Local Eats

The food scene here in Japan has proven  to be mind-blowing. We've had some of the best food here, and the other day I ate the best fish ever. It was simply cooked with little seasoning. It fell off the bones and the flavor was on point. We have eaten familiar (Americanized) food very little here. We make it a point to try as many new and different things as we can, and stay clear of prepackaged and processed food. The seafood here is super fresh, and everything is delicious.

It is common to be served a tiny dish with a raw egg in it with certain meals as a dip. You stir the egg up with your chopsticks and dip each bite of your meal in it. I haven't tried this yet, but Jonathan says it's great.

While in Kamakura, we tried okonomiyaki, which is like a cross between a pancake and an omelet. You can choose to have anything you want in it, like seafood, pork, chicken, etc. There are cut up veggies in it as well as egg and batter. At your table, there will be a griddle that it will cook on, and you can top it with soy sauce, bonito flakes, seaweed, mayo, pickled ginger, or okonomiyaki sauce (it's like a thicker, sweeter Worcestershire sauce).


We also had taiyaki, which is addictive! Taiyaki are little fish-shaped cakes that have various fillings such as chocolate, custard, caramel, jam, or sweet bean paste. They are sooooo good!

We have a few guide books and maps which we keep on us, but for us the best way to find a meal is to randomly pop in a building. We walk until we see ads for an eatery in our price range, and we just go for it. It doesn't matter if they have an English menu or not, or if the server is not bilingual. You can always point to yummy looking pictures and we know how to ask for water and beer. Bases are covered.

Dining this way makes you learn as you go. Sometimes you are seated at a table like you would find in America. And you're able to keep your shoes on. Other times you must remove your shoes and eat barefoot while sitting on the floor. There will even be times where you will remove your shoes, but instead of being barefoot, you must wear sandals provided by the establishment. How you'll eat and what you'll eat is never known when you're adventuring, but it's always delicious and a great experience.