Your Guide to - Japan National Tourist Organization

40
Dining Out
Food in General
Food, of all types and from every country under the
sun, is one of the great pleasures of life in Japan.
Not only has Japan developed one of the world's
great cuisines, which offers palate-tickling sensations
that range from the subtle joys of "sashimi" to the
hearty basics of its noodles, but some of the best
world-class chefs have come to Japan to cook for its
discriminating gourmets. Tokyo especially, as befits
its status as a global capital of finance and business,
is host to a lipsmacking cornucopia of food flavors
and textures.
To begin scratching the surface of Japan's vast
selection of culinary variety, take a walk in the vicinity
of any subway or train station. The eating and
drinking estabishments that congregate here are
sure to represent a plethora of domestic cooking,
with prices generally quite reasonable. For non-
Japanese speakers, some restaurants display plastic
and wax replicas of their dishes in their front
windows, or provide a menu with color photos.
Another good place to find reasonably priced
meals is in larger department stores, which will often
devote an entire upper or basement floor to different
restaurants. Some modestly priced restaurants ask
patrons to purchase tickets for each dish, either from
the cashier's counter or a vending machine. Tipping,
by the way, is not practiced in Japan.
Japanese Cuisine
Once known in the west either in the form of
"sukiyaki" or the more exotic "sushi," Japanese
cuisine has in recent years become much more
familiar and appreciated around the world. Many
visitors to Japan will have already sampled the
pleasures of raw fish or batter-fried shrimp. But few
first-time visitors to Japan are prepared for the
variety and sumptuousness of the food as it is
traditionally prepared. Eating in Japan is an
experience to be enjoyed and remembered fondly for
the rest of your life.
Shabu-shabu
©Kagoshima Prefectural Tourist Federation
Among the types of cooking found in Japan are:
Sukiyaki is prepared right at the table by cooking
thinly sliced beef together with various vegetables,
tofu and vermicelli.
Tempura is food deep-fried in vegetable oil, after
being coated with a mixture of egg, water and wheat
flour. Among the ingredients used are prawns, fish in
season and vegetables.
Sushi is a small piece of raw seafood placed on a
ball of vinegared rice. The most common ingredients
are tuna, squid and prawn. Cucumber, pickled radish
and sweet egg omelette are also served.
Sashimi is sliced raw fish eaten with soy sauce.
Kaiseki Ryori is regarded as the most exquisite
culinary refinement in Japan. The dishes are mainly
composed of vegetables and fish with seaweed and
mushrooms as the seasoning base and are
characterized by their refined savor.
Yakitori is made up of small pieces of chicken
meat, liver and vegetables skewered on a bamboo
stick and grilled over hot coals.
Tonkatsu is a deep-fried pork cutlet rolled in bread
crumbs.
Shabu-shabu is tender, thin slices of beef held by
chop-sticks and swished in a pot of boiling water,
then dipped in a sauce before being eaten.
Soba and Udon are two kinds of Japanese noodle.
Soba is made from buckwheat flour and Udon from
wheat flour. They are served either in a broth or
dipped in a sauce, and are available in hundreds of
delicious variations.
Udon
©Gunma Prefecture
Japanese "sake," or rice wine, goes extremely well
with a variety of Japanese dishes. Brewed with rice
and water, sake has been a Japanese alcoholic
beverage since ancient times. Because it can be
drunk warmed up, the "feelings" come on more
quickly and in winter it warms the body. When drunk
chilled, good sake has a taste similar to fine-quality
wine. There are local sake breweries in every region
across the country, which make their respective
characteristic tastes based on the quality of rice and
water as well as differences in brewing processes.