Akihabara The Centre of Otaku Culture in Tokyo Japan

“All the Japanese food I ate on my Japan trip has been amazingly delicious. It doesn’t matter whether it’s in a hole in the wall restaurant or inside top to bottom glass doors restaurants; something I bought from 7-11 or vending machine“, I tried to convince Fafa to book a table at Jiro Sushi restaurant in Tokyo as his birthday treat.

During my first Japan trip, I had been sceptical about enjoying the Japanese food there, especially after the Europe trip the year before that, where we ended up going to a Chinese food restaurant for lunch and dinner because I couldn’t take another tasteless food (for my heavily spiced Asian tongue) for one more day. I even planned to bring cup noodles, but I forgot about it close to our departure day.

But it mattered not.

Japanese Food

Of all the restaurants I visited, and all the Japanese food I tasted, no other word to qualify the quality and deliciousness of the food. Simply scrumptious! It got to an extent where I kept on anticipating the next meal while in Japan.

Japanese food is some of the highly developed cuisines you can find anywhere in the world. Once you taste the Japanese delicacies in Japan, you will have another idea of what can be referred to as a quality and delicious meal.

It often has a distinctive taste to it due to the way of cooking and some unique ingredients. It highlights and celebrates textures, colours, as well as flavours of seasonal produce (such as bonito in Spring, eggplant in Summer, mushroom in Autumn and radish in the Winter). The meals are carefully prepared and precisely presented because the presentation of the meal is equally important as the taste.

Eating in Japan

Greetings

It’s polite to say, “Itadakimasu” before eating and “Gochisosama” at the end of the meal.

Chopstick

Most of the time eating in Japan will include the usage of the chopstick (Hashi). There are a few simple rules to follow while eating using chopsticks. One of the most important rules is not to put it vertically on top of your food as it symbols funeral offerings. If there is a chopstick holder (Hashi-oki – can be bought as a Japanese souvenir) provided, you can place your chopstick on it in between eating. Another one is not to stab the food with it, because, well that’s just a bad manner.

Teishoku The Japanese Set Meal

A set meal (Teishoku) in Japan usually contains a main dish (meat or seafood), a bowl of rice, a bowl of miso soup and some pickles.

Bento Box

Sometimes the set meal is served practically and economically inside a box called bento which one can buy in food stalls, train stations, 7-11 and department stores.

Tachigui

Another unique phenomenon I have seen in Japan is people eating while standing (Tachigui) in a restaurant or food stall. I definitely will try it once. Interesting, eating while walking (something I had done myself) is a big no-no in Japanese culture.

For everything the country has to offer, the food has to be one of the ones that top the list. Believe me, when I say, you will love all the food you have in Japan. As for me, I am already building my Japanese food list in preparation for our next Japan trip!