11 Must-Try Local Cuisine from Japan’s Tohoku Region

Nanbu senbei wafers come from the southeastern part of Aomori Prefecture to the northern region of Iwate Prefecture, but are most commonly found in this custom of tastes, placed in pots of soy sauce based bowls of Hachinoe Senbei Soup. The senbei wafers were specifically made for this soup and are beloved for their awesome chewy texture. While it got its start as a household favorite, its popularity hit the charts when the local team behind Hachinohe Tourism turned a spotlight on this local cuisine during Japan’s Heisei era days.

Wanko Soba is more than a meal, it’s a full-on experience where the serving team add tiny bite-sized portions of soba noodles to your bowl. In Iwate dialect, “wanko” is a regional word that means “small bowl”. In this gamified dish, the aim is to eat as many of the oncoming mini portions as you can until giving in by throwing a lid over your bowl. The level of excitement behind this local dish is especially high as towers of empty bowls start to stack up around you.

The origins of grilled beef tongue in Japan trace back to around 1948 (Showa 23) when the owner of a yakitori shop in Sendai began experimenting with the inclusion of beef tongue on his menu. At specialized beef tongue restaurants, the entire preparation process, from skinning to slicing, is typically done in-house. Seasoned with salt or each shop's unique sauce, the flash-seared, savory flavor is truly a special treat.

Kiritanpo Hot Pot features "tanpo," a main ingredient of mashed rice that’s hand-wrapped around skewers and grilled. This local dish is an icon in Akita, a prefecture known for its rice production. The broth is also made of a chicken base, while some more foodie-forward spots prefer to use local "Hinai-jidori" chicken, a regional breed that retains a wild flavor and gives each hot pot a deep and hearty taste.

Kitakata Ramen is one bowl you can spot by its just barely-crinkly noodles and firm texture, a telltale bite from Kitakata City in Fukushima Prefecture. Historically, the city got its start as a production hub for fermented stuffs like soy sauce and miso, which makes all the more sense as it reappears at the base of this ramen. The mountains nearby offer a source of sweet spring waters that also make this local bowl so delicious.

Imo-ni is a miso-flavored hot pot dish that primarily consists of taro, beef, konjac, and green onions. Depending on the region, variations might use beef or even have a soy sauce flavor profile. In the fall, groups gather at riverbanks to cook and eat Imo-ni, hosting events known as "Imo-ni Kai," which are deeply cherished and celebrated as an important event by the locals.

Oma Tuna refers to the Pacific bluefin tuna caught at Oma, a port town located at the northernmost tip of Honshu. Renowned as one of Japan's top brand tunas, there have even been instances where a single fish fetched a price of 333.6 million yen. The Tsugaru Strait, where the tuna is caught, connects the Sea of Japan with the Pacific Ocean, providing an abundance of feed for the tuna. Each tuna is meticulously caught and treated with utmost care.

Morioka Jaja-men features boiled flat udon noodles topped with a sweet and spicy meat miso, accompanied by cucumber and green onions. The trick to enjoying this dish is to mix it thoroughly, ensuring each noodle is evenly dredged with the savory scoop of seasoned meat. Locally, many patrons of this dish crack in a raw egg to the final bites and top with a boiling broth to make "Chita-tan," ensuring every bite is savored to the last drop.

Inaniwa Udon is a flat, dried noodle dish where translucent white noodles offer up an amazingly chewy bite and unbeatable smooth slurp as you eat it. The artisan skill needed to hand-stretch each noodle, paired with the time to let them mature is what makes them so delectably good. Whether you prefer to savor it cold with a dipping sauce while its extra silky smooth, or hot with all of its amazing chewy texture, picking your favorite way to eat it is half the fun.

Harako-meshi is a coveted local dish from Miyagi, prepared with the strong salmon that swim upstream through the area’s rivers. "Harako" refers to salmon roe, known as "ikura." Inside this dish you’ll find rice cooked in broth from simmered salmon, topped with pieces of the salmon and ikura. With the rice absorbing the flavorsome salmon broth, combined with the taste of salmon and ikura, you can rest assured each bite is filled with the ultimate of rich, salmon flavor.

A specialty of the Ouchi-juku region in Fukushima Prefecture is Negi Soba. You’ll know this bowl by the way its eaten, where a long green onion is used to fork up each mouthful of soba noodles – a delicious utensil you can bite on! To top it all off, the classic soy sauce-based broth is jazzed up with something completely unique, the juice of finely grated daikon radish. From looks to taste, this is one unique bowl you can’t find anywhere else.