EATING IS AN ADVENTURE …especially in Japan!

The food in Japan is amazing. You can’t really ever have a bad meal – at least we never did. We had mediocre meals, but we were never greatly disappointed. Even the drinking water in Japan is superior! We did try a sushi restaurant located in the Nori Tower where the sushi was just meh. I’ve had better sushi in California (we’re so spoiled). But I couldn’t say it was bad. Our waiter was a surly old man who ignored us as much as possible, but even he couldn’t spoil our dining experience. My only real complaint was a very chewy piece of unidentifiable fish that I chewed and chewed and chewed but, in the end, I was defeated and had to give up the masticated mass to my precious napkin. (I say “precious” because napkins aren’t readily available, so hang on to those warm little washcloths they give you upon being seated because you will need it.) The quality of the ingredients and the care that goes into the preparation is evident. Many restaurants specialize in only a few dishes that they have perfected.

Our favorite spot was an Udon place near our hotel called TsuruTonTan Locabo Udon. They served up huge bowls of Udon noodles swimming in a flavorful broth served with delectably light and crispy tempura veggies and shrimp. Their crab Udon was savory and buttery with large tender pieces of crab swimming in the creamy broth. The food was so good and it was so conveniently located that we ate there multiple times.

A great spot for breakfast is Hoshino Coffee. This spot is so cute and they show those plastic models of food in the window so you can see just what they serve. You can try the super-fluffy pancakes which are all the rage right now and “sets” which include free egg and toast or French toast, etc. with an order of coffee. I strayed from ordering a set and went with their souffle and it was spectacular – like eating a cloud. And their coffee is strong. A great way to start a day of exploring.

Eating in Japan is an adventure! Most of the time, we just popped in to places where the pictures or the plastic replicas of food displayed in the window looked tasty. One day, after walking for hours in the Akihabara district, we popped into a restaurant that specialized in tempura. And it was one of the best meals we enjoyed. We learned to eat tempura using the illustrated instructions: mix some grated daikon into the dipping sauce, squeeze some lemon onto the tempera and sprinkle with a little flaky salt, dip into the sauce and enjoy.

Another time, in Ginza, we were hunting for a secret teppanyaki restaurant. This place was so discreet, it seemed we would never find it. Just by luck, a young man wearing a Sagawa Express uniform overheard us clumsily asking a security guard in a nearby office building if he knew where to find this hidden spot. And being a delivery man for Sagawa Express, of course the young man knew where it was; he momentarily abandoned his packages and personally escorted us to a building around the corner and across the street, down an elevator, and into… a closet. He then opened a door and entered the restaurant, leaving us in the pitch-black closet while he made inquiries on our behalf. Alas, the restaurant was not as secret as it seemed; it was booked solid for weeks and we were scheduled to depart the following day. But we did appreciate how the chef tried to schedule us in – the restaurant was small and there was nowhere to squeeze us in – except for maybe in the dark closet. We thanked the Sagawa Express employee for his kindness and for hand-delivering us to the secret restaurant. Sagawa Express – they deliver!

We were a bit dejected that we missed the opportunity to eat at the secret spot, and we were definitely hungry by now. We wandered around for a bit and stumbled across a restaurant in a quiet alley. The entrance was down a steep flight of stairs and we didn’t know what to expect since we couldn’t read the menu on the poster board outside and there were no faux food models to be seen. We decided to take a chance and made our descent, ending up in a small dining room where we were the only diners.  After trying to decipher our lunch options using Google Translate, we made our selections. I ended up with a fatty pork belly dish served with oden which is a fish stew consisting of boiled egg, daikon, and fish cakes simmered in a dashi broth – all things that Google failed to translate. My friend ordered beef with rice topped with a fried egg. We were both satisfied, and glad that we tried something new. In our quest to collect experiences, we added today’s food adventure to our growing collection.

One of my favorite places to try food in Japan was from the konbini or convenience stores – 7-11, Lawson’s, Family Mart.  The variety of food on offer is insane – egg salad sandwiches (light and eggy), fruit sandwiches (fruit with fluffy whipped cream and custard between pillowy slices of crustless white bread), onigiri or rice balls, bento boxes, curries, hot coffee, cold coffee, smoothies, and on and on. I would have to stay in Japan for a year to try everything – maybe even longer! For a quick snack or even an entire meal, this is a fun and budget-friendly way to nosh on some surprisingly tasty foods.

If you’re hungry and don’t know where to eat, head to the basement of most any mall, or anywhere there is a busy train station. There are tons of restaurants and food stands in these places. You will definitely not go hungry in Japan.