Tokyo, September 2 2014 – Rakuten Inc., held the “Asagohan (Breakfast) Festival® 2014” in Shibuya, Tokyo, hosted by Rakuten Travel.After a strict judging process the results of this year’s final have been decided as follows.
* For details of the judging criteria, refer to the event outline detailed below.
Grand Prize & Winner of the Asagohan Festival ® 2014:
Gero Onsen Ogawaya of Gifu Prefecture, representing the Central Japan region
2nd Place:
Hotel La Suite Kobe Harborland of Hyogo Prefecture, representing the Western Japan region
3rd Place:
Hotel IL Palazzo of Fukuoka Prefecture, representing the Kyushu/Okinawa region
SPECIAL JUDGES’ PRIZES:
Bandai Atami Onsen Hotel Shikisai Ichiriki of Fukushima Prefecture, representing the Eastern Japan region
Century Royal Hotel of Hokkaido Prefecture, representing the Hokkaido region
HOTEL & RESIDENCE Nanshukan of Kagoshima Prefecture, representing the Kyushu/Okinawa region
*Not in rank order
At the Asagohan Festival® 2014, now in its third year, Gero Onsen Ogawaya, representing the Central Japan region received the highest marks and high acclaim from the “Medicinal Congee” and “Overnight Dried Sweetfish” claiming the Grand Prize and the crown of “Best Hotel Breakfast in Japan” for 2014. Mr. Toshiro Kandagawa, who served on the judging panel gave the winner the highest praise, noting that, “the benefits of the Chinese medicine cooking method is displayed in this breakfast dish. It reflects the autumn season, as well as Japanese “Omotenashi,” or the spirit of hospitality spirit. In addition, Ms. Chinami Hamauchi of “Family Cooking School” also gave the winner glowing praise, commenting, “this dish portrays the natural tastes of the produce, without relying on salt to bring out the taste. This health conscious breakfast dish is simply impressive.”
Hotel La Suite Kobe Harborland, representing the Western Japan region came in second place, winning the following plaudits from one of the judges, “the variety of bread and vegetables brings out a nice surprise. This dish is filled with unique originality” (Mr. Kenichi Chen).
Hotel IL Palazzo, representing the Kyushu/Okinawa region gained third place, with their breakfast being described as, “not only is it nutritious, it is also a feast for the eyes. I could understand why this piece is popular with women” (Mr. Hiroyuki Sakai).
Asagohan Festival® 2014 saw the largest ever number of entrants in the history of the event, with approximately 1,000 hotels and ryokans participating. The most popular entrants following the results of nationwide online voting were invited to take part in five regional contests (Hokkaido, Eastern Japan, Central Japan, Western Japan, Kyushu-Okinawa), where the judges actually tasted the breakfast cuisines created by the contestants. The six contestants who won these regional contests then went through to the climactic Asagohan Festival® 2014 Final, which concluded successfully with the Grand Prize being won by last year’s winner Gero Onsen Ogawaya, representing the Central Japan region.
Rakuten Travel will continue to provide various plans and packages that showcase the appeal of breakfasts provided by hotels and ryokans, seeking to make breakfast one of the key motivations for travel.