The majority of my time in Japan is consumed (pun intended) by eating food. In fact, I am not the only one who is obsessed with food. Japanese people seem to be infatuated with food, too. You can turn on the TV at any time and expect to see a variety show where they are talking about food, showcasing food, cooking food, asking famous people what their favorite food is, and of course, eating food and "reacting", usually by saying "おいしい", or "oishii", which means "delicious". While watching the news in the morning, the anchors started advertising the new sandwiches at McDonalds and when they switched back from a video the entire crew had a different McDonalds sandwich and they started eating it during the news! After watching the news for a while, I realized that this was standard practice. They have many shows dedicated to food where people go around and eat various things and have reactions to it, to the point of obsession.
The majority of meals that I eat outside of school are bentos, or lunchbox style meals that I buy from the convenience stores nearby. The food is surprisingly fresh and delicious, even though it is necessary to microwave it. This type of meal almost always includes a large portion of rice along with some type of meat. In the picture above there is rice with an umeboshi (very sour) on top and chicken and a hamburger steak on the side.
In Japan rice is the staple food and in place of sandwiches, they eat rice balls. They are called onigiri. There are many different types of onigiri and some of them have meat on the inside. I like the tuna onigiri and chicken onigiri. The meat is often combined with some mayonnaise. They are usually wrapped in dried seaweed, which I do not care for, but if you buy the ones that have plastic between the rice and seawed, you can peel it back and eat the rice ball without the seaweed. They are delicious sometimes, but not extremely filling.
Curry rice is one of my favorite foods in Japan. Chicken curry rice is even better. The picture above is an instant mix that was not so good, but if you go to the right place, the curry here is amazing.
This is a dinner that I made for myself one night when I got tired of buying bentos at the convenience store. The rice is referred to as chowhan and the little dumpling like things are called gyouza. Both have a Chinese origin, but are very popular in Japan.
These balls are called Takoyaki. One day at school I asked my class what their favorite food was and one student said his favorite was Takoyaki. Takoyaki is fried octopus. My student said he could eat 20 of them! After work I saw some of these at the grocery store and thought I would try them. They are actually not too bad, but not my favorite.
I feel like I have been brave with trying new foods in Japan, but there are certain things that I just can't bring myself to try. These fish on a stick items are one of them. They sell them at festivals and they are very popular. They have a fish tank next to this where you can see the fish swimming around. They skewer the live fish with the stick through it's mouth and then stand them up like this above the fire. At least you know they are fresh, right?
This is another bento from the convenience store. It's called gyudon and it is thinly sliced pieces of meat and onion slices over rice. This is another one of my favorite foods in Japan, and it is cheap to get delicious fast food gyudon at popular restaurants like Sukiya and the international chain Yoshinoya. It looks like a lot of meat, but really it's mostly rice.
These big noodles are called udon. Udon is traditional Japanese food and they are hard to eat with chopsticks (for me). Japanese people just slurp them on down. They are sometimes mixed with curry and different things and they can be pretty delicious and filling.
Tempura is another one of my favorite foods that I have had while in Japan. I first tried it at a tempura place in Mito when I first came here in March (8 months ago!) and to this day the tempura in Mito is the best I have had. It is pretty much just anything deep fried, but usually it is shrimp and pumpkin, and my favorite, eggplant.
These small noodles are called soba noodles. Soba is interesting and usually comes with the dipping sauce (pictured here) that you dip the noodles in. They are often served with tempura or something. I kind of prefer udon, but soba is easier to eat.
When you hear ramen you probably think of the ramen found in cups that college students eat when they are broke. However, in Japan ramen is a delicious bowl of noodles with fish paste, bamboo shoots, and anything else you can think of mixed in. It has a delicious taste and is often not too cheap. It's great to eat when it's cold because it is always served steaming hot. After you finish your noodles, drink the rest and it is extremely yummy. Salty ramen is my favorite.
These little puffy white things are called mochi. It is a type of sweet or candy. They are made from rice and they are delicious! They can be a bit sticky and stretchy at times, but I enjoy them way too much. In fact, they are so cheap and readily available that I buy them, eat one or two and then try to give them away so that I do not eat all of them because they would have to be one of the many reasons that Japanese people's teeth rot out so quickly.
I guess I should also mention sushi. Although it's not nearly as popular in Japan as most Americans may think, I have been to a couple of sushi restaurants. Three local ones and one in Tokyo. The sushi here is really different than what you might find in America. I have tried a couple things and it has all been pretty delicious, but the shrimp and salmon are probably my favorites. Good luck finding a California roll!
