Part of the pleasure of living or travelling in Japan is surely the amount of amazing food we are exposed to on a daily basis. Roads and Kingdoms, a travel journalism website with American chef Anthony Bourdain as its editor-at-large, delves into this spectacular culinary world with a new book titled Rice, Noodle, Fish: Deep Travels Through Japan’s Food Culture. Launched in New York in late October, the book follows author Matt Goulding as he carves out a path through seven different regions and cities, looking for the best things to eat and some of the best shokunin (artisans) in the country.
But rather than turning this into a guidebook à la Lonely Planet, Goulding has taken more of a narrative approach, even including a correspondence between him and Bourdain about the book’s progress in lieu of an introduction. The result is stunning, with 195 colour photographs of the different places, people and foods visited, and each chapter starting with a quick etiquette lesson or tale of Japanese manners. You’re taken from a love hotel in Tokyo to okonomiyaki restaurants and knife-makers in Osaka, ramen shops in Fukuoka and so on. Although the book seems to have been written with novices of Japanese cuisine and culture in mind, there is enough depth in the stories to satisfy even the most dedicated washoku fans.
But that’s not all – to accompany the book, they’ve released a number of free online travel guides, divided per city or region. These take the basic information of the places mentioned in the book and serve it up in a comprehensible fashion, so you can finally actually eat at the places you’ve been salivating over while reading. (For the cheapskates amongst us, it also means having access to the info just without Goulding's stories attached.) Roads and Kingdoms has also teamed up with a Kanazawa-based travel agent and are now offering the opportunity to retrace the author’s steps during a 10-day trip in May 2016, with some of the best food and culture experts and finest shokunin guiding you along the way. For bookings and more information, check their website.
Rice, Noodle, Fish is available on Amazon.jp.
– By Kirsty Bouwers
– All images courtesy of Roads and Kingdoms