TASTES
Ichigo Ame
Candy / Varieties
ORIGIN → Kyoto
DESCRIPTION
If you’re a fan of Japanese festival foods, you’ll enjoy ichigo ame. ('Ichigo' means strawberry and 'ame' means candy.) Ichigo ame are candied strawberries on a stick, often seen at Japanese festivals. These Japanese sweets have become very popular in Japan in recent years, and you can see many Japanese tourists eating ichigo ame while visiting the Kiyomizudera Temple area.
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Inari Sushi (Oinarisan)
Sushi
ORIGIN → Kyoto
DESCRIPTION
Inari sushi, or inarizushi, is a pouch of fried tofu skin filled with sushi rice. Some variations include adding cucumbers, seasoning, or other toppings, but the classic recipe uses just tofu-skins and sushi rice.
Inari also means fox, and the name inari sushi is believed to derive from foxes, because the tofu skin on the inari sushi covers the rice and has pointed corners at the end, which looks similar to a fox's ears. Foxes play an important roll in Japanese culture, as they are believed to be messengers for the gods. The famous Inari Fushimi Shrine in Kyoto is just one example of how foxes show up in Japanese culture.
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Matcha
Matcha Tastes
ORIGIN → Kyoto
DESCRIPTION
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Mitarashi Dango
Local Dessert
ORIGIN → Kyoto
DESCRIPTION
Mitarashi Dango is a type of dango, sweet rice dumplings, skewered onto a bamboo stick. Typically, three to five dumplings (traditionally five) are on a skewer and covered with a sweet soy sauce glaze.
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Mizu-Maru Mochi
Local Dessert
ORIGIN → Kyoto
DESCRIPTION
Since the Japanese company Kinseiken Seika created Mizu Shingen Mochi (which became known as “raindrop cake” in English) in 2014, they’ve attracted pilgrims in search of the purest, most aesthetically pleasing thing they could eat. However, photographers need to act fast—the subject melts and evaporates in 20 minutes.
The raindrop cake is, by no culinary definition, a cake. In place of deliciousness, it offers the alluring promise of tactile, edible (and still potable) water. So enticing is the mostly-flavorless, gelatinous droplet that it has made its way to Brooklyn, New York.
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Senbei
Cracker / Biscuit
ORIGIN → Kyoto
DESCRIPTION
Senbei (煎餅), also spelled sembei, is a type of Japanese rice cracker. They come in various shapes, sizes, and flavors, usually savory but sometimes sweet. Senbei are often eaten with green tea as a casual snack and offered to visiting house guests as a courtesy refreshment.
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Tako Tamago
Street Food
ORIGIN → Kyoto
DESCRIPTION
The first dish we recommend trying is Tako Tamago. Translating to ‘Octopus Egg’ this is one of the most popular street foods in Nishiki Market, and definitely stands out from the other local cuisine that is on display. Tako Tamago is a skewered baby octopus with a quail egg inside, well seasoned with soy sauce, making it a little salty yet sweet at the same time.
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Tofu & Yudofu
Local Dish
ORIGIN → Kyoto
DESCRIPTION
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Tsujiura Senbei
Cracker / Biscuit
ORIGIN → Kyoto
DESCRIPTION
A Tsujiura Senbei is a Japanese cracker with a written fortune inside. The cracker is made from unsweetened rice dough.
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Wagashi
Local Dessert
ORIGIN → Kyoto
DESCRIPTION
Wagashi (和菓子) are traditional Japanese sweets that are typically enjoyed in combination with a cup of green tea. They are made in a wide variety of shapes and consistencies and with diverse ingredients and preparation methods. Some are popular across the country and around the year while others are only available regionally or seasonally.
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Yatsuhashi
Local Dessert
ORIGIN → Kyoto
DESCRIPTION
Yatsuhashi (八ツ橋 or 八橋) is a wagashi (Japanese confection) sold mainly as a souvenir snack (miyagegashi). It is one of the best known meibutsu (famous regional products) of Kyoto. It is made from glutinous rice flour (上新粉, jōshinko), sugar, and cinnamon. Baked, it is similar to senbei. The shape of the hard crackers resembles a Japanese harp or koto, or a bamboo stalk cut lengthways.
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Anago
Eel Tastes
ORIGIN → Japan
DESCRIPTION
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Dashimaki Tamago
Breakfast / Brunch
ORIGIN → Japan
DESCRIPTION
Another favorite is the Dashimaki Tamago, or rolled Japanese egg omelet made with dashi. This dish may look simple, but it definitely packs a powerful punch, and contains no artificial ingredients. The Dashimaki Tamago is even popular with Kyoto locals, and is often bought as a side dish to accompany a meal. If you want to add even more umami flavor, try the Umaki, a rolled omelet with broiled eel inside!
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Gyoza
Dumpling / Varieties
ORIGIN → Japan
Pre.ORIGIN → China
DESCRIPTION
The Gyoza was first introduced to Japan in the early 1800s from mainland China. Yet, Gyoza, "jiaozi" in Chinese, wasn't widely eaten in Japan until after World War II. Japanese soldiers, returning home after the war, missed eating the cheap and delicious Chinese street food.
Jiaozi wrappers are usually slightly thicker than gyoza wrappers because they are handmade, while their Japanese counterparts are made by machines a lot of the time. The other main difference comes from the way they are cooked: While both dumplings can be prepared in various ways, jiaozi usually refers to dumplings that are steamed or boiled - this means they end up with a soft, delicate outer casing. On the other hand, gyoza are more commonly pan-fried, which results in a crispier exterior and juicy, succulent inside.
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Gyukatsu
Schnitzel / Varieties
ORIGIN → Japan
DESCRIPTION
Gyukatsu is a Japanese style deep-fried beef cutlet. In Japanese, "Gyu" means beef and "Katsu" means fried food with bread crumbs.
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Kakigori
Ice Dessert
ORIGIN → Japan
DESCRIPTION
Kakigori (かき氷) is a Japanese shaved ice dessert flavored with syrup and a sweetener, often condensed milk.
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Kawaii Food
Kawaii Foods
ORIGIN → Japan
DESCRIPTION
Kawaii Food is a delightful and whimsical aspect of Japanese cuisine that combines adorable presentation with delicious flavors.
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Korokke
Croquette / Varieties
ORIGIN → Japan
Pre.ORIGIN → France
DESCRIPTION
Japanese Korokke (コロッケ) is a very popular snack or side dish in Japan. It is a deep-fried mashed potato that is typically mixed with seasoned minced meat. Crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.
While the French croquette typically uses a white sauce or bechamel filling, Japanese korokke leans more heavily on potatoes to suit local tastes
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Kushiyaki
Kebab / Skewer
ORIGIN → Japan
DESCRIPTION
Kushiyaki (串焼き) is a formal term that encompasses both poultry and non-poultry items, skewered and grilled. At times, restaurants group them as Kushimono (串物) and Yakimono (焼き物).
Both yakitori and Kushiyaki are used interchangeably in Japanese society to refer to skewered meat collectively; however, when referring to a specific item, Yakitori will not be used unless the primary meat is chicken.
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Matcha Ice Cream
Ice Cream / Gelato
ORIGIN → Japan
DESCRIPTION
Green tea ice cream or matcha ice is ice cream flavored with matcha, or green tea. It is popular in Japan and other parts of East Asia. Matcha ice cream has been available in the United States since the late-1970s, primarily in Japanese restaurants and markets, and became more mainstream in the late 1990s.
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Melon Pan
Bread / Varieties
ORIGIN → Japan
DESCRIPTION
Melonpan (メロンパン) also called melon bun or melon bread, is a Japanese sweetbun covered in a layer of crispy cookie dough. The texture resembles that of a melon, such as a cantaloupe. They are not traditionally melon flavored.
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Nikuman
Dumpling / Varieties
ORIGIN → Japan
Pre.ORIGIN → China
DESCRIPTION
Nikuman is a Japanese version of China's signature steamed pork buns baozi. While there are plenty of variations nowadays, the traditional and most common filling is a combination of ground pork, shiitake mushroom and cabbage with different seasonings or flavorings.
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Onigiri
Local Dish
ORIGIN → Japan
DESCRIPTION
Onigiri (お握り or 御握り) also known as Omusubi (お結び) or Nigirimeshi (握り飯), is a Japanese rice ball made from white rice. It is usually formed into triangular or cylindrical shapes, and wrapped in nori (seaweed). Onigiri traditionally have sour or salty fillings such as umeboshi (pickled Chinese plum), salted salmon, katsuobushi (smoked and fermented bonito), kombu, tarako or mentaiko (pollock roe), or takanazuke (pickled Japanese giant red mustard greens). Because it is easily portable and eaten by hand, onigiri has been used as portable food or bento from ancient times to the present day. Originally, it was used as a way to use and store left-over rice, but it later became a regular meal. Many Japanese convenience stores and supermarkets stock onigiri with various fillings and flavors.
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Soba
Noodle / Varieties
ORIGIN → Japan
Pre.ORIGIN → China
DESCRIPTION
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Sushi
Sushi
ORIGIN → China . Japan
DESCRIPTION
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Udon
Noodle / Varieties
ORIGIN → Japan
Pre.ORIGIN → China
DESCRIPTION
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Unagi
Eel Tastes
ORIGIN → Japan
DESCRIPTION
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Wagyu Beef
Steak / Beef
ORIGIN → Japan
DESCRIPTION
Wagyu Beef, originating from Japan, is renowned for its extraordinary marbling, which results in unmatched tenderness and a rich buttery flavour. The key differences between Wagyu and other beef types lie in the genetics, breeding methods, and feed. Japanese breeders know the breeding history of all their Wagyu cattle.
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Yaki Imo
Local Generic Tastes
ORIGIN → China . Japan . North Korea . South Korea . Vietnam
DESCRIPTION
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Yakiniku
Grill / BBQ
ORIGIN → Japan
DESCRIPTION
Yakiniku (焼き肉/焼肉) meaning "grilled meat", is a Japanese term that, in its broadest sense, refers to grilled meat cuisine.
Today, "Yakiniku" commonly refers to a style of cooking bite-size meat (usually beef and offal) and vegetables on gridirons or griddles over a flame of wood charcoals carbonized by dry distillation (sumibi, 炭火) or a gas/electric grill. It is one of the most popular dishes in Japan. The origin of contemporary Yakiniku is considered to be Korean barbecue, one of the most popular dishes in Korean cuisine.
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Yakitori
Kebab / Skewer
ORIGIN → Japan
DESCRIPTION
Yakitori (焼き鳥) (literally 'grilled bird') is a Japanese type of skewered chicken. Its preparation involves attaching the meat to a skewer, typically made of steel, bamboo, or similar materials, after which it is grilled over a charcoal fire. During or after cooking, the meat is typically seasoned with tare sauce or salt. The term is sometimes used informally for Kushiyaki (grilled and skewered foods) in general.
Both Yakitori and Kushiyaki are used interchangeably in Japanese society to refer to skewered meat collectively; however, when referring to a specific item, Yakitori will not be used unless the primary meat is chicken.
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Fugu Karaage
Local Dish
ORIGIN → Yamaguchi
DESCRIPTION
Fugu Karaage is a unique treat of deep-fried pufferfish. It's prepared with the utmost precision by trained chefs, presenting a culinary adventure that pairs the thrill of consuming one of the world's most poisonous creatures with the delight of its crispy, tender, and delicately flavored meat.
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Ikayaki
Grilled Sea Food
ORIGIN → Osaka
DESCRIPTION
Ikayaki (いか焼き, イカ焼き, or 烏賊焼) is a popular fast food in Japan. In much of Japan, the term refers to simple grilled squid topped with soy sauce; the portion of squid served may be the whole body (minus entrails), rings cut from the body, or one or more tentacles, depending on the size.
The birthplace of ikayaki is widely believed to be Yakiya Kaiyukan, a quaint, four-seat store in the narrow streets of Osaka’s Momodani district. According to Saitou Tarou, the restaurant’s second-generation owner, the dish’s discovery was a happy accident.
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Karaage
Chicken Tastes
ORIGIN → Nakatsu
DESCRIPTION
Karaage is a fried chicken unlike any other and it's considered the soul food of Nakatsu. The origins of karaage can be traced to the 16th Century when Portuguese missionaries arrived on Japanese shores of Kyushu Island through the port at Nagasaki and brought their fried cooking methods with them.
It is actually a Japanese cooking technique in which various foods -most often chicken, but also other meat and fish- are deep fried in oil.
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Kare Pan
Local Dish
ORIGIN → Tokyo
DESCRIPTION
Curry bread is a popular Japanese food. It consists of Japanese curry or other types of curry wrapped in a piece of dough, which is then coated in bread crumbs and deep fried. On occasion it is baked instead of deep fried, but deep frying is the most common method of cooking.
The original kare pan is said to have been invented at the Tokyo bakery Cattlea, in 1927, when its owner applied the very Western notion of deep-frying to his country's curry.
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Kushikatsu
Fried Snack
ORIGIN → Osaka
DESCRIPTION
Kushikatsu (串カツ), also known as kushiage (串揚げ) is a Japanese dish of deep-fried skewered meat and vegetables. In Japanese, "Kushi" (串) refers to the skewers used while "Katsu" means a deep-fried cutlet of meat.
Generally speaking, the food on a skewer is smaller in Osaka style, and customers tend to order larger numbers of kushi compared to Tokyo or Nagoya. That encouraged many kushiage restaurants to use a premixed "batter flour" of powdered egg and flour (compared to that in Tokyo or Nagoya where batter is prepared with fresh egg, water and flour topped with panko crusts).
Tokyo . The basic kushikatsu in Kanto eastern Japan area including Tokyo is made with diced pork rib in 3–4 cm cubes, skewered with sliced onions or leeks. Battered with fresh egg, flour and thin layer of panko crust, the skewer is deep fried in vegetable oil - cottonseed, soybean, canola or rapeseed oil. At the table, skewers are seasoned with thick brown sauce, sweeter than Worcestershire sauce, with mustard if they have it in the cruet stand.
Nagoya . Unlike the serving style in Osaka and Tokyo, in Nagoya, they dip kushikatsu in the thick sauce they grilled and sauteed beef sinew. That sauce is based on hatcho-miso, and the kushikatsu is called miso katsu.
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Menchi Katsu
Local Dish
ORIGIN → Tokyo
DESCRIPTION
Menchi-katsu (メンチカツ) is a Japanese breaded and deep-fried ground meat patty; a fried meat cake. The meat is usually ground beef, pork, or a mixture of the two. It is often served in inexpensive bento and teishoku.
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Monjayaki
Pancake / Varieties
ORIGIN → Tokyo
DESCRIPTION
Monjayaki (もんじゃ焼き) often called simply "Monja", is a type of Japanese pan-fried batter, popular in the Kanto region, similar to Okonomiyaki, but using different liquid ingredients.
Like Okonomiyaki, the base of Monjayaki is wheat flour and cabbage, with additional ingredients like meat, seafood or mentaiko added according to the diner's preference. However, additional dashi or water is added to the Monjayaki batter mixture, making it runnier than Okonomiyaki. The ingredients are finely chopped and mixed into the batter before frying. The consistency of cooked Monjayaki is comparable to melted cheese.
💡 Monjayaki is thought to have originated in the Tsukishima area of Tokyo. Today, the neighborhood is home to Monja Street, a 500-meter-long shopping alley with 54 Monjayaki restaurants.
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Okonomiyaki
Pancake / Varieties
ORIGIN → Osaka
DESCRIPTION
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Rainbow Cotton Candy
Candy / Varieties
ORIGIN → Tokyo
DESCRIPTION
The "Rainbow Cotton Candy" ("Harajuku Rainbow") is a Harajuku Area specialty with its huge, impactful appearance and pastel colors, and since its opening in 2015, it has attracted many young people and foreign tourists in search of its dreamy cuteness. It, which is made in a special machine to create beautiful shapes, stands 45 cm tall and comes in the following flavors: strawberry, lemon, melon, cider, and grape. Just strolling around with this candy will surely make you the center of attention as you enjoy the Harajuku atmosphere.
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Ramen
Ramen
ORIGIN → Tokyo
DESCRIPTION
Ramen is a type of Japanese noodle soup. Once a simple street food, it’s now become a gourmet phenomenon around the world. Every bowl of ramen has three main components: 1) Broth: A good bowl of ramen begins with a hearty, flavorful broth. Most broths begin with a combination of Japanese soup stock, or “dashi,” and chicken or pork stock. Each ramen chef uses a different “tare,” or flavoring base, that they add to each bowl of broth before serving. 2) Noodles: Ramen noodles contain wheat flour, salt, water and a special alkaline water called “Kansui.” “Kansui” is what gives the noodles their unique flavor and springy texture. Noodle shape and thickness often change depending on the type of ramen you’re eating. 3) Toppings: Ramen chefs artfully arrange each bowl with toppings like fried veggies, sliced meat and sheets of seaweed before serving.
There are four main ramen varieties named after the type of broth they use: 1) Shoyu: Shoyu is the original type of ramen. It features a soy-based broth flavored with soy sauce, mirin, pork or chicken stock, and rice vinegar. Some of the most common toppings for shoyu ramen are marinated soft-boiled eggs, bamboo shoots, corn and bean sprouts. 2) Shio: Shio ramen features a clear broth heavily seasoned with salt. It can feature elements from other types of ramen, such as braised pork cutlets, but the salty broth is the key element. 3) Miso: This type of ramen features a miso broth base that also includes ground pork, vegetables and chicken stock. Miso ramen has a delicious umami flavor. 4) Tonkotsu: Tonkotsu ramen features a rich pork broth that’s incredibly famous in Japan and worldwide. This broth type isn’t to be confused with “Tonkatsu,” which refers to fried pork cutlet.
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Taiyaki
Dessert / Pastry
ORIGIN → Tokyo
DESCRIPTION
Taiyaki is a Japanese fish-shaped cake, commonly sold as street food. It imitates the shape of tai, which it is named after. The most common filling is red bean paste that is made from sweetened adzuki beans. Other common fillings may be custard, chocolate, cheese, or sweet potato.
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Takoyaki
Street Food
ORIGIN → Osaka
DESCRIPTION
Osaka’s most famous specialty is tako-yaki, which is usually translated as “octopus balls.” That doesn’t make it sound very appealing and, anyway, they’re not those balls. They’re actually chunks of octopus legs dipped in batter and cooked in a special round mold. They’re served covered with a savory sauce and dried bonito flakes. They’re one of the world’s great street snacks and even if you don’t really like octopus, you might just like tako-yaki.
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Tempura
Local Dish
ORIGIN → Nagasaki
DESCRIPTION
Tempura (天ぷら or 天麩羅, tenpura) is a typical Japanese dish that usually consists of seafood and vegetables that have been coated in a thin batter and deep fried. Tempura has its origins dating back to the 16th century, when Portuguese Jesuits brought the Western-style cooking method of coating foods with flour and frying, via Nanban trade.
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Torisashi
Chicken Tastes
ORIGIN → Kyushu
DESCRIPTION
Torisashi (鶏刺し) is a Japanese dish of thinly sliced raw chicken. If the chicken is lightly seared it is known as "Toriwasa".It is most commonly eaten with sumiso but may also be eaten with soy sauce and wasabi like other sashimi.
Torisashi is a regional specialty to the island of Kyushu, specifically in Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures.
Torisashi typically requires a high quality of chicken meat and hygiene in preparation, due to the risk of food-borne illness that has at times affected diners.
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Unagi Pie
Cracker / Biscuit
ORIGIN → Shizuoka
DESCRIPTION
Unagi pie or eel pie is a special treat from Shizuoka Prefecture by mixing eel extract into pie dough, bake it, and top it with a sauce.
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Yakisoba
Noodle / Varieties
ORIGIN → Tokyo
DESCRIPTION
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Choco Banana
Local Dessert
DESCRIPTION
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Crepe
Crepe / Varieties
DESCRIPTION
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