美味廣島

我 的名單上第一個是上 野，在宮島口，這是一個旅遊小鎮，距離廣島市 30 分鐘路程，那裏的船隻起飛到風景如畫的島嶼宮島。在上個世紀初，當鐵路第一次抵達宮島時，上野谷吉有了一個想法。

將 廣島灣海域常見的鰻魚（鰻魚）放在米飯上，然後將其作為盒裝午餐包裝在火車乘客的時候。

當

時人們並沒有考慮到太多的鰻魚，因為它的脂肪肉是首選的鰻魚。精簡的 anago 出光，熟時幾乎蓬鬆（實際上，你可能會喜歡它更好，因為它不是油性）。

自 上野以來的一個世紀裏，隨着替代原始的便當亭的店鋪被稱為 —— 開業後，阿納子的尊重不斷提高。

上 野的招牌料理「鰻魚蓋飯」現在被認為是當地特產。有許多宮島餐廳供應。在夏季和週末，在上野等待一個小時的餐桌並不罕見。

餐 廳的古老木製外觀，常春藤穿過二樓的格子，也是其魅力的一部分。這是宮島口火車站和渡輪碼頭之間的混凝土建築物中的一個亮點。內部是所有的木材，磨損光滑的年。

在一

個漆碗裏，在一個米飯上放滿了三個或四個鰻魚的肉蓋飯。細長的鰻魚首先烤制，然後蘸上甜鹹醬油釉。

上 野的廚師每次製作一批新的醬汁，他們將它與舊醬混合在一起，形成了一個擁有 100 年歷史的永無止境的鍋。

如 果你厭倦了普通的白米飯，你可以在這裏享用一個美食：米飯是用鰻魚的頭煮沸而成的高湯蒸煮而成的，以深海的味道香味。

Hiroshima is one of Japan’s major sake producing regions and its Saijō district is ranked among the top three (the other two are Nada in Kobe and Fushimi in Kyoto, in case you’re curious).

Sampling some of this prestigious jizake (local sake) was my mission for the evening. Back in downtown Hiroshima we headed for the main eating and drinking district, Nagare-kawa and Hodori.

There’s something for everyone here: bars, clubs, pachinko and karaoke parlours, and, of course, plenty of izakaya (Japanese-style pubs).

My pick for the evening, an izakaya called Kitayoshi, is located inside the covered shopping arcade（Hon-dōri）.

Covered shopping arcades（Shotengai） are emblematic of post-WWII Japan, but Kitayoshi is going for something a little more traditional: The entrance, marked by a giant paper lantern, is reached via a flight of stone steps.

At the top of the stairs is a giant tank of Ugo no Tsuki – which does seem to be the local drink – direct from the brewery .

The namazake (unpasteurized sake) has just the slightest hint of carbonation and a lightly fruity, clean taste ­- very easy to drink. It’s also an easy match for anything on the menu at Kitayoshi.

There are plenty of rough and tumble places to eat and drink in Hiroshima. Kitayoshi, on the other hand, is a pretty classy place. It has a long wooden counter lit by ceramic lamps shaped like half-moons.

There’s a large vase of sunflowers on one end. At another end, set into the counter, is a display of fish on ice. Kitayoshi gets fresh fish every morning straight from Hiroshima’s fish market.

Today they’ve got sanma (Pacific saury), kinmeidai (splendid alfonsino or golden eye snapper) – I love kinmeidai – and tachiuo (scabbard fish), which the chefs will grill over charcoal. They do a local seafood sashimi platter, too.

We finished off the meal with some classic Japanese comfort food: suji nikomi (stewed tendon) and motsu nikomi (stewed intestines). It’s much better than it sounds (and, no, that’s not just the sake talking).

*Visited in August 2013.

After lunch, we returned to the coast, this time heading west. Our destination: Onomichi, a seaside town with a high concentration of old temples and a general atmosphere of days long past. It’s often used as a set for movies (most notably Yasujirō Ozu’s Tokyo Story). But what really draws visitors is the ramen.

Ambling around the temples we saw a smattering of other tourists here and there. When we passed a ramen shop, we saw a whole line of them.

Onomichi ramen uses a soy sauce seasoned stock that has also been flavored with a variety of small fish pulled from the Inland Sea.

To this a layer of liquid lard is added – which admittedly sounds awful – but makes for a thicker, richer soup. The noodles are thin and round.

The toppings are classic: a handful of scallions, bamboo shoots, and a few pieces of tender pork.

Beyond that, ramen joints here are classified into two categories: the ones that go by Onomichi ramen (the new ones jumping on the bandwagon) and the ones that go by chuka-soba (“Chinese noodles,” the word for ramen throughout much of the 20th century before it became a thing).

The place I wanted to visit, Tsutafuji, falls into the latter category. Like Mitchan, Tsutafuji dates to the post-WWII era; it’s been in business for 60 plus years.

It also originated as a street stall before upgrading to a brick-and-mortar shop. There are still only about a dozen seats, and the kitchen is smaller than the one in my one-bedroom Tokyo apartment.

It’s a scruffy place (and that’s being polite). But from my experience, this is generally the best sort of ramen shop. Others would seem to agree: There are dozens of celebrity signings on the wall.

The chef, who took over from his father, is a man of little words. He wears a towel twisted around his forehead to keep the sweat off his face (an air conditioner and several fans work overtime to counteract the two large boiling pots).

When the sole waitress brought my ramen to the counter, the soup came exactly to the lip of the bowl and not a drop is spilled.

It was hot and burned the roof of my mouth but it was delicious so I kept shoveling it in. (In my defense: Ramen is best eaten piping hot, before the noodles start to go limp)

“What’s your secret?” I asked the chef, between mouthfuls.There isn’t one: “I’m just trying to keep the original taste going. If people like that then I’m happy,” he said.

There’s definitely something attractive about that – about experiencing a particular time and place through food (in this case, a little seaside town circa 1950). From the centuries-old traditions of oysters and sake to the more recent invention of Hiroshima Okonomiyaki, Hiroshima offers plenty of opportunities to do just that.

Veronica Robertson is an American writer based in Tokyo since 2002. She writes about travel in Japan and Japanese culture for newspapers, magazines, and websites. Always in search of new tastes (and onsen), she’s visited nearly every prefecture in Japan.

August 25, 2013

*Visited in August 2013.