In Japan, you just can't go wrong with where you eat! It's ALL PRETTY DELICIOUS whether it's out on the main street, in a dingy looking laneway, hidden away in the basement or 10th floor of a building, in a food court or at the train station. The Japanese take great pride and care in the quality of their food.
So instead of recommending restaurants, I think it'd be much more useful to high beam the TOP 6 MUST EAT dishes in Japan. Plus, if you're like me (and safe to say most foreign travellers) getting lost in Japan is 175.5% going to happen (believe me!), so STUMBLING across places to try these dishes whilst on your travels is what makes it ADVENTUROUS, FUN and VERY JAPAN :)
Get your reserved stomachs and open minded palate in gear ready for the ride!
So instead of recommending restaurants, I think it'd be much more useful to high beam the TOP 6 MUST EAT dishes in Japan. Plus, if you're like me (and safe to say most foreign travellers) getting lost in Japan is 175.5% going to happen (believe me!), so STUMBLING across places to try these dishes whilst on your travels is what makes it ADVENTUROUS, FUN and VERY JAPAN :)
Get your reserved stomachs and open minded palate in gear ready for the ride!
1. FRESH HANDMADE NOODLES - RAMEN, UDON & SOBA
RAMEN is a DELICIOUS wheat noodle dish with a chicken or pork (tonkotsu) based soup flavoured with miso, soy (shoyu) or salt (shio) topped with either roast pork, corn, bean sprouts, garlic oil, chilli, bamboo shoots, boiled egg, butter, leek and/or seaweed ... etc. There are SO MANY regional variations so do what we did and TRY AS MANY as you can where ever you go throughout Japan for breakfast, lunch and/or dinner. Go wild SLURPING IT UP (it's considered polite) as you'll certainly miss the authentic, fresh, flavoursome and UNINHIBITED experience once you get back home.
If you're in Hiroshima and you LOVE SPICY stuff, you have got to try the TSUKEMEN RAMEN - a bowl of cooled ramen, vegetables, egg and roast pork served with a spicy hot sesame dipping soup. You choose the quantity of noodles you want and the level of spicyness you DARE venture to from 0 to 20. It is different and delicious! We tried our first one at Bakudanya. You can also find Tsukemen in Tokyo for another hit.
In most places, you'll need to order Ramen from a VENDING MACHINE (yes that's right!) where you press a button with the picture of what you want ... or think you are getting, as there is a bit of pot luck with TRYING to work out what the picture ACTUALLY says the dish is.
UDON is another noodle dish you must try because of it's FRESH THICK SLURP WORTHY noodles and mild broth. It's a good change for your taste buds from the full flavoured ramen. My favourite topping with it is tempura prawns and sweet potato. It's really good on a cold day when you're in need of a warmth hit. There's also a cold version for those hot days. The Japanese have thought of everything!
Lastly on my handmade noodle list is SOBA, a buckwheat based noodle that has a more earthy (?) taste to it. I had only tried it back home served chilled and soy-wasabi dipping style (Zara Soba), but in Japan there was a hot soupy version. No surprise, it was OH SO YUMMY too.
ARE YOU HUNGRY YET? I am!
ARE YOU HUNGRY YET? I am!
2. GENUINE JAPANESE KOBE BEEF
Did you know that the KOBE BEEF you would have tried outside of Japan was unlikely to have been the real thing? It only started being exported from Japan in 2012 to Macau and the USA in very small quantities.
SO DEFINITELY TRY IT! It just melts in your mouth because it's marbled with lots of fat and seasoned with the perfect amount of salt and pepper! It was so so nice yet so very evil ... I could feel my arteries clogging.
We had it at Misono in Shinjuku, Tokyo and would recommend it for it's great views of Tokyo, food and dining experience. It's known as the original Teppankai steakhouse but without food being thrown at you. It ain't cheap (approximately 20,000 yen per person for the cheapest Kobe course), but a worthy splurge.
We also enjoyed it (a lot!) in smaller, cheaper quantities elsewhere but I can't even begin to describe (or rather translate) what they were called, just that they were in Roppongi, Tokyo, and a cute onsen town called Kinosaki. Just explore where ever you are ... you'll find good places too.
SO DEFINITELY TRY IT! It just melts in your mouth because it's marbled with lots of fat and seasoned with the perfect amount of salt and pepper! It was so so nice yet so very evil ... I could feel my arteries clogging.
We had it at Misono in Shinjuku, Tokyo and would recommend it for it's great views of Tokyo, food and dining experience. It's known as the original Teppankai steakhouse but without food being thrown at you. It ain't cheap (approximately 20,000 yen per person for the cheapest Kobe course), but a worthy splurge.
We also enjoyed it (a lot!) in smaller, cheaper quantities elsewhere but I can't even begin to describe (or rather translate) what they were called, just that they were in Roppongi, Tokyo, and a cute onsen town called Kinosaki. Just explore where ever you are ... you'll find good places too.
3. FRESH SEAFOOD - SUSHI & SASHIMI
If you're in Tokyo, you have got to go to the Tsukiji Outer Fish Market and check out one of the WORLD'S LARGEST FISH MARKETS. It's full of action and very unsual looking seafood! If you want to see the auction, get there very early (5am) to try your luck, otherwise if you're not morning people (like us) just head there by 8.30am to have a wander through to see the preparation of the massive tuna, then eat the BEST and FRESHEST seafood at one of the local restaurants there.
Having a sushi and sashimi breakfast isn't usually my thing, but it's WORTH THE EXPERIENCE here! The salmon and tuna is SO FRESH. Mr Freckles and I were quite adventurous trying raw seafood out of our comfort zone - octopus, sea urchins, sardines and prawns. Although that once is enough for me, I'm glad I tried them. I gave the pufferfish / fugu and whale a miss though!
If you don't get to the fish market, there are plenty of other great and good value places with fresh seafood in Japan. Try the standing sushi bars and izakaya's (Japanese tapas bar) for lunch or dinner. If you can't quite do raw, cooked local crab and scallops are also yummy.
Having a sushi and sashimi breakfast isn't usually my thing, but it's WORTH THE EXPERIENCE here! The salmon and tuna is SO FRESH. Mr Freckles and I were quite adventurous trying raw seafood out of our comfort zone - octopus, sea urchins, sardines and prawns. Although that once is enough for me, I'm glad I tried them. I gave the pufferfish / fugu and whale a miss though!
If you don't get to the fish market, there are plenty of other great and good value places with fresh seafood in Japan. Try the standing sushi bars and izakaya's (Japanese tapas bar) for lunch or dinner. If you can't quite do raw, cooked local crab and scallops are also yummy.
4. TAKOYAKI
Oh I love these things! DROOL, DROOL ... If you think TAKOYAKI are nice where ever you are from in the world, you will be in heaven with the ones freshly made in Japan, especially Osaka where they originated from. They are great late night snacks, and small enough to squeeze into your food eating filled day, even if you think you can't fit anything else in.
5. OKONOMIYAKI
Source: Mr L & Lil' Miss L
The Japanese savory pancake or pizza is known as OKONOMIYAKI.
The most popular version is the OSAKA STYLE where meat and vegetables are MIXED together into the batter, fried on a hot plate for that crispy smoky texture on the outside, then topped with lots of sauce and garnishes. The KYOTO STYLE (bottom left photo) has the pancake FOLDED over and consists of scallions, thinly sliced pork and pretty much raw egg. The HIROSHIMA STYLE (bottom right photo) includes noodles, meat, cabbage, egg and LAYERS the ingredients instead.
Either way, you're in for a dish full of flavours and textures to excite your taste buds. It's quite filling, so the best strategy is to share it. Off the Spork does a great review of the Osaka and Hiroshima styles, if you want to know more about the dish.
The most popular version is the OSAKA STYLE where meat and vegetables are MIXED together into the batter, fried on a hot plate for that crispy smoky texture on the outside, then topped with lots of sauce and garnishes. The KYOTO STYLE (bottom left photo) has the pancake FOLDED over and consists of scallions, thinly sliced pork and pretty much raw egg. The HIROSHIMA STYLE (bottom right photo) includes noodles, meat, cabbage, egg and LAYERS the ingredients instead.
Either way, you're in for a dish full of flavours and textures to excite your taste buds. It's quite filling, so the best strategy is to share it. Off the Spork does a great review of the Osaka and Hiroshima styles, if you want to know more about the dish.
6. JAPANESE SWEETS
A top 6 list isn't complete unless it includes something SWEET :) Japanese sweets are a MUST TRY because you just can't miss seeing the amazingly pretty, different and plentiful sweet combinations all over Japan. Head over to the food level of a department store (usually on the basement level) and your EYES WILL BE ON A HIGH itching to try everything (not just the PRETTY CAKES), torn on how you'll choose between them. See it as a mission to find THE ONE for you :)
My PERSONAL FAV of all the Japanese sweets is the GREEN TEA ICE CREAM with red bean, jelly and mochi. hmmmm ..... yum, I even had it for breakfast. I LOVE ICE CREAM and this hits the spot. Refreshing and a nice balance of sweet with green tea twang. There are a lot of green tea flavoured sweets in Japan from chocolate drizzled skewer balls to cheesecake, waffles, Kit-Kats (yum), Oreos ... I've become a green tea everything addict now.
Other sweets you must try as they are traditional to Japan is the YATSUHASHI (triangle shaped sweets in many different flavours found in Kyoto), and MOCHI balls (sesame and the ice cream ones are yum). If you've never tried or liked glutinous type sweets, you'll probably find the chewy texture a bit challenging at first. Try it anyway at least once.
Last one on my sweet list is CHOCOLATE COATED POTATO CHIPS. Sounds weird, but it works! If you like salted caramel desserts I think you're going to like this sweet salty combo. WARNING: It's highly addictive, so stop after a few only or else you will feel sick! Very moorish indeed.
My PERSONAL FAV of all the Japanese sweets is the GREEN TEA ICE CREAM with red bean, jelly and mochi. hmmmm ..... yum, I even had it for breakfast. I LOVE ICE CREAM and this hits the spot. Refreshing and a nice balance of sweet with green tea twang. There are a lot of green tea flavoured sweets in Japan from chocolate drizzled skewer balls to cheesecake, waffles, Kit-Kats (yum), Oreos ... I've become a green tea everything addict now.
Other sweets you must try as they are traditional to Japan is the YATSUHASHI (triangle shaped sweets in many different flavours found in Kyoto), and MOCHI balls (sesame and the ice cream ones are yum). If you've never tried or liked glutinous type sweets, you'll probably find the chewy texture a bit challenging at first. Try it anyway at least once.
Last one on my sweet list is CHOCOLATE COATED POTATO CHIPS. Sounds weird, but it works! If you like salted caramel desserts I think you're going to like this sweet salty combo. WARNING: It's highly addictive, so stop after a few only or else you will feel sick! Very moorish indeed.
So there you have it, my TOP 6 MUST EATS IN JAPAN! There are certainly plenty more great things to eat in Japan that I haven't even mentioned (I'll just show you quickly) or even discovered yet I'm sure ....
So if you SEE IT, TRY IT. I didn't like everything I tried, but LOVED the FOOD ADVENTURE and EXPERIENCE. I can' t wait to head back there again!! AWESOME ride.
If you've been on the ride too, what was your fav food to eat?
xo Miss Freckles
If you've been on the ride too, what was your fav food to eat?
xo Miss Freckles
