Japan for foodies
The Japanese menu, featuring slippery noodles, hearty hotpots, and delicate tasting dishes, is about so much more than just sushi.
Whether you’re in the backstreets of Tokyo or the refined restaurants of Kyoto, here you can find the most memorable meals of your life.
Let’s roll!
There are hundreds, possibly even thousands, of different flavours and types of sushi, but at its most pure form, this delicacy is about two things: rice and fish. Chefs train for a lifetime before they can claim to master this myriad dish. Don’t let this put you off trying your hand at rolling your own: the world-famous Toyosu Fish Market is a fitting place to learn with the Sushi Mafia.
Oodles of noodles
In Japan, you’re never far away from a steaming bowl of this much-loved staple. There are three main forms of noodles here: Chinese-style ramen wheat noodles, light soba (buckwheat noodles), and unctuous udon (white wheat noodles). Each region has their own twist; sample them all at the Shin-Yokohama Raumen Museum in Yokohama.
Eat the streets
Downtown Fukuoka is full of yatai, glowing stalls providing hungry workers or revelers with late-night sustenance. While these stalls used to be common around Japan, around 40 percent are now found in this bustling city. Follow your nose, and the smell of creamy tonkotsu ramen, to find spots, or discover the stalls most likely to have you shouting “oishii” on a tour with a local guide.
Seasons greetings
Visiting Japan during winter? Nabemono (hot pot) dishes will keep you warm. In spring, cherry-blossom ice cream is the perfect accompaniment for sakura spotting. Light noodles will cool you down in sweltering summer, while mackerel is an autumn must.
Delicate dishes
Kaiseki, a tasting menu involving tens of delicate dishes, is the pinnacle of fine dining in Kyoto. Here, everything from the serving ceramics to the seasonality of the ingredients is taken into consideration. No trip to the city would be complete without sampling this refined dining style. Eat on a budget at Kyoto Hyoki, or splash out at Kikunoi, which is run by a third-generation kaiseki chef.
Insider tip: secret Tokyo food tour
Peek under the lid of local foodie scenes in Japan’s biggest culinary cities on a foodie experience with Arigato Food Tours. They will guide you through the warren of izakaya in Tokyo, the upmarket kaiseki scene in Kyoto, or Osaka during sakura season.
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