Completed “Tabe-san Tawarayama,” a booklet on food in the Tawarayama area.

Guidebook of local food and food culture

In February of this year, "TABESAN Tawarayama," a booklet highlighting the food and food culture of the Tawarayama area, was published. The title "TABESAN" is a warm word in the Tawarayama dialect meaning "please eat.

The booklet is B5 size, 16 pages. It consists of four topics: local cuisine of Tawarayama, gibier, yuzukichi, and Choshu black kashiwa.

Yuki Hirao, a food coordinator, supervised the production of the recipes and booklet. It took about a year from planning to filming and editing, with repeated prototyping and tasting with local residents. One of the charms of this booklet is that you can see the faces of the "people" involved in its production.

The first thing that catches your eye when you open the page is the simple but comforting local cuisine. In addition to introductions of wakame-musubi, kencho, mustard pickles, and pressed sushi, side stories touching on the traditional "rice miso" making that has continued for over 40 years and "igi-noha dango and amagayu," a popular snack, convey the kindness that has taken root in the community.

On the "wild boar and deer" page, Kenji Masuno, who has been dealing with nature as a hunter for many years, and Hirofumi Nakano, who became a hunter after working with the Regional Development Cooperation Volunteers, appear. The page introduces a shumai made from wild boar meat named "Shishimai," which is said to be a perfect match of juicy meat and fat with refreshing "Yuzukichi Ponzu" (citrus juice).

The exchange of thoughts on the use of gibier titled "Hunter-Disciple Conversation" is like hearing the voices of the two hunters.

In the latter half of the article, "Nagato Yuzukichi," a species endemic to Yamaguchi Prefecture, and "Choshu Kurokashiwa," a local chicken, and Kazuro Nakajima, who founded the "Nagato Yuzukichi no Kai" about 20 years ago and is also an active poultry farmer, are interviewed. In addition, "My Family's Fried Chicken Recipe" introduces "Ito Family's Salted Fried Chicken" and "Okajima Family's Fried Chicken" with different seasonings and cooking methods, even in the same Tawarayama area.

The last section of the booklet features Tawarayama's seasonal ingredients and places where you can encounter Tawarayama's food. Soba Izakaya Tamayama, which opened in January in the hot spring resort area, is a restaurant where you can actually taste the ingredients and some of the recipes featured in this booklet.

Since 2017, Tawarayama has hosted the annual "ONSEN-Gastronomy Walking" event to enjoy local food, hot springs, and walking. This month, the event was selected by the ONSEN/Gastronomy Tourism Promotion Organization to receive the "Award of Excellence," second only to the Grand Prix and Grand Prize in the nation.

Tawarayama's food can be tasted at these events, stores, and many other opportunities. This booklet will be available at Soba Izakaya Tabayama and other restaurants in the near future. If you are in Tawarayama and come across the booklet, please take a look.

Related Links

• ONSEN Gastronomy Walking in Nagato Tawarayama Onsen" won the Excellence Award (February 2020).