14 Sep 2025
Patricia was a great guide and has a unique perspective being from Peru with Japanese ancestry, and moving to Japan when she was 19. The handmade udon noodles with the red miso broth was delicious. She took us to a high-end department store selling luxury brands where the basement had an astounding collection of counters selling food of all types that was so beautifully presented, and a lot of it is made for gifting. We had the best shrimp crackers I've ever eaten and a choice between a local sweet made of sweet potato or a pancake snack with choice of filling that we saw everywhere the rest of our time in Japan. The real highlight came at the end with the restaurant that she described as a special occasion place where we tried the unagi (eel). We were a bit worried that the eel would be too exotic for our tastes but it actually ended up being the most delicious thing we had for our entire trip - marinated in a sweet/savory sauce and charcoal grilled and served over rice, she served us the unagi three different ways. I will never forget how delicious it was!! Patricia was a great guide who answered all of our questions with real knowledge and definitely convinced us that Nagoya is not boring!