Introduction to Kanto (カントー地方) & Chubu (中部地方)

An excerpt from A Blogger's Guide to Japan

Yokohama, Japan (Sean Pavone / shutterstock.com)

The Kanto region, which translates as “east of the border”, is situated on the island of Honshu. It was the heartland of feudal power during the Kamakura era and the center of modern development during the Edo period.

The region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. It is the most densely populated area of the country, home to one third of Japan’s population.

The area is subdivided into North and South. The North is comprised of Ibaraki, Tochigi, and Gunma Prefectures, while the South includes Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa Prefectures, and Tokyo Metropolis. Often, the South is regarded as the Greater Tokyo Area.

Kanto houses not only Japan’s seat of government but also the nation’s largest group of universities and cultural institutions. Its major cities, Tokyo and Yokohama, form a single industrial complex with a concentration of light and heavy industries along Tokyo Bay. Other prominent cities include Kawasaki, Saitama, and Chiba.

It is said that Kanto sets the pace that the rest of Japan attempts to follow.

The Chubu Region, next door, is comprised of nine prefectures including: Fukui, Ishikawa, Toyama, Shizuoka, Aichi, Gifu, Yamanashi, Nagano, and Niigata.

Known for its beautiful mountains, Mount Fuji and the Japanese Alps, Chubu is divided into three distinct sub-regions: Tokai, Koshinetsu, and Hokuriku. Three sub-regions mean three different dialects and the food culture is different for each region as well.

For instance, in rural communities in Nagano and Gunma, you will find something called inago no tsukudani. Inago is a type of grasshopper that is stewed in sweetened soy sauce. In many souvenir shops within the area, you will find this delicacy packaged to bring home to your loved ones and friends as omiyage (souvenirs).

Other regional fares popular in Nagano (Shinshu) are oyaki and soba. Oyaki is a flour dumpling stuffed with vegetables seasoned with miso and soy sauce. The type of vegetables used vary with specific areas within Nagano.

Nagano is synonymous with soba noodles. Anywhere you go in Japan, the locals will tell you that you haven’t sampled soba until you have had Shinshu soba! The area’s highlands are perfectly suited for growing buckwheat, which is then ground and mixed with fresh, clean water flowing from Nagano’s mountains. The taste is quite remarkable!

But getting away from some of the more “exotic” kyodo ryori, other regional food items associated with the Kanto and Chubu regions include hoto (udon noodles stewed in a miso-based soup with vegetables such as kabocha, potatoes, mushrooms, and meat) and monja yaki (a savory pancake similar to okonomiyaki but much runnier). It is eaten directly off the grill using a special metal spatula. Masuzushi (associated with Toyama) is sushi rice steamed in bamboo leaves with trout placed on top. Sauce katsudon (pork cutlet, breaded and fried, placed on top of rice with Worcestershire sauce) and tekonezushi (cuts of red-meat fish, such as skipjack tuna or bluefin, placed in a soy flavored marinade then arranged on top of vinegared rice) is garnished to taste with slivers of green shiso leaf, ginger root, or nori seaweed.

This list is by no means an all-inclusive list of kyodo ryori associated with these two regions, but an introduction and a mere starting point for discovering all the wonderful delicacies the Kanto and Chubu Regions have to offer.

Most visitors arrive in the Kanto region via Tokyo using Narita Airport, Japan's main international gateway. The major gateway into the Chubu Region is the Chubu Centrair International Airport, Japan's third major international airport located on an artificial island 30 minutes south from Nagoya. Alternatively, you can take the shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo. The Hokuriku Shinkansen (北陸新幹線) connects Tokyo with Kanazawa. When the shinkansen line originally opened in 1997, it only went as far as Nagano and was known as the Nagano Shinkansen. In 2015, the line was extended to Kanazawa and today it is called the Hokuriku Shinkansen.

Web Page: http://www.jcci.or.jp/kanko/kankoeng.htm#kanto (Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry/

Kanto Region Tourism)

http://en.go-centraljapan.jp/ (Central Japan Tourism Promotion Association/Chubu Region Tourism)