Japan is a country that is culturally very rich, both through its history, its gastronomy, and its craftsmanship.

The history of Japanese gastronomy

Centuries of isolationism have allowed it to develop traditions that are unique and cannot be found anywhere else. These markers of Japanese identity are still carefully preserved and passed on to the next generations. Each stage of your journey will thus, without a doubt, be marked by a new discovery.

Japanese cuisine is one of the richest and most refined in the world. It is marked by vegetarian Buddhist traditions. Its great diversity also makes it an international reference. Japanese culinary art is characterized by its simplicity, naturalness, and refinement.

If people generally do not come to Japan for the first time for its gastronomy, they often return to taste dishes that cannot be found elsewhere, such as fugu (pufferfish), kame-no-te (barnacle shaped like a turtle's foot), umibudo (seaweed called green caviar or sea grapes). These are products consumed at the source.

The flavors are numerous and classified into five categories: salty, sweet, bitter, sour, and umami, a Japanese term that could be translated as "savory taste." Japanese cuisine is also distinguished by several cooking methods: sautéed, grilled, fried, simmered, on the plancha, barbecue, and of course raw.

Price ranges vary from very affordable to high luxury, depending on the products, the quality of the restaurants, and the success of the chefs, reflecting the immense importance that the Japanese attach to their cuisine.

Characteristic products

Bentō

A dish prepared in a wooden box (thin cardboard or plastic) and generally composed of rice with a salted plum in the middle (umeboshi), a small omelet, chicken or fish, and vegetables. It is mainly sold in train stations (ekiben) and each station has its specialty.

A little before noon, bentō vendors set up on the sidewalks in business districts or in front of government offices. The bentō is sold at an affordable price, between 500 ¥ and 850 ¥ in general.

Chanko-nabe

This is a special soup for sumo wrestlers that they eat only in the morning and evening. Not recommended for anyone on a diet!

Donburi

A rice dish topped with various ingredients. Katsudon is a breaded pork dish served in a bowl of rice with an egg and grilled onions. The equivalent with chicken and egg is called oyakodon donburi ("parent-child"), with beef gyūdon, with tempura tendon, and ebidon with shrimp (ebi: shrimp).

Fugu (pufferfish)

Fugu contains a deadly poison that must be removed before cooking or eating it raw. This preparation can only be done by a duly certified specialist.

Enthusiasts therefore experience a real thrill, as a mistake can be fatal. But in fact, why do the Japanese consider fugu the top of the top? There is no particular taste that stands out... Some non-Japanese say that fugu is bland, which is not wrong. It is sobriety itself, stripped down. But with attention, a slightly sweet flavor is revealed.

It is "this miracle of taste" that delights the Japanese. Fugu itself is like this sensation, as it consists of thin translucent slices. A fugu dish can cost between 5,000 and 10,000 ¥ per person, but it is worth it. It is eaten as nabe (cooked with vegetables), but it is preferable to taste it as sashimi. It can be enjoyed with a hirezake sake (sake containing the fugu fin).

Kaiseki ryōri

In 1449, shōgun Yoshimasa Ashikaga built a tea pavilion that is part of Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion) in Kyoto. He prepared the tea ceremony with special utensils and solemnly developed what would become not only an art but a true cult.

Kaiseki ryōri is ceremonial cuisine that developed from the tea ceremony in the 18th century. It was meant to fill the stomachs of practitioners a little before they drank matcha green tea, which is a bit harsh on the stomach.

Noodles: soba, udon, and rāmen

Soba are buckwheat noodles. They are eaten hot in a soup (kake soba), or cold with nori (seaweed) and dipped in soy sauce (zaru soba). Yakisoba are noodles cooked in a pan.

Udon are thick wheat noodles, eaten in a beef or pork soup. They are said to originate from Takamatsu, in Shikoku.

Rāmen are noodles of Chinese origin developed in Fukuoka, eaten in soup. These dishes have in common that they are inexpensive (less than 1,000 ¥) and are eaten while slurping air at the same time.

Oden

Oden is a kind of stew of various ingredients cooked in a fish broth. It is composed of eggs, radish, turnips, various mashed and mixed fried ingredients (ganmodoki), fish pâté (tsumire or hampen), konnyaku (boiled taro, mashed and hardened), konbu (kelp roll), grilled fish pâté (chikuwa), etc. This dish is generally served in winter and remains very popular.

Okonomiyaki

It is a kind of flour pancake cooked with pork (buta), squid (ika), vegetables (yasai) or mixed (mikkusu), covered with a thick, sweet brown sauce, mayonnaise, soy sauce, and katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes). In an okonomiyaki restaurant, the customer usually cooks their own dish on the hot plate, but the staff gives advice...

Pastries (o-kashi)

Generally, restaurants do not serve desserts, except for ice cream. However, most cafes offer a selection of Western cakes. Japanese sweets often disappoint Westerners, even those used in the tea ceremony. These are very sweet and many are variations on the same theme: mochi (sticky rice paste) filled with anko (red bean paste). Mochi are eaten at the beginning of the year.

Robata-yaki

It is like a rustic country inn. The cooks prepare dishes over a wood fire in front of the customers. You just have to indicate the desired ingredients, and the "cook" gets to work. The atmosphere is friendly and often encourages customers who do not know each other to start a conversation.

Sashimi

Sashimi is thinly sliced raw fish, seafood, or shellfish. It is generally served as a starter in a traditional meal, as the delicate flavor of the fish can be disturbed by the taste of already cooked food.

It is also in this dish that Japanese refinement reaches its peak. The choice of ceramics, the ingredients and vegetables arranged around or under the slices, the work of textures that juxtapose or confront each other, the graininess of the bluish porcelain that highlights the smoothness of the fish's skin, everything contributes to an extremely rich culinary aesthetic.

The fish must be perfectly fresh. In some restaurants, fillets are even cut from the live fish as it is taken out of the aquarium, before being put back in the water, still alive but thinner... Sashimi should be dipped in soy sauce (shōyu) possibly mixed with wasabi before eating.

For those who are not comfortable with chopsticks, good news, sushi is one of the only dishes that can be eaten with the fingers. Prices vary greatly, depending on the establishment (from 3,000 to 10,000 ¥).

A few words to remember for ordering: Eel: unagi • Scallop: hotate • Crab: kani • Shrimp: ebi • Japanese omelet: tamago • Sea urchin: uni • Mackerel: saba • Salmon: sake • Cuttlefish: ika • Tuna: maguro • Fatty tuna: toro.

Sukiyaki

Sukiyaki is a dish of meat and vegetables cooked in front of the customers, on the table. The beef is cut into thin slices. The vegetables and tōfu are then cooked in a broth of soy sauce, sweet rice wine (mirin), and sugar. The different ingredients are sometimes dipped in a raw egg yolk.

Tempura

This is a frying of fish, vegetables, or shellfish. This cooking style was brought to Japan by Portuguese traders and missionaries in the 16th century. The preparation requires flour, egg yolks, and water. This batter is called koromo. The ingredients are then coated in the batter and plunged into vegetable oil. The oil must be clear and changed as often as possible. Delicious. Expect to pay from 2,000 to 10,000 ¥.

Teppan-yaki

Japanese and foreigners go to teppan-yaki as much for the quality of the dinner as for the show. A chef cooks on the grill in front of his customers, with art and dexterity, seafood, beef, and vegetables.

Yakitori

Originally, yakitori were bamboo skewers on which small pieces of chicken were grilled over charcoal. Now, there are yakitori of different meats. Yakitori restaurants are inexpensive (from 3,000 to 4,000 ¥).

A few words to remember for ordering: gyū-niku: pieces of beef • kawa: chicken skin • rebā: chicken liver • shiitake: Japanese mushrooms • tama-negi: white round onions • tebasaki: chicken wings • tsukune: chicken meatballs • yakitori: chicken skewers.

Drinks

Beer (biiru). Beer appeared in Japan at the end of the 19th century. Since then, it has become the most popular drink in the country. It sometimes accompanies the most delicate meals, rather than sake.

The most well-known Japanese beer brands are Kirin, Asahi, Sapporo, Yebisu, and Suntory, but there are others in certain localities. Cans cost 250 ¥ in vending machines, and about 500 ¥ in restaurants.

Sake (nihon shu). In Japanese, sake is called nihon shu. Nothing to do with the digestifs you might drink in an Asian restaurant in Europe. It is not a strong alcohol, but a fermented rice wine at 17°. There are more than 2,500 varieties of nihon shu.

The purest and rarest is called junmaishu (sake made with pure Yamanishiki rice), the most common sanbaizōshu, and in between, honjozōshu (which contains no more than 25% added alcohol).

In addition to the major national brands, thousands of small producers who make their own nihon shu (jizake) try to make a place for themselves in the market. Nihon shu is either karakuchi (dry) or amakuchi (sweet). It can be consumed hot (atsukan) or cold (reishu).

Shōchū. 30° alcohol that is drunk with hot water (oyu-wari) or with soda and lemon (chūhai or chū-hi).

Whisky. In just a few years, Japan has become the fourth largest producer in the world with two major groups, Suntory and Nikka. Temperate climate, pure water, presence of peat bogs, especially on the island of Hokkaido, Japanese whiskies are also made in a more traditional way than in Scotland.

Finally, grain whisky is always made from corn, whereas in Scotland it has been replaced by wheat. The Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry Cask 2013 was voted best whisky in the world in 2014! The 1980 vintage reaches 7,000 €!

What to eat in the street?

Normally, it is impolite to eat in the street, standing or walking (and forbidden on public transport). However, during festivals, entire streets can be occupied by street vendors (yatai). This is then the opportunity to taste takoyaki (balls of dough made with eggs filled with octopus).

But also taiyaki (a kind of pancake filled with sweet red bean paste, molded in the shape of a sea bream, a symbol of luck), yakisoba (fried noodles). And finally, yakiimo (sweet potatoes cooked on a bed of stones, a bit like roasted chestnuts).

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