Ungagi Street in Chiba

Narita Shinsho-ji

(Narita City, Chiba Prefecture) 

 【Unagi（鰻）】is freshwater eel and one of the most popular food in Japan. Unagi is a classic of Japanese traditional cuisine. Japanese have consumed it for centuries. The sweat smell of grilled Unagi is irresistible that draws people in a restaurant. It is no doubt to satisfy your nose and stomach.

Narita is the best known for the Naritasan Shinsho-ji Temple and Unagi restaurants. The temple was founded more than 1,000 years ago and has attracted worshippers from all over Japan. It has the second largest number of New Year's visitors in Japan next to the Meiji Shrine. 

From JR Narita Station, shops and restaurants line along the approach to the temple. Pilgrims and tourists are enjoying the lively street, browsing the stores selling traditional crafts and foods. 

Walking down the street, you can find an area where restaurants featuring Unagi are clustered on both side of the street. Each restaurant has its own secret recipe of the sauce which passed down for generations. The sauce is replenished in the same pot for years and years that makes unique and rich taste. 

At an open style kitchen in front of the restaurant, skillful chefs fillet Unagi with a special knife and grilled it over charcoal and then basted with the special sauce. The salty-sweet smell of the savory sauce tantalizes your appetite. 

The popular way to eat Unagi is Una-Ju (Unagi Box) that a grilled Unagi on top of rice, pouring the sweet sauce, is served in a square box. The texture is soft and tender, melting in your mouth. The combination of Unagi's rich, fatty flavor and the deep flavor of the sweet sauce fills your mouth. A clear soup with Unagi's liver comes with Una-ju that make your mouth refreshing. Sake is the best match with Unagi.

There is a story of Japanese sit-down comedy to describe how the smell of grilled Unagi is so good. "There was a stingy man. Everyday at mealtime, he went to a Unagi restaurant and took a deep breath in to smell the grilled Unagi. Then he hurried home and ate rice with the smell. One day an owner of the restaurant came to him and asked to pay a bill. The stingy man said I do not eat any Unagi in your restaurant. The owner replied it was the bill for the smell. The man took his money from his pocket by saying that this was the payment. When the owner try to take it, the man threw coins and said "take sound of coins because it is the payment for smell. "