Some times I think half the pleasure of traveling is enjoying the tastes of another culture. All in all, Japan has some great food, and I regret not
having tried even more variety.
There is more to Japanese cuisine than sushi! We discovered sushi to be very expensive, with the exception of conveyorbelt sushi. This was a great experience!
Here are a few sushi elements:
Maguro - tuna. Saba - macerell. Ebi - boiled prawn. Ama ebi - raw prawn. Tekka maki - tuna. California maki - avocado and crab.
Sashimi - raw fish in slices. Served with pickled ginger and strond, shredded pepper root. Mix wasabi in soy sauce and dip the pieces of
fish into the mix, and I believe only the fish is supposed to be in contact with the sauce.
I tried a few different things I would not find at home, and some were great, some made my stomach turn...
Things to try out - sort of a dictionary
• Miso shiru - soup made of soybean stock. Served with dice of tofu and some vegetables.
• Soba (Noodles) - comes in several varieties, try Udon, Ramen and Somen.
• Tempura - deep fried vegetables, fish og seafood.
• Yakitori - grilled pieces of chicken with sauce.
• Okonomiyaki - a crossover between pizza and pancake.
• Donburi - a bowl of rice with meat and egg on top.
• Gyoza - small rice cakes filled with meat and vegetables.
• Sukiyaki - beef, vegetables and tofu, prepared on your table and then dipped in raw eggs.
• Tonkatsu - deep fried filet of pork.
• Gohan - white boiled rice.
• Sake - Japanese rice wine.
• Ocha - green tea.
• Mizu - water.
• Asahi - Japanese beer (Birru)
So,we enjoyed the simple breakfast on a corner, eating rice, soup and fish for breakfast. We found some excellent noodle soup places. In Tokyo we found that
excellent crossover restaurant, with tastes I have NEVER had before! And in Kyoto, we had Sukiyaki. In Takayama we were adviced to try the local beef, which was briliant;
cooking on your table...
Before I went on this trip I did study the Lonely Planet and other sources, and the cuisine section was no exception. I had heard that there are particular ways to eat, and what not to do if I wanted to stay out of dishonouring myself. How to treat your rice, how to eat soup etc.
For example, I read that you should never mix your rice with anything. Let it stay in its bowl and never pour anything over it. Also, do not stick your chopsticks vertically in your rice, using it as a resting point. This is supposed to be a symbol of death. As a result of this, I almost felt nervous when I ate the first times, but I soon discovered that these rules applied more in teh "old days", but I still treated my food with respect, just in case.
When it comes to soup, I should probably have seen Tampopo before this trip, as one gets a perfect introduction to noodle soup culture. One thing was what tradition says about making the soup. Another is how to eat it; what to start with, and how to slurp properly.
Fortunately, neither Robin or I did anything silly in the restaurants, and we managed fine.
And now, I really miss the soups...