WHAT TO EAT IN JAPAN… NOT EVERYTHING IS SUSHI!

If you are a picky eater and about to travel to Japan, probably the question has crossed your mind…  WHAT WILL I EAT?

Well, if you’re already worried about facing nothing but raw fish and sea food, stop fretting. Japanese cuisine is SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT!

Join us in this delicious journey and be seduced by the culinary surprises you’re about to see.

DONBURI

Donburi translates literally as “bowl”.

In a donburi you’ll find a complete meal inside a single bowl, consisting of steamed white rice with meat, fish or vegetables on top. Other ingredients may be tempura, raw or cooked egg, grilled eel, onion, parsley and katsuobushi (paper-like dried and smoked fish). Add some donburi sauce (kind of sweet) and dig in.

My favorite donburi is katsudon: rice with deep-fried pork cutlet (tonkatsu)…. mouthwatering!

Place to go: Nezu Tori-Hana, Ryogoku, Tokyo.

RAMEN

Although chinese in its origin, this typical japanese dish consists of fish, chicken, pork, soy or miso based broth with noodles, nori (seaweed), chives, a boiled egg and slices of pork. A vegetarian version can also be found in several restaurants.

Ramen is prepared at the moment, so it arrives at the table almost at a boiling temperature. It should be eaten with ohashi (chopsticks) and a special flat spoon to help you hold the noodles from below. Alternate a mouthful of noodles with a spoonful of broth and a bite of meat or veggies.

Slurping is used to cool the noodles, so don’t be afraid to splash around!! It may well save you from a burned tongue.

Place to go: Any restaurant on Ramen Street, Tokyo Station City, Tokyo.

SOBA AND TEMPURA

What better for the summer heat than a cool and refreshing meal?

Kitamae Soba Takadaya offers zaru soba, cold buckwheat noodles blended with sesame oil. Dip them in a soy & sesame cold soup and experience a fragrant explosion in your mouth. Don’t forget to grate some wasabi on top.

To complement this delicious course try the tempura -battered deep-fried shrimp and/or veggies-, perfectly crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside.

Place to go: Kitamae Soba Takadaya, Miyuki-dori, Himeji.

HAMBURGERS

If you thought Japan would be the last place to find great burgers, you were wrong!

BLACOWS specializes in making the most delicious Black Wagyu beef hamburgers, accompanied by thick wedges of potatoes from Hokkaido. All the ingredients are high quality: from the Maison Kayser soft and crispy buns, to the bacon, cheese and homemade BBQ and tartar sauces.

Place to go: BLACOWS, Ebisu Nishi, Shibuya, Tokyo.

GYOZAS

Gyozas are exquisite and delicate dumplings that can be steamed or pan-fried. Usually they’re filled with cooked ground pork and vegetables. You can have them as a main or side dish.

Just dip them in the spicy oil sauce and enjoy!

Place to go: Gyoza Lou, Harajuku, Tokyo.

GRILLED MEAT

Wagyu beef is SOOO good that it deserves two mentions in this post.

The grilled version of this delicatessen is completely different from any other kind of beef I’ve ever tried. Be sure to leave it on the grate long enough to scorch the outside and cook the inside perfectly, that way you’ll feel the crunch and then the fat melting inside your mouth and dripping on to your chin.. YUUUUUUUUM.

Place to go: Maruaki, Takayama.

SUSHI

Sushi as you have never seen it… wrapped in a leaf and arranged inside a wooden box.

Kakinoha-zushi, which is the name of this Nara specialty, is made of rice and curated fish (usually mackerel, the most savory fish in the whole wide world), squished together and wrapped in a persimmon leaf, which gives it a tinge of lemony-salty flavor.

Place to go: Any store in Nara.

CHEESE TARTS

The ideal treat to any meal, the perfect snack for mid-morning or mid-afternoon, the sweetest sin you’ll ever commit… there’s no way to describe this to-die-for indulgence.

Cheese tarts in Japan accomplish a creamy, sweet interior with a superb flaky pastrie shell. Once you take a bite, it’s hard not to finish the whole box.

Place to go: Bake Cheese Tarts, Tokyo City Station, Tokyo // PABLO Cheese Tarts, multiple locations.

Tell us about your favorite japanese foods, recommended restaurants or culinary discoveries! Comment below!