Rising from the air bombardments in 1945 where much of the town has been destroyed, Nagoya is now a manufacturing and shipping hub in the central island of Japan. With a population of over two million, Nagoya has become a populous urban center where history meets the modern world.

If you happen to have some space in your bucket list, you can include Nagoya in your next vacation for a wide variety of reasons. There are lots of festivals you can join and historical places you can visit like the Nagoya Castle.

Resembling like the thin white Japanese Somen noodles that are made from wheat flour, Ika Somen is made up of thinly strips of squid and is considered a type of sashimi.

This popular Japanese dish, is usually served with grated ginger and a special blend of concentrated soy sauce called “mentsuyu” (mixture of sake, mirin and dried bonito flakes).

You probably heard of Mochi Rice Cakes which is the desert of Japan and being known for its chewiness of a texture.  But did you know there are different kinds of mochi?  One interesting type is from the areas of Tokei and Nagano, specifically the Gifu Prefecture.  This type is called the Gohei-Mochi and comes in different shapes as well have having different types of flavour. 

Have you been to Japan and tried this thick wheat noodles? Yes, it is called Udon which is very popular noodle all over Japan. It is often served as Kake Udon which is a hot noodle soup that is dashed in a mildly flavored broth made from dashi, soy sauce and mirin(facts).

Originally used by the Samurai military, Aristocrats and the upper class citizens of Japan during the Edo period, Hibachi is a traditional heating device where its use over time has gradually spread among the general public. You can even find them in old stores and has become a popular item in outdoor festivals especially during cold season. It has also become an integral part of the Japanese cultural endowment of tea ceremony. 

Often handed in oversized servings, Donburi is a Japanese rice bowl dish that is topped either with meat, fish and other seafoods. These toppings are simmered with a special sauce that is based from a mixture of cooking stock or broth, soy sauce and a Japanese rice wine called mirin which has a lower alcohol content compared to sake but high in sugar giving you a sweet and delicious taste.

Opposite to the Japanese Matcha which is a powdered tea, Sencha is a type of Japanese green tea that includes the process of infusion by soaking whole tea leaves in hot water.

Being one of the most expensive and popular tea in Japan representing 80% of the country’s tea production, sencha has several varieties depending on the way it is being cultivated and the time of the year the leaves are harvested.

When we talk about knives that are made from the knife- making capital of Japan in Seki City, there are very few on the list and one of this are Misono knives. It seems that there are a lot of similarities between knives made from Seki City but what makes a misono knife stands out is the quality, sharpness and design with a western style inspiration.

Though these knives are made using the basic and traditional craftsmanship, it has added several processes that have become their trade secret in making these high quality knives.

Listed in the UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, washoku is the traditional cuisine of Japan that is based on rice, miso soup and other dishes.