Fukushima Food Tour 1

Fukushima

While the district Umeda in Osaka is well known, our actual address puts us in the district of Fukushima-ku. Our building has ‘Nishi-Umeda’ (West Umeda) in the name, since we’re on the border and ‘Umeda’ has a nicer ring to it. However, we’re finding some great food in Fukushima off the beaten path that look to be run by smaller local operations.

Shimiru Sushi

We had their lunch omakase (set menu) for an insanely reasonable 1650 yen ($13 USD). The place only has seating for 8 total, all at the counter. The sushi chef prepared and served each of our 10 nigiri one at a time, so each one is consumed just seconds after being made. The lunch also included 3 appetizers and Japanese pear for dessert. We were quite impressed with the quality of the food and the service was perfect.

Maguro Donburi (unknown name)

Ugh, we can’t remember the name of the place, but we were strolling around Shin-Fukushima station and happened on this small place with about seating for 12 at their large counter. My wife said that she saw some store history inside stating it has been around for 3 generations at that location. The menu was pretty simple, they do Maguro Donburi (blue fin tuna over rice), and she got the day’s special. A bit shocking, they gave her a plate with tuna bones with bits of raw maguro on it and a spoon to scrape it off. It was a bit DIY, but she was able to get about 2 donburis worth of maguro for only 800 yen ($6 USD).

I opted for the Ikura and Maguro Donburi (tuna and salmon roe over rice) which was quite good as well. This was a relatively more expensive 1400 yen ($11 USD) but with nicely cut pieces of maguro. No scraping necessary!

Imogashi Shimizu

The Imogashi Shimizu dessert shop specializes in sweet potato and taro, with a few locations around Japan and this one in Fukushima. M got a taro smoothie, and I had to try the sweet potato and chocolate parfait. The parfait had chocolate ice cream, candied sweet potatoes, and fried mochi too. It was amazingly delicious, and big enough for a whole family. M’s smoothie was not that sweet, and a lot less exciting compared to their other dishes, we might go for their pudding or mini muffins next time. The place felt a bit fancy, so maybe a nice date spot.

Kushi Katsu Ba

Kushi Katsu Ba (串かつ場ぁ) serving kushi katsu, another popular Osaka cuisine. How can you go wrong with deep fried stuff on a stick?! We ate a variety of shrimp, pork/beef, eel, quail eggs, unagi, cheese+bacon and veggies with the 10 skewer omakase (set menu). We found there are some really pricey places, as well as cheap ones. The one we checked out was middle of the road with a nice selection of sake. The store looked family run with about seating for 20, but not too busy for a weekend night. It’s tucked a ways back from the station, so maybe not a lot of foot traffic. The food was great, and there is lots of competition nearby so we’ll try a few more.

Semba Curry

Semba Curry (Japanese site) is a small local (Osaka) chain which is known for their black curry. The black curry is a Japanese style curry with squid ink, which gives it the unusual color. While this isn’t in Fukushima, it’s nearby with locations in Tenma and Umeda. I got it with pork katsu (fried pork cutlet), but next time I’ll try it with suji (beef tendon). It wasn’t necessarily the best curry I’ve had, but it was unique and the place was packed for lunch. Just be careful not to get it on your clothes.

I have noticed a ton of Japanese curry places in Osaka, so I’ll go exploring a bunch more local joints. I have only tried a couple of Indian curry places so far, and they were kinda mediocre. I do miss a good Thali in Santa Clara. The Indian population in Osaka is probably not quite big enough yet, but there is bound to be a good one or two.