An Intro to Ainu Cuisine in Lake Akan Ainu Village

I recently remembered that I had tried Japan’s indigenous Ainu cuisine once.

It was the summer of 2015, and we were at Lake Akan, Hokkaido. We had arrived the day before by local bus from Sapporo, and we spent most of the previous day just checking out and relaxing in and around our accommodation.

The next day, we decided to venture out and ended up at Akan Ko Ainu Kotan – a small Ainu village on Lake Akan.

My knowledge about the Ainu culture and ethnicity was limited – only from what I had studied in Geography class more than a decade ago. But that, and standing in front of the village, is an entirely different story.

We roamed the area before going into an open restaurant – Banya.

It was a small, spaciously decorated restaurant. When we entered, only one other table was occupied, so we could choose wherever to sit. I couldn’t remember whether they had an English menu, but it didn’t matter.

Whenever I travel East with Vi and Yin, I let them take charge as they are more familiar with things—from the words to the food. Also, they don’t mind (or maybe I’d like to think so).

From memory (and pictures), we had deer meat BBQ – a specialty of Ainu cuisine. Also, from memory – I didn’t enjoy it. Another unusual dish that I tried there was conch. This was harder to get past to try, but once I did, it tasted delicious.

My friends also ordered a bowl of ramen noodles to share, but I opted for a bowl of rice with a side of miso soup instead.

Now, reflecting, I wish I had been more aware of the cuisine while I was having it. I also wish we had explored the Ainu village much more thoroughly. I can only remember buying Marimo balls, which have been stuck on my parents’ fridge ever since.

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