Gifu Prefecture

[torakris]

Any favorite foods that were made popular in the Gifu area?

look here if you can't think of any:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...83entry743583

[Hiroyuki]

I went to Hida Takayama for the high school excursion. All I can remember about the foods I had there is goheimochi .

It's a bit off-topic, but let me stress that Shirakawa-go is designated as a World Heritage site, as described in one of the links provided by torakris

http://www.kankou-gifu.or.jp/en/07/01.html

I love those wooden houses...

[yunnermeier]

Though I lived in Gifu for a year, I 'm not really sure what Gifu is famous save for :

Ayu (which apparently, they still send to the emperor every year)

kaki and all sorts of kaki desserts

Apparently nerikiri is quite famous too but I think that's more famous in Kyoto.. hmmm

[torakris]

ayu no shioyaki, yumm!!!

http://www.ueda.ne.jp/~miraijin/ayu_shioyaki.jpg

[lambretta76]

I'll be staying in Gifu the night before I hit the Expo in May and was wondering if there were any good eats near the Meitetsu Station in Gifu City? Especially ones that will be open late (past 10 pm or so) as or flight doesn't land at Centrair until 7:30 pm.

Also - I noticed the cormorant fishing thing in Gifu - are there any dishes that are specifically made from these fish? (Also, how long in the evening does this spectical go on until - if I go check it out at midnight will there be something to see?)

Thanks for all of your help!

[lambretta76]

I just realized that ayu is the aforementioned fish - do any restaurants, carts, river-side grills, etc. - do this fish any justice? I'd love to try it, that is, if it's not some ridiculously expensive delicacy. (I will be there on May 27th/28th, so I have no idea if this is ayu season or not - there's a big festival on May 11 - perhaps that signals the beginning of the season?)

[torakris]

ayu is a summer fish, but if they start on May 11 I am assuming you should be able to eat it....

It is done at night but I am not sure until what time.

all you ever wanted to know about ayu

a bit about Ukai comorant fishing:

Ukai (cormorant fishing) can be seen every night from 11 May to 15 October (except during a full moon or the 2 or 3 days following a heavy rain). In this ancient, 1300-year-old Japanese fishing method, trained ukai (seabirds) dive into the water in search of ayu, a small Japanese trout. At nightfall, wooden fires are lit in suspended cages at the front of long wooden boats to attract the ayu, whereupon leashed cormorants are released into the water. To ensure that the cormorants don't swallow the fish, the birds are fitted with neck rings. You can also dine and view the whole spectacle aboard a small wooden boat.

from here

so check your calendar to see when the full moon is going to appear and hope it doesn't rain!

[torakris]

one of my favorite foods in Japan is a grilled ayu....

[Hiroyuki]

I wonder if someone has already posted it:

http://www.yamasa.org/japan/english/destin...aichi/ukai.html

[lambretta76]

Done some extensive googling and still haven't found a place that specializes in this - can anyone recommend any places, perhaps with a good value set lunch, that serve this fish?

[Hiroyuki]

Done some extensive googling and still haven't found a place that specializes in this - can anyone recommend any places, perhaps with a good value set lunch, that serve this fish?

←

I managed to find one izakaya that meets your requirements (near Meitetsu Gifu Station, open past 10 p.m.):

Rakuichi Rakuza (楽市楽座)

http://gifu.e-machi.ne.jp/102080/

1-minute walk from Meitetsu Gifu Station, open until 12:00.

2 ayu grilled with salt: 680 yen

Of course, there are many others, I believe.

But, if you merely want to have ayu dishes, why not find a good place in the Expo site?

http://www-1.expo2005.or.jp/en/visitingjap...od/typical.html

I'm not sure but I think there should be a place or two where you can have grilled ayu there.

P.S.

Did you say, "with a good value set lunch"??

[lambretta76]

Hiroyuki -

Thank you very much for the tip - that place sounds perfect! I'm assuming that the menu, if there is one, will be written entirely in Japanese. Is there a kanji character for ayu?

And yes, I did say "with a good value set lunch" - as I assumed that it would be prohibitively expensive at dinner time. I was going to try and grab some on the way out of town the next day - this way - I don't have to! Thanks!

Now, I just need to find a new shukubo in Kyoto - my old favorite - the Gesshin-In Temple, closed last August.

[Hiroyuki]

Ayu is あゆ in hiragana and 鮎 in kanji.

鮎の塩焼き = Ayu grilled with salt

At most restaurants in Japan, a lunch menu is available between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. only. If you are still in Gifu in that period on the next day, I can make another search.

[Hiroyuki]

Thank you very much for the tip - that place sounds perfect!

←

There are many other izakaya around Gifu Station, but I can't find any other Wafu (Japanese) izakaya that explicitly states that they serve ayu dishes.

So, I think that if you want to be on the safe side, Rakuichi Rakuza is the place to go.

http://www.16dc.co.jp/kameiten/back/200410/kameiten.shtml

Scroll down and view the third left photo. You can see the sign of the izakaya, the characters 楽市楽座 on the red background.

The izakaya is closed only in the year change period.

[lambretta76]

Hiroyuki -

Do you perhaps have the address of the izakaya Rakuichi Rakuza in romanji? I can't seem to find out what the address is other than: 岐阜市神田町9-15（トリタビルB1

Thanks in advance...

[JasonTrue]

Since I'm a latecomer to this topic, sorry for not noticing it earlier...

In Gifu, particularly in Takayama/Hida-Takayama, but also in Gero, I remember the signature dish of "houba miso", which is slightly sweetened miso (much more savory than neri-miso or dengaku-miso) grilled usually atop a magnolia leaf on a shichirin at the table.

This also typically includes one or two things from the following list: 1) hida-gyuu or Hida Beef, 2) tofu or 3) shiitake mushrooms. These would be grilled along with the houba-miso and the miso would be used as a seasoning for the same; alternately, you could eat the grilled miso with the rice. Most often garnished with some negi.

The miso seems to get a little bit of smoke from the houba and it slightly flavors the miso. I doubt you'll find such food outside of Japan because it isn't dramatic enough, but it's one of many examples of incredibly simple foods that can be absolutely spectacularly comforting when traveling in Japan.

Alas, I have a few blurry photos from places where I ate houba-miso but no actual photos of the food.

Oh, and another thing that I was absolutely infatuated with was aka-kabu no tsukemono, made from red turnip (not beets). These sweet pickles probably have a more elegant name than I'm improvising, but I've since discarded my package of them. These were served on a small plate next to a cream anmitsu-kakigouri and also savory dishes at a Takayama spot whose name I forget, but were conveniently available at a tsukemono-ya-san nearby.

It's not specifically Gifu-ish, but there is a nice little senbe place in Takayama that I will go to every time. The fresh ones made to order are standard shouyu-seasoned ones, but they had a bunch of less typical toppings in their packaged ones, including tarako, chocolate, and so on.

[torakris]

Hiroyuki -

Do you perhaps have the address of the izakaya Rakuichi Rakuza in romanji? I can't seem to find out what the address is other than: 岐阜市神田町9-15（トリタビルB1

Thanks in advance...

←

The address is Gifu-shi (Gifu City) Kandamachi 9-15 (torita biru B1-- the basement of the Torita building)