Cuisine of the Rising Sun

I realize that when I write "Japanese food" many will think of sushi and tempura. My experience so far has been rice and noodles, with the occasional topping of sashimi [fresh, raw fish] or natto [fermented soybeans]. And I love all of it!

Restaurants here fall into two main classes, the all-around eateries and the specialists, with the latter generally being higher in quality and price. As a student who tends to be overly concerned with money, I have only been to one of those restaurants so far. Its delicious soba [buckwheat noodles in broth] were worth the 15-minute hunt in a rare burst of rainfall, but I want to keep such occasions a treat.

The broad-menu eateries usually have picture menus, plastic models of their cuisine outside, or both. This picture was taken in a store that specializes in such model-making...it all looks so good! Personally I think they're tacky but preferable to, say, the French restaurant with the indecipherable menu. The rice dish in the top left, called cha-han, is like regular rice with the other ingredients of Chinese-restaurant fried rice--yummy.

At that model shop, a few phrases of German caught my ear. I then turned around and asked where in Germany they were from, and the three students were surprised but happy to find another German speaker. We all ended up going out for lunch together to a restaurant I'd been meaning to try, which serves okonomiyake --imagine mixing the ingredients of a savory crepe into the dough and pouring the whole thing on a griddle in front of you. See below for our still-cooking meal and their smiling faces with that of their kind Japanese family friend, who helped us order.


There are, of course, sushi restaurants, and the cheapest of these are called kaiten-zushi; the first word means "rotation" and refers to the conveyer belt around the bar counter from which you select desired 2-piece plates of sushi, priced by the type of dish they're on. Below you can see the wall's per-plate expense guide as well as the chefs at work and individual spouts for tea water. At this local and tasty-for-its-class establishment, I discovered my taste for raw mackerel.



But what if I want something quick and cheap? Off to the convenience store, where you can find a whole bevy of plastic-wrapped eatables. I've picked up a dish here about every other day, including the Japanese-style curry in the lower third of the shot, but have so far managed to keep my dignity intact by avoiding the mayonnaise-topped rice rolls. Oh, and if you buy a meal-in-a-bowl the cashier will politely ask if you'd like it heated in their microwave.

But what if I want a break from Japanese food? Well, there's no shortage of international style restaurants, from Western-style breakfast places to (no joke) a Sizzler in the nearby shopping mall. Up until now I have stayed away from these, but I did go to a Korean place for lunch today with my new friend Michael--he enjoyed the personal BBQ and I tucked into my affordable bibimbap [assorted veggies over rice with kimchi--the Korean answer to sauerkraut that pops up alongside every entree].

But what if I don't really want to spend money and don't mind eating alone? Back to my room for my now-standard dinner, which is natto over rice and whatever vegetables I can find on sale. It's filling and healthy, and as a deliberate bonus I'm slowly becoming fond of the fermented beans which are known for turning foreigners away. I confess that normally the ingredients aren't as artistically arranged; this was just for aesthetic effect tonight, but I may invest that little bit of extra effort more often, as it was more fun to eat. The chopsticks below were given to me by a friend who's working as a missionary in Osaka, and using them at every meal is one way I'm working against waste--every restaurant provides disposable chopsticks, but those quickly add up in their environmental impact.


Just came back from the local grocery store, where I not only picked up more cereal (my breakfast luxury), but also discovered a new way to save money: the evening bargain sale! At the day's close, all the store-produced entrees go for around 50% off--an even better deal than the AM/PM lunches. With expiration dates looming, however, it may just be a matter of time before I try something I really can't stand. We'll see if the cheapskate or the connoisseur wins out.