Local Japan Guide

  Japanese food culture experienced its greatest development during the  Edo period . For example, staple dishes of modern Japanese cuisine such as  soba noodles, tempura, nigiri sushi,  and  grilled eel kabayaki  all originated as the four famous delicacies of Edo. After the Sengoku period ended and the Edo period began, Japan entered a  265-year-long era   of peace. This brought an influx of people from various regions to Edo. Additionally, time that had previously been spent on “ fighting ” and “ survival ” during the war-torn era was now devoted to “ aesthetic refinement ” and “ culture ” in this peaceful era.  Samurai began preparing meals for the emperor and shogun , and  street vendors in Edo sold tempura and sushi. As a result, meticulous and carefully crafted dishes were developed. This also led to the gathering of diverse regional food cultures in Edo, and with the city’s growth, a new “ Edo cuisine” was born , enriched by the ...

  What do you think foreigners look forward to the most when they visit Japan? It’s   Japanese cuisine(Washoku 和食) . According to a survey by the Japan Tourism Agency, foreign visitors look forward to   Japanese food   even more than Japan’s natural landscapes, historical architecture, or hot springs before their trip. So, what comes to mind when you think of Japanese food?  Sushi, rice, miso soup, ramen , soba, grilled fish, sashimi, karaage, kaiseki cuisine , unagi   — there are so many options that it’s hard to choose just one. Thanks to the  sushi boom that started in the United States in the 1970s , “ sushi ” has become a globally recognized word. Today, various Japanese dishes, such as  tempura, ramen, and yakitori , are also widely popular worldwide. The history of Japanese cuisine is long and rich. It has evolved into a unique food culture unlike any other country,  combining raw food and dashi culture  with influences from China...

  It’s customary to have hot pot dishes in Japan during cold winter seasons. Firstly, pre-heat a hot pot by a tabletop stove and add some kinds of vegetables, seafood, meats, and some ingredients at random. And have cooked ones when the ingredients are dancing. I like really MOTSU-NABE. The word "motsu" means offal, the internal organs or intestines of beef or pork. It is very chewy and the more you chew it, the more flavorful it becomes. Motsu-nabe(hot pot dish) consists of beef or pork offal with vegetables and tofu.  After enjoying eating all the ingredients of the hot pot, we add cooked rice or udon to the leftover soup.  Aside from motsunabe, typical nabe-ryori include sukiyaki, shabu-shabu, yosenabe, oden, mizutaki, chankonabe. There's no doubt Nabe dishes are getting better if you eat them with friends or family.   Manners for eating hot pot dishes - Use the meal serving chopsticks and a ladle.  - Dish out only the amount of food that you can eat.  -...

Oden おでん is a traditional Japanese dish made by simmering various ingredients. It is a popular family dish. Many people enjoy eating it especially during winter. Oden soup stock is generally made from bonito flakes and seaweed.  It is said to sell well at convenience stores in autumn. However, there are also convenience stores where oden is sold all year round, for Japanese who love oden.Oden is a staple food in Japanese pubs. You can also buy ingredients at a supermarket and cook it at home. It is also an attraction of oden that it goes well with sake. ★ Staple ingredients for oden is below.   大根(Daikon)  Japanese radish –   ちくわ(Chikuwa) Tube-shaped fish cake・A mixture of minced fish meat, salt, sugar, egg white and cornstarch   こんにゃく(Konnyaku) Konjak / Konnyaku・Known also as “Devil’s Tongue”.・Interesting texture.   ゆでたまご(Yude tamago) Boiled eggs –     はんぺん(Hanpen) Boiled flat fish cake  ・A mixture of minced fish meat, sticky grated yamaimo...

  - Manners for Eating Sushi Long time ago, it was the manner to eat sushi with hand but now it is ok to use chopsticks. It is considered that a traditional way is to take fresh Nigiri-zushi by hand and eat it in one bite, and it is believed that this is the best way to enjoy sushi.  I make sure to eat sushi with hand at pricey restaurants because I want to feel traditional vibes. If you felt a little greasy or fishy , you should eat "Gari" (pickled ginger)   - The ideal order to eat sushi. Start eating with light taste and move on to rich and fatty taste. But I think you should order what you want whenever you feel like it. That is the good thing about eating at a sushi restaurant.   - How to dip it in soy sauce When you eat Nigiri-zushi, make sure to dip only sashimi in soy sauce. If it absorbs soy sauce too much, makes it more salty and moreover harder to eat it because the rice will break apart. Keeping the topping side down and deliver it to your mouth, you'll e...

Do you like rich soup? If you like it, I highly recommend a popular Ramen shop called ZUNDO-YA . I heard that foreigners like the rich taste of TONKOTSU soup. Zundo's soup is made with only water and pork bones and is simmered for about 20 hours. To produce noodles with a firm texture, the artisans use high-quality wheat and produce them by hand with great care. I would say It is amazing noodles and soup go well together. The most popular Ramen is Aji-tama. Tama means seasoned egg which is slowly soaked in a special sauce to make it half-boiled to bring out the flavor of the pork bones. And I recommend the taste is KOTTERI which includes more back fat. I want you to try it. Zundo-ya has takana(Japanese giant red mustard ), red ginger, and fresh garlic on the table. If you are a cook, you know that everything tastes better when it is freshly grated or scrubbed. As time goes by, flavors and tastes are lost to some extent or another. At Zundouya, peeled cloves of garlic are placed in ...

  We call Saizeriya a family restaurant. The word "famiresu" is a Japanese English that is a combination of "family" and "restaurant". I recommend it to a family as well as to those travelers who are on a tight budget. I often go to Saizeria which is a casual, inexpensive, and family-oriented Italian restaurant, so I recommend it for family with small children or budget traveler. I think it is one of the top three family restaurants in Japan. My recommended point of Famiresu is below. - Japanese family restaurants have an excellent system where you push a button to have a waitress comes to you. - Many family restaurant menus have pictures to make it easier for children who cannot read to choose, and they also have touch screen menus for easy access and multilingual menus for foreign diners (English, Chinese, etc). - The restaurant is designed to make every diner feels comfortable. For example, they have infant seats so you can tag your babies along. It als...

◆Kakinoha-zushi 柿の葉寿司-Specialty of Nara◆ Have you ever had Kakinoha-zushi?  Nara is a prefecture where is surrounded by mountains.  That's why locals couldn't eat fresh saltwater fish. Back then, it is said that fishermen in Wakayama had come and sold salted mackerels to Nara to make money for paying land taxes frequently. But I heard that those were too salty to eat as it is, so the majority of them had come to eat it with rice, therefore, locals came up with Kakinoha-zushi(柿の葉寿司) in the Edo era.     The mackerel-sushi is wrapped in persimmon leaf which is called 柿の葉 in Japanese. The reason why it is wrapped in persimmon leaf is that it is anti-bacterial. Salt, vinegar and persimmon leaf, those are enhancing antibacterial, so it is preserved for a while. I think it is great wisdom in rural. That's why Kakinoha-zushi had been a specialty of Nara now.  The Kakinoha-zushi (mackerel and salmon) I had the other day at Trase (とらせ)   nearby Hasedera were...

  ◆  Staple Japanese meal TEISHOKU ◆ We have a traditional culture of Japanese food. It is called ”Washoku” 和食 in Japanese. Most of TEISHOKU are based on WASHOKU. Usually five items are served in a tray at TEISHOKU restaurant. Basically, Teishoku is consist of miso soup, rice, one main dish, and two small side dishes.   It is good for our health because it is consist of an ideal balanced-nutrition. I'm fish lover, so I really like SHIO SABA TEISHOKU (grilled salted mackerel set meals) . The SHIO SABA TEISHOKU I often eat at familiar diner is so delicious. Especially, it has the right amount of salt in it and fluffy by good grilling.     Main Dish Teishoku meals offer a range of dishes for the main, from delicious deep-fried foods to healthier fish options. Fish is a popular main dish for teishoku. Grilled, broiled, and stewed fish dishes are a healthy teishoku selection, such as sanma shioyaki (salt grilled Pacific saury) or shio saba (grilled salted macker...

◆Tsukemen つけ麺 MITASEIMENJO 三田製麺所◆ Do you know TSUKEMEN つけ麺 ? Tsukemen "dipping ramen" is a ramen dish in Japanese cuisine consisting of noodles which are eaten after being dipped in a separate bowl of soup or broth.  The noodles are typically served cold, while the soup is typically served hot, which serves to season and moisten the noodles. Let me introduce my favorite ramen restaurant "MITASEIMENJO" 三田製麺所 .  They serve self-made thick noodles with richly pork bone and fish stock soup. It is absolutely superb. Using seasonal ingredients, they serve each season’s unique taste for customers. So this time, I ordered "TAI DASHI SIO TSUKEMEN ".  The presentation of noodles is quite beautiful, so it's appetizing. Apparently, the soup based on red snapper and kombu kelp. The soup is clear and Salt and Yuzu are enhancing fresh taste.  The noodles was so nice, with a chewy texture.  HISTORY August,2008 Opened Mita Honten, the first Noodle shop of Mita Seime...

  shinsekai Shinsekai is a colorful and popular tourist spot. Moreover, families with small children enjoy there because there are Tennohji Doubutsuen(zoo) and Tenshiba Park nearby.     Shinsekai was designed as an entertainment district in the early 20th century, and originally modeled after the cities of New York and Paris. Opened in 1912, “Shinsekai” literally means “New World” and because of its modern image the area quickly became a popular tourist attraction.   Tsutenkaku-tower Shinsekai’s biggest attraction is the Tsutenkaku Tower. The original tower was built in 1912 designed to resemble the Parisian Eiffel Tower on top and the Arc de Triomphe at its base. The name “Tsutenkaku” can be translated as “Sky Route Tower” and at 64 meters high it was the 2nd biggest structure in Asia at the time. It became a symbol of pride for Osaka and many people visited to see it.        Tsutenkaku has souvenir shops and amusements and has two observation d...