Eel dishes are loved all over Japan. One of the most popular dishes is "Hitsumabushi." It is loved by many people as a Nagoya dish.

Let's explore the characteristics and history of Hitsumabushi.

Characteristics of Hitsumabushi

Hitsumabushi is a dish of grilled eel that is cut into strips and served on a small rice container. The rice container is served on a tray with condiments and dashi stock.

The sweet and spicy rich sauce goes perfectly with rice. Each restaurant has their own way of making the sauce and soup stock for Hitsumabushi, and they serve it while preserving the traditional taste.

Hitsumabushi can be enjoyed in a variety of ways and is loved by many people.

How to eat Hitsumabushi

Hitsumabushi is traditionally eaten in four portions. First, use a rice scoop to divide the Hitsumabushi into four equal portions. Divide the eel into equal portions as well.

First, serve it in a bowl and eat it as is. Enjoy the crispy outside and fluffy inside grilled eel with rice. Sprinkle some Japanese pepper on top to give it a spicy kick and a refreshing aroma that fills your mouth.

For the second bowl, try topping it with condiments such as spring onions, chopped nori seaweed, and wasabi. The spring onions and wasabi add a nice accent, and you can also enjoy the flavor of the nori seaweed. It will have a completely different taste from the first bowl.

For the third bowl, add the condiments and dashi and eat it as ochazuke. Dashi ochazuke with the kabayaki sauce dissolved in it has a nice aroma and a mellow taste. It is light and easy to eat.

The fourth bowl can be enjoyed in any way you like. You can eat it as is, or if you're full, you can make it into an easy-to-eat ochazuke. Recently, some restaurants have started serving grated yam or pickled plums as a new way to eat the fourth bowl.

The history of Hitsumabushi

There are various theories about the origin of Hitsumabushi. The most well-known is that it originated at Atsuta Horaiken in Nagoya. Atsuta Horaiken opened as a traditional Japanese restaurant in 1873 (Meiji 6) at the site of the former Honjin inn in Miyajuku. Hitsumabushi was born in the middle of the Meiji period.

At Atsuta Horaiken, unadon was served as a rice dish at the end of a traditional Japanese meal. Unadon became popular and delivery orders increased, but there was a problem with the ceramic bowls breaking during transportation.

So Ume, who was the head maid at the time, came up with the idea of using wooden rice containers that wouldn't break when delivering the food.

Then, five servings of unadon were packed into one large rice container so that they could be carried together. However, if the rice bowls were to be shared from the large container in order, the first people to take the bowls would end up taking only the eels, and the last people would be left with only the rice.

So Ume-san tried cutting the eel into small pieces and sprinkling it in the rice bowl before dividing it into rice bowls, thinking that everyone would be able to eat it in a balanced way. This method worked well, and the dish was named "Hitsumabushi" because it is "sprinkled in the rice bowl and eaten."

After that, more ways to eat it were added in response to customer requests, and the three ways of eating it became the standard. Currently, it is served in a single-person ohitsu (rice container), making it even easier to eat.

What made Hitsumabushi known nationwide was the "Aichi Expo" held in 2005. Hitsumabushi attracted attention and became a beloved Nagoya specialty.

Tourist information and access for Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture

Aichi, where you can eat Hitsumabushi, has many tourist spots. This time, we will introduce three popular tourist spots in Nagoya City.

Nagoya Castle

A famous tourist spot in Aichi Prefecture is Nagoya Castle. Nagoya Castle was built in 1610. Most of the structure was lost in the Nagoya air raid that occurred in May 1945, but the five-story main and small castle towers topped with golden shachihoko were rebuilt in 1959.

The Honmaru Palace of Nagoya Castle is full of things to see, and the restored 400-year-old partition paintings are breathtakingly beautiful. Nagoya Castle, which has been selected as one of the 100 most famous castles in Japan and designated as a special national historic site, is also known as the "Famous Castle," the "Golden Shachi Castle," and the "Golden Castle."

Kinshachi Alley

Kinshachi Yokocho is located near Nagoya Castle. Kinshachi Yokocho has two areas: the Yoshinao Zone, where you can find classic Nagoya cuisine from long-established restaurants, and the Muneharu Zone, where new restaurants are lined up. There is no admission fee to either area, so you can enter for free.

Kinshachi Yokocho is a recommended tourist spot for food tours. You can enjoy Nagoya cuisine such as Hitsumabushi, miso katsu, and Nagoya Cochin oyakodon. It is a popular tourist spot with many sweet treats and snacks that are perfect for souvenirs.

Higashiyama Zoological and Botanical Park

Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens is home to a variety of animals, from killifish to elephants. It is also famous for being home to Shabani, a western gorilla who has attracted attention for his "handsomeness."

There is also a botanical garden and a large greenhouse that make use of the natural forests of the hills, where you can enjoy about 7,000 kinds of plants. The Cherry Blossom Corridor is filled with about 1,000 cherry trees of 100 varieties. In autumn, the park is also famous as a spot to see the autumn leaves, with about 500 trees, mainly around Okuike Pond and the Japanese garden, turning red in the fall. There are also camellia and rose gardens, so you can enjoy the scenery of the four seasons.

Aichi, an attractive place for both gourmet food and sightseeing, has Nagoya Airport, which can be reached from Okinawa in about two hours. If you travel by JR train from Tokyo, it takes about one hour and 40 minutes. If you travel by JR train from Osaka or Kyoto, you can arrive within an hour.

We also recommend taking a leisurely drive to Aichi. Find the best way to get there.

Location of Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture

summary

"Hitsumabushi" is grilled eel that can be eaten in a variety of ways. The flavor changes depending on the sauce or dashi, so you can enjoy it over and over again.

If you visit Aichi, be sure to try Hitsumabushi.

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