Japan - The Basics: Food

In case you see yourself in Japan having some Hibachi chicken, rice, carrots and shrimp sauce...don't. That is American Japanese food. Shrimp sauce isn't even a thing outside of the US. They do have chicken though, and lots of fish, and rice. And slimy noodles...

Dairuma - restaurant in Tokyo without a scrap of English

For starters, restaurants in Japan are very small. Some that I went to only sat about ten people And they're tucked in all over the place, very often down a narrow ally off the main road. When you find the ally crowded with red lanterns, you've found the food. You'll also know when you've found a place because many restaurants have a display window with plastic food. There are entire stores devoted to selling restaurants plastic food. But, it'll give you a pretty good idea of what you might be eating.

Restaurant doors are usually covered with a 'noren.' Those are the curtains that seem to cover the top half of the doorway. Just find the slit and walk on through. Most doors slide. It's doesn't matter how hard you push or pull, you need to slide. The person who greets you inside will ask how many in the party, just use your fingers to indicate, and then seat you. Upon being seated you'll be handed an 'oshibori' - a hot towel used to clean your hands and your face if you want.

Menus can be a little daunting. Many places have a menu posted outside so you can see before you even go inside if any of it is in English. Just because it says 'menu' at the top in English, doesn't mean the rest of it won't all be Japanese. They're tricky. It's not too difficult to find somewhere that has a Japanese menu with English translations. Just point to what you want, and the waiter can read the Japanese where you're pointing. Some menus also have pictures instead of or in addition to English.

There are several rules to keep in mind regarding chopsticks. They aren't just an eating utensil. Most places have chopsticks laid out or in a box on the table. Most often they are wooden, disposable ones that need to be broken apart. Some places will provide forks. At least try to use the chopsticks. If you have to ask for a fork, ask for 'foku.'

Don't ever stick your chopsticks upright in a bowl of rice. It resembles incense at a funeral and you can understand why people don't want to see that from the next table over. Don't wave your chopsticks around. If you're not using them, just lay them on the edge of your plate. And don't drum with your chopsticks, although I feel if this needs to be pointed out you probably shouldn't even be in Japan.

When you're ready to order and pay you can wait for your waiter, or look on the table for a button to push. That will signal the waiter to come to your table. The button can be used if you need something, or when you're finished and ready for the check. If you see your waiter you can also put your pointer fingers across each other like an X and they'll know you want your check. Some places you pay at the table, some up front. Tipping is not practiced.

Tea ('ocha') and water ('mizu') are usually complimentary drinks, or can be asked for for free. Some places will have soda and other drinks. Be aware that even though sodas in vending machines are normal price, they can be upwards of 300-400 Yen in a restaurant. And no refills. At least not for free. Don't be surprised to see people drinking beer at 8 in the morning, or to stumble upon a beer vending machine as we did.

Sake (pronounced sa-kay), or nihonshu, is a common alcoholic drink made from fermented rice. It is served cold, hot, or room temperature and sometimes in different flavors. We ordered a single glass, while a friend who ordered hot sake got a ceramic flask and small cups ('choko') to pour it into. It's worth a try.

And food. Sushi. Any time day or night. All sorts. I had it at 8 in the morning at the Tsukiji Fish Market. Chicken on skewers, known as yakitori, is also popular and very delicious. Usually served with grilled onions as well. There's rice, which comes as white sticky rice and fried rice. There are ramen shops and noodle shops. Sometimes there is just a bar outside the restaurant where you stand and eat, but you can also find places to go in and sit down. I found Japanese noodles to be very slimy, and although they tasted good, I had a hard time eating them. I also tried bamboo (quit eating it very quickly when I found out what it was as I'm allergic), Japanese pickles, dumplings, sweet and sour pork, and mostly other normal stuff. And in case you need something American there's McDonald's, KFC, Denny's, Hard Rock and even some Japanese places that just serve burgers and other American staples.

drink menu at The Lock Up

Theme restaurants are popular in Japan, and they do them up. We visited one called The Lock Up in Shibuya. The entire place looked like a dungeon with jail cells where you sat. Hostesses were dressed as police and in order to be seated someone in the party must be arrested. Mid-meal all the lights shut off and a prison break began. This entailed flashing red lights, black lights, spooky sounds, and an angry sounding man shouting Japanese over the intercom. Various escaped prisoners also roamed around until the guards caught up with them. It was a lot of fun and from the food and drinks, to the staff everything was spot on.



Check out these other themed places. I wish I'd had more time - I think I would have tried them all!

I'd honestly say out of everything finding places to eat and things to eat was the most difficult - and even it wasn't difficult. Sometimes we'd just have to pass a few before we found one with English. And I wasn't always 100% sure what I was eating. But like I said...there's always McDonald's.