Food Archive

The rainy season has officially begun. And it is around this time that we start feeling hot and humid and collectively become aware of the fact that that summer is upon us.

Being the sweet lover that I am, whenever I experience the first days of summer weather, my mind immediately wanders to the many summer treats that can temporarily beat the heat! But there is one particular seasonal sweet that stands above the rest—Akafuku Gori. This summer treat is made by the famous sweet maker, Akafuku, located near Naiku Shrine.

Akafuku Gori is made by pouring a special green tea syrup over shaved ice and Akafuku’s original Akafuku-mochi (mashed sweet beans and pounded sticky rice). The combination of flavors is the perfect remedy for the hot and humid Japanese summer!

This is one sweet that I highly recommend to try when you are visiting the Naiku and Okageyokocho area. You won’t find this treat anywhere else in Japan—this is an Ise original. It is only ¥500 and worth every bit. And it is usually big enough to share.

You can find more information about Akafuku on their English website:

http://www.akafuku.co.jp/english/akafukumochi.html

If you find yourself looking for a good bowl of Japanese soba (buckwheat noodles) in the Okage-yokocho area near Naiku Shrine, I highly recommend “Saiya” for a great lunchtime or early evening meal. They offer a handful of different soba dishes to choose from but if you are like me, they all will look good. I have many favorites and it is always hard for me to choose when I make the trek for lunch.

Saiya’s menu is only in Japanese but if you like tempura and soba, I recommend, “Tenmori-Seiro” which comes with a seasonal fried fish and cold soba noodles. Or, if you want something a little lighter, I recommend, “Seiro” which is cold soba noodles served with wonderfully rich stock to dip your noodles in.

Of course, if you are traveling with someone with Japanese ability, there are a variety of delicious dishes to choose from and from my own experience, all are good. And I’m not the only one that finds Saiya appealing and because of that, it is usually filled with locals and visitors alike so I recommend getting there as early as possible since they close up shop when they are out of stock.

Saiya is located on Route 23 in Ise City near the Naiku-mae bus stop (please see the map) and is open from 11:00 to 17:00. But please note, they are closed every Wednesday and the last Tuesday of each month.

They do have a website but it’s only in Japanese. However, if you take a look, you could get a better feel of the restaurant.

http://www.amigo2.ne.jp/~saiya/

I hope you enjoy it.