Imaginative décor at The Family Ogura Restaurant. Photo: Eryk Salvaggio
statues guard a small shrine. Behind that, clay disks can be tossed onto a rock altar in a game resembling a ring-toss. Success in that task ensures success in love and family.
On the mountainside, just a few feet from the coast, is Udo Shrine. Built inside a cave looking over the sea, the view along the way is a spectacular ocean panorama punctuated by tall rocks and palm trees.
Like Aoshima, a test of skill awaits anyone who wants to make a wish. A rock formation a few feet away from the mountainside is lined with a straw rope. The shrine sells small clay balls you can throw with your left hand; if you get one within the straw circle, your wish is said to come true.
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Wishes for deliciousness are more easily granted.
Chicken Nanban was invented in Miyazaki City, and one restaurant holds the title for the best in Japan: The Ogura Honten, or “Original Ogura” restaurant, is hidden in a tiny alley in the downtown shopping arcades of Shiki-dori. Two floors, decked out in owls and gnomes, look like a quirky great aunt’s house that hasn’t been renovated since the ‘70s. Faded birch tree wallpaper is punctured with tacks to hold faded, pen-marked maps of the region and pictures of baseball players cut from magazines.
for Mike Seidman’s delicious Chicken Nanban recipe!
Of course, you can order Chicken Nanban throughout Kyushu. It’s usually served as bite-sized chunks of chicken, coated in a sweet tartar sauce.
The name nanban, which refers to the “Southern Barbarians,” derives from the use of the term in describing Spanish and Portuguese traders, whose oils and tartar sauces influenced the dish.
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Imagine turkey stuffing in a blender with tartar sauce and then imagine that tasting good
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called “The Ogre’s Washboard.” Tidal pool enthusiasts will find crabs and snails in abundance. The island is host to a unique ecosystem just a few feet away from the jagged coastline, separated by a ring of white sand. You can explore the flowers and shrine or hide from the heat in swaying palm trees. The shrine on Aoshima has a unique twist on wishing for love. After passing through a small inlet into the forest, dog
the refill | April/May 2011
Nanban in Miyazaki is nothing like the Fukuoka plate. “Jidori” chicken is a Miyazaki specialty - “free range local traditional pedigree chicken” - and is worth trying anywhere in the prefecture, especially grilled or served with miso sauce.
The chicken at Ogura Honten and its sister location, Family Ogura, is some of the tenderest white meat I’ve had in Japan. The cutlets are fried, but not greasy. The Nanban sauce was seasoned with carrot, onion, celery, parsley and a touch of something sweet. It’s thick and starchy, but not dense. Imagine turkey stuffing in a blender with tartar sauce - and then imagine that tasting good. The second location - the Family Ogura Restaraunt - has a more diverse menu and an even more bonkers approach to interior design, but the sauce wasn’t quite as legendary. It did, however, include a dinner that would shame even the heartiest American restaraunt portions: Ebi fry, chicken nanban, a hamburger with demiglasse, rice, salad, spaghetti, ham and a slice of apple. It’s like a ticket to the States for 1300 yen. Eryk Salvaggio is an ALT in Kasuya and blogs at thisjapaneselife.org.
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