Must-Try Dishes When Traveling to Nagoya and Fukuoka

Here’s How to Eat Like a Local When in Nagoya and Fukuoka

Where can you find the best ramen in Japan?
by Ina Louise Manto | November 24, 2023

Japan has an incredible food culture. Each city in Japan has its own culinary delicacy that must not be missed. While there are a lot of restaurants and street food in Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto, if you dig a little deeper, you’ll find that other cities have more to offer than you expected.

Foodies in Japan recommend two cities when they go food tripping, and these are the cities of Nagoya and Fukuoka. Both of these places are known for specific dishes.

Fukuoka

Fukuoka is a bustling metropolis with many parks and districts to explore. Occupying the northern shore of Kyushu island, Fukuoka has long been a crossroads of tastes and trade. The main dish you can’t miss in Fukuoka is Tonkotsu ramen.

Hakata Ramen with hearty Japanese hotpot

Tonkotsu ramen is one of the most famous ramen varieties in Japan, and it originated in Fukuoka. It has a dense milky pork bone broth that is rich and explosive in flavor. The noodles can be cooked to your preference, and the taste will stay with you even after you leave the ramen house.

While you are in Fukuoka, don’t miss the street food. In the evening, dozens of temporary kitchens set up their food stalls near the Tenjin and Nakasu areas. They’re called Yatai, and they serve up some of the best cuisine in the city.

Nagoya

Nagoya is so famous for its cuisine that there is a special word for it in Japanese: “Nagoya meshi”. Their cooking combines flavors from all over the world and their chefs create incredible edible works of art.

If you like miso then you must try the Miso Katsu. It’s a pork cutlet over rice drizzled with a rich miso sauce. The balance of flavors is perfect and the crunch of the pork works harmoniously with the tang of miso.

Miso Katsu

The other Nagoya delicacy is Hitsumabushi. It’s grilled eel over rice served the Nagoya way. The dish is delicate and flavorful. One unique thing about Hitsumabushi is how you eat it, it’s like four meals in one! The first phase is the eel, as presented, with its rice, then the eel with condiments, and then with a dash of dashi, and finally, your last bite is your favorite combination.