The 10 Best Must-Buy Souvenirs in Miyazaki, Japan

When you hear about the Miyazaki prefecture, it might remind you of the gourmets which the Miyazaki-beef and the Jitokko (type of chicken) represent or the famous sightseeing spot, the Aoshima shrine, mightn’t it? There are many people who are planning to visit this Miyazaki, I wonder. I’m introducing the 10 recommended souvenirs which I’d like you to choose when you visit the Miyazaki prefecture. Please take some back home!

1. The Miyazaki souvenir full of the tropical fruit feeling! [Miyazaki Mango Langue-de-chat]

This is a mango-sweet where the langue-de-chat dough in which the rich mango jam has been kneaded sandwiches the mango-chocolate. (Langue-de-chat is a kind of cookie-dough.) It has used 100% Miyazaki mango. When you cut the langue-de-chat, the sweet fragrance like a fresh mango will spread out.

It was awarded a gold prize by the Monde Selection and at the Miyazaki airport, it always has the largest sales volume. As you can choose a number of the slices, it will be convenient for distributing to a few colleagues. By the way, inside the Miyazaki prefecture, the TV commercial of the langue-de-chat has been on air and as it is rich and nice in local colour, please watch it if you come across it! It is the recommended souvenir in Miyazaki!

2. When you are confused about choosing a souvenir in Miyazaki, it’s a sure thing if you buy this one! [Cheese-manju]

The [Cheese-manju] is the local sweet which was invented in Miyazaki and has been loved by the locals for a long time. The rich flavoured cheese is wrapped inside the buttery cookie dough and baked. It is the sweet for which the cheese lovers die. The dough is more like a western cookie rather than the usual manju (steamed bun).

It used to be the only popular local sweet, but it became a popular topic of conversation among the flight-attendants of the air company who have flown into the Miyazaki airport and then it has become very popular as a souvenir nationwide. In the Miyazaki prefecture, there are 250 shops which have been making the cheese-manju, but the Fugetsudo is the original shop of the cheese-manju. The flavour suits everyone’s palate, so if you are struggling in choosing a souvenir, it’s a sure thing if you buy this one!

This is the flavour of a home in the Miyazaki prefecture and recommended for a souvenir as well! [Tomura Honten-no-yakiniku-no-tare]

In the Miyazaki prefecture, it is the overwhelmingly major sauce, like people say, “Speaking of yakiniku-no-tare (dipping sauce for the grilled meat), it is Tomura.” Its surprising market share has exceeded 50%. It has the addictively rich and fruity deliciousness, using plenty of fresh apples and bananas.

By word-of mouth, it has expanded its popularity nationwide, but as it is made by the method of cooking slowly in the caldron by hand, it is the fine product for which the mass-production is not available. You can use it not only for grilled-meat, but also for yakisoba (fried noodles), stir-fried vegetables, curry or chahan (fried rice with various ingredients) as a secret flavour. When you buy some in Miyazaki as souvenirs, please keep one in your fridge at home.

4. The well-browned skin and the smell of the charcoal is irresistible! The souvenir for which the famous Miyazaki product is used! [Tori-no-sumibiyaki]

The famous product in Miyazaki is, after all is said and done, the chicken grilled over charcoal. The aromatic flavour and fragrance which only grilling over charcoal can create is wonderful! Simply warming it up in a microwave gives you the authentic flavour of the grilled chicken over charcoal. That’s the reason for its popularity. If you eat it with the shochu (spirit made from sweet potatoes) produced in Miyazaki, you can enjoy with sheer delight!

Among the shops of grilling the chicken over charcoal, the popular one is [Smoke Ace]. Dip the chicken thigh into the special sauce from this shop and finish it with the traditional Subori-smoking method. This creates the exceptional deliciousness. The more you chew it, the more the special flavour of the grilled over charcoal spreads out in your mouth. There is a directly managed shop on the 2nd floor at the Miyazaki airport and they are selling them with a demonstration. Please visit the site.

5. The chewy batter will make you to be addictive to it! The dish which has been concentrating on the ingredients produced in the Miyazaki prefecture [Mawatari-no-gyoza]

Gyoza may remind many people of the Hamamatsu-city in the Shizuoka prefecture or the Utsunomiya-city in the Tochigi prefecture, but following these 2 prefectures, the Miyazaki prefecture has come 3rd regarding the gyoza purchase volume in Japan. The Mawatari which started its business, making home-made gyoza in 1967 has been loved by the locals for a long time.

Their gyozas have plenty of vegetables produced in the Miyazaki prefecture and the meats produced in Japan. The chewy special flavour will attract you. The standard way of tasting them is grilling them with the lard attached to the package, but boiling and eating them dipping in the mastered soy-sauce is also recommended. When you visit Miyazaki, please purchase some of them!

6. The standard Miyazaki souvenir since a long time ago! [Aoshima Senbei]

The [Aoshima Senbei] has been loved since its first selling in the 40th year of Showa (1965). It is a typical Miyazaki local product. Since when Miyazaki was booming as a honeymoon destination, it has been loved, so there are many instances when young people who were given the presents of Aoshima Senbei by their uncles and aunts, I wonder.

This [Aoshima Senbei] is a thin senbei (rice cracker) where the fresh cream is sandwiched and it gives a somewhat nostalgic flavour. There are 2 types of flavours, one is with the white cream on and the other one is the peanut-cream one. You can enjoy the crisp texture as it is thin! On the package, there is a photo of the Aoshima Island which represents Miyazaki. You can’t ignore this standard souvenir!

7. Big impact! The sweets in Miyazaki which were carefully made one by one [Nanjakore Daifuku]

The long-selling item from the [Okashi-no-Hidaka] in Miyazaki is the [Nanjakore Daifuku]. Once you see this sweet, you can never forget its impact of Nanjakore (What’s this?). When you eat it, the 4 flavours of [strawberry], [chest-nuts], [cream-cheese] and [smashed red beans] are harmonised in your mouth.

If you visit the [Okashi-no-Hidaka], there is the corner for eating-in and you can enjoy it with a cup of coffee. It is just right the souvenir to surprise the recipient. Would you like to buy some, when you visit Miyazaki?

8. The folk-cuisine which you can eat nice and cold in the hot summer [Hiyajiru]

The local cuisine [Hiyajiru] which represents the Miyazaki prefecture is the traditional Miyazaki dish poured on the hot rice. The [Hiyajiru] is a chilled soup. The fish with its bone, mackerel for example, which were seared, ground down and cucumber, Japanese ginger and tofu were added and then seasoned with the ground sesame as well as miso and finally chilled.

In summer, in Miyazaki, this [Hiyajiru] comes onto the menu at various restaurants. You can supplement the original [Hiyajiru] by adding the chopped, tofu, cucumber, Japanese ginger, herb leaves or tomato. Various makers have been selling [Hiyajiru], but the recommended one is the [Hiyajiru] from the Miyazaki Kanko Hotel! Please buy them and take them back home.

9. It goes great with beer! The blessing from the earth in the Miyazaki prefecture [Daily Mam Gobochi]

The [Gobochi] is gobo (burdock root) chips where the thinly sliced gobo produced in the Miyazaki prefecture is fried. They are one of the recommended souvenirs. This snack used to be very popular as plain sweets in Miyazaki locally and you can enjoy the texture and flavour of the burdock root, but when it was introduced as a snack in the aeroplane, it sold beyond belief.

The Gobochi has 3 different flavours, such as the plain flavour which you can enjoy the profound broth soup soy-sauce flavour and the texture of the pirikara taste (spicy) and the stimulating black pepper flavour. Especially, the black pepper taste is popular among men because it goes so well with beer and shochu (spirit made from sweet-potatoes) It is the Miyazaki souvenir you can easily buy.

10. Chicken represents the Miyazaki prefecture! If you want to taste plenty of famous products, one is the [Chicken Nanban]

The Miyazaki prefecture has been prosperous in the livestock industry among the prefectures in the Kyushu region. The brand meats which the Miyazaki-beef represent have been loved all over Japan. When you visit this place, Miyazaki, I’d like you to purchase the [Chicken Nanban].

The [Chicken Nanban] is an original local gourmet in Miyazaki. It is the deep-fried chicken mixed with the sweet and sour sauce topped with plenty of tartar sauce. It goes perfectly well with the rice! If you want to buy this [Chicken Nanban], I’ll recommend the [Season]! You can enjoy the extremely soft and juicy chicken Nanban at your home. It is so juicy that one bite lets the juice come out of the chicken! Please buy some as a souvenir.

Let’s buy the recommended souvenirs in the Miyazaki prefecture!

Have you enjoyed this article? I’ve introduced the 10 carefully selected and recommended souvenirs which I’d like you to buy when you visit the Miyazaki prefecture on your holiday. They are all ultimately great items to please the recipients! When you choose souvenirs, there are quite a few people who are indecisive, I think. In such a case, please refer to this article and choose the item which will make the person you are giving to happy!