Local Japanese food that you just cannot miss when you visit Japan
There are varieties of tasty Japanese food that are not well known in the world. Here are some of the locals’ favorites!
Okonomiyaki
Okonomiyaki is a popular street food in Japan. Okonomiyaki is a savory pancake, made with flour, eggs, shredded cabbage, and your choice of toppings — pork, shrimps, squid are popular choices.
It has two different versions — one is Osaka style and the other is Hiroshima style. You mix all ingredients before cooking in Osaka style, while in Hiroshima style ingredients are added in layers on top of a plain pancake (like Frence crepes!)
In many Okonimiyaki eateries, you get to cook your own Okinomiyaki at the tables.
Takoyaki
Another pride of Osakans (local people in Osaka) is Takoyaki. Literally translated as “Octopus Ball”, it is a kind of round dumpling made of flour-based batter, dices of octopus, green onions and picked ginger.
It is a suport popular street food throughout the country, but if you have a chance to visit Osaka, you must try Takoyaki there.
Ramen
Ramen is probably the most popular street food in Japan. “Egg noodles in hot soup, with various meat/vegetable toppings” sounds simple, but there are huge varieties and I can say that each Ramen shop has different taste.
Dirrefent parts of Japan have different Ramen, for example Kyushu is famous for its Tonkotsu Ramen with the soup based on pork bones, while in Hokkaido, they serve great Shio Ramen with seafood flavors.
Bento
Bento means boxed lunch, it typically contains rice and varieties of side dishes stuffed in a box. I specially recommend to try out Bento because you get to eat so many different kinds of dishes at the same time, as each dish comes in small portions (often just a bite!).
Japanese people love to buy Bento at train stations when they travel long way. Each major station sells its own Bento containing the local dishes. It is rather train-food than street food, but if you plan to ride Shinkansen for a few hours, it is worth trying out Bento!
