有馬庵 Arima An

Ariman Local Wild Boar Buns

Ariman is the name of a sort of new local food in Arima cho, Kobe in Hyogo. The name is a play on Arima and niku or buta man. It is essentially a pork bun, but the traditional pork is instead wild boar, which is the unique point. Wild boar meat has been eaten in Japan for a long time, but isn't so popular as it's known for being gamey or having an odor. Anyway there are efforts to use the meat as the animals are sometimes killed to avoid destroying crops. It's something you don't see everyday, so we were interested to try it. We found the taste to be similar to a regular pork bun and there wasn't any weird smell. We bought an ariman from this small shop that also sells drinks and snacks and has a seating area, but we got one to go and ate standing outside the shop. The window sign says you can walk and eat ariman, although that's not a common sight in Japan. Of course it's possible, but standing and eating is more comfortable and less rude if the area is crowded.