 Fresh Landlocked Salmon / Local Mushrooms The landlocked salmon can be eaten whole! You get every last bit of nutrition from the fish and leave no trash. Mmmm! The salmon was a bit crunchy going down but delicious.

Kanagawa　Kimuchi Cheese Sandwich / Mixed Vegetable Miso Soup Very simple to prepare and nutritious. My favorites but rarely does anyone share my tastes.... ?

Tokyo　Cooked Pumpkin, Okra, and String Beans / Mackerel Pike The pumpkin is so soft it melts in the mouth! The okra is slightly sticky which they say is good for the body. You can't beat the taste of fresh fish in season.