So the Tsuyu (early summer plum rain) season is upon you all! Yikes! That hot balmy humidity that just wilts your willpower to move and forces you indoors to seek any form of air conditioning… If you have any strength left after battling the heavy humidity why not try some refreshing and traditional summer foods that are supposed to invigorate you in this harsh wetness. This is the best time for us Gaijins to be adventurous especially when it comes to Japanese cuisine because no human is exempt from the elements!

When it comes to beating the heat there is nothing more refreshing than cold noodles and the like. However for the more adventurous, the Tsuyu season cuisine extends to much more exotic types of foods. Many of these foods can be classifie... Read More

Sushi is considered a distinct food in Japan. This food has been a great business in the entire country, sold in several kinds of outlets like sushi houses, sushi trains, authentic Japanese restaurants and even in the department stores and convenient stores. It is usually made with vinegared rice with toppings on it, usually uncooked seafood. It tastes good with wasabi and sushi soy sauce. Regular housewives prepare this food too.

Sushi comes in several varities like “maki” (roles), usually roled with nori, sushi bowl, nigiri (sushi dumplings). We'll tackle more about nigiri-sushi is the most common type sold anywhere in Japan. It comes in several flavors, ebi (shrimp), tako(octopus), white squid, sea urchin, maguro (tuna), salmon, tamago... Read More

It seems as if every person in Tokyo (and their camera) were present at the Sanja Matsuri (‘Matsuri’, is Japanese for festival) in Asakusa this past Sunday. This is one of the largest and rowdiest festivals in the country, and draws in yearly crowds of up to two million.

A powerful presence at a Japanese festival is without doubt, the food. One after the other, vendor booths line the festival streets sending out wafts of sizzling, smoky and sweet essences, tempting even the most stuffed-to-the-brim walker-bys. The selection is good, but limited to typical festival types. Like cotton candy at the fair and popcorn at the movies, there seems to be an inextricable connection between taste and atmosphere that carries through to Matsuris. Such event staples include go... Read More

If you're searching for a cool place to hang out in Roppongi aside from those dancing and drinking bars, I suggest you dine at Hard Rock Cafe. Here's the reason why:

a.) Great service - They don't only treat you like ordinary customers but treats you like a VIP! They have the most accomodating, outgoing, friendly bi-lingual staffs there. It's great to eat if you feel comfortable to the people serving you. You could see smiles saying "how are you? can i take your order?" by the time you came in.

b.) Versatile Atmosphere - this restaurant has a cozy but punky interiors. If you're an artistic person you would definitely admire the creative total look of the restaurant. A simple look around would definitely make you feel young again.

c.)... Read More

Have you ever heard of a “maid café”? I bet not. Only in Japan!

While maid cafés are everywhere in Japan, Akihabara in Tokyo is famous for them. Akihabara is the electronics capital of Tokyo and is a focal point for electronics and anime maniacs (also known as otaku). When you exit Akihabara station, you will meet many maids handing out flyers for their respective cafés. I highly recommend that you go to one, if only just the experience. It’s not everyone’s ‘cup of tea’, haha pardon the pun. However, it is a very unique café experience.

When you enter the café, a young woman will greet you “Okaerinasaimase, goshujin-sama” (Japanese for “welcome home, Master”). The waitresses will all be dressed in Lolita fashion... Read More

In my time in Japan I have sampled some bad versions of western food in restaurants and these include a kebab with cabbage and Thousand Island dressing, pizza with corn, broccoli and fish on it and a blood red so called well-done steak. I cook for a my in-laws three meals a day every day and my wife is used to it from living with me in Australia previously but the rest of the in-laws are dumbfounded. My Father in-law says it is like living if a five star hotel since I arrived, as he is happy with huge meals three times a day.

From my understanding women do the cooking at home in Japan and them men just sit down and eat whatever is presented. It is just the cross-cultural divide, as in Australia you don’t let the girls near the BBQ that is the men’s d... Read More

Tofu, grilled fish and burdock root. I had it all planned out. Japan would be my fountain of youth, my supplier of all things healthy so that I could become part of the statistic: Japanese are to this day known to live longest in the world. (As of 2005 life expectancy is an average of 81.15, according the CIA World Fact Book). It’s not as if I was trying to magically turn a KFC diet into a daily ingestion of kelp and soybeans either. I am already practically a hippy by default, coming from the North American west coast. I munch on raw nuts and haven’t touched red meat in almost fifteen of my twenty seven existing years. I make a mean bean salad.

So I’ve had all sorts of salads and tender fish at many an Izakaya. When I go to the casual eatery chain... Read More

Life in Japan affords no shortage of opportunities to feast, both abstractly and concretely, on the strange and unusual. For now, let’s limit our discussion to the concrete - visceral even - and meditate on the topic of internal organs. Coming from North America, where the mere whisper of “innards” is likely to set off a chorus of shrill eews and percussive yucks, I find it refreshing to walk into a restaurant full of people tucking into plates of pig guts with relish. With the exception of foie gras, my ethical Achilles’ heel, I’m not overly enthusiastic about liver, but I am quite the fan of certain other bits. Kidneys? Yes, please. Stomach? Why, I don’t mind if I do. Tripe? Oooh, child! Since moving to Japan, I’ve also discovered a fondness for gyu tan, o... Read More

Our area in Japan being Toyama Prefecture, offers up some bizarre seafood, along with some of the best tasting seafood I have ever eaten. Toyama Wan is the source of this bounty and there are some truly strange creatures inhabiting its nutrient rich watrers.

Toyama Bay is the deepest bay in Japan at a depth of one-thousand meters and has several species only found within it's waters.

Seafood sourced from Toyama Bay is much sought after produce throughout Japan and is served up in the thousands of restaurants locally also. Toyama Seafood Market located at Minatoirihune-cho, Toyama City is well worth a visit to see the vast array of local seafood or buy something to cook at home. As usual there are countless stalls serving up freshly cooked seafood at ... Read More

This is a tale I will never forget:

Years ago, there was a Canadian named Jeff living in Japan. He was so intimidated by the idea of shopping and cooking in a foreign land that he decided to stick to the easy and familiar. While all the other brightly packaged goods were covered in letters he could not decipher, there was one item he knew he could manage. Cup Noodles, or instant ramen. Jeff knew exactly what to do with this delicious convenience. Add some boiling water, eat. He took comfort in the pretty picture on the package as well; noting that the peas and carrots and bits of green onion provided the necessary nutrients. However, after about a week's diet of nothing but various kinds of ramen, Jeff woke up to find blood on his pillowcase. He went to look at ... Read More

Once upon a time, the word tachinomiya evoked images of grubby little watering holes bereft of seating and lined with wall-to-wall salarymen. A consequence of exorbitant rents as much as the desperate need for a few drinks after work, these tiny spaces offered solace in the form of cheap food and booze at the end of the day. In the tachinomiya of yesteryear, rumpled black suits and chain smoking were de rigeur. Not so in today's standing bars, which typically feature sleek interiors, an array of tempting tapas, and a clientele dominated by stylish young women.

The tachinomiya revival began a few years ago in the Ebisu area and spread like wildfire across the city. The notoriously shy Japanese are attracted to the standing bar's casual, relaxed atmosphere, ... Read More

I got off a train at Asakusa-Bashi station and walking down the steps there it is Gyoza no Oshoo, nothing great to look at and cram packed with salarymen. One thing I have learnt is when it comes to good food, Salarymen are a good indicator of good quality value for money food. The staff greets us as we enter and explains they are full house and offers for us to sit and wait. The smell emanating from the kitchen tells me to sit down and wait as it is going to be worth it.

About four minutes later and a table is free so we get seated, waitresses are cruising past with dishes that are making my mouth water just from the smell. We are asked if we want to order and I tell the waitress the two of us are starving and for her to order for us and get us two yama beers. Two-hundred and t... Read More

After spending a lazy week in Tokyo staying in laid back Asakusa-bashi, my wife tells me we are going to visit her Aunty and Uncle in Shiga prefecture.

After a decent train ride we meet them and they recommend we stop for lunch on the way back to their home, I say ok. They ask me if I have had tabehoudai before and I said no, tabehoudai is all you can eat so I am looking forward to loading up on some nice food. On arrival at this restaurant called Stamina Taro, I have a preconceived idea of what will be on offer to eat. Inside the door we are at the reception counter and before I know what is going on my Uncle in-law has payed for all four of us.

We are shown to a table and take a seat, he explains we are only allowed to stay for one hour so are on the clock s... Read More