A few friends have been asking me for advice about Japan recently because they are planning a trip. I traveled to Japan with G Adventures and one of the main reasons I wanted to go was the food. It certainly didn’t disappoint, so I thought I’d share with you my top five favourite foods you must try in Japan!
Foods You Must Try in Japan
I lived in Melbourne, Australia for a while in my early twenties and before then I had never eaten Japanese food. I know! Crazy right?! And hard to believe now we have Yo! Sushi, Wagamama and Wasabi on every corner!
Japanese food wasn’t really something that had caught on in my UK home city back then, but Melbourne had heaps of international cuisine to try. I quickly discovered a love of Japanese food and was sorely disappointed when I moved back home and couldn’t even get decent sushi!
Japanese food is easier to come by now, but I still felt I was missing something. So, I thought I’d better visit Japan to get my foodie fix! I had so many great meals in Japan, but here are my most memorable five foods you must try in Japan!
1. Okonomiyake – Hiroshima
One of the foods you must try in Japan is Okonomiyake, which is a dish native to the Hiroshima and Kansai areas. It is essentially a savoury pancake, but it’s so much more than that – piled high with shredded cabbage, pork and noodles and drenched in okonomiyake sauce. You can add extra toppings to taste, like cheese and seafood.
I tried Okonomiyake in Hiroshima, which is best known as the first city to be targeted by a nuclear weapon. An Atomic Bomb was dropped on the city on 6th August 1945, killing an estimated 70,000 people. The city has since been rebuilt. Despite the obvious sadness of the city’s history, Hiroshima surprised me and was actually one of my favourite places in Japan. It has a really cool vibe and is certainly worth a visit!
The Okonomiyake Experience
Going out for Okonomiyake is an experience in itself and one not to be missed in Hiroshima. I went to Okonomimura on a day when I had frankly had enough of travelling and being around people 24/7 (besides, I was seriously sleep deprived. See post: Sharing A Room: When Earplugs Are Not Enough). A foodie at heart, the Okonomiyake experience re-egnited my travel passion in one fell swoop!
Okonomiyake is prepared in an open kitchen. By that I mean the kitchen has no walls, rather it is bordered by a bar that you sit around and watch the chefs prepare the food right in front of you. The bar has a few inches at the edge for you to lean on, then the rest is one giant hot plate. Yep – they cook your food on the hot plate just inches from your seat! It’s really entertaining to watch (see my time-lapse video above!).
Be warned though, with eight or so kitchens and hot-plate bars seating up to twenty guests, this restaurant is HOT. Make sure you put extra deodorant on before you go out and wear your coolest cotton top! I found myself making a silent personal bet on whether the bead of sweat on the chef’s nose would drip into my steaming pancake (it didn’t!!).
If you’re not sure about the sound of a noodle pancake, you’re not alone. Honestly, I struggled to imagine how it was a good idea before I tried it, but trust me – it’s foodie gold.
2. Hida Beef Sushi – Takayama
Takayama is an awesome little town in the Japan Alps. The Main Street in Takayama is home to a number of street food vendors and it’s easy to accidentally spend a fortune stopping at each one – but totally worth it! There are many foodie delights on offer including Hida Beef steamed buns (minced beef inside a bun), Mitarashi Dango (chewy rice balls coated in soy sauce) and my personal favourite, Hida Beef Sushi.
Hida Beef is a type of Wagyu beef – high quality beef with a marbled pattern, like the more widely-known Kobe Beef.
For the sushi, thin slices of Hida Beef are cooked very VERY briefly so that the meat is still blue – just the way I like it. Then the Beef is stacked on sushi rice, placed on a rice cracker and drizzled with soy sauce, black pepper and spring onion. Something so very simple which, as with most food in Japan, looks and tastes absolutely incredible. Definitely one of the foods you must try in Japan!
3. Yuba Bento – Nikko
The shrines and temples of Nikko have been recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There are so many to see, set amongst the area’s beautiful lakes and waterfalls.
You can probably tell from the Hida Beef Sushi above that I am definitely not a vegetarian. Whilst I sometimes do choose a veggie option over meat, I actually have a particular dislike of tofu. Or rather, I did, until I tried the yuba bento in Nikko.
What do I have against tofu?
It’s just so bland. Again, it’s not something that I ever had until I moved to Melbourne. I remember ordering a veggie noodle dish for lunch once and spending the whole meal trying to figure out what this weird spongey vegetable was. It turned out to be tofu. Bleugh.
So, it’s safe to say I wasn’t exactly looking forward to this whole meal of yuba (a by-product of tofu) but my guide informed me that it was really the only good thing to eat in Nikko – the local specialty and one of the foods you must try in Japan.
What is Yuba?
Yuba, also known as Tofu Skin, comes from the boiling of soy milk – where a thin film forms on the liquid’s surface. This is collected, then dried, and sold as Yuba – which is then rehydrated and served. I believe you have to taste a culture to experience it, so I decided to put aside my tofu prejudice and give it a whirl!
I’m converted.
Yuba three ways and tempura veggies (which I always love!) on the side, washed down with a cup of Sake. It amazed me how they managed to make the taste and texture of Yuba so different with each little dish. And it tasted good!
4. Oyster Noodles – Miyajima Island
Miyajima Island is a short boat ride from Hiroshima. You’ve probably seen photos of the famous floating Torii Gate and the wild deer that roam the island.
Oyster farming goes back about 400 years in Hiroshima and around 330 years in Miyajima – so it’s kind of a big deal. There is even an oyster festival every February! So, of course, you can’t visit Hiroshima/Miyajima without eating an oyster or two.
I loooove oysters so they had to make my list of foods you must try in Japan. I normally do the standard slurp from an oyster shell with a bit of lemon and salt – yum! But Miyajima island offers a few more options to try. Oysters are often served cooked – either deep fried or boiled with noodles. This seemed strange to me, but I wanted to try the local way of cooking. That turned out to be a good move!
5. Matcha Ice Cream – Just About Anywhere
Matcha is a type of green tea, which comes as a finely ground (bright green!) powder, and is Japan’s most popular ice cream flavour. Matcha is often mixed with hot water to make a hot tea drink and it’s equally good as frozen ice cream!
Matcha has an unusual taste which is hard to describe because it isn’t much like anything else. Initially rich and astringent, it leaves a pleasant sweetness afterwards. As an ice cream, it’s pretty refreshing and worth a try. Besides… I quite like the colour!
Planning a trip to Japan?
I hope my five foods you must try in Japan list has inspired you to visit this awesome country? I often use Booking.com to find places to stay because you can get some really great deals if you book in advance. Have a look at these searches:
Book your stay in Hiroshima (Visit the Peace Museum & Miyajima Island)
Book your stay in Takayama (See a traditional alpine town)
Book your stay in Nikko (Temples, temples, temples!)
Book your stay in Tokyo (What doesn’t Tokyo have?!)
Book your stay in Kyoto (Visit the Fushimi-Inari Shrine (and so many other temples!) and the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest – awesome Instagram material!)
Or perhaps a tour?
I’ve done a few trips with G Adventures and I’d thoroughly recommend them if you want to take the hassle out of your travel planning. They offer group tours in Japan that often go off the beaten track, so you can be sure to see the touristy things and some real local life too!
I’ll be honest – above are some affiliate links, which means I will get a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you decide to book a hotel or tour. Integrity is really important to me, so I only recommend things that I really love! Of course, do your own research and if you have any questions about the cities, tours, or just want some advice please feel free to get in touch – I’d be happy to help a fellow traveller!
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