Kagoshima Local Gourmet Guide: Kurobuta Shabu-shabu

Kurobuta Shabu-Shabu

If you come to Kagoshima, this is the one thing you can't go home without eating: "Kagoshima Kurobuta (black pork) shabu-shabu."

Kagoshima kurobuta is a brand pork raised freely in rich nature while preserving the pure bloodline of the Berkshire breed. Its meat is characterized by fine marbling and an elegant sweetness, and the moment you slice it thinly and quickly swish it through the shabu-shabu broth, it melts in your mouth with a tenderness so soft you'll involuntarily let out a sound. The simple kombu-dashi broth further brings out the ingredient's inherent flavor.

Characteristics

The history of Kagoshima kurobuta spans over 400 years. Cherished since the days of the Satsuma domain, it has richly graced the dining tables of local people. Compared to ordinary pork, it contains an abundance of oleic acid, and its greatest appeal is being rich yet refreshing on the finish. At renowned local restaurants, the standard style is to eat it using ponzu and sesame sauce alternately. Surround the hot pot with local vegetables and tofu, and you'll feel as if you've tasted Kagoshima's food culture with your whole body.

Best Season and Recommended Times Hot pot dishes are exceptional in autumn to winter (October to February), but even in Kagoshima's summer the restaurants are air-conditioned, so you can enjoy it year-round as a dinner that soothes travel fatigue. The 6 to 7 p.m. window bustles with local families and tourists, so an early entry around 5 p.m. is recommended. Many shops also serve lunch, so aiming for a reasonably priced lunch set is a smart choice too.

Local-Style Enjoyment and Hidden Gems Not only the Tenmonkan area, where long-established restaurants for tourists gather, but also the small specialty shops in the back alleys around Kagoshima-Chuo Station that locals favor are worth checking. At hidden-gem shops where you can enjoy a solo hot pot at the counter, the owner may even teach you the differences among the cuts of kurobuta. Some shops offer a tasting set comparing "loin," "belly," and "shoulder loin," so be sure to order one.

Access The main kurobuta specialty shops in Kagoshima City are concentrated within a 3 to 5 minute walk of the "Tenmonkan-dori" tram stop on the Kagoshima City Tram. From Kagoshima-Chuo Station it's about 10 minutes by tram, or accessible by bus as well.

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Keihan (Chicken Rice)

Not "torimeshi" but "keihan"; just knowing this reading makes you feel a little more of a Kagoshima connoisseur. This local dish, which originated on Amami Oshima, is now a specialty widely loved on the Kagoshima mainland too. One bite and its gentleness warms your heart through and through.

It is a dish in the "ochazuke style" where colorful ingredients, shredded local chicken, thin omelet strips, pickled papaya, chopped nori, and julienned ginger, are placed on white rice and then generously bathed in golden chicken-broth soup. The moment the fragrance of the broth-soaked rice combines with the deep flavor of the local chicken, everyone is sure to feel, "I could eat this again and again."

Tips for Eating Around

Keihan truly shows its worth at breakfast. In Kagoshima City, diners and set-meal shops serving keihan from around 7 to 8 a.m. are scattered about, and the sight of local grandpas and grandmas slurping keihan first thing in the morning as if it were the most natural thing engraves itself gently into a traveler's heart. The touristy shops are nice too, but the keihan you eat at a market diner or an old-fashioned working-class eatery is exceptional both in price and atmosphere.

Around the "Kagoshima Furusato Yataimura" and the "Kagoshima Kurobuta and Jidori Yokocho" in Kagoshima City, several local cuisine restaurants stand side by side, which makes comparison-tasting easy, another appeal. Also, for those who can extend their trip to Amami Oshima, eating authentic keihan in its birthplace will be a lifelong memory, so be sure to consider it.

Best Season and Recommended Times It can be enjoyed regardless of season, but eating it on the morning of your trip's final day heightens the travel mood and makes it taste especially good. For shops with breakfast service, right after opening is uncrowded and recommended. Weekend lunchtime gets busy, so a weekday visit is the sweet spot.

Access There are many serving shops in the Tenmonkan area and the shopping streets near Kagoshima-Chuo Station. It's a 10 to 15 minute walk from Kagoshima-Chuo Station, with the "Tenmonkan-dori" tram stop being the nearest. To Amami Oshima it's about 55 minutes by plane from Kagoshima Airport.

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Satsuma-age

Step into Kagoshima's souvenir corners and "satsuma-age" is almost guaranteed to leap into view. But it would be a waste just to buy it as a souvenir to take home! The very experience of biting into freshly fried satsuma-age right on the spot is the essence of Kagoshima gourmet.

Satsuma-age is fish paste mixed with ingredients such as tofu, burdock, lotus root, and cheese, then fried to a golden crisp in plenty of oil. Crisp on the outside, fluffy and chewy inside. The sweetness of the ingredients and the flavor of the fish spread through your whole mouth, and dab on a bit of ginger soy sauce and your hand will reach for another piece before you know it. In Kagoshima it's also called "tsukeage," and locals will understand this name more easily.

Not-to-Be-Missed Variety At long-established shops, besides the standard plain version, Kagoshima-style limited flavors abound, such as ones with kurobuta, a smoke flavor using Sakurajima lava, or ones with sweet potato. With plenty of tasting sets and assortments, there's no need to worry about choosing souvenirs. Many keep well in vacuum packs, and most shops also handle shipping to distant places.

Local-Style Enjoyment and Hidden Gems Along "Izuro-dori" and the "Tenmonkan Arcade" in Kagoshima City, long-established freshly fried specialty shops that locals have frequented for ages are scattered about. At shops selling freshly fried items at the storefront, there are sometimes spaces set up where you can eat what you bought on the spot as street food. Also, at morning markets and direct-sales stands along Kinko Bay, you may be able to buy them 10 to 20 percent cheaper than at tourist areas. Buying "home-use satsuma-age" sold at local supermarkets and enjoying it with sake or shochu at your lodging is also one of the great pleasures of travel.

Access The various long-established shops in the Tenmonkan area are right by the "Tenmonkan-dori" tram stop. They can also be bought at shops inside Kagoshima Airport, so dropping by before your return flight is convenient too.

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Access and Business Hours

For getting to the gourmet spots in Kagoshima City, the tram (streetcar) is extremely convenient. Starting from Kagoshima-Chuo Station, it's about 10 to 15 minutes by tram to the Tenmonkan and Izuro areas. Buy a one-day pass (600 yen for adults) and you can efficiently tour the city while eating your way around.

The business hours of each shop vary, with breakfast-only, lunch-only, and dinner-only shops all mixed together. Checking official social media, Jalan, or Tabelog in advance is strongly recommended. Popular shops can have waits of 1 to 2 hours on weekends and holidays, so make use of phone reservations or advance booking systems.

Tips for Travelers

• At the "Kagoshima Prefecture Tourism Exchange Center" inside Kagoshima-Chuo Station, they distribute the latest recommended-restaurant maps for free. They'll even share hidden-gem info not in the guidebooks, so drop by right after you arrive.
• In summer (July to September), the sunlight is strong and temperatures are high, so when eating around, don't forget a hat, sunscreen, and frequent hydration.
• Many of Kagoshima's local dishes pair superbly with sweet-potato shochu, so if you'd like to enjoy them as evening-drink fare, do experience the "hot water-diluted" culture too.
• If you take satsuma-age or kurobuta processed products home as souvenirs, having a cooler bag is reassuring.