Food in Japan: A Photo Essay

Some (but not all) of my favorite eats 🙂

Traditional Japanese breakfasts can be eaten at hotels and ryokans (traditional Japanese inns). There’s often natto (fermented soybeans), some kind of fish, rice, soup, and vegetables.

Okonomiyaki & Yakisoba

The leftmost and rightmost pictures are okonomiyaki and the center is yakisoba. Hiroshima and Osaka were the two most popular spots I ate at.

Charcoal grilled eel is very popular in Japan and one of the “fancier” things you can eat. The eel sauce is absolutely delicious. The yellow strings you see next to the eel are cut scrambled eggs.

There is a famous dessert chain in Japan called Karafuneya Coffee where they have many famous parfaits. This one they call the “Japanese Parfait”, including typical Japanese sweets such as red bean, mochi, matcha, and black sesame.

One of Japan’s most famous foods is takoyaki, battered balls with pieces of squid. These are ones from Osaka Dotonbori, a famous street/river with lots of food, lights, and izakayas.

This is a traditional dessert place from a restaurant in Arashiyama. Warabi-mochi is a type of mochi that is a lot softer than the typical chewy mochi. It is topped with matcha powder and accompanied by whisked green tea.

Tonkatsu is a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet with egg over rice. This was actually eaten in Haneda Airport– definitely beats any US airport food.

Chicken and egg over rice with a small side of udon from Tokyo Station.