BEHIND THE FOOD CULTURE Umami & shun

Inclusions

- 9 nights in our recommended hotels
- All breakfasts
- 3 Lunches
- 3 Dinners
- Tour guide accompanies you throughout the trip
- All land transportation during the trip, except airport transfer and your free time transportation
- Admissions to sites and other scheduled events

Umami

"Umami" means "pleasant savory taste" in Japanese and is the fifth taste, joining sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. As a unique and primary taste, umami cannot be created by mixing other tastes; it is an essential part of Japanese food culture and plays a crucial role in enhancing the deliciousness of a dish.
Umami is found not only in traditional Japanese cuisine but also in world-famous dishes like ramen noodles, celebrated for their rich umami flavor.

Shun

"Shun" refers to seasonal ingredients at their peak freshness and flavor. Grown under optimal conditions, these fruits and vegetables offer superior taste and nutritional value. As our body's needs change with the seasons, seasonal produce provides essential nutrients appropriate for each time of year.

Japanese people highly value seasonal ingredients for their nutritional benefits, flavor, and cultural significance, making seasonal eating a vital part of Japanese culinary tradition.

Fermentation

Japanese cuisine features a rich array of fermented foods, including miso, soy sauce, vinegar, and mirin. Even sake and dried bonito flakes, essential for dashi, are fermented. A defining aspect of Japanese fermentation is the use of koji (malted rice). Koji, cultivated from rice, barley, or soybeans, are crucial in the production of soy sauce, miso, mirin, vinegar, and sake.