Food culture mirrors national characters and distinctive regional features. While it is diversified by the length of its history in the Kansai region, food culture in Osaka is particularly noted for its originality as local people are known for their extravagance in food. Incidentally, Kyoto is associated with an elegant Japanese meal, known as "kaiseki" cuisine, but its citizens are cited for their spendthrift behavior toward dress while Kobe is famous for its beef but its residents are believed to spare no expense for footwear. At any rate, it seems to be Osaka that is most closely connected to food.
Since there are so many visible differences in food culture between the Kanto and Kansai regions that it is too hard to point them out one by one.
"Udon" is bland
One difference is seen in citizens' traditional choice for noodles in Osaka and Tokyo. Osaka residents prefer "udon"- made from wheat flour - to "soba" buckwheat noodles that their Tokyo counterparts pick as their favorite. The dissimilarity is noticeable in a classic "rakugo" monologue comic story that is called "Toki (time) Soba" in the Kanto region but "Toki Udon" in the Kansai area. The story is about a customer who tries to cheat a vendor, confusing him by asking time.
The soup for "udon" is a bit bland for people in the Kanto region because the soy sauce used for it is weak and highly transparent as against the strong soy sauce applied for "soba."
For the midsummer broiled "unagi" (eel) delicacy, the eel is split in the back - cutting up on the back bone side - in Tokyo but the long thin fish's abdomen is slashed before it is grilled in Osaka. Cutting the stomach was considered bad luck in Tokyo as it was related to "seppuku" or "hara-kiri" for the samurai society in feudal Japan. It was said that opening the eel's stomach was nothing wrong in Osaka, which originally began as tradesmen's town.
The way to broil an eel also differs in Tokyo and Kansai. In Tokyo, its head and tail are severed and its white colored skin is barbecued first, then steamed and put in a pot of sweet sauce before it is grilled again. In Osaka, people keep the fish's head and tail intact, roast its meat and apply a sauce while it is being grilled. And it is not heated with steam unlike in Tokyo.
In Tokyo, a cutlet - "katsu" in Japanese - is a deep-fried pork cutlet but, in Osaka, those who want to place an order for it must specifically say "ton-katsu" (pork cutlet) because a beef cutlet is also available.
"Sukiyaki" varies widely
Cooking "sukiyaki" sliced meat in a shallow pan with various vegetables varies widely in each household and region of the country. Generally, Osaka residents prepare it first by grilling beef with soy sauce and sugar in a pan and eat it. They then put vegetables and other ingredients in the pan. They also include onions. On the other hand, "sukiyaki" in Tokyo comprises beef, a white portion of Welsh onions, "tofu" bean curd and some other ingredients plus seasoning broth to be stewed in a pot.
The diversity of food culture is indeed pleasant for Japanese but it is a matter of course now for those in Tokyo to taste the Osaka style of food and vice versa because eatery chains operating on a nationwide scale have become common. Distinctive regional characteristics of food culture are beginning to fade away. However, Osaka people's palates appear to be obstinate compared with those of their Tokyo counterparts.
Many old established restaurants featuring traditional "kaiseki" cuisine, which originates in Japan's tea ceremony, are found in Kyoto and Osaka. Their cooks have recently been deepening exchanges with French chefs and creating "fusion" cuisines. French, Chinese, Japanese and Italian cuisines are evolving by receiving the effect of one another in the world's major cities. That is like the world is on a single plate. The impact of Japanese commercial TV programs such as the one in which cooks vie with each other has spread over the world.
Osaka has the greatest number of restaurants for 1,000 people in Japan. Although there has been the influx of people from the Shikoku, Kyushu and Okinawa regions and various Asian countries, Osaka people stubbornly retain their traditional palates but are filled with curiosity and ready to jump at novelties. In fact, the "foods" that passed Osaka citizens' palates have proliferated all over Japan and gone to other countries. That is the pride of food-spendthrift Osaka at a time when everything seems to concentrate in Tokyo. (T)
From Kansai Window - May 10, 2006 - Kippo News