Autumn Travel: Sao Paulo and San Francisco
Ready for a fall vacation to a world-class city with some of the best Japanese fare outside of Asia? Look no further than the latest installment in our Japanese Cuisine worldwide series! This autumn, let’s check out the happening Japanese food scenes in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and San Francisco, California, two cosmopolitan coastal cities. They both have access to fresh seafood and high Japanese immigrant populations, but the similarities stop there! Each city offers a unique way to try traditional elements that have been fused with local ingredients. Enjoy!
Sao Paulo: Sushi Meets Samba
Japanese immigrants arrived in Brazil’s largest city en masse around the beginning of the 20th century. Originally coming to work in the surrounding coffee farms, they soon created the biggest Japanese community outside of Japan itself, Liberdade. This area is now home to more than 2 million Japanese descendants who have created a cuisine all their own. Welcome to Japan tropicool.
While you can now find Brazilian Japanese food all over the country (and is also spreading around the world), Liberdade remains ground zero. To check out a truly authentic Sao Paulo institution, head to Hinode. Locals rave about the traditional teishoku and katsudon here, and for good reason. To try fusion at its finest, grab a place in line to get into Okha. Here you will find starters like sashimi carpaccio and innovative plates like Toro tuna over pink rock salt!
San Francisco: California Rolls Like a Royal
San Francisco is located right on the Pacific Ocean and is home to one of the most charming Japan Towns in the world. This means you have all the ingredients you need for awesome Japanese cuisine and a population who knows what to do with it. The city’s Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park is also a great place to visit in the fall when the leaves turn golden.
But it’s the food that’s the real star of the City by the Bay. Some of the most authentic Japanese dishes outside of Japan itself can be found at Nob Hill’s Sanraku, where rainbow rolls dazzle the senses. We also recommend heading over the trendy Mission District to check out the Japanese Gastropub known as Skool. California fusion items like snow crab deviled eggs and Ocean trout gravlax have caused a local culinary sensation.
