Like I promised in the previous post, here’s a separated post about awesome Japanese food to eat while you are in the Sakura country. Japan, in my opinion, is the heaven for food.
I always consider it as the Asian version of world class culinary with elegance, cleanliness, fantastic food design and irresistible taste. And for me, the western version is Italian dishes.
In Japan, I was so lucky to be able to enjoy some types of food that are always sold expensive outside the country. What are they?
Sushi
Of course, you can find sushi anywhere in the world. It is consumed anywhere (even in my home country Indonesia and my second home Italy). However, eating it in its original country gives you different sensation and you can buy them even at cheaper price.
Onigiri
I’m not someone who likes to eat rice as their main carb source like most Asians. Even many Indonesians consider me strange as I don’t like to eat white rice with side dishes like in the tradition of many Asian countries.
I’m someone who eats rice only when I really miss them (the most often is only once a week and sometimes I can even go one to two months without eating rice here in Italy). But, Japan is an exception. Their rice is unique and prepared in different way. There, I ate rice 2-3 times a day and I swear I didn’t even get bored.
Japanese Noodles
The Japanese have various noodles that have been famous in the world. Let’s say dishes like Ramen, Udon, Soba etc. And they are what you should really try once you’re there. Their noodles with hot soup are fantastic, especially when you eat it during cold weather (I was there from the middle to the end of November).
Japanese Curry
Yes. The Japanese have their own version of curry which is very warm and just yummy to consume during freezing days there. Taste it while it’s hot and you will never forget about it anymore. It’s rich and simply different from any other curry types in the world that are often too heavy for the stomach or too full of spices.
Bento Box
Once you’re in Japan, you will notice that they have cute bento box designs and preparation that will make you feel sorry to eat them. Usually it is filled with delicious Japanese white rice accompanied with side dishes like Tempura, fish, vegetables etc. This is why I said design is important in Japanese dishes preparation, just like Italian ones.
Mochi
This rice cake has been famous all over the world. Here you can buy them at a very good price. I heard that in Italy, they sell it at €2 each (too much!). Here in Japan, you can get it at €4-5 per box. 1 box contains 18 (for the small ones) and 12 (for the bigger mochi).
The flavours vary according to your preference: fruits (strawberry, melon, watermelon, banana) or even sesame or nut ones. I bought a lot. Besides Mochi, I also bought Manju and Yokan (I will discuss them in separate post again as they are less famous than Mochi worldwide).
Japanese Green Tea
None can beat green tea from Japan. They just taste unique, which you cannot find in other green tea from other countries. The prices also vary here but trust me, it is a lot cheaper than when you have to buy them outside Japan. You can buy good green tea at €5 per 100 grams. In Italy, I found it at least €7-10 every 100 grams. And certainly, you can find cheaper versions in Japan which taste completely doesn’t suck (€3-4 every 150-200 grams).
So that’s it for today. What about you? Have you been to Japan and tried at least these food and products? Surely there are so many other great Japanese food that I haven’t mentioned but I dedicated this post only to the most famous ones first 😉
