🕓 2024/9/25
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Shizuoka Prefecture is a region blessed with a rich natural environment and a mild climate, fostering a food culture that takes advantage of abundant ingredients from both the sea and the mountains. Stretching from east to west, Shizuoka faces Suruga Bay and Sagami Bay, where fresh seafood is plentifully harvested. Additionally, Shizuoka is known as one of Japan's leading tea-producing areas, with the cultivation of Shizuoka tea thriving.
Particularly famous are Hamamatsu Gyoza, Sawayaka's Hamburg Steak, and Simmered Kinmedai (Golden Eye Snapper). When you visit Shizuoka Prefecture, be sure to savor these dishes and enjoy the local food culture.
Hamamatsu Gyoza is a local specialty representing Hamamatsu City in Shizuoka Prefecture. Along with Utsunomiya, it is known as one of Japan's "Gyoza Cities." The most significant feature of Hamamatsu Gyoza is its light, vegetable-centered flavor that uses plenty of cabbage. Compared to gyoza from other regions, it includes more cabbage in the filling, enhancing both texture and sweetness. Some restaurants also add onions, further emphasizing its unique sweetness.
Additionally, Hamamatsu Gyoza is often served in a distinctive style—arranged in a circle when fried and garnished with boiled bean sprouts in the center—making its presentation quite characteristic.
The origin of Hamamatsu Gyoza dates back to the early 1950s, shortly after World War II. At that time, repatriates from China settled in Hamamatsu City and began offering gyoza at food stalls around Hamamatsu Station. This stall culture spread, and as local people grew fond of gyoza, the number of gyoza specialty shops in Hamamatsu City gradually increased.
The Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka Prefecture is a region nationally renowned for its catch of kinmedai (splendid alfonsino). Particularly, the "Inatori Kinme" landed in Shimoda and Inatori is highly esteemed for its rich fat content and thick flesh. Simmered kinmedai is a traditional dish where the fish is cooked in a sweet and savory sauce, allowing you to enjoy the exquisite harmony of its elegant fat and tender meat.
This dish is considered especially delicious during the fatty season from October to March. It is prepared by simmering the fish, either in fillets or whole, in a sauce made from soy sauce, mirin, and sugar.
The Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka Prefecture is known as one of Japan's leading production areas for kinmedai. Simmered kinmedai, in particular, has a long history as one of the traditional local dishes of this region. Kinmedai began to be harvested in earnest in Izu from the early Shōwa period (starting around 1926). Before that, kinmedai was rarely distributed due to its high price, making it uncommon on household dining tables.
"Sumiyaki Restaurant Sawayaka," which you can experience only in Shizuoka Prefecture, is known as a soul food for the locals. Sawayaka's signature menu item, the "Genkotsu Hamburger Steak," is a charcoal-grilled hamburger steak made from 100% beef. It features a hefty, round patty weighing 250 grams. The outside is grilled crispy and fragrant, while the inside is served rare.
The allure lies not only in the deliciousness of the hamburger steak but also in the fact that it is exclusive to Shizuoka—they do not open branches outside the prefecture. They maintain quality by supplying fresh hamburger steaks from their own factory in Shizuoka.
"Sumiyaki Restaurant Sawayaka" was founded in 1977 in Kikugawa City, Shizuoka Prefecture. Initially opened as "Coffee Shop Sawayaka," offering coffee and light meals, a significant turning point came when the founder, Mr. Shigeyuki Tomita, added a hamburger steak made from 100% beef to the menu. This hamburger steak received high acclaim, and gradually, Sawayaka evolved into a restaurant specializing in hamburger steaks.