Recently, I've been so excited about work and play that I'm completely upset. I wanted to relax a little both physically and mentally, so I decided to go on a solo trip.

The destination is Shodoshima, Kagawa Prefecture, which has been gradually gaining popularity for several years! This island, which is rich in nature, is also known as the setting for the movies "Twenty-Four Eyes" and "Rebirth of the Eighth Day." Recently, it seems that the movie "Kiki's Delivery Service" was also shot, and the popularity of girls is increasing.


Speaking of Shodoshima, "Shodoshima somen", which is also sold at supermarkets in the Kanto area, is famous, but if you walk around the island, you can meet many other delicious foods. So, I would like to introduce the "best recommended" Shodoshima gourmet that I found on this trip!


◆ Shodoshima is an "olive island"

As a specialty of Shodoshima, "olive" is the first name that comes from the mouths of locals. Shodoshima olives have a history of 100 years (!).


"Olive soft serve" (250 yen) and "Olive cider" (200 yen) are slightly unusual local gourmet dishes made with such olives. You should definitely try these!


The slightly green olive soft serve ice cream is a soft serve ice cream with olive leaf powder kneaded into it. Olive leaves are said to contain polyphenols.

I wondered if it tasted like olive oil, but it was completely different! It has a refreshing taste that makes you feel fresh green like light matcha and mugwort. It's not too sweet, so you can eat it easily!



One olive cider is a cider made from olive juice. It's smooth and fluffy, and has the same sweet taste as usual cider, but it has a slight olive oil-like scent in the back mouth!



◆ Let's eat rice from Nakayama Rice Fields at "Komame Shokudo"

When you come to the Nakayama district in the middle of Shodoshima, you will find a terraced rice field called "Nakayama Senhada". The number of rice fields, large and small, is 758! In response to the early summer breeze, it has a magnificent presence while showing a swell as if it were alive.


Nakayama Rice Fields appeared in the important "insect feeding" scene in the movie "Rebirth of the Eighth Day"! As I was watching the movie, I was deeply moved. By the way, "Rural Kabuki", which was also depicted in the movie, will be held on October 12th this year.

And here in the center of Senmaida is "Komame Shokudo". It is a popular "old folk house cafe" where tourists can line up on Saturdays and Sundays. There is a green terraced rice field in front of you, and the location is great!


Alright, let's have lunch here! So, I ordered the daily "Terrace rice ball set meal" (1,080 yen). The menu includes abundant local vegetables and fish, including "rice balls" made from rice made in Senhada.


The lineup for this day was hamburger steak of olive beef, fried horse mackerel, fried shrimp and green beans, and so on. And of course the main, two big rice balls!


The rice is fluffy and chewy, and the more you chew it, the sweeter it feels. Pure taste with no unpleasant taste. You can eat rice without side dishes ...!

What impressed me even more was the olive beef hamburger steak . Olive cows are cows raised by mixing "squeezed residue" of olive fruits from the island with feed.


The meat is pale, less greasy and refreshing. Even so, it is soft and full of umami, and has a texture that melts on the tongue.


A tourist association on the island said like this. "Shodoshima is delicious with meat, fish, vegetables, rice, everything. I have eaten food from all over the world, but there is nothing better than the" food "of Shodoshima." You want to taste the food you eat, right?

◆ Is it sweet? Is it salty? "Soy sauce ice cream"

Shodoshima is also a production center for soy sauce. From the 22 soy sauce factories on the island, the author took a tour of Yamaroku Soy Sauce's factory!


As soon as I arrived at the factory, I was completely wrapped in the fragrant smell of soy sauce. When you see the inside of the warehouse, huge wooden tubs are lined up in a narrow space.


Suddenly, in a corner of the warehouse, I found something called "Jersey beef ice cream crane soy sauce mixed matchmaking soy sauce flavor" (320 yen). It's ice cream made by kneading soy sauce into jersey milk.


I was curious about it, so I tried it. Hmm !? This is ... slightly fragrant and caramel-like ! Yamaroku soy sauce soy sauce "Tsurusho" adds a touch of saltiness and aroma to rich jersey milk. The wonderful "soy sauce sweets" have been completed!


In addition, the open cafe attached to the brewery offers a sweets menu where you can eat vanilla ice cream directly with soy sauce.


Here you can enjoy a crisp taste that complements the saltiness and sweetness, like salted caramel. The trick is to find the "golden ratio" of ice cream and soy sauce yourself. Please note that it will be salty if you apply too much!

◆ Plenty of kelp soup stock !? "Tsukudani ice cream"

"Tsukudani" was developed from Shodoshima's soy sauce making. Since the first successful tsukudani making on the island about 70 years ago, it seems that the entire island is now actively making tsukudani.

And the "rare sweets" using the tsukudani is "tsukudani ice cream" (300 yen). ...e?


When I noticed, I was paying at the cash register with Tsukudani ice cream in one hand.

When you open the lid of the cup, you can smell the faint soy sauce! It seems that it contains the soup stock of kelp boiled in soy sauce, so you can expect the taste (in many ways).


When you try it, it is fragrant and has a rich sweetness, and it tastes like caramel! Probably because of the "horsemi" component that oozes from the kelp. The soy sauce flavor that spreads in the back mouth is fragrant, and it seems to be quite addictive with unexpected taste.

◆ Shodoshima is also delicious with local sake! "Fufufu." Lineup for girls

In addition, Shodoshima also makes "local sake" for girls, so I went to Shodoshima's only sake brewery, Morikuni Sake Brewery!


The labels lined up in the store, which looks like a general store, are "fluffy ", which expresses the "island time" in which clouds slowly flow, as well as "fufufu" and "dout." Sake with a name and a cute label.


The author purchased the slightly dry Junmai Ginjo sake "Fluffy." (300ml (10.14us fl oz) from 570 yen) with a refreshing taste. When I took it home and drank it, it had a firm mouthfeel and aroma, but it was very delicious with a slightly sweet taste! It is a liquor that you can drink casually without being nervous.


There is also a cafe inside the store, where you can enjoy original menus such as "island pizza" baked with soy sauce and "carbonara with sake lees". Business hours are from 11:00 to 17:00. After that, you can enjoy dinner if you make a reservation.


◆ Have a great time with the best scenery ...

Finally, I would like to conclude my trip to Shodoshima by introducing "a spectacular view point that you should definitely visit when you come to Shodoshima".

One is "Goishiyama," one of the 88 sacred sites on Shodoshima. From here, you can overlook the beautiful Utsumi Bay.


As you walk along mountain roads and beaches listening to the sounds of waves, birdsong, and insects, you will naturally feel calm. If you breathe in the clear air and eat delicious food, the evil "ki" that has accumulated may have been purified. ... I feel like my heart is clean!



By the way, it takes about an hour and a half by plane from Tokyo to Takamatsu (I used Jetstar's Narita-Takamatsu flight), and it takes about 30 minutes by ferry, so even one night and two days on the weekend is enough. You can enjoy the island. Summer is just around the corner. Travel Maidens (and boys)!