Miyazaki Food Guide: Chicken Nanban, Charcoal Chicken & Hiyajiru

Chicken Nanban

"Chicken nanban was originally a Miyazaki dish?"—many people are surprised. In fact, this national favorite that has now spread even to family restaurants and bento shops nationwide originated in Nobeoka City, Miyazaki Prefecture.

Crisply fried chicken karaage is dipped in sweet-and-sour nanban vinegar, then topped with homemade tartar sauce piled on generously. The moment it enters your mouth, the crunchy texture of the batter, the sourness of the sweet vinegar, and the mellow tartar all rush in at once. The difference is so striking you'll involuntarily say, "Ah, this is the real thing."

What's interesting is that locals split into two camps: the style with tartar sauce on top, and "plain chicken nanban" eaten with just the nanban vinegar. Some long-established shops continue to protect their recipes from the founding days, and even in something as simple as the tartar, individuality shines in the amount of chopped onion and the degree of sourness. Please do compare a few shops and find your own "favorite spot."

Recommended Times / Tips: Lunchtime is the busiest, so to get in smoothly, aim for right after opening in the 11 o'clock hour, avoiding noon, or after 1:30 p.m. Popular shops are sure to have lines, so it's reassuring to check in advance whether reservations are possible.

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Charcoal-Grilled Local Chicken

Miyazaki's proud "jitokko," a rare native chicken of Miyazaki designated even as a natural monument. This charcoal-grilled dish is made by slowly grilling its firm meat over binchotan charcoal.

As the far-infrared rays of the charcoal cook it through little by little, the surface becomes crisp and savory while the inside is finished with tightly concentrated umami. The rich meaty sweetness and springiness that spread the instant you bite in—something you absolutely cannot taste with supermarket chicken—is the moment you realize, "This is why I came to Miyazaki." Seasoned simply with just salt and pepper, it draws out the power of the ingredient to the fullest.

At local izakaya, the standard style is to enjoy it with local sake or shochu in a shop filled with charcoal smoke. Its compatibility with Miyazaki's local shochu "Kirishima" and "Aka-Kirishima" is outstanding, and if you enjoy an evening drink mingling with the locals, your travel memories will deepen even further.

Recommended Times / Tips: Peak time is evening, 6 to 8 p.m. Popular shops turn tables quickly, but on weekends it can be difficult to get in without a reservation. Specialty shops are gathered around Nishitachi (Nishihashi-dori) in Miyazaki City, so walking the area and choosing by atmosphere is also a fun experience.

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Hiyajiru

The heat of Miyazaki's summer is a little different in quality from Honshu. The relief when, having made it to the table under the scorching southern sun, a chilled hiyajiru is brought to you—this is unforgettable once experienced.

Barley miso is ground together with grilled horse mackerel and tofu, and plenty of cucumber, shiso leaves, and myoga are added; this cold soup is poured over piping-hot white rice and shoveled in. The umami of the creamy miso and the refreshing aroma of summer vegetables feel as if they soak into your tired body. It's a historic local dish that has been eaten in the breaks between farm work, and for the people of Miyazaki it's the very "taste of mother."

It's not very well known to tourists, but "hiyajiru base" is lined up as a matter of course in local supermarkets. If you buy it as a souvenir and take it home, you can recreate Miyazaki's summer even at home—a hidden specialty product.

Best Season: Summer, July to September, is when it shows its true worth. However, many local-cuisine restaurants serve it year-round, so travelers in other seasons should definitely try it once too.

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Karamen

Among Miyazaki gourmet, the one that radiates a particularly distinctive presence is this karamen. It's a local noodle born in Nobeoka City, and its addictive spiciness, in a class of its own from ordinary ramen, becomes habit-forming.

A bowl combining noodles with a unique springy, jiggly texture made from konjac, a spicy soup, ground pork, and plenty of garlic chives. Some shops let you choose the spiciness from "level 1" all the way up to "level 30" or more, and travelers who enjoy the spiciness challenge keep appearing. That said, according to local regulars, "If you don't start at around level 5 at first, it ends in spiciness before you can feel the umami of the soup." To properly enjoy the soup's deep umami, the right answer for a first attempt is around medium spice.

The standard style is to eat it with an egg dropped in; when you break the yolk and dissolve it into the soup, the spiciness becomes mellow and shows a different expression.

Tips for Travelers: Even if you're confident about spiciness, a towel for wiping sweat is essential. Those with weak stomachs shouldn't overdo it—enjoy it from a low spice level. Both within Miyazaki City and Nobeoka City have specialty chain shops scattered about, and some shops are open late into the night, making them handy for a closing bowl too.

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Miyazaki Mango

When you hear "mango," many may picture Southeast Asia, but Miyazaki is Japan's number-one mango-producing region. Among them, "Taiyo no Tamago" (Egg of the Sun) is a top-grade brand that clears strict standards of a sugar content of 15 degrees or more and a weight of 350 g or more, and its orange brilliance and sweetness, worthy of its name, leave you speechless with a single bite.

The particular cultivation method—bathing in plenty of sunlight to ripen fully and harvesting only the moment it naturally drops into a net—produces that rich, melting sweetness. At direct-sales places in the production area and tourist farms, you can also have a fully ripe mango cut on the spot and enjoy it under the sun, a luxurious experience. It's no exaggeration to say it's one of Miyazaki's greatest joys, known only to travelers who visit during the season.

Best Season: The peak is late May to late July. If you visit Miyazaki during this period, mango is an absolute must. Once the season passes, the volume on the market drops sharply, so early purchase is recommended. Decorative gift boxes are highly popular and can go out of stock even during the season, so consider reserving in advance.

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Access Information

To enjoy Miyazaki gourmet, the recommendation is first to use Miyazaki City's downtown "Nishitachi (Nishihashi-dori)" as your base. Chicken nanban, charcoal-grilled local chicken, karamen, hiyajiru, and other gourmets representative of Miyazaki are concentrated in one area, perfect for eating your way around. It's about a 15–20 minute walk from Miyazaki Station, or about 5 minutes by taxi.

Access to Miyazaki City

• By air: About 12 minutes by train from Miyazaki Bougainvillea Airport to Miyazaki Station (JR Nichinan Line)
• Shinkansen + conventional line: About 2 hours 10 minutes from Hakata Station on the limited express "Nichirin"
• By car: About 15 minutes from the Miyazaki Expressway / Miyazaki IC to the city center

If you want to chase the origin flavors of chicken nanban and karamen in Nobeoka City, it's about 1 hour from Miyazaki Station by limited express. Staying overnight and slowly touring both cities is the way savvy travelers enjoy Miyazaki.

Miyazaki mango can also be purchased at shops inside Miyazaki Bougainvillea Airport and at roadside stations and tourist product halls within Miyazaki City. If you buy it at the airport at the end of your trip, you can take it home without carrying a heavy load. During the peak season, direct sales and picking experiences are held at farms in the production areas of Saito City and Takanabe Town, so do inquire.