STORY From Matsusaka Beef to Fresh Seafood! 3 Best Gourmets to Delight Your Trip when Travelling in Mie Prefecture by JNTO on 24 September 2019
Mie is located just within hours from Osaka and Nagoya. It is a prefecture famous for its splendid nature and traditional cultures -Ise Jingu（Ise Grand Shrine）which is the shrine said to be the spiritual home for Japanese, and Iga which is the homeland of Ninja culture, ria coast, etc.
It is also a prefecture with great gourmets such as the high-end “Matsusaka beef”, along with various famous seafood like Ise lobster, clam, and abalone! This time, we would love to give details of some top grade must-tries in Mie!
What kind of place is Mie Prefecture?
Mie is a long, coastal prefecture on the Kii Peninsula facing the Ise Bay. It just takes about two hours to get to Ise from Osaka by Kintetsu railway express, so you can get here easily for a day trip.
There is a huge number of interesting sightseeing spots, which includes Ise Jingu（Ise Grand Shrine）with absolute popularity among international tourists, the world heritage and ancient trail Kumano Kodo, Nabana no Sato (Nabana Village) which is the flower garden with the largest scale of illumination, and Suzuka Circuit the F1 international racing course, etc.
From High-End Wagyu Beef to Luxury Seafood! 3 Top Best Mie Gourmets that Should Never Be Missed
Now, we are going to talk about the great gourmets in Mie which you must taste, from sea-fresh seafood to the luxurious, feverishly desired Matsusaka beef.
Marbled Beef for Sukiyaki or Steak! Matsusaka, One of the 3 Top Beefs in Japan
”Matsusaka beef” is one of the 3 best wagyu in Japan. It is the meat of Japanese Black cattle reared in Matsusaka, Mie, which is famous for its artwork-like “marbling” in which white fat and red meat are irregularly intertwisting with each other. This “the art of meat” is generally eaten in sukiyaki or as steak.
A sukiyaki hot pot course meal comes at around 10,000 yen up (depends on the restaurant, amount, rank and part of the meat). Some restaurants also prepare the beef as hamburger steak and curry, or serve them in lunch time for causal, easy consumption.
Ise Lobster, More than just a“Shrimp”, the Famous Lobster Good for Raw, Grills, and Steam!
Ise Lobster (also known as the Japanese Spiny Lobster) is tenderly chewy, sweet and flavourful. Fishing is prohibited from 1st May to 30th Sept in Mie, and so 1st Oct is the start of the fishing season marked by rituals at Ise Grand Shrine. Fishing is mainly done in Shima Peninsula with its peak in November to December. Sashimi, charcoal-grilling, boiling with salt water, tempura, frying, soup making like bisque...there are several methods of cooking when it comes to delivering the rich taste of the lobster to the mouths of the hungry souls. Of which, we especially recommend sashimi as it best presentsthe sweetness and all essence of the sea-fresh lobsters! Don’t miss it!
You would likely regret if you missthe luxury seafood like the large and juicy Matoya oysters, the chewy and slightly sweet Anorifugu blow fish, and the crunchy and delicious abalone.
Kuwanano Clam - Simply Juicy and Sweet
Kuwana city is in north Mie, and is famous for its sweet and juicy clams. It took the country by storm in the Edo period (1603-1868) and has since been popular among the local communities. The clamsare usually grilled, steamed with sake liquors, or cooked in soup.
Certainly, you will be able to find the delicious clams in the local restaurants when visiting. As for souvenirs, Shifure clams and Tsukudani with the shells removed can stay fresh for a longer time, so they will make good choices.
