If you come to Kure, try these! A list of Kure's specialties

Kure, where the Kure Naval Base and Kure Naval Arsenal were located, has been the headquarters of the Kure District Force of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force since 1954 after the end of the war. Many units of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force have curry for lunch every Friday, which is said to be to ensure that they do not lose track of the days of the week even during long voyages. "Kure JMSDF Curry" is a faithful reproduction of the curry eaten on each warship, learned directly from a cook of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, so that it can be eaten at restaurants in Kure City. I would like to try various curries eaten on escort ships and submarines. Ready-to-eat curry is now on sale.

To make it easier for tourists to purchase, a vending machine for instant curry has been installed on the 2nd floor of Recle (2-50-2F Takaramachi, Kure City)! You can purchase 15 kinds of instant curry, all for 700 yen (tax included). Recommended for both home use and as a souvenir!

Kure cold noodles were created around 1955. It is said that the dish originated from a ramen stand in Nakadori, Kure City, which came up with the idea for cold noodles as a signature dish during the summer when ramen orders decline.

The chewy flat noodles are mixed well with the spicy, sweet and sour chicken stock, and are served with toppings such as cucumber, roast pork, boiled egg, and shrimp. It is also recommended to add vinegar to taste.

It is loved by the people of Kure as their soul food.

After the Meiji period, Kure was home to the Kure Naval District as a naval base and the Kure Naval Arsenal as a factory for building ships and other equipment, and the city had a population of 400,000. People who worked in the port city were very busy, so they appreciated udon noodles that could be eaten quickly. So, in order to serve the noodles even faster, thin udon noodles, which were cut into thin pieces to make them easier to soak in the broth, became popular. This became the standard after the war, and in Kure, udon noodles came to refer to "thin udon." Be sure to try Kure's thin udon noodles, drenched in plenty of piping hot broth.

Facing Hiroshima Bay and bordering the islands of the Seto Inland Sea, Kure City is a major oyster-producing region in Hiroshima Prefecture.

There are about 50 to 60 oyster producers in Ondo, Kurahashi, Yasuura, and other areas of Kure City, and the city boasts one of the largest oyster production volumes in the country. Kure oysters are carefully grown in fishing grounds with the best conditions for oyster growth, using many years of experience and ingenuity, and their firm flesh is full of flavor and nutrients.

Kure Navy Cuisine is a cuisine with naval connections, created based on the dishes served on ships of the Kure Naval District and recipes handed down by the former Japanese Navy. It can be considered "healthy food" invented to protect the health of crew members during long voyages, and is designed to be tasty and nutritionally balanced. Recipes such as "nikujaga" (beef and potato stew), which is said to have been eaten by Togo Heihachiro, and Western-style dishes such as omelet rice, chicken rice, and cabbage rolls have been recreated and are served at restaurants in the city.

Okonomiyaki, which is commonly eaten in Hiroshima Prefecture, is made by placing noodles such as soba, shredded cabbage, meat, eggs, etc. on a thin, round piece of dough and frying it. The most distinctive feature of Kure's okonomiyaki, "Kureyaki," is that it is not the usual circular shape, but is folded in half to form a semicircle. Also, thin udon noodles, a specialty of Kure, are used instead of soba noodles. The standard topping is pork and egg "butatama udon," but it is also recommended to eat it hot with Kure oysters on top and blow on it.

Many of the yakitori restaurants in Kure have fish tanks, so you can enjoy delicious yakitori and fresh seafood from the Seto Inland Sea. One dish that locals almost always order at these yakitori restaurants is "chicken skin simmered in miso."

The standard order when entering a restaurant is "Beer and miso-braised chicken skin." The chicken skin is slowly simmered in a secret miso sauce that differs from restaurant to restaurant, making it soft and chewy, and is a soul food of Kure.

The Kure JMSDF Gansu Burger is a new Kure specialty made with "gansu," a deep-fried fish paste that has long been a staple on the dining table in the Kure region, topped with curry-flavored spicy "Gucho Sauce," named after the guiding principle of the 43rd Commander-in-Chief of the Kure District JMSDF, Ike.

It is a sweet eaten at autumn festivals in Kure city, and its origins are said to date back to the Meiji era. Red bean paste is wrapped in skin made from glutinous rice or rice flour, and colored rice grains are placed on top and steamed. The "iga" in iga mochi means "thorn," and the name comes from the fact that the rice grains sprinkled on top look like thorns. As autumn approaches in the Kure region, it is so popular that people ask, "Are you waiting for the festival or for iga mochi?" and it is sold everywhere, including in confectionery shops, supermarkets, and festival stalls, where you can eat freshly steamed food.

The "Otakara Tomatoes" grown on the warm Kurahashi Island have an excellent balance of sweetness and acidity, with a sugar content of over 6.5. They are allowed to ripen fully on the vine, allowing you to enjoy their rich flavor. Taking advantage of the rich soil of well-drained Masago soil, they are grown with minimal pesticides, using homemade organic compost fertilizer. Also, by limiting water use, the tomatoes have a firm texture.

The best way to eat it is raw, so you can enjoy its freshness. In addition to salads, it is also delicious when lightly mixed into pasta.

Onaga mikan is a brand of early-ripening Unshu mandarins grown in the Onaga district of Toyo-machi, Kure City, on Osaki Shimojima Island in the Seto Inland Sea. It was brought from Aoe Village, Kitaabe County, Oita Prefecture in 1902. In the warm Onaga district, they are grown on terraced fields on a south-facing slope with good drainage, making them ideal for cultivation. With thin skin and septa, and a rich, sugary flavor, these mandarins are so delicious they are called "yellow diamonds." They are also shipped to major metropolitan areas as gifts.

Toyomachi, Osakishimojima, is the birthplace of domestically grown lemons. They have been cultivated in the Ocho area for over 100 years, longer than mandarin oranges. The warm climate with little rain is ideal for growing lemons, and they are carefully grown in fields that are not affected by the wind, with windbreaks set up to protect the lemons, which hate the wind. They are grown with minimal use of pesticides. Please enjoy the fragrant acidity and juice of these lemons, which have been grown bathed in the blessings of the sun.