Category: Food
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Should Try Beef Tongue in Japan
Meat Cuts You Won’t Find Easily Back Home, But Should Try in Japan: Japan makes full use of the animal in ways that a lot of other food cultures don’t, and several cuts that are genuinely beloved by Japanese diners rarely make it onto menus elsewhere. If you’ve never tried them, here are a few…
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First Izakaya Experience: Japanese Food You’ve Never Heard Of
Watch: A Foreigner’s First Izakaya Experience: As a follow-up to our earlier guide on izakaya dining, here’s a video showing what a first-time visit actually looks like in practice. [Video placeholder: embed the YouTube video here] Japanese food covers an enormous range of variety, far more than you could realistically try during a short trip.…
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Japanese Curry
Japanese Curry: The Dish That Was Named Best in the World: In December 2022, the European food and travel site Taste Atlas published its “Best Traditional Food in the World” ranking, covering the top 100 traditional dishes globally. The dish that took the number one spot was, somewhat surprisingly, Japanese curry. A Result That Surprised…
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Japanese Donuts Worth Trying
Japanese Donuts Worth Trying: Mister Donut’s Pon de Ring and I’m donuts: Donuts might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Japanese food, but Japan has developed its own distinctive donut culture, with textures and styles genuinely different from what you’ll find elsewhere. Two names in particular stand out…
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Japan’s Beloved Croquette
Korokke: Japan’s Beloved Croquette, and the Varieties Worth Trying Korokke, Japan’s take on the croquette, is one of the most quietly popular foods among foreign visitors, sold everywhere from butcher shops and supermarkets to convenience stores and specialty restaurants. It’s simple, inexpensive, and endlessly variable, and once you know the main types, it’s easy to…
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Fruits Unique to Japan
Japanese Fruits Worth Trying: Wa-Nashi, Kaki, Mikan, and Dekopon: Japan’s fruit culture goes well beyond the famously expensive melons and strawberries covered elsewhere on this blog. A handful of everyday fruits, sold at supermarkets and fruit stands throughout the country, are genuinely worth trying specifically because they’re distinct from what you’ll find back home, or,…
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Japanese Roasted Sweet Potato
Yaki-imo: The Japanese Roasted Sweet Potato Winning Over Foreign Visitors: Yaki-imo, slow-roasted Japanese sweet potato, might be the most unassuming food on this entire blog, and also one of the most quietly beloved. It’s simple, inexpensive, and sold on street corners and in convenience stores throughout the country, yet it’s become a genuine favorite among…
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Why Foreign Visitors Love Japanese Umeshu
Umeshu: Japan’s Classic Plum Wine Has Way More Variety Than You’d Expect: Umeshu, Japan’s sweet, tangy plum liqueur, has been a staple of home and restaurant drinking culture for generations, traditionally the kind of thing grandparents brewed in a jar at home with green ume plums, sugar, and shochu. But the umeshu you’ll find on…
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Eating Raw Eggs in Japan
Raw Eggs in Japan Are Genuinely Safe to Eat, Here’s How to Try Them: In a lot of countries, eating a raw egg sounds like a risk not worth taking. In Japan, it’s a completely normal, everyday part of the food culture, and there’s a real reason it’s considered safe here. If you’ve never tried…
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Real Wasabi and Fresh Seafood
For Anyone Who Thinks They Dislike Wasabi or Seafood, Give Japan One More Chance: A lot of travelers arrive in Japan already convinced they don’t like wasabi, or that seafood just isn’t for them. If that’s you, it’s genuinely worth reconsidering once you’re here. What you’ve tried before and what Japan actually serves are, in…
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Japanese soft-serve ice cream
Japanese Soft Serve: Why Cremia, Matcha, and Beyond Have Visitors Hooked: Soft serve ice cream exists in plenty of countries, but Japan has turned it into something closer to a national obsession, with an enormous range of flavors, genuinely premium options, and a level of quality that regularly surprises first-time visitors. Here’s what to know,…
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Japan’s Kids Meals
Okosama Lunch: Japan’s Kids Meals That Impress Even the Adults: Kids meals exist everywhere in the world, but Japan’s version, okosama lunch (or okosama set), tends to leave a real impression on foreign visitors who try it or see one arrive at a nearby table. The presentation alone is often enough to make adults wish…