hey guys I'm really excited because today I'm flying to Shikoku the smallest
of Japan's four main islands for the next few days I'll be staying in Kochi
Prefecture surrounded by green mountains and bright blue water trying to cover as
much of the culture as I can starting with the food this is gonna be my first
time in Kochi Prefecture and I'm so excited the itinerary for this trip is
going to be perfect wild crazy fabulous and that's not all I get to do this trip
with one of my favorite trying to remember the last time I saw it they
might remember I've lost like it should always been like a year my goal for this
trip Sharla and I took advantage of Cochise tourism campaign visitors from
overseas who present their passport and the returning flight ticket can receive
a welcome package with 10,000 yen or roughly $100 in gift cards that can be
spent anywhere in Japan
Wow it's beautiful mutters like sparkling we stopped for
lunch in shimanto City choosing a small restaurant located along with shimanto
River which is famous for its beautiful color and clarity but also its
contributions to the fishing and seaweed industry in the area so we've just
thought for lunch and we are inching on the city so I am
here gettin shimanto unagi eel this one it smells very very nice it looks so
good and I love that comes with causes and it's game on all this is among key
chips these are made from the bones in a very crispy and crunchy and you just you
just chew on them very cool seaweed tempura never had this actually
smells really good it smells amazing
no it's like mochi like a roasted nori flavors mmm but the
texture of the mochi and then it's deep-fried if I enter in country it's
really really good at night we checked into SH Montano yato a luxurious yokan
located near the mouth of the shimanto river if you've never stayed in one
before a joke on is a bit different from a hotel the rooms are often more
spacious with more minimalist decor they're designed for lounging and
relaxing including luxuries such as onsen facilities and full course
breakfasts and dinner room where is often provided and you can lounge around
your hotel in the yukata making it easier to enter the public
baths whenever you please if you're really lucky you can get a room with
your very own private Lotan butoh or open-air bath and enjoy a relaxing yokan
own Sun experience without ever having to leave
yeah this summers but for now I gotta go out and meet Charlotte for dinner oh my
god so one of the best parts of eating at at yokan is that the dinners are
always so carefully prepared and you get a little bit of everything and the
quality is always amazing and like my mom where are you saying like everything
will be amazing yeah that's like it's like one of the biggest things to look
forward to besides bailenson yeah yeah yeah this is nice to eat yes all right
so you might have noticed there's a ton of seafood here but that's uh you know
one of the benefits to being on the ocean is that you can get tons of fresh
seafood here in shimanto City we're right on the ocean and this is all
probably probably fresh fish we've also got she Montagu which is a special beef
from this region as well and then you can see it has beautiful marbling which
means that it's going to have lots of oils and it could be very tender and
juicy so this is the second time we've seen this today this is Alison Odie and
it's taken from the shimanto River and apparently this is a famous food around
here I didn't realize it when we had it at lunch but it's a specialty here and
this seaweed is has a very very deep green color
it has to be alright finally for dessert we have this beautiful daifuku this is a
very traditional Japanese snack with mochi on the outside and I'm not sure
what's on the inside so let's cut it open and find at the center of this
daifuku is chestnut another popular produce from the
shimanto region
hey guys so now we're in the town of coeur Toshio we're right here on the bay
right on the ocean and we've come to do a cut solo Takaki hi Ken you too can cut
seared bonito if you follow this is the 24 step plan it's very simple it's very
simple so basically it's Kentucky if you've never seen it it's a type of
cooking raw fish where it's only seared on the outside and then the middle of
serve raw and it's a very popular way to enjoy the cuttlefish and so today I'm
going to do a quick little experience here where I'm going to learn how to cut
the fish and serve it and although tuna has a reputation for being the king of
sushi in Japan cut soul or body dough is a versatile fish in Japanese cuisine
that has roots all the way back to the aido era it's leaner meteor and it has
many uses including becoming dashi fish stock which is a staple flavoring in
many traditional Japanese dishes especially here in the oceans around
Shikoku which is why katsu tataki remains a
popular traditional dish here in Kochi luckily but there
in Kochi it's common to slice the cut soul a bit thicker than usual this makes
cuts o tataki a harder and heavier snack than your average sashimi once sliced
all you have to do is season the fish with some salt and chopped green onion
and that's it you're done I'm a foodie I love food and I love traveling around
Japan and trying the different local specialties because there's so much of
culture that's like hidden in the food and the eating habits and like how
people cherish the ingredients that are plentiful in their region so first I'm
gonna just try it with salt and onion and then if I feel like it needs more
flavor you can use ponzu and you can pour ponzu on top
now the thing I really like about this is that it's smoky it has a very strong
smoky like smoke infuse flavor that I love it's really really nice even with
salt that's good this is good even with salt right yokan number two for this
trip and this one is a little bit smaller check out the scenery from this
hotel room I cannot believe this this is all my favorite stuff we've got the
twisting winding roads we've got the little houses a little port some rocks
moody clouds ah this is beautiful this is exactly my type of scenery
alright guys it's time for dinner again and as you know my Gio Kahn's always go
L interesting to see what comes out tonight and Charlotte's got like this
amazing spread of vegan food if you're vegetarian or vegan and you have dietary
restrictions staying in yokan pretty much guarantees you'll be taken care of
right as long as you tell them beforehand it's actually so impressive
that they can pull this together and this pasta looks so good I love okra and
Kinoko and eggplant and over here she's got a vegetable knob in it which is
great too oh wow I love namecard I should have
gotten yours it's crazy because it's like this is one table which would
normally be a table for like four people and it's like like two thirds of the
table is just Charlotte food we are getting fed tonight because Shikoku is a
small island surrounded by plenty of water it's no surprise that the majority
of the meals we had were from the sea but the variety and the combinations
were endless making each meal unique and exciting
if you come to Kochi Prefecture definitely try some of these specialty
foods for yourself now that you know what to eat what can
you do in Kochi find out next time when Sharla and I explore the Prefecture by
both land and sea thanks so much for watching and make
sure you stop by Charlotte's channel to check
the video we did over there as well alright guys see you next week bye