Welcome,Guest User

While most restaurants specialize in a certain kind of dish, each neighbourhood invariably has a few shokudō (食堂), serving up simple, popular dishes and teishoku sets at affordable prices (usually 500 to 1000 JPY). A closely related variant is the bentō-ya (弁当屋), which serves takeout boxes known as o-bentō (お弁当).

A staple of the shokudō is the donburi (丼, lit. "rice bowl"), referring to a bowl of rice with a topping. Popular ones include:


Gyūdon (牛丼), beef and onion bowl
oyakodon (親子丼), lit. "parent-and-child bowl", usually chicken and egg (but sometimes salmon and roe)
katsudon (カツ丼), a deep-fried pork cutlet with egg
gyūdon (牛丼), beef and onion
chūkadon (中華丼), lit. "Chinese bowl", stir-fried vegetables and meat in a thick sauce
Guests will also frequently encounter Japan's most popular dish, the ubiquitous curry rice (カレーライス karē raisu), a thick, mild, brown paste that has nothing to do with the Indian or the Thai variation of curry. Often the cheapest dish on the menu, a large portion (大盛り ōmori) is guaranteed to saturate any good trencherman.

At the other extreme of the spectrum are super-exclusive ryōtei (料亭), the Michelin three-star restaurants of the Japanese food world, which serve gourmet kaiseki (会席) meals prepared from the very best seasonal ingredients. Many of them require introductions, and if visitors are fortunate enough to be accepted they will be looking at upwards of 30,000 JPY per capita for an unforgettable experience which will be beyond comprehension to anyone but the most seasoned Old Japan Hands.

The number of restaurants in Japan is simply astounding, and you will never run out of places to go, wherever you are. For cultural and practical reasons, Japanese almost never invite guests to their homes, so socializing nearly always involves eating out. Most Japanese-style restaurants have lunchtime teishoku (定食, fixed set meals). These typically consist of a meat or fish dish, with a bowl of miso soup, pickles, and rice (often with free extra helpings). These can be as inexpensive as 600 JPY, yet ample enough even for large appetites. Menus however will for most establishments be in Japanese only; however many restaurants have plastic models (many in exquisite detail) of their meals in their front window. If tourists cannot read the menu, it may be better to take the waiter or waitress outside and point at what they would like.

Restaurants will present you with the check after the meal, and you are expected to pay at the counter when leaving. Guests should not leave payment on the table and walk out. The phrase for "check" is kanjō or kaikei. If it is getting late, a waiter will usually come to the table to tell guests that it is time for the "last order".

Many cheap chain eateries have vending machines where you buy a ticket and give it to the server. Guests will have to be able to read Japanese to use them, although many of them dispplay photos of the dishes served. Some other places have "all you can eat" meals called tabe hōdai (食べ放題).

Tipping is not customary in Japan. 24-hour "family restaurants" such as Denny's, Royal Host, and Jonathan's often have a 10 per cent late-night surcharge.

Perhaps Japan's most famous culinary exports are sushi (寿司), raw fish over rice, and sashimi (刺身), plain raw fish. These seemingly very simple dishes are in fact quite difficult to prepare: the fish must be extremely fresh, and apprentices spend years just learning how to making the vinegared rice for sushi correctly. The recondite sushi terminology could fill volumes of books, but the most common types are:

nigirizushi (握り寿司), the classic, hand-formed sushi form consisting of rice with fish pressed on top
makizushi (巻き寿司, "rolled sushi"), fish and rice rolled up in nori seaweed and cut into bite-size chunks
temaki (手巻, "hand roll"), fish and rice rolled up in a big cone of nori
gunkan (軍艦), "battleship" sushi, like nigiri but with nori wrapped around the edge to contain the contents
chirashi (ちらし寿司), a large bowl of vinegared rice with seafood scattered on top

Selection of sushi
Nearly anything inhabiting the seas can and has been turned into sushi, and most sushi restaurants keep a handy multilingual decoding key on hand or on the wall. A few species more or less guaranteed to feature in every restaurant are maguro (tuna), shake (salmon), ika (squid), tako (octopus), and tamago (egg). More exotic options include uni (sea urchin roe), toro (fatty tuna belly, very expensive) and shirako (fish sperm).

Foreign visitors who were invited to a sushi restaurant, but who are unable to devour raw fish, usually have several alternatives. For instance, the above mentioned tamago, various vegetables on rice, or the very tasty inarizushi (稲荷寿司, rice in a sweet wrap of deep fried tofu) or futomaki (太巻, "thick, large or fat rolls").

Even in Japanese, sushi is a bit of a delicacy and the most expensive restaurants, where you order piece by piece from a chef, can run you bills into ten of thousands of yen. You can limit the damage by ordering a fixed-price moriawase (盛り合わせ) set, where the chef will choose whatever he thinks is good that day. Cheaper yet are the ubiquitous kaiten (回転, lit. "revolving") sushi shops, where guests sit by a conveyor belt and indulge into whatever happens to pass by, at prices that can be as low as 100 JPY per plate. Even in these places though, it is common to order directly from the chef.

When eating sushi, it is perfectly acceptable to use your fingers, by dipping the piece in soy sauce first. In Japan, the pieces will typically already have a dab of fiery wasabi (わさび) radish lurking inside, but you can always add more according to your taste. Slices of pickled ginger (gari) refresh the palate and infinite refills of green tea are always available for free.

Not much meat was eaten before the Meiji era, but the habit has picked up significantly. Some options, usually served by specialist restaurants, include:


Unagi (うなぎ), Japanese eel
okonomiyaki (お好み焼き), Japanese pancakes/pizza with a variety of condiments and strong flavored sauce, dried sea weed and dried bonito flakes on it
teppanyaki (鉄板焼き), meat grilled on a hot iron plate
tempura (天ぷら), battered shrimp and vegetables deep-fried very quickly so that it is crispy and not too oily with dipping in broth or salt on it.
yakiniku (焼肉), Japanese-style barbeque( a little similar to Korean-style (but Japanese includes vegetables instaed of wrapping meats with leaves like Koreans do.)
yakitori (焼き鳥), barbecued chicken skewers
horumonyaki (ホルモン焼き), broiled pig innards
One Japanese specialty worth seeking out is eel (うなぎ unagi), reputed to give strength and vitality in the drainingly hot summer months. A properly grilled eel simply melts in the mouth when eaten and takes over a thousand yen from your wallet in the process.

Another popular type of Japanese food is noodles (麺 men). Practically every town and hamlet in Japan boasts its own "famous" noodle dish, and they are often well worth trying. There are two major noodle types native to Japan: thin buckwheat soba (そば) and thick wheat udon (うどん). Typically, all dishes below can be ordered with either soba or udon depending on your preference and a bowl will only cost a few hundred yen, especially at the standing-room-only noodle joints in and near train stations.


Sansai soba (山菜そば)
kake soba (かけそば), plain broth and maybe a little spring onion on top
tsukimi soba (月見そば), soup with a raw egg dropped in named "moon-viewing" because of the resemblance to a moon behind clouds
kitsune soba (きつねそば), soup with with thin sheets of deep-fried tofu
zaru soba (ざるそば), chilled noodles served with a dipping sauce, popular in summer
Chinese egg noodles or rāmen (ラーメン) are also very popular but more expensive (500 to 1,000 JPY depending on the variation) due to the greater effort involved and the condiments, which typically include a slice of grilled pork and a variety of vegetables. The three major styles of ramen are:

shio rāmen (塩ラーメン), salty pork broth
shoyu rāmen (醤油ラーメン), soy broth
miso rāmen (味噌ラーメン), miso (soybean paste) broth
Slurping your noodles is not only acceptable, but expected. According to the Japanese it both cools them down and makes them taste better. And pick up a manga comic book to protect yourself from soup spray.

Throughout Japan you can find cafes and restaurants serving Western food (洋食 yōshoku), ranging from carbon copies of famous French pastries to hardly recognizable Japanized dishes like corn-and-potato pizza, spaghetti omelettes, and other Frankenfood. A few popular only-in-Japan dishes include:

hambaagu (ハンバーグ), not to be confused with the McDonalds-style hambaagaa, this is a standalone hamburger patty with fixings
omuraisu (オムライス), rice wrapped in an omelette with a complimentary dollop of ketchup
wafū suteeki (和風ステーキ), steak served Japanese-style with soy
korokke (コロッケ), deep fried mashed potato with some meat and onion
kare- (カレー), Japanese-style curry, it is not as spicy as Indian curry.

Japanese fast food restaurants offer decent quality at reasonable prices. Some of the most ubiquitous chains are:

Yoshinoya (吉野家), Matsuya (松屋), and Sukiya (すき家) are gyūdon (beef bowl) specialists. All have been hit hard by the BSE scare in the mid-2000s, and have switched much of their menus to pork and Australian beef ("oji beefu").
Tenya (てんや), the best tempura you'll ever eat for less than ¥500
Mos Burger seems like just another fast food chain, but actually has a pretty interesting menu — for hamburgers with a twist, how about grilled eel between two rice buns? Notice also the list of local produce suppliers posted in each shop.
Freshness Burger tries to be a bit less fast-foody and more like an "all-American" joint. While the food is decent, the burgers are nothing short of tiny.
Beckers Operated by JR, these fas-tfood burger restaurants are often found in and near JR stations in greater Tokyo and Yokohama. Beckers offers made to order burgers and Menchi burgers (minced black pork). Unlike most shops, their buns are fresh and baked inside the stores. Unused buns are thrown away if not used 1.5 hours after baking them. Their Pork Teriyaki burger is also recommended. Guests can pay with the JR Suica pre-paid re-chargeable multi-use train card.
Ooto-ya (大戸屋) is really too good to call fast food, with a menu and atmosphere that matches any "home-style" Japanese restaurant. While there are illustrated menus on signboards, ordering can be confusing: at some stores orders are taken at the counter before taking a seat, while at others servers come to the table.
American fast food chains are also common, including McDonald's, Wendy's, and Kentucky Fried Chicken.

There are also a number of Japanese "family restaurants", serving a wide variety of dishes, including steak, pasta, Chinese style dishes, sandwiches, and other foods. Though their food is relatively unspectacular, these restaurants usually have illustrated menus, so travellers who cannot read Japanese can use the photos to choose and communicate their orders. Some chains across the country are:

Jonathan's is probably the most ubiquitous local chain and vies with Denny's. Skylark is owned by the same company and much the same.
Royal Host - tries to market itself as a bit up-scale
Volks is an affordable steak restaurant that also has all-you-can-eat bread, salad, and soup bars.

Though Starbucks has planted its flag in Japan almost as well as in the United States, the Japanese kissaten (喫茶店) has a long history. For anyone looking for a jolt of caffeine, Starbucks or one of its Japanese predecessors such as Doutor. Visitors looking for a refuge from the rain, the heat or the crowds, the kissaten is an oasis in the urban jungle. Most coffee shops are quite unique and reflect the tastes of their clientele.

A peculiar kind of kissaten is the jazz kissa (ジャズ喫茶), or jazz coffee shop. These are even darker and more smoke-filled than normal kissaten, and frequented by extremely serious-looking jazz buffs who sit motionless and alone, soaking in the bebop played at high volumes from giant audio speakers.

Another offshoot is the danwashitsu (談話室, or lounge). The appearance is indistinguishable from a pricy kissaten, but the purpose is more specific: serious discussions over matters such as business or meeting prospective spouses. All tables are in separate booths, reservations are usually required, and the drinks are pricey. To anyone looking for a cup of coffee: this is not your cup of tea.

During the summer months many buildings and hotels have restaurants on their rooftops which serve dishes like fried chicken and french fries, as well as light snacks. The specialty though is draft beer, and you can order large mugs of it or pay a fixed price for all you can drink. The most famous beer gardens in Tokyo are the Kudan Kaikan Beer Garden in Chiyoda-ku, Sekirei at the Meiji Kinenkan, Tamashii no Purukogi at the Tobu Department Store in Ikebukuro, the Mount Takao Beer Garden.

Despite its image as light and healthy cuisine, everyday Japanese food can be quite heavy in salt and fat, with deep-fried meat or seafood being prominent. Vegetarians (much less vegans) may have difficulty finding a meal that does not include animal products to some degree, particularly as the near-ubiquitous Japanese soup stock dashi is usually prepared with bonito.


Nattō maki (納豆巻き)
An excellent option is the kaiten sushi shop. Westerners tend to associate sushi with fish, but there are several kinds of rolled sushi available in these shops that does not include fish or other marine creatures: kappa maki (cucumber rolls), nattō maki (sushi filled with stringy fermented soy beans, an acquired taste for many), kanpyō maki (pickled-gourd rolls), and, occasionally, yuba sushi (made with the delicate, tasty 'skin' of tofu). These types of sushi tend to be less popular than the sushi using marine animal products, so you may not be that common on the conveyor belt. Guests can however shout out the name of the type of sushi they want and the sushi chef will prepare them right away. When guests ready to leave, they call the waitress over inorder to count the number and the type of plates. The vegetarian sushi options are always inexpensive. Whether eating vegetarian (or otherwise), kaiten sushi shops offer good value and are lots of fun.

While considerably harder to find, it is worth looking out for a restaurant (often run by temples) that offers shōjin ryori (精進料理), the purely vegetarian cuisine developed by Buddhist monks.

For tourists travelling on a budget, Japan's numerous convenience stores can be a great place to grab a bite, as they operate around the clock. 7-Eleven, Lawson, and Family Mart, are just a few of the many convenience chains found almost everywhere in Japan. They offer instant noodles, sandwiches, meat buns, and even some small prepared meals. Onigiri (お握り) or sometimes called omusubi (お結び, rice balls with different ingredients such as fish and plum) can make for a great little meal.

There are many shops in Kyoto City making and selling traditional Japanese sweets known as wagashi,while it is rare to be served at restaurants. Wagashi originated in the Japanese tea ceremony, where they are served to offset and balance the bitterness of matcha (Japanese powdered green tea). The tea ceremony was cultivated in Kyoto and so consequently wagashi were developed simultaneously here as well.
Most Kyoto wagashi includes anko (red adzuki-bean paste). It’s strong, rich mouth feel and sweetness wins over even the most doubtful critic. Wagashi are lined up in shop showcases, making it easy to pick and choose your favorite ones. Wagashi is something not to be missed!