Ibaraki Prefecture has escaped from the bottom of the attractiveness ranking. However, there are voices from the surrounding prefectures saying, "There are no spots that make you want to go out of your way to go there...". However, Ibaraki Prefecture has many super popular gourmet restaurants that attract customers from outside the prefecture, and spectacular spots that are captivating from all over the world. We will track down the "new charms of Ibaraki". ■Gourmet with long lines Spectacular views In fact, Ibaraki is amazing First of all, we asked people what kind of image they have of Ibaraki Prefecture. Chiba Prefecture resident (30s) "I don't know much about it, but it's a bit rural." Saitama Prefecture resident "I want to go to Kamakura. I don't talk about going to Ibaraki." Chiba Prefecture resident (60s) "It doesn't have a sense of fashion. It seems more fashionable to say, 'I went to Yatsugatake.'" It seems that there are many voices saying that there are no spots that make you want to go out of your way to go there. In response to this, a father from Ibaraki Prefecture strongly disagrees. Ibaraki resident (80s) "People say there's nothing in Ibaraki, but that's ridiculous. If it wasn't attractive, 3 million people wouldn't come. A prefecture with a population of 3 million is the same as Mongolia (Mongolia's population is about 3.5 million). It's so big. Yes, Mongolia!" So, what is Ibaraki proud of? Ibaraki resident (80s) "It's Mito Komon. It's Mito Komon, isn't it?" A woman from Mito analyzed that Ibaraki has charm, but it doesn't promote itself enough. Ibaraki resident: "Ibaraki doesn't promote itself very much because of its modesty. It has a lot of good points." "This is also a great water tower. It's classic. I think water tower enthusiasts will love it." ■ No.1 New Ibaraki Local Gourmet Meanwhile, this month, in order to promote the charms of Ibaraki, an event called "New Ibaraki Food General Election" was held, where new local gourmet foods from all 44 cities and towns in the prefecture were gathered together. The one that beat out the competition to be chosen as number one was... Ibaraki resident (60s) "(Q. How many did you buy?) Four. I like new things, after all. I wanted to try them a little earlier than everyone else." What is the new local gourmet food that was chosen as number one? New Ibaraki Age Soba Development manager Osawa Mariko: "This is New Ibaraki Age Soba." Masuda Sayaka announcer: "It's cute." New Ibaraki Age Soba won the grand prize. Ibaraki's specialty "Hitachi Aki Soba" is deep-fried until crispy, topped with wood ear mushrooms and vegetables from Ibaraki, and then poured over with a hot soy sauce-based sauce. Pickled radish, okra, and plums add color and a crunchy texture. Finally, lotus root chips are added to complete the dish. They say they are particular about creating a texture that has never been seen before. The Hitachi Aki Soba has a fragrant aroma, and the texture is fun to eat. The soba is crispy and the vegetables are very crunchy. Osawa: "I thought that fried noodles might be a bit too heavy. By adding grated daikon radish and making it into a sauce with grated daikon radish, it becomes more palatable even for women." And, in honor of the name of Goka Town, five types of flavor-changing seasonings are also recommended. If you mix soy milk, ground sesame seeds, and chili oil, it changes the flavor to something like sesame dandan. So how does it taste? Masuda: "It's completely different. Earlier, it was a soy sauce base with chicken bones that gave it a Japanese feel. Now it's Chinese. It's delicious." Osawa: "We want you to come and eat it again and again. That's what we want." On the other hand, there is also soul food that is loved by everyone and is known to all the residents of the prefecture. ■ Super popular "soul food with a line" that draws in from outside the prefecture From Tochigi Prefecture (40s): "I usually come here once a month, and I always line up." From Fukushima Prefecture (60s): "It's been here for about 10 years now." "I'm addicted." Matsugoro is a super popular ramen shop that draws in large numbers of customers from outside the prefecture. From Miyagi Prefecture (60s) "From Miyagi Prefecture. I left at 7am." "(Q. To come here?) To come here." What is the addictive ramen that you'll want to spend 4 hours eating...? Stamina Ramen "Matsugoro" Ikeda Riku: "Yes, thank you for waiting. This is cold stamina ramen." Masuda: "It's topped with a thick sauce, isn't it?" This is "Stamina Ramen," a gourmet dish that Ibaraki Prefecture is proud of and has long queues for. This dish consists of cold medium-thick noodles frozen in ice water and topped with a piping hot sauce containing chili pepper. The ingredients are a bit unusual for ramen, including liver, pumpkin, and cabbage. Masuda: "The noodles are super chewy. The hot chili peppers add a nice accent to the sweet and spicy sauce, making the spiciness addictive. The crunchy vegetables and creamy liver are also great." The noodles are deliberately chilled thoroughly to give them a firm texture, making them just as satisfying to eat as the piping hot sauce. Masuda can't stop eating either. Masuda: "I ate it all in one go." He eats the whole thing in one go. Masuda: "Delicious." Stamina ramen was born in the late 1960s. Why did it become such a unique style? Ikeda: "The previous owner asked the students at the time for something cheap, filling and nutritious, so he thought about it a lot and created this." Stamina ramen was born because liver was often thrown away at the time, and vegetables were cheap and plentiful in Ibaraki, which is where stamina ramen was born. From Miyagi Prefecture (50s): "You can't eat here unless you come here. I wish they wouldn't be on TV, it's too crowded." Sorry... I came. We continued to ask Ibaraki residents about their attractions. Ibaraki resident (20s): "It's not just 'Dappe'. Most of the Ibaraki residents who appear on TV are from the north. It would be more appealing if they could cover Tsukuba and other places more." So let's go. To Tsukuba City in the southern part of the prefecture. ■What is the appeal of Tsukuba City in the southern part of the prefecture? It is Japan's leading research city, but here too there is a bakery that attracts customers from outside the prefecture. Masuda: "This is the very popular bakery Couronne. It's 2pm now, but there's already a huge line in front of the store. There's always a line." From Chiba: "We came from Chiba. We've been here for about an hour and a half." From Kanagawa: "We're from Yokohama." From Kanagawa (20s): "We've been here quite a few times." Of the roughly 100 types of bread, the most popular is the one that sells 800 on busy days... Couronne manager Shikano Daisuke: "This is the 'Ultimate Long Sausage France.'" Masuda: "It's longer than your face, isn't it? It's about twice as long as a regular hot dog." At 40cm long, it's truly the 'Ultimate Long Sausage France.' Masuda: "The dough is really crispy, and the sausage is juicy." Shikano: "We smoke it with cherry wood chips and have them make it using natural sheep intestines." The baguettes are made using original wheat flour to create a crispy texture, and are baked at high temperature for a short time. They cut it so that it can be shared, but Masuda ate it all in one go. Shikano: "That's amazing." Masuda: "It was so tasty I had to eat it all." Other popular items include the crispy "Shin Curry Bread," which uses a secret recipe of "matured garlic vinegar" as a secret ingredient, and the "Happy Cream Bread," which is filled with more cream than you can imagine. In fact, the reason so many people come all the way from outside the prefecture is because of a secret about the city of Tsukuba itself. American (living in Tsukuba): "There are so many different bakeries, it's really great. Tsukuba is a great place." Indian (living in Tsukuba): "There are so many. You can smell the bread wafting from all over town." In fact, Tsukuba is a "bread town" with over 50 stores. Peter Pan (Bread Town Inventor) Atsushi Sakai: "After all, it's a research city, and there are a lot of foreigners here. So we started the idea of ​​'Tsukuba, the Bread Town.'" In order to provide delicious bread, a staple food, to researchers and international students from all over the world, the town began revitalizing itself with bread 20 years ago, and the number of unique bakeries has increased. In addition, there is a bakery that doesn't look like a bakery at first glance. Hiroki Koyama of Boulangerie Ancuy: "This used to be a gas station. If only there was a roof so people wouldn't get wet in the rain. I thought it would be easier for our many female customers to shop here." The bread is, of course, authentic. On weekends, 250 croissants are baked using cultured butter, and they sell out every time. Masuda: "I want to eat more." "(Q. How many can you eat?) 5." Speaking of Ibaraki, it's popular for its freshly caught seafood... But now, the spectacular sea views are attracting attention from overseas. ■ The "breathtaking torii gates" that fascinate the world The torii gates of Kamiiso, where it is said that the gods descended, are awe-inspiring when the rough waves of the Pacific Ocean break white on the reef, and have become popular on social media. In particular, tourists from overseas visit to take pictures of the moment when the morning sun settles inside the torii gates. From Taiwan: "I think Ibaraki is surprisingly interesting. I think it's a pretty beautiful place. I don't understand why it's at the bottom (of the attractiveness ranking)." Takahashi Akemi, proprietress of Hotel Sansui, a long-established hotel in Ibaraki Prefecture, says, "Oh, we've escaped from the bottom." The proprietresses of local inns rejoiced at escaping the bottom of the attractiveness rankings. But then they suddenly came to their senses... Proprietress Takahashi Akemi, "I think it's better to continue to be at the bottom." Young proprietress Takahashi Yuko, "It's better to be at the bottom than to simmer halfway." The proprietresses who have worked hard to promote the appeal of Ibaraki over the past year, such as with the "Ibaraki Proprietress Card," have some surprising comments. Ms. Yoko Ishikawa, proprietress of Uchihara Kosen Yusenso: "I would say that if anything, the lowest ranking was quite delicious." Ms. Junko Hagiya, proprietress of Hotel Suncity Katsuta: "We've heard a lot of people say, 'We came here because it's the lowest ranking, to see what it's like.'" In fact, some people say that it would have been better if it had been the lowest ranking, since it would have attracted more attention. So, we quickly asked the locals of Ibaraki Prefecture. Ibaraki Prefecture resident (teenager): "Maybe the lowest ranking is attractive. Maybe it's good because it's the lowest ranking." Ibaraki Prefecture resident: "It's fine to be the lowest ranking. That's how you can appeal. You can say, 'I come from the prefecture with the lowest attractiveness rating,' right? It's half-hearted. You can't do anything." Of the 65 people we spoke to, nearly half said they would have preferred it if it had been the lowest ranking... Ibaraki has been increasing its appeal while accepting its lowest ranking in a positive way. No matter what the ranking is, its appeal will never fade. [TV Asahi News] https://news.tv-asahi.co.jp