Top 10 Dishes Locals Love in Chiba

Narita is synonymous with Narita Airport, but the town's eel-based cuisine is highly regarded by those in the know. On the way to Narita Sanshinshoji Temple, you’ll pick up on the old Edo era vibes as you navigate the rows of long-established eel restaurants. 

It's said that Narita's eel cuisine was developed in the Genroku era to reward and empower pilgrims who had travelled to the city from far and wide. At that time, eels could be caught plentifully in the nearby Tone River and Inbanuma wetlands. As you enjoy charcoal-grilled eel with sauces that are strictly based on secret recipes, you can reflect on what this place must have been like at the peak of its prosperity in the Edo period. Narita Eel Festival is held every year on the Midsummer Day of the Ox, usually between July and August.

White gyoza dumplings consist of a thin dough that's generously filled with meat and vegetables. This local dish hails from Noda City in Chiba Prefecture. You can tell from the constant queues outside gyoza joints that this is Noda’s real soul food. 

The giant pan-fried gyoza has a great aroma and a lovely golden brown colour. It looks a bit like sushi wrapped in tofu (inarizushi). This dumpling is best enjoyed while it's still steaming hot. The so-called white gyoza is not actually white in colour, so what’s the deal? Well, it got its name because the founder acquired the recipe from a Chinese person named Pai ('white' in Chinese).

Botannabe is a hotpot made with boar meat. It's named as such because the meat is decorated in a way that looks like a large peony flower. Generally popular in mountainous areas all over Japan, you can also find this dish in the Boso area of Chiba Prefecture. 

Cuisines featuring wild boar and deer meat are called boso gibier (from the French term for 'wild game'). A Boso Gibier Fair is held every winter to promote these dishes. Winter is also the boar-hunting season in Chiba, so it's an excellent time to try botannabe. This dish is nutritious and high in protein – the ideal healthy dish to help locals withstand the harsh winter months.

Katsuura Tantan Men was invented to be served as a breakfast that would warm up freezing cold workers (such as female divers and fishermen) after they finished their morning’s work. Dandan noodles are typically flavoured with rich sesame, but this dish is comparatively light with a soy sauce base with chili oil and accompanied by sautéed onion and minced meat with chili peppers. This local delicacy has been designated as one of Chiba’s Cultural Assets and is well-known both inside and outside the prefecture. Katsuura Tantan Men made by Katsutan Sendan won the first prize in the B-1 Gourmet Grand Prix. There are more than 30 accredited restaurants in Katsuura serving Katsuura Tantan Men, and at each restaurant you’ll find a unique take on the dish. If you’re feeling hungry, take a stroll as you search for your favourite version.

Chikura, located in the southern part of Boso, is renowned as a village of flowers where you can enjoy flower-based cuisine (hana ryori). Delicious edible flowers are cultivated by the local flower farmers from January to March. This is a unique food experience that really hits all 5 senses. 

Taste various flowers that bloom in early springtime – field mustard, calendula, stock, snapdragon and cornflower – in a wide range of dishes including tempura, sushi rice with topped with flowers (chirashizushi), soups, salads and desserts. You can also buy flowers as souvenirs, but if you’re planning to eat them, just make sure you choose the ones that are marked 'edible'.

The Pacific oyster (magaki) is quite well known as a winter delicacy. However, the wild Iwagaki oysters (Crassostrea Nippona) of Iioka, Asahi City steal the show from June to August. Seashore oysters are pretty big: about the size of the palm of your hand. 

Called isogaki by the locals, these oysters have a wonderfully rich taste. The young shells of the isogaki oysters become attached to wave-dissipating concrete blocks installed on the seashore, gradually growing in the warm water and feeding on the plentiful plankton for 6-7 years. Iioka Isogaki Festival, which takes place every summer, lets you taste a wide variety of oyster dishes – fresh oysters, grilled oysters, rice and oyster steamed in pots (kamameshi)... the list goes on.