GI Regional Specialties

20 dishes

• 🥩Hida Beef📍 GifuHida Beef is Wagyu beef from Japanese Black cattle raised in Gifu Prefecture. Once the meat is processed, it is called 'Hida-gyu', whereas live cattle, breeding cows, and stud bulls are referred to as 'Hida-ushi'.
• 🥩Ishigaki beef📍 OkinawaIshigaki Beef is Wagyu beef of the Japanese Black breed that is produced and raised in Ishigaki City and the Yaeyama District (Taketomi Town, Yonaguni Town) of Okinawa Prefecture, meeting specific requirements.
• 🥩Kobe beef📍 HyōgoKobe beef is Wagyu beef from the Tajima strain of Japanese Black cattle, raised in Japan's Hyōgo Prefecture around Kobe city, according to rules set out by the Kobe Beef Marketing and Distribution Promotion Association. The meat is a delicacy, valued for its flavour, tenderness and fatty, well-marbled texture. Kobe beef can be prepared as steak, sukiyaki, shabu-shabu, sashimi, and teppanyaki. Within Japan, Kobe is one of the three Sandai Wagyū, the "three big beefs", along with Matsusaka beef and Ōmi beef or Yonezawa beef.
• 🥩Maesawa beef📍 IwateMaesawa Beef is a brand of Japanese Black cattle raised in Maesawa, Oshu City, Iwate Prefecture (formerly Maesawa Town, Isawa District). The name is a registered trademark of the JA Iwate Furusato agricultural cooperative and is only permitted for use when the beef meets specific quality standards.
• 🥩Matsusaka beef📍 MieMatsusaka beef is the meat of Japanese Black cattle reared under strict conditions in the Matsusaka region of Mie in Japan. It has a high fat-to-meat ratio. Within Japan, Matsusaka is one of the three Sandai Wagyū, the "three big beefs", the others being Kobe beef and Ōmi beef or Yonezawa beef. About 2,500 cows are slaughtered for Matsusaka beef each year; the meat commands high prices.
• 🥩Miyazaki beef📍 MiyazakiMiyazaki Beef refers to Wagyu beef from Japanese Black cattle raised in Miyazaki Prefecture that has been graded by the Japan Meat Grading Association as Grade 4 or higher. It is a registered regional brand and a registered regional collective trademark.
• 🍵Nishio Matcha📍 AichiNishio Matcha is a regional brand (regional collective trademark) for Nishio tea. It refers to 'matcha produced from tea leaves grown in Nishio City, Anjo City, and Kira Town in Hazu District, Aichi Prefecture, which are then processed into tencha, finished, and ground using stone mills within the same region.' It covers everything from consumption to processing.
• 🥩Noto Beef📍 IshikawaNoto Beef is a name permitted for beef that meets certain standards established in 1995 by the 'Noto Beef Brand Promotion Council,' which consists of various organizations involved in production, sales, and distribution within Ishikawa Prefecture. Due to low shipment numbers, it is almost exclusively distributed within Ishikawa Prefecture.
• 🥩Saga Beef📍 SagaSaga Beef is a name permitted for Wagyu beef (Japanese Black) raised by farmers under the JA Group Saga—consisting of the Saga Agricultural Cooperative, Karatsu Agricultural Cooperative, and Imari City Agricultural Cooperative—that meets certain standards. Its grading requirements using the Japan Meat Grading Association system are the second strictest in the country, following only Sendai Beef.
• 🍵Sayama tea📍 SaitamaSayama tea is a type of green tea leaves produced mainly in the southwestern region of Saitama Prefecture and a small neighboring area in Northwestern Tokyo. In comparison to teas from other tea-growing regions in Japan, Sayama Tea is characterized with its thick leaves. This is because the region is considered to be fairly north, and the cool climate, which sometimes causes frost in winter, making trees unable to survive without thick leaves.
• 🥩Sendai Beef📍 MiyagiSendai Beef is the only brand of beef in Japan that is only permitted to be called by that name if it is graded with the highest meat quality rating of 5. It is certified as a Miyagi Prefecture Special Labeling Certified Food and has also obtained a regional collective trademark.
• 🍵Shizuoka tea📍 ShizuokaShizuoka Tea refers to tea (green tea) produced in Shizuoka Prefecture and its brand name. The Makinohara Plateau and surrounding areas are the largest production center. While it holds the top production volume in Japan, the gap with the second-place Kagoshima Tea is narrowing year by year (a 1,300-ton difference in 2020 statistics). In terms of production value, it was overtaken by Kagoshima Tea in 2019, losing the top spot it had held for 49 years since 1970.
• 🍵Uji tea📍 KyotoUji tea is a common name for all Japanese green tea produced from Uji, Kyoto. The three main types of Uji tea are Matcha, Sencha and Gyokuro. It is believed that Japanese tea originated with the introduction of drinking customs from Tang Dynasty China during the Heian period, while the intensive cultivation of tea plants from seeds began at the Toganoo tea garden. These seeds were later spread to Uji, which became the site to produce the highest quality of tea leaf in Japan.
• 🍚Uonuma Koshihikari📍 NiigataUonuma Koshihikari is a regional rice brand produced in the Uonuma region of Niigata Prefecture (spanning 5 cities and 2 towns), consisting of Koshihikari BL (over 90%) and regular Koshihikari (under 10%). It is sometimes sold under the name Uonumasan Koshihikari.
• 🍵Ureshinocha📍 SagaUreshino Tea is a Japanese tea produced in a region stretching from Ureshino City in southwestern Saga Prefecture to Higashisonogi Town in Nagasaki Prefecture. Production is said to have begun around the Muromachi period. While known for kamairi-cha (pan-fired tea) where fermentation is stopped by heating in a pan, most is now heated by steaming like other Japanese teas. Even when steamed, unique processing techniques are used to resemble Chinese green tea. The tea leaves are round and have a glossy green color, earning it the name 'Tama Ryokucha' (Guri-cha). It is highly regarded for its strong aroma and umami, and has won many awards.
• 🥩Yamagata Beef📍 YamagataYamagata Beef is a general term for Wagyu beef (Japanese Black) raised and nurtured in Yamagata Prefecture.
• 🍵Yamecha📍 FukuokaYamecha is a type of tea produced in Fukuoka Prefecture in Japan. It is cultivated in Yame-shi and its surrounding areas: Chikugo-shi, Hirokawa-cho, Ukiha-shi, and Asakura-shi. Yamecha makes up about 3% of Japan's green tea production and about 45% of Japan's gyokuro production on an annual basis. It is highly prized and one of the first regions in Japan to grow tea. The first tea plant in Yame was imported from China by a Zen priest named Eirin Suzui.
• 🥩Yonezawa beef📍 YamagataYonezawa beef is wagyū originating in the Yonezawa region of Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. Yamagata's government claims Yonezawa is considered one of the generally recognised three most famous beef brands in Japan, along with Kobe beef and Matsusaka beef, but Ōmi beef may have a better claim to this distinction.
• 🍓Yubari King📍 HokkaidoThe Yubari King is a cantaloupe cultivar farmed in greenhouses in Yūbari, Hokkaido, a small city near Sapporo.
• 🥩Ōmi beef📍 ShigaŌmi beef is a regional variety of wagyū originating in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. The Ōmi in “Ōmi beef” refers to Ōmi Province, the traditional name for the area which became Shiga prefecture. Ōmi beef is generally considered one of the three top brands of wagyū, along with Kobe beef and Matsusaka beef.