Regional food of Kansai
Historic food cities and everyday specialties from Osaka, Kyoto, and the wider Kansai region.
This curated English section currently features 24 representative guides. The Japanese edition contains the full archive.
- AkashiyakiHyogo
Akashiyaki is an Akashi specialty of soft, egg-rich dumplings containing octopus. Locally they are also called tamagoyaki, although they are quite...
- Izushi Sara SobaHyogo
Izushi soba serves buckwheat noodles across several small white-porcelain plates, allowing diners to order additional plates as they eat.
- Kobe BeefHyogo
Kobe Beef is a tightly defined brand applied only to qualifying meat from Tajima cattle raised in Hyogo and meeting specified carcass, quality, and...
- Kyoto MinazukiKyoto
Minazuki is a triangular white uiro rice-flour sweet topped with sweet azuki beans.
- Kyoto YubaKyoto
Yuba is the delicate film lifted from the surface of heated soy milk and is eaten fresh, dried, simmered or served like sashimi.
- Kyoto YudofuKyoto
Yudofu is tofu warmed gently in kombu-infused water and eaten with soy-based dipping sauce and condiments. Kyoto versions rely on good water...
- YatsuhashiKyoto
Yatsuhashi is a Kyoto confection flavored with cinnamon. The original baked style is a thin, crisp curved cracker, while nama yatsuhashi is a soft...
- Ise UdonMie
Ise udon is a Mie noodle dish of exceptionally thick, very soft udon mixed with a small amount of dark tamari-based sauce. The sauce looks intense but...
- Kumano Mehari-zushiMie
Mehari-zushi wraps a generous ball of seasoned rice in a broad leaf of pickled takana mustard, sometimes adding chopped stems inside.
- Kumano Sanma ZushiMie
Sanma zushi lays salted and vinegared Pacific saury over sushi rice in a long pressed form.
- Tekone ZushiMie
Tekone zushi is an Ise-Shima dish of vinegared rice topped or mixed with slices of bonito or tuna marinated in a sweet soy-based sauce. Shiso, ginger...
- Kakinoha ZushiNara
Kakinoha zushi is pressed sushi in which small blocks of vinegared rice and salted or vinegared fish are wrapped individually in persimmon leaves...
- Miwa SomenNara
Miwa somen is a traditional hand-stretched noodle from the area around Miwa in Sakurai, Nara. The strands are exceptionally fine yet retain a clean...
- Nara Warabi MochiNara
Warabi mochi is a soft starch sweet coated with kinako and often served with brown-sugar syrup.
- Osaka BatteraOsaka
Battera layers vinegared mackerel over pressed sushi rice, often beneath a thin sheet of kombu.
- Osaka DoteyakiOsaka
Doteyaki slowly cooks beef tendon with miso, mirin and sugar until tender, producing a rich sweet-savory dish served in small portions.
- Osaka NikusuiOsaka
Nikusui is savory dashi with sliced beef, green onion and often tofu or egg, resembling beef udon without noodles.
- Osaka-Style OkonomiyakiOsaka
Osaka-style okonomiyaki mixes chopped cabbage and chosen ingredients into a flour-and-dashi batter before griddling the round pancake on both sides...
- TakoyakiOsaka
Takoyaki is an Osaka specialty of round batter bites cooked in a molded iron pan, each typically containing a piece of octopus. The ideal texture is...
- FunazushiShiga
Funazushi is a deeply fermented Shiga food made by salting crucian carp, then packing it with cooked rice for a long lactic fermentation. Nigoro-buna...
- Nagahama Yakisaba SomenShiga
Yakisaba somen serves somen noodles flavored in the sweet-savory cooking liquid of grilled mackerel.
- Omi Hachiman Red KonjacShiga
Aka konnyaku is the vivid brick-red konjac familiar in Omi Hachiman, Shiga. Food-grade iron oxide provides the color; it is not red from chili and is...
- Kinzanji MisoWakayama
Kinzanji miso is a chunky fermented food associated especially with Wakayama. Soybeans, barley or rice koji, salt, and vegetables such as eggplant...
- Kue NabeWakayama
Kue nabe is a prized Wakayama hot pot featuring longtooth grouper, a large reef fish with firm flesh, gelatin-rich skin, and clean but deep flavor...