KINOKAWA, Wakayama -- Does fruit go well with vinegared sushi rice? Though filled with doubts, I passed through the shop curtain of the Chikarazushi restaurant in Kinokawa, Wakayama Prefecture.
"You don't think they'll go well together, do you?" owner Akio Chikatani said with a hearty chuckle. He then cut one fruit after another to prepare sushi pieces to make his signature dish.
Served to me on a plate were some truly colorful creations made with the flesh of pink, red and yellow fruits. I wondered how on earth they would taste.
Sushi topped with sliced fig over a pat of butter was like an appetizer in Western cuisine. The sweetness of the fruit and vinegared rice complemented the richness of the butter. Another piece with raw ham and melon didn't feel strange at all.
I also found that fish and fruit can complement each other. Raw salmon on top of a slice of apple combined well with vinegared rice. The sourness of the apple helped reduce any fishy smells, creating a well-balanced flavor.
The city of Kinokawa was established in 2005 by merging five towns along Kinokawa river. All those towns were famous for producing various fruits such as peaches, kiwis and strawberries. So this prompted the city to establish with local residents in 2014 an organization called Kinokawa Fruits Tourism to study how to take advantage of local specialties to promote tourism. In the course of discussions in the autumn of the same year, some members suggested that fruits might go well with sushi.
"I thought it must be a joke," recalled Chikatani, who was involved in the discussions as a member of the promotional organization.
However, as a man willing to take on any challenge, the next day Chikatani made thin sushi rolls using figs and shiso perilla leaves as the filling as a trial version. When he served the rolls to other members, he received favorable feedback, prompting the chef to add the item to his restaurant's menu.
Wanting to repay his hometown, Chikatani has since then come up with over 30 types of sushi using about 20 kinds of seasonal fruits. The sushi lineup includes versions using strawberries from winter to spring, watermelons and peaches in summer, and figs in autumn.
Chikarazushi offers a fruit sushi set for 1,620 yen. Customers can also order by the piece. While the chef sometimes uses so much fruit that he doesn't make a profit, he said, "I'm glad I can play a role in promoting Kinokawa."
Elsewhere in the city, Nocafe Oriya has been serving since 2016 a hamburger that contains a slice of peach with a patty using beef bred in Wakayama Prefecture.
The cafe, which is open from Fridays to Mondays, is located in the city's Momoyama district, which literally means "peach mountain."
"I wanted to use peaches for cooking, as the fruit is part of our district's name," said owner Chie Maeda. Her cafe offers a fruit burger lunch for 1,080 yen. Fresh pasta using fruits is also served, but reservations are required for the specialized dish.
Whether sushi or burgers, all these fruit-infused dishes have been developed out of the chefs' affection for their local community. I visited Kinokawa in the middle of summer. Next time, I would like to enjoy persimmons in autumn and hassaku citrus in winter.
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