Do you know the English names for your favorite sushi? How would you describe the food you eat at New Years? Have you tried rice balls, 'moon cake', rice crakers, Japanese-style meat and potatoes, fermented soybeans...? I bet you have.

Sometimes the things we know best are hardest to express. For some of us 'we eat to live', for others we 'live to eat.' Talking about the food we love is a great way to bond with strangers. Let's talk first and eat later. I'll tell you my favorites, if you tell me yours.

Decorative Sushi Art of Latte

Lov-e links Zen Cuisine

Kitchen Ware


* Sake set

* Bento box (lunch box)
* Chawan (rice cup)
* Chukanabe (wok)
* Donabe (earthenware pot)
* Jubako box (a nest of lacquered boxes)
* Makisu (bamboo sushi mat)
* O-choko (sake cup)
* Oroshigane (grater)
* Owan (soup cup)
* Saibashi (cooking chopsticks)
* Shamoji (rice spoon)
* Sikki (lacquer ware)
* Suribachi (mortar)
* Tamagoyaki Pan (square frying pan)
* Usu (mortar)

* Rice cooker

Miso Soup Miso soup is often served as a side dish for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is made by dissolving miso paste in hot water and adding additional ingredients such as wakame seaweed and small pieces of tofu.

Omuraisu Omuraisu (abbreviation for omelet rice) is cooked rice, wrapped in a thin omelet, and usually served with tomato ketchup.

Hamubagu Hamubagu is a Japanese style hamburger without the bread.

Tempura is seafood, vegetables, mushrooms and other pieces of food coated with tempura batter and deep fried.

Okonomiyaki Okonomiyaki is a mix between pizza and pancake.

Gyoza Gyoza are dumplings with a filling usually made of minced vegetables and ground meat.

Tsukemono Tsukemono are Japanese pickles.

Tonkatsu Tonkatsu are deep fried pork cutlets.

* Anko (sweet azuki beans)
* Anman (steamed cake)
* Anmitsu (kanten jello & sweet azuki beans)
* Anpan (anko filling bread)
* Azuki Shiratama (dumplings & sweet azuki beans)
* Daigakuimo (sugared sweet potato)
* Dorayaki cake (Pancakes with anko filling)
* Kasutera Cake
* Manju (steamed cake)
* Ohagi (sweet rice cake)
* Sakuramochi (Pink Sweet Rice Cake)
* Taiyaki (fish-shaped cake)
* Tokoroten (gelidium jelly)

Purin (Japanese pudding)	Rare Cheese Cake
Sembei ( Rice crackers)	Sweet Potato Cake

photos and descriptions by japan-guide.com


Now for Some Favoite
'Yummy' Fast Food

Domburi	A bowl of cooked rice with some other food put on top of the rice. Some of the most popular toppings are tempura (tendon), egg and chicken (oyakodon),pork cutlet (tonkatsu), bonito (katsudon) and beef (gyudon).
Onigiri	Onigiri are rice balls made of cooked rice and usually wrapped with a nori seaweed. They are slightly salted and often contain some additional food in the center, for example an umeboshi (pickled Japanese apricot), katsuobushi (dried bonito shavings), tuna or salmon. Rice balls are a popular and inexpensive snack available at convenience stores.
Kare Raisu	Kare Raisu (Curry Rice) is cooked rice with a curry sauce. It can be served with additional toppings such as tonkatsu. Curry is not a native Japanese spice, but has been used in Japan for over a century. Kare Raisu is a very popular dish, and many inexpensive Kare Raisu restaurants can be found especially in and around train stations.
Fried Rice	Fried rice or chahan has been originally introduced from China. A variety of additional ingredients such as peas, egg, negi (Japanese leek) and small pieces of carrot and pork are mixed to the rice when stir fried. It is a suitable dish for using left over rice.
Kayu	Kayu is rice gruel, watery, soft cooked rice that resembles oatmeal. It is a suitable dish for using left over rice and is often served to sick people because it can be digested easily.
Soba	Soba noodles are native Japanese noodles made of buckwheat and wheat flour. Soba are about as thick as spaghetti. They can be served cold or hot and with various toppings.
Yakisoba	Yakisoba are fried or deep fried Chinese style noodles served with vegetables, meat and ginger.
Udon	Udon noodles are native Japanese noodles made of wheat flour. Udon are thicker than soba and can also be served either hot or cold and with various toppings.
Oden	A nabe dish prepared with various fish cakes, daikon, boiled eggs, konyaku and kombu seaweed, boiled over many hours in a soya sauce based soup.
Yakitori	Yakitori are grilled chicken pieces on skewers. Most parts of the chicken can be used for yakitori.

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