Must Try Food In Japan

Making a list of the Must Try Food In Japan would do no justice to the amount of amazing food joints in this country. Not only is Japan known for its state of the art technology, rich culture, humble people and great landscapes but it’s also one of the top food destinations in the world. In fact, just yesterday I came across a poll on social media asking for ‘the best countries to eat in the world’ and it was no surprise that even after 150 replies, Japan was the top answer. This place is heaven for foodies of all budgets.

In Japan, street food is everywhere, adding to that you have places like Tsukiji Market in Tokyo, Nishiki Market in Kyoto and Dotonbori street in Osaka. If “Man Vs Food” was ever made in Japan, food would be undefeated, there are so many unique options that I was frequently overwhelmed by the amount of choices I had to fit in one belly and selecting what to eat was a challenge in itself. Then I would tell myself “YOLO” and end up having 2-3 meals at a time, I even had the most expensive meal of my life on my trip to Japan. Here is my ultimate Japan food guide from my 10 Days In Japan.

SPICY RAMEN AT KIKANBO RAMEN

Location: Kikanbo Ramen, Tokyo
If there is one thing of Japan I will always miss is the Ramen. I’ve tried Ramen in many places around the world but nothing tastes like the one in Japan, DUH! Who would do it better than its original makers, right? This specific joint specializes in different spice levels, you choose 2 levels of spice in the broth, one for the taste and another for the after taste which is what differentiates this place from hundreds of others. The unique blend of the Japanese herbs and spices in the slow cooked broth and tender chunks of meat makes this one of my 2 favorite ramen restaurants in the world. Expect to spend about 800 to 1500 YEN (approximately 8 to 15 USD) and wait for about 45 mins minimum to get a seat.

SUSHI

Location: Genki Sushi, Shibuya, Tokyo
Why not? I love Sushi and when I’m in its’ home, I’ve got to have it. There are tons of sushi places all over Japan and they are all brilliant, the place I liked the most was Genki Sushi in Shibuya, Tokyo. The whole experience here is just too cool, you sit in front of a tablet and select what you want to eat, seconds later your order arrives on a conveyor. The prices are really good and one can easily get carried away, like I did. I had about 22 various types of sushi and a dessert for about 1,600 YEN (16 USD), pretty awesome right?

SASHIMI

Location: Tsukiji Market, Tokyo
It will be hard to miss the gigantic tuna and salmon fishes they have here, they are so enormous that it takes a minimum of 2 people to cut them. The process of carving the fish and cutting them into bite sized portions is so satisfying to watch that it will be impossible not to order some on the spot, the best sashimi I’ve ever had.

CRAB ON A STICK

Location: Tsukiji Market, Tokyo (also available in Dotonbori, Osaka)
Fresh tender meat from the legs of a king crab blow torched to perfection, who would say no to that? The meat is full of flavor and the charred taste from the blowtorch just adds on to the awesomeness without giving it a very fishy taste.

TAMAGOYAKI

Location: Tsukiji Market, Tokyo
A sweetened Japanese omelet which tastes very much like how the insides of a French toast would taste like, not too sweet and not too eggy but extremely delicious. A great way to take a break from the seafood and it’s also the cheapest thing in the market (I think it was for a 100 YEN).

WAGYU BEEF

Location: Tsukiji Market, Tokyo
Even though Tsukiji is more about the seafood, it’s just another excuse to sell other types of food as well. We have all heard of the juicy wagyu beef and when the aroma of this gorgeous meat grilled right before your eyes hits your nose, the carnivore wakes up.

MOCHI

Location: Tsukiji Market, Tokyo
A sweet rice cake found in almost every Japanese desert shop around the world, its heavy (literally) and not too sweet but enough to give you a nice sugar rush.

OYSTERS AND SCALLOPS

Location: Tsukiji Market, Tokyo
Honestly, I’m not a big fan of oysters or scallops, mostly because they leave a very fishy aftertaste but the ones in Tsukiji are not what you’d expect. Your first reaction would be, “That is huge” (that’s what she said), the portion of meat was literally the size of my palm and since they were caught just hours before, the freshness took all that fishy aftertaste away. In fact, the charred flavor from the blowtorch and the tanginess from the lemon dressing gave it a very nice seafood flavor which you will never get anywhere else in the world.

MATCHA LATTE AT JAPANESE STARBUCKS

Location: Kiyomizu-dera, Kyoto
Regional flavors in Starbucks are not new and it’s no surprise that they have a matcha flavored beverage in Japan, coz they have matcha flavored everything…literally, everything. However, this is no ordinary Starbucks, it is a Japanese style starbucks with traditional interiors and futon mats for seating. If you ever visit Kyoto, you definitely need to visit this one of a kind starbucks and check it off your bucketlist.

FIRE RAMEN AT MENBAKAICHIDAI RAMEN

Location: Menbakaichidai Fire Ramen, Kyoto
Apart from the delicious food, this place is a whole new level of experience of a Ramen restaurant. There is a reason this place is known as the ‘fire ramen’, instead of adding flames to the fire, they add fire to the ramen. The place is run by a father and son who give you a one of a kind ramen experience. The son speaks perfect English and loves conversing with the customers which just makes it even better. Thanks to social media, this place is very popular and I had to wait over an hour to get a seat but it was all so worth it. If I had to pick the best food experience in this country, this would be it, definite must try food in Japan.

TAKOYAKI

Location: Nishiki Market, Kyoto (and/or Dotonbori, Osaka)
Flour battered balls with chunks of octopus topped with takoyaki sauce, mayonnaise and dried bonito shavings. If you had time for just one street food choice, this would be an ideal must try food in Japan. Making this snack is like watching a real-life timelapse but you gotta eat them in slow-mo. Takoyaki is more famous in Osaka’s Dotonbori Street but the ones at Nishiki Market were equally delicious.

SOY DONUTS

Location: Nishiki Market, Kyoto
After so much seafood, you definitely need something to cleanse your pallet and these soy donuts do just that. Apart from the fact that they are deep fried to golden crispness and melt in your mouth in one bite, they are prepared on a an impressive conveyor belt which makes you want to have them even if you don’t want to, typical Japan.

TAKO TOMAGO (OCTOPUS WITH QUAIL EGG INSIDE)

Location: Nishiki Market, Kyoto
This one is the highlight of my visit to Nishiki Market and you have to be brave enough to try it. It is literally a whole baby octopus on a stick with a quail egg inside its head, how on earth do they do that is beyond my imagination, again…..only in Japan. I’m not a big fan of octopus in general and it’s definitely not something I would like to have again but I had to cross this off my bucketlist.

DINNER AT PONTOCHO ALLEY

Location: Kyoto
A picturesque narrow alley full of traditional restaurants, many of which are not even known to Google Maps. This alley is very famous among tourists and the restaurants aren’t cheap but in a place like Kyoto, you’ve got to have the traditional fine dining experience. After a half an hour of debating with myself, I walked into Mimasuya Restaurant, sat on the futon mat and devoured a juicy beef steak.

DESSERT AT A THEMED CAFÉ

Location: Tokyo
Tokyo is home to so many themed cafés that it will take weeks to try them all. Every single one of them is so unique in a Japanese way that it takes a while to let it all sink in. You have the Capcom bar in Shinjuku for die hard gamers, Maid Cafes all over Akihabara where every single thing is “cute”, Animal Cafes where you can play with pets whilst enjoying a beverage, Alcatraz bar which has a layout of a prison with an erotic themed food menu and so many more that you got to try at least 1 of them.

OKONOMIYAKI

Location: Okonomimura, Hiroshima
The signature dish of Hiroshima is ‘Okonomiyaki’ and there is no better place to have this other than Okonomimura, a 4 storey building filled with small restaurants in each floor, all serving the same thing. Okonomiyaki is a Japanese savoury pancake with a bunch of ingredients including noodles, meat, vegetables and more, all cooked right infront of you. I was in Hiroshima for 2 nights and I had this for dinner on both of them.

MOMIJI MANJU

Location: Miyajima Island Street Food Market, Hiroshima
A sweet cake in a shape of a maple leaf, typically filled with red bean paste. They are available in a bunch of flavors and are made on the spot with a ridiculously accurate automated machine. I tried the red bean paste and the custard flavors, both were really good.

NIKUMAN

Location: Miyajima Island Street Food Market, Hiroshima
Land of the rising sun? More like land of the rising ‘bun’. The softness of this steaming goodness and the juiciness of the beef in that mix of Japanese spices was so delicious that I had to order it twice. Being a die-hard meat lover, this stuff I highly approve.

KOBE BEEF IN KOBE

Location: Royal Mouriya Restaurant, Kobe
How could I come to Japan and not go to the home of Kobe Beef, the city of Kobe. I decided to go all out and spoil myself for this meal, the most expensive meal of my life. I picked the most highly recommended place, Royal Mouriya Restaurant, a teppanyaki style restaurant where you are really treated like a king; I was even given my own personal chef. The raw meat was such an eye candy that I couldn’t take my eyes off it and watching my chef cook it was another beautiful story. Words cannot describe how flavorful and tender this heavenly meat was. I paid about 200 USD for a 3 course meal during Lunch and I don’t regret it till date. However, please remember that their prices go much higher during dinner, so if you decide to go there, choose lunch over dinner.

ROYCE CHOCOLATE

Location: Haneda and Narita Airport, Tokyo
I am not a big fan of chocolates but I ate an entire box of this at once. It is the best chocolate I’ve had in my entire life. It’s what I would call “little drops of heaven” as Monica’s candy was described in Friends. Royce chocolate is originally from the city of Hokkaido and the only place I found it was at the airport in Tokyo for about 700 YEN a pack.

Royce is also available worldwide in its’ exclusive outlets, we found a couple of them in our trip to New York City, check out my 7 Days In New York here.

CHUHAI (FLAVORED SODAS)

Location: Family Mart/ Lawson/ 7-eleven, all over Japan
These are ridiculously delicious, they come in a variety of flavors, in alcoholic and non-alcoholic options, and are available in every convenience store. My suggestion is to pick one up every chance you get. Melon was my favorite flavor.

KITKATS

Location: All over Japan
I’m sure at some point or the other you might’ve come across Japanese kitkats. What makes them unique is they come in a huge variety of flavors, matcha, strawberry, banana, cheesecake, sakura and so many more. Some of them taste great and they make really great souvenirs to take back home for friends and family. Best place to get them is at a Don Quijote store.

GIANT COTTON CANDY

Location: Takeshita Street, Tokyo
For all you sugaholics out there, this one is for you. Combine multiple flavors in one serving and you have a rainbow in hand for a perfect instagram post.

As you know, I love food (you don’t say) and this list is picked out from all the food I tried in Japan. There is no way I could’ve tried out all the best foods in Japan, the choices are endless. Every single person who has been to Japan would tell you that this country is like no other and food is just a part of it. You can read more about this amazing trip at 10-Days-In-Japan.

Did you try any of these things or found more awesome must try food in Japan? Let me know in the comment section below.

Happy Hogging!!