Japanese man visits Vietnam 30 times for the food

His love for Vietnam began in March 2018 when the 25-year-old Japanese man traveled abroad for the first time.

On his first day in Ho Chi Minh City, Keiichi was "captivated" by the banh mi. Sweet and sour chili sauce, grilled meat sandwiches, and pate spread served with pickles made it possible for him to eat three loaves a day without getting bored.

"In the following days, I tried more types of Hoi An bread, milk bread, and pillow bread. Every type was delicious despite the different sweet and salty flavors," he said.

Because there was not much time on that trip, Keiichi regretted that he did not have the chance to try enough other dishes. However, when he boarded the plane to return home, the young man still tried to carry a few more loaves of bread.

Inoue Keiichi takes a cyclo ride around Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi, December 2022. Photo by Inoue Keiichi

Returning home, he looked for places that sold Vietnamese bread and he had tried more than 20 stores but he did not find the true Vietnamese flavor. Three months later, he bought a ticket back to Vietnam.

This time he decided to travel alone from the south to north for a month to fulfill his wish of "eating authentic Vietnamese food," focusing on typical dishes from each region such as noodle soup, mixed rice paper, crab soup or pho, snail vermicelli and draft beer.

"Some days I ate 6-7 meals. I enjoyed banh cuon (steamed rice rolls) and drank more than six cans of Hanoi beer. I still didn't get bored eating three or four cups of sweet soup che at once," he said.

Keiichi said pungent dishes like bun dau mam tom (vermicelli with tofu and fermented shrimp paste) and durian made him almost vomit the first time he ate them, but now he was addicted to them.

"Now I always eat one durian every month. I can't stand it if I don't eat it," he said.

"I really missed Vietnam every time I had to leave this place. Sometimes when I return to Japan for a few days, I only wanted to buy a ticket to return to Vietnam. I love the way Vietnamese people are close and support each other," Keiichi said.

Inoue Keiichi takes a boat tour in Ninh Binh in northern Vietnam, June 2022. Photo courtesy of Inoue Keiichi

Keiichi said he just celebrated the New Year holiday in Vietnam instead of returning to his hometown to reunite with his family.

The sight of people gathering in the city center to watch music events and fireworks together made him feel like the city was all one big, happy, warm family.

"I've been in Vietnam for four seasons: spring, summer, fall, and winter but have never celebrated traditional Tet. This year I will stay here to celebrate Tet," he said.

The young man admitted that he was a little worried when he heard that during the Lunar New Year, people rest and close their shops to return to their hometowns to be with their families.

However, he plans to join Tet activities such as wrapping banh chung (square sticky rice cake), eating meat and pickled onions, and watching traditional festivals, things that only take place during Tet.

"Maybe I will ask to celebrate Tet at the house of some close Vietnamese friends. I feel happy to see the bustling streets on the day leading up to Tet, with people queuing to buying peach blossoms and Tet decorations," Keiichi said.