TRADITIONAL FOOD

Champon is a specialty dish from the Nagasaki region on the northwestern coast of Kyushu, where it was made for Chinese students who were studying there during the Meiji Era. Like ramen, champon is a noodle dish featuring meat, vegetables, and broth. Unlike ramen, champon's noodles are cooked directly in the soup. The robust taste is achieved by frying meat and vegetables together and then adding the broth, thick egg noodles, kamaboko fish cake, and other seafood. It's a hearty and affordable dish that embodies the true taste of Nagasaki.

TONKATSU (豚カツ)

Kagoshima, on the southwestern tip of Kyushu, is the most famous producer of Kyushu's kurobuta pork, and no dish highlights this better than tonkatsu pork cutlets. Tonkatsu from this region is especially delicious, with succulent bites of meltingly rich pork coated in crisp panko bread crumbs. The two main types of tonkatsu are hire (pork fillet) or rosu (pork loin), with hire being the leaner cut of meat and rosu the juicier cut with more marbling. Tonkatsu is best enjoyed with a bit of karashi yellow mustard and a fruity Worcestershire sauce-based tonkatsu sauce that is truly a cut above the rest.

MENTAIKO (明太子)

A spicy cod roe marinated in red pepper, mentaiko was originally a Korean delicacy that came to Japan due to Fukuoka's geographical closeness to mainland Asia. Mentaiko from Fukuoka has since become a regional specialty, known for its high quality and exceptional freshness, and is now a popular souvenir to take home from this area. It may be eaten raw, seared or mixed in as a topping that adds a rich, salty and spicy Japanese punch to any dish. Try the wonders of mentaiko pizza and pasta, or even mentaiko potato salad-and never go back!

IKINARI DANGO (いきなり団子)

Kumamoto, on the western coast of Kyushu, is well known for the ikinari dango, a steamed bun with bean jam and sweet potato filling. This delectable dumpling gets its name because it may be easily cooked ikinari or "at a moment's notice"; it's also a popular Kumamoto souvenir-that is if you can wait to chow down until after your trip! Ikinari dango is created by cutting sweet potatoes into thick slices, slathering each one with sweetened azuki bean paste, and then wrapping them in mochi flour. Once finally steamed, the harmony of three distinct textures-the sweet potato, the bean paste and the mochi-comes together in every bite. You'll have a ball eating this special dessert.

OKINAWA SOBA (沖縄蕎麦)

Okinawa soba is a type of noodle produced in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. In Okinawa, it is sometimes simply called soba (or suba in Okinawan dialects). The thick wheat noodles more closely resemble the texture of udon, and when served in soup, the broth is more similar to that of ramen. The Okinawa soba is served in a broth flavored with konbu (edible seaweed), katsuobushi flakes and pork. Standard toppings are kamaboko (fish cake), sliced scallion and a thick slice of stewed san-mai niku or soki (boneless pork ribs), and usually garnished with beni shōga (pickled ginger). For extra spice, diners can add a few drops of kōrēgūsu, which consists of chile peppers soaked in awamori rice liquor.

Varieties include:

Sōki soba (ソーキそば), topped with extra ribs, known as sōki in Okinawan.

Tebichi soba (てびちそば), topped with stewed pig's trotters.