Everyone hope you're having an amazing day. It's Mark Wiens I'm in Kagoshima place that is synonymous with Kagoshima Kurobuta the premium, the greatest quality, tastiest pork in all of Japan And so today we are going on a Kagoshima Kurobuta tour. We'll be eating deep fried tonkatsu. We'll be eating flash boiled shabu-shabu which is going to be life-changing That is the juiciest, most tender pork I think I've ever had that is outstanding.

Wow! And then we'll be finishing at a local Izakaya. It's going to be a day of some of the greatest pork in all of Japan and you're not going to want to miss any of it all coming up right now for you in this video. Foreign. Oh, it's a wet and rainy cloudy day in Kagoshima.

But before we get started eating I Just wanted to tell you a little bit about Kagoshima Kurobata Pigs which today is all about and they really are the premium. Some of the best pigs in all of Japan When I think when people Japanese people think about Kagoshima, probably the first thing they think about is the local pork and the Kagoshima Kurobuta. It really is the premium. Kind of like the Kobe beef of pigs.

The history of Kagoshima Kurobata Pigs dates back about 400 years ago when black-haired pigs were brought to Kagoshima from the Ryukyu Kingdom. They were just loved and prized for their delicious taste. Then moving forward a few hundred years, black haired Berkshire pigs from the United Kingdom were brought to Kagoshima and they were crossbred with those initial pigs which created a new and distinct Pig and what today is known as Kagoshima Kurobata. When you look at a Kurobata pork, it looks really fatty and yet people say that the taste and the feel is not actually not all that greasy or heavy and the fat is actually said to be healthier than other pigs.

I mean kind of like the Iberian pigs where they eat acorns and I was actually reading One Source but it's unverified. so don't hold me accountable to this. but I was reading that the Kurobata pigs are actually scientifically proven to be four times tastier than other normal pigs. can you imagine? I mean four times more flavor than the bacon that you ate for breakfast today.

Okay, I think that's enough history. Let's taste it for ourselves. We're starting with something big. This is something that you absolutely have to eat.

One of the most popular foods in all of Kagoshima. Okay, we are in and this restaurant just went as direct as possible with the name of the restaurant. it's just straight up called and they're famous for Tonkatsu, which is pork cutlet, deep fried, breaded and deep fried. but they have a very special version and so the menu is mostly based on tonkatsu.

You have a variety and you'll see immediately that this place is famous for. I Mean there's two different types. One is the normal golden breadcrumbs crust uh casing and the other is a black crust which is made with a charcoal and black sesame bread. But we did get one of each so that we'll be able to compare the difference and taste the difference.

And as we're waiting for our pork Tonkatsutu fries. just taking a look around this place. This place is legendary. So many people, celebrities, famous people have come here to Kagoshima to eat their tonkatsu right here with the Kurobata pork.

This is really, really a classic, really an iconic restaurant. I Mean it's straight up is called Kurobata this restaurant. My anticipation for eating pork is at an all-time high. I've never been so excited.

Okay, here we go. We got two different versions. Again, same pork on the inside, but then two different breadings. That black one is super unique here.

That's something they specialize in and that's we should taste that immediately first, but it came with this whole set. Uh, there's the cabbage salad, there's miso soup, there's some vegetables and rice, and I believe that. There's a trough here for all your dipping sauces. and there's a couple of unique dipping sauces which we will definitely explore once we taste it.

Just look at that breading. that is a thing of just precision. And Beauty look at the insides of it. Oh, that breading.

All that korubata. Oh, you can see how juicy. It's actually. quite a thick battered coating as well.

Here we go: First bite. It's so tender, so juicy and fatty. And amazingly, that breading. It looks kind of thick, but it just kind of disperses in your mouth.

You don't even know where it goes, it just kind of dissolves on your tongue. Oh, and it does kind of have a smoky flavor to it. Blackened sesame seeds in those bread crumbs. Not salty at all.

You're supposed to add your own salt. add your own sauce if you like. It's just so pure, so fresh and clean tasting. And it's true.

I Mean, it's fatty, but it doesn't feel oily even when it's deep fried like that. And it does have a naturally sweet taste to it as well. Those amino acids the pigs fed by the sweet potatoes in the rice brands that just translate directly into the flavor profile of the Kurobata. Okay, it looks incredibly bready, but seriously, we'll just kind of melt in your mouth and you won't even know that there's much Bread on it.

Look at this version: Oh I Wanna I Gotta press that down to show you that juiciness of that pig. I Mean you could just squeeze it in your Chopstick and the grains of the pig would just. it's so tender that it would just fall apart and yet it's not mushy at all. It's just a perfect Premium Pork texture.

Wow, that's butter. Oh, the breadcrumbs do have a little bit of a deportation, Definitely. You can taste the charcoal roasted flavor of the black breadcrumbs because this one is more just that golden crispy. I'm gonna try this one just dipped in that mustard.

thank you. I Like it with the mustard. we have a bunch more sausage to try. Hey, he was mentioning that the most popular option is just that salt that it's called Yakushima's natural salt.

um and I Like yeah how it's not. The batter is not really salty at all though. it's salt. it's just so pure.

Lose the natural Taste of the Pig of the bread crumbs. There's such a complexity to that salt as well. The minerals. Wow yeah that is superb.

Okay next I'm gonna try the the Miso sauce and the Miso sauce is specific to Kagoshima. I think it's Unique here I Think it's not very common in other parts of Japan but the Miso miso dipping sauce. Hmm, the juiciness of that pork is insane. Okay the mutual shots you can taste the Miso and that like fermented flavor punch but at the same time it has a little bit of a sourness.

maybe a little bit of ponzu in there mixed in because it has that that sour acidity to it as well. Really really good. Okay and this is the final sauce which is the homemade pork cutlet sauce which is more of a maybe the sauce that you think of when you get a konkatsu melts down in your mouth. that trust is more of a sweet and sour kind of a Tangy sticky sauce to it.

They're all really good. but I really do understand the attraction of just pure salt. Keep it the pure flavor really focused on that natural sweetness that like intense quirky flavor. Oddly refreshing at the same time.

Flavor of the pig. Okay rice. take your time out for some rice and then also there's a cabbage salad. very finely shaped which is also very common I think always served with tonkatsu.

Okay, we'll go with that. Japanese dressing. Look at how finely shaved that cabbage is. Hmm oh with that Japanese dressing the sweet and sour.

Oh and that cabbage is so juicy when it's cut thin like this. well that's extremely refreshing. There's also miso soup. Oh nice.

Even the Miso soup has pork in it. Oh that miso soup is so rich and flavorful. Such a balance of flavor and a little bit of citrus in there too. Miso soup is on the next level.

Okay I think this is burdock root. Wow it's delicious. So juicy you tastes Sesame and then some other small pickles along with your your entire set. Yeah, let's get back to the Tonkachu.

that's my last bite. That was kind of filling but it is remarkable how light and I mean it's odd to say that eating pig is refreshing, but it is kind of refreshing. Okay, we have a lot more to eat today. Let's continue to the next place.

Next up we are on one of the market walking streets in Kagoshima and we're going to eat at the next restaurant. This is another prime example. I think it's probably one of the purest, one of the best ways to really taste the flavor of any kind of meat that you eat the Japanese way, the minimalist the Simplicity and that's gonna just focus on the quality of the kurobata. So we're gonna step into the next restaurant right behind me them too.

Oh this place is really really nice. Japanese style the tatami flooring. We have our own private room here, the Shabu right in the center. Uh oh yeah, by the way, we're going to be eating shabu-shabu We actually had pre-ordered and so they just brought us our shabu-shabu immediately to the table as soon as we sat down and the first thing he did actually is he.

There's some pieces of garlic on the on the pork. You put the garlic into the soup broth and that's already starting to boil and I can already smell that aroma. This is the Kagoshima Kurobuta pork. It's It's so beautifully arranged.

Look at that mix of fat and red meat. There's three tones, three or four tones to this meat. It's so beautiful. This is the authentic.

This is the the real deal. and cut like paper thin slices, it's beautiful and one of the unique things about this particular shop is that it used to be and it still is a soba shop. They sell soba fresh buckwheat noodles and so their Shabu it is the water. The broth that you boil the thin slices of pork in is the actual water that the Silba is boiled in.

and then we'll also get to eat some of the fresh buckwheat noodles that they serve for us as well. And then additionally there's fresh seasonal vegetables. You can just already feel the quality and the the care that's put into the the food here. and just the yeah just Ultra quality I Already pulled up a piece but it's just literally almost transparent paper thin I can I can see through it to you look at that amount of fat though.

healthy fat Using Kosho: this is one of the popular seasonings I think a mix of green chilies and Yuzu Citrus and then also comes with finely shaved the white leaks and soba broth. This is for dipping. oh it looks so pure and so clean so it is kind of like a Dashi yes with a Bonito Bonito flakes brought with the finely shaved very high quality leeks and so this will be used to get the dipping sauce but it's so clean. soap here Yuzu Gosho: Take a little bit and put it into your dipping broth as well.

Wow! I Cannot wait to Feast up on these plates! Oh so those are some more cuts of the some are from Kurobata, others from other pigs and different cuts to see that. Different fat ratios. but wow that's a that is an experience. As it sits here, it's just starting to kind of melt because it's so cool.

all that. So you go in and literally it's like three times back and forth and you're done. He said you can also eat it rare because this is of the highest quality. Literally two seconds in the broth and you eat it with a lot of leeks.

Okay, here we go. My first bite. Mmm oh wow. Oh is she okay I have never had a shampoo like this that is on the next level.

You don't even need teeth to chew that just dissolves in your mouth. and the flavors are so light and delicate and so balanced. so pure. Nothing's overpowering.

That is an unbelievable experience in your mouth. that is the juiciest, most tender pork I think I've ever had with that Yuzu that gives it a little bit of a bright citrusy taste to it. the quality but not overpowering at all. That is just that is outstanding.

I Think with shabu-shabu it's the greatest way to feel and taste the quality of the meat of the kurobita because it's nothing's covering it up. Nothing is overly salty. you've just got that pure. I mean that's basically just the noodle water that you're boiling it in and then with the broth that Dashi stock is just very light, not overpowering, not even salty.

Wow, that is sensational. And I will add some more leeks to my dipping broth. And they said like each person usually eats three full bowls of the leeks because it goes so well with that texture. and and what I was noticing is those leaks are so mild.

they almost don't have a flavor, it's more of a texture and they said they wash them for one hour to like get out all the flavors so you mostly get that like kind of watery crunch to go with that pork that changes the texture so mild it's just wow. Okay so next up we have I'm trying that other piece of pork and this is similar to what we have in that floral arrangement except this one includes some of the skin so you can tell it's going to add another dimension of texture. There's a an outer layer of skin on this on this cut. hmm that's that shame melt in your mouth texture but with that little layer of like paper fine skin that gives it a little chewy bite and amazing yet again it's like more than 50 fat.

but the quality of the fat, the sweetness that distinct Taste of the Kurobata and that just ensures the quality and the flavor profile Kagoshima produces the best pork in all of Japan Okay I'll add more of this vegetables look at this whole thing is basically leaks on the bottom here. Oh so the actually the bottom. The white part of the leeks was in the the broth. These are the green parts of the lakes here for the soup.

throw these in through in the needle. mushrooms, radish. Okay so we just now cook it for one minute lightly. Everything just lightly cooked or even just blanched.

Basically that's almost good. Yeah, we'll go for another pork. I guess just kind of layer it in. basically don't even need to cook it.

and then you can just grab scoop up some of those vegetables with some of the variety of those vegetables there. How about like that everything gets dunked submerged. the crunch? Delicious good. It's not only about the pork here, the vegetables are such good quality.

so incredibly fresh. And we still have the snowball down. So the soba takes one minute. This is a special high quality soba and I Do love love.

Silva One of my favorite noodles. Takes exactly one minute and again. same procedure. You do this at the end of your meal.

Final round of this just Flawless meal into the broth. same procedure. Finish your meal. Look at that.

Look at those noodles. Wow. Buckwheat. But some type of special part of the buckwheat where it's not not brown, it's whiter in color.

So buckwheat is actually actually a seed. and so this is coming from the center of the seed. This this buckwheat noodle. Wow.

um like everything in this meal. so clean, so quality. The texture is perfect. slightly chewy and just absorbing with those leeks.

And with that Dashi stock and then also infused with the flavor of the Sweet Pork and vegetables in the broth. Wow, that's just like the sweet finale to one of the greatest. I mean by far the best shabu-shabu meal I've had probably some of the best pork I think I've ever tasted. Without a doubt you know when I was reading in that article where they actually scientifically proved that Kurobuta is four times tastier because of the amino acids in the fatty chains.

And after eating this I finally believe it. Almost forgot. One more thing that we have to try. These are the world's smallest oranges.

It's not a mandarin, it's not a tangerine, it's an orange. And they're in the Guinness World Record for the smallest oranges, but they come from here locally in Kagoshima, this is going to be the perfect dessert. Oh even the aroma of it. Definitely eat this whole Orange in one bite.

but I'm gonna savor it. So sweet. Oh yeah, juicy. The quality of everything here is on another level.

Um, this is really refreshing. Perfect ending. It's already been an outstanding day. I Mean that Shabu Shabu especially just blew me away, took me by surprise and just showed us truly the the magnificence of the Kurobata Kagoshima style.

But we have one more place to go to and it's more of an Izakaya style little bites of food with drinks. but we're mainly going here to eat one more dish with that they're gonna make with Kurobata basement food in Japan it's already a good sign. There's always good things underground. Well this place is really beautiful.

It's in Izakaya so it is a bar with food and we got here immediately as they opened very early so that's why for the first ones here. but it's a beautiful place. It's Tavern style I Love the wood. They have all the bottles of beverages lined up and from what they were she was explaining to me it's a type of sochu uh which is the local beverage of kagoshima which is very popular because remember how the pigs eat sweet potatoes but they also make an alcohol from the sweet potatoes which is the Soju and so I'm trying one of the popular beverages of Kagoshima Asochu made from sweet potatoes.

Oh yeah, well that's a little bit sweet. Really nice. Oh that's gonna go great together with our final Kurubota dishes of the day. Oh that's that's pretty strong.

Oh okay, but before the main dishes come out. I Think these are just some of the little appetizer snacks. All sorts of different things from tofu and little fish and peanuts to looks like some more Kagoshima pork. Excellent fish.

Delicious. I Think it's fish. Not even totally sure this is one of the main dishes that we came. Oh, there's a little bit of didn't even see the dab of mustard on the side there, but this is of course from Kagoshima and then braised.

I Believe. Look at that fattiness, that fatty oil. It's Hot braised. Oh there's a bone in there.

so braised with spices and oh this is so aromatic you can tell it's gonna be so tender. They happen to have another dish on the menu too that we ordered too, but this is the main dish that we came to eat that they're most famous for here. Cool. Oh wow.

that so incredible how the meat is so defined and pronounced from the fats and then the fat, you just immediately totally dissolves. and then you've got the stringiness of the meat. That braise is so light, not salty at all, just so delicate, so sweet and pure. And that's what today has been all about.

And then into that mustard a little bit. Oh and this is one of the young I Think it's a young bone too, so you can eat all the the cartilage bits as well. Oh that mustard. Hot mustard.

Yeah, it bumps up like that, the flavor profile. and yeah, you can eat all of those little cartilagey bones and everything. Oh so soft and tender. Oh this is extremely tasty Ultra tender.

What a little Porky snack. Delicious! We got one more. This might be the final Kurobota dish of the day. It's called Kurobota Misoyaki I Believe that the pork is marinated in miso and then grilled.

Oh this smells unbelievable and then served with that fine shredded cabbage. I Think we've reached the end of this pig tour of Kagoshima today. I Think this is the last, the final pork dish and what a What a pig! What a just experience of pork. It's been of some of the highest quality pork I've ever eaten.

Mmm again and again. Um, you immediately touched the ginger Ginger and miso I think that's what it's marinated in and then just kind of grilled and caramelized onto the surface of that that pork cutlet. Again, juicy, flavorful, sweet, just. there's so much flavor.

And then we did get one more dish. It's not Fork based though. Okay, this is a fried fish paste that's very famous in Kagoshima as well and you can eat it along with a little bit of this. Wasabi she said oh this feels really spongy.

whoa that is. Abi So spongy and juicy works really good. The texture is incredible. Hmm.

Food is delicious, it's friendly and again that basement atmosphere so we find some of the best places in. Japan What a day! What an ending! What a day of Kagoshima Kurobata I Am a believer. It really is some of the greatest tasting and feeling Park that I've ever had. So when you come to Kagoshima I mean this is the place to eat the greatest pork when you are in all of Japan This is a cool City and that's gonna wrap up this Kagoshima Kurobata tour today.

I'll have all the information in the description box below all the places that we went to so be sure to check them out when you're here. and finally I Just want to say a quick thank you to uh visit Kyushu This entire Island The tourism Board for helping to arrange this tour for us and it's been an amazing time! We're traveling all around this island eating some of the best food so stay tuned. We'll be eating some of the best beef in Miyazaki as well which you're not going to want to miss and I Want to say a big thank you to you for watching this video. Please remember to give it a thumbs up if you enjoyed it.

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