What are the Most Recommended Foods in Japan when Traveling?

During your Japan tour, you will definitely not starve in Japan but also experience the most unique taste in their countless food choices! Japanese cuisine is more than just sushi ...... From ramen to tempura, and Kobe beef udon, you can find a wide variety of mouth-watering dishes when traveling in Japan. You might go home still interested and crave for Japanese cuisine and look for a Japanese restaurant near you.

1. Sushi

Sushi is the most famous Japanese dish outside of Japan, and one of the most popular dishes among the Japanese. It is vinegared rice that is mixed with other ingredients, which may or may not include raw fish.

During the old days, Sushi referred to pickled fish preserved in vinegar. Nowadays sushi can be defined as a dish containing rice that has been prepared with sushi vinegar. There are many different types of sushi, like chirashi, gunkan, nigiri, and norimaki. If you are a kind of Sushi lover, you will not miss tasting them when traveling to Japan.

2. Sashimi

Sashimi is another famous Japanese cuisine. It is thinly sliced raw meat, such as fish, beef, and some seafood. It is unprocessed and directly eaten. You can add soy sauce and wasabi when eating.

Sashimi is one of the popular foods in Japanese restaurants.

Usually, you need to make a reservation in advance at a high-class sashimi restaurant in Japan. If you wish to experience the delicious taste of local premium sashimi while traveling in Japan, please contact the restaurant in advance to make a reservation or let us know and our local guide will help you to make a reservation.

3. Ramen, Soba, and Udon

Noodles are one of the more popular staple foods in Japan. And there are many types of noodles you can find while traveling in Japan, such as Ramen, Soba, and Udon.

Ramen

This is a noodle soup dish that was originally imported from China and has become one of the most popular dishes in Japan. Ramen restaurants, or ramen-ya, can be found in every corner of Japan and produces different regional variations of this common noodle dish. Ramen is inexpensive that is widely available, which is an ideal option for budget travelers.

The noodles are made of wheat and come in many different types. Typical ramen noodles are long and elastic, but vary from thin and straight to thick and wavy. Some ramen-ya allow you to customize your noodle order to some extent such as by allowing you to select a thickness (thin, regular, or thick) or doneness (regular or firm).

There are different variations of Ramen according to their soup base. Most of the noodle soups, such as shoyu, tonkatsu, and shio, are made from meat broth, only miso soup is flavored with soybean paste.

Soba

This is made of thin noodles from buckwheat. The noodles are served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or hot in a noodle soup. The variety of Nagano soba includes wheat flour. In Japan, soba noodles can be found in a variety of settings, from "fast food" places to expensive specialty restaurants.

Udon

This is made of thick noodles from wheat flour. It is comfort food for many Japanese people. The udon dishes that you can easily find at restaurants across Japan include: Kake Udon, which is a basic udon dish served in a hot broth that covers the noodles, Kitsune Udon, which is served in a hot broth with aburaage, thin sheets of fried tofu, placed on top, Tempura Udon, which is served with tempura pieces on top of that, and Curry Udon, which is served in a bowl of Japanese curry and quite popular among the locals.

Udon noodles are white, thick, and long flour noodles.

4. Japanese Fried Food

Fried food is also very popular in Japan. The recommended Japanese Fried foods that you will not miss while traveling to Japan are as below.

Tempura

This Japanese dish consists of seafood, meat, and vegetables that have been battered and deep fried. The most favorable ingredients for the dish include shrimp, scallops, squid, and small crabs, or vegetables such as shiitake mushrooms, asparagus, Japanese eggplant, and snow peas. The batter is the most crucial part of tempura, consisting of flour, eggs, and water, keeping the ingredients moist and flavorful.

Kushiage

This dish is breaded, skewered with a bamboo stick and deep-fried, the delectable bite-sized pieces of various fish and seafood, pork, chicken, beef, and even horse meat or fresh vegetables, also kushikatsu, and originate from Osaka, a city aptly nicknamed the kitchen of Japan.

Ebi Fry (Japanese Fried Shrimp)

Large prawns are dipped in egg wash, coated in panko breadcrumbs, then deep-fried. They are one of the most popular yōshoku dishes; western-inspired Japanese meals.

Korokke (Japanese Potato & Meat Croquette)

Japanese deep-fried dishes are a version of the French dish called croquette. It consists of a combination of mashed potatoes and chopped meat, seafood, or vegetables. The combination of those ingredients is shaped in a patty and rolled in flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs, then deep-fried.

Korokke is a popular type of "dumpling" often made with potatoes, meat, or seafood.

Katsudon (Japanese Pork Cutlet)

This is a type of donburi, it's a rice dish served in a bowl topped with simmered ingredients. The topping is another Japanese favorite — tonkatsu — a deep-fried and crumbed pork cutlet, but here it is simmered together with vegetables in a seasoned sauce bound with eggs.

5. Japanese Grilled Food

Japanese grilled food is another must-try food during your days in Japan. The most popular grilled dishes in Japan are Yakitori and Yakiniku.

Yakitori

This dish is grilled chicken skewers made from bite-sized pieces of meat from all different parts of the chicken, such as the breasts, thighs, skin, liver, and other innards. Usually made to order and cooked over charcoal, yakitori is a popular, inexpensive dish commonly enjoyed together with a glass of beer.

Yakiniku

This means grilled meat. The meat and the offal are cut into bite-sized slices beforehand, and each slice is placed individually on a grill net or hot plate.

6. Sukiyaki

Sukiyaki is a kind of Japanese one-pot meal. The main ingredients are Enoki mushrooms, napa cabbage, fatty beef, noodles, and tong ho, a leafy green from the chrysanthemum family with a very particular, slightly medicinal flavor that actually goes great with the sweetness of the Sukiyaki sauce/broth.

7. Japanese Street food

In addition to the dishes you can taste in restaurants, there are many snacks worth trying on the streets of Japan.

Takoyaki

Takoyaki is made of golden balls of fried batter filled with little pieces of octopus, tenkasu (tempura scraps), benishoga (pickled ginger), and spring onion. The dough balls are fried in special cast-iron pans. The cooked takoyaki is eaten piping hot, slightly crisp on the outside, gooey on the inside, and slathered in Japanese mayonnaise, a savory brown sauce similar to Worcestershire, aonori (dried seaweed) and katsuobushi (dried bonito fish flakes).

Yakisoba

This is made of wheat noodles, pork, cabbage, and onions are fried on a griddle, then topped with benishoga, katsuobushi, aonori, a squeeze of Worcestershire sauce, Japanese mayonnaise, and occasionally, a fried egg. The deeply savory flavors of this dish give it a wide appeal.

There are many snacks worth trying on the streets of Japan.

Imagawayaki

This sweet street food treat is made from a batter of eggs, flour, sugar, and water that is ‘baked’ in disk-shaped molds. The golden, bite-sized is sponge filled with either red bean paste, chocolate, or custard.

Ikayaki

Fresh, tender squid is grilled over charcoal, given a generous coating of soy sauce, and served with a slice of lemon or lime, creating a meaty and flavorful meal on the go in just moments.

8. Food from Convenience Stores in Japan

You never have to be afraid of going hungry in Japan. No matter what time of day it is, you can buy food at convenience stores everywhere. There are some unique convenience store foods with Japanese characteristics that you can try in Japanese convenience stores.

Onigiri

Made of rice balls, Onigiri is a common quick meal for the Japanese. This is wrapped in seaweed, the rice further hugs a layer of stuffing for taste. The stuffings include tuna, salmon and tamago, or egg.

Instant Ramen

If you’re looking for a quick late-night fix, Japan takes it up a notch with their instant ramen, delivered Ippudo style.

It's easy to find instant ramen in local convenience stores.

Yakisoba Bun

This is a combination of Yakisoba and bread you will commonly find in convenience stores and bakeries alike, and you can’t say you’ve visited Japan without trying this out.

9. Bento Box (especially Japanese train bento box)

As part of Japanese culture, bento is an indispensable part of Japanese life and one of the foods that many visitors to Japan want to experience.

Bento is not only made at home. Various kinds of bento are sold in convenience stores, supermarkets, and train stations in Japan. In particular, Japanese train bento can be considered a special culture. Different stations offer a variety of bento with the characteristics of their hometown, and some of the bento boxes are beautifully printed with local attractions or scenery of the four seasons. It is impossible to throw it away as a disposable product.

If you are going to take the Shinkansen on your trip to Japan, please make sure to buy a train bento and try it.

10. Matcha Products

Matcha is one of the special foods in Japan, especially in the Kyoto region. It is made from the tea plant Camellia sinensis. Tea cultivated specifically for Matcha is primarily grown in two Japanese regions: Uji in Kyoto and Nishio in the Aichi prefecture. It’s made from freshly harvested tea leaves, it has richer nutrition than the beverage green tea. Besides, matcha is pretty versatile and you can use it for both foods and drinks; there’re even some cosmetics and hygienic goods that contain matcha.

Conclusion

Japanese food is one of the manifestations of Japanese culture. When you visit Japan, don't miss tasting the local specialties and savor Japan from the taste of the world-famous Japanese cuisine.