Find your favorite rice topping from local specialties of Japan’s 47 prefectures

Do you know this Japanese expression: ごはんのおとも gohan no otomo?

Gohan is cooked rice and otomo is companion. The literal translation for gohan no otomo is “companion for cooked rice,” in other words, toppings that go well on rice.

日本百貨店 Nihon Hyakkaten, a chain where you can find and buy nice local items from the 47 prefectures, will start a special campaign featuring gohan no otomo companions for cooked rice! They will sell delicious local rice toppings from every prefecture in Japan!

The campaign is called めしともフェア Meshitomo Fair*, and it has now started at their online shopping site, and in brick-and-mortar locations at their Akihabara branch, and September at their other branches.

*Meshi is an informal version of rice and meshitomo is a word they coined.

I’ll introduce three items from their offerings.

海老三昧 Ebi Zanmai - Okayama Pref.

If you like shrimp, this product, 海老三昧 (Ebi zanmai | plenty of shrimp) from Okayama Prefecture, is for you. Okayama Prefecture is well known for its delicious fruits such as peaches and muscat grapes. However, did you know that 日生町 Hinasechō in Okayama is a port town where high quality oyster and shrimp are caught?

This rice topping is shrimp oil. Its deep taste comes from a mixture of local dried shrimp, salty kelp, bonito flakes, sesame, and garlic in sunflower oil. Surely, it's a great “companion” for your rice!

According to their official website, it's often out of stock. That's how popular it is!

納豆ふりかけ Nattō Furikake - Kumamoto Pref.

Natto is most well-known as a product from Ibaraki Prefecture in the Kanto region. However, this furikake, Japanese flakes for rice, is a product from Kumamoto Prefecture in the Kyushu area. Why? The secret is a certain ingredient inside.

As you can see in the picture above, the product contains many black strips. Yes, that's 海苔 (nori | laver seaweed). Kumamoto prefecture is located near the 有明海 Ariake Sea where tasty laver is harvested. This natto furikake is a rice topping with a crispy texture and features the winning combination of seaweed and freeze dried natto.

牛タン仙台ラー油 Gyūtan Sendai Rāyu - Miyagi Pref.

The last item I will introduce is 牛タン仙台ラー油 gyūtan sendai rāyu from Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. Gyūtan is beef tongue and ラー油 [sometimes written 辣油] rāyu is sesame chili oil. Sendai is famous as an area with many good restaurants selling beef tongue dishes.

The product uses various ingredients such as fried garlic and dried shiitake mushrooms, but 90% of the jar is taken up a by big chunk of gyūtan!

There are many other fantastic companions for your rice, so please check out the campaign!