105 Kinds of Japanese Food
posted by John Spacey, January 25, 2009 updated on July 11, 2015
What is Japan's favorite food?Japan has been cooking for thousands of years. As an island nation it tends to go its own way. As a result, Japanese food evolved into a unique culinary tradition. Beyond tradition, Japanese food is a living part of the culture. It's always growing and as a result there are countless Japanese dishes.The following are a few foods that all Japanese know well.
1. Makizushi
Makizushi is sushi that's rolled into long cylinders. It may be cut into shorter pieces before being served. The word makizushi can be translated "sushi roll." It's often simply called maki. It usually has nori on the outside but can also be wrapped with leaves such as shiso. Maki is filled with sushi rice and ingredients such as raw fish, cooked fish and vegetables.
2. Miso Soup
In Japan, miso soup is as important to breakfast as coffee. It's a hearty soup of dashi, miso and tofu. It often includes a variety of vegetables, seafood and meat. A good miso soup balances ingredients that float with ingredients that sink.
3. Yakitori
Yakitori can be literally translated "grilled chicken." It's a category of Japanese cuisine that includes dozens of items that are grilled on thin bamboo skewers including every imaginable part of the chicken as well as other meats, tofu and vegetables. Yakitori restaurants are typically lively drinking spots.
4. Tempura
Tempura is deep fried fish and vegetables in a light batter. Care is taken to cook tempura at a low temperature for a short time to preserve the taste of ingredients. It's served with a light tentsuyu dip.
5. Edamame
Young soybeans cooked in their pod in salty water. Most restaurants serve frozen edamame. They taste infinitely better fresh from the farm. Some fine izakaya will only serve edamame in season.
6. Ramen
Hot Chinese-style wheat noodles in a meat, fish, miso or soy sauce broth. It's an inexpensive, filling, easy to find snack. Despite the fact that ramen is cheap, there's a big difference in quality from one shop to the next. A shop that earns a reputation amongst ramen aficionados will regularly have long lines while a shop just next door may be empty. It's the type of dish that isn't easy to perfect.
7. Mochi
A sticky variety of Japanese rice known as mochigome that has been pounded into a paste. Toasted and eaten directly. Also used in a variety of Japanese dishes and desserts.
8. Okonomiyaki
A type of savory Japanese pancake that was traditionally prepared to use up leftovers. Okonomiyaki restaurants let you customize your order. In many cases, you can cook your own at a grill in your table. There's an intense okonomiyaki rivalry between Osaka, Tokyo and Hiroshima. Each town has its own version of the dish.
9. Sashimi
Raw sliced fish or meat. Freshness and aesthetics are important to sashimi dishes. Otherwise, it's just hunks of fish.
10. Oden
Oden is a Japanese hotpot that is ordered item-by-item. It's a popular street food, konbini food, winter food and drinking food. Oden may be cooked in a very old broth. 
11. Soba
Thin Japanese buckwheat noodles served chilled with a dipping sauce or in a hot broth. Whichever you choose, it's perfectly polite to loudly slurp your noodles.
12. Natto
A type of fermented soybean. It's stinky and slimy with a challenging taste but Japan likes it anyway.
13. Onigiri
Onigiri is any rice that's designed to be eaten by hand. It's the Japanese equivalent of the sandwich. 
14. Japanese Curry Rice
A Japanese curry that's based on British Navy Curry. The Imperial Japanese Navy adopted a similar curry in the 19th century. Japan's navy still serves it every Friday. The curry spread from the navy to Japan's civilian population in the Meiji-era. Over the years, it has adapted to local tastes. It's incredibly bland for a curry. Nevertheless, it has become one of Japan's most popular dishes. 
15. Udon
Thick wheat flour noodles served hot in a soup or chilled with a dipping sauce of dashi, mirin, and shoyu. Udon is a staple of the Japanese diet and is easy to find in Japan. It's a somewhat thick noodle that's served with dozens of different toppings including tempura, meat, tofu, seafood or vegetables. It's perfectly acceptable to slurp noodles in Japan but udon should be slurped with care as they tend to spray broth if slurped quickly.
16. Kaiseki
Kaiseki is a type of multicourse Japanese meal. It's fine cuisine that can include 5-16 courses. Each course is small and aesthetically pleasing with seasonal ingredients. Kaiseki is the creation of a chef. There are no standard kaiseki dishes. Instead there are categories of dishes are are traditionally served.
17. Yakiniku
Yakiniku, literally: grilled meat, is Japanese style barbecue. Yakiniku restaurants typically feature a coal grill built into the table. You order from a selection of bite-sized raw meats and vegetable plates and you cook the food yourself. If you're not skilled at grilling, you may incidentally cause a great deal of smoke and flame. The staff may rush over to help you put out your fires. Yakiniku restaurants are the smokiest places in Japan.
18. Takoyaki
Ball-shaped savory Japanese pancakes with a piece of octopus in the middle. Optionally topped with beni shoga, katsuobushi, nori flakes, mayonnaise and takoyaki sauce, a sweet soy sauce based condiment.
19. Yuba
Yuba is Japanese tofu skin. It can be enjoyed raw with a light dipping sauce. Fresh yuba has a texture that's similar to mozzarella cheese.
20. Sukiyaki
Sukiyaki is a Japanese stew that's typically cooked in a hotpot on your table as you dine. It consists of thin-sliced beef, vegetables and tofu in a fairly thick broth of soy sauce, sugar and mirin. Sukiyaki is often served with raw eggs as a dipping sauce. It's a winter food that's thought to warm you up. As with any Japanese food cooked at your table, sukiyaki is also considered a party food.
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