In Japan the food is wonderful, it is one of the healthiest and most sophisticated cuisines in the world. Japanese cuisine is another reflection of the country’s culture.
The Japanese eat in moderation, a wide variety of foods at each meal and in small quantities, many small dishes. Their custom and what the country’s food guides advise is to eat 30 different foods a day and 5 colors at each meal. The obesity rate is the lowest among developed countries (4%).
In all restaurants they offer you a cold or hot rolled wet towel, to clean your hands and only your hands (the face is rude).
Fruit is very expensive in Japan, it is considered a luxury and is a highly appreciated gift. The high price is due to the fact that they have very little arable land and the perfection that they demand of themselves in production.
Everywhere there are vending machines with strange drinks, both hot and cold. There are yogurt drinks, carbonated drinks flavored with thousands of things, green tea, milk tea, energy drinks. By the way, next to these machines is the few places where there are trash cans, since eating and drinking on the street is frowned upon and you are supposed to drink your drink next to the machine, and then throw the container into the trash can.
Japanese tableware is an important part of the Japanese menu. It is beautiful, the containers for miso soup, the bowls for rice, plates, trays, of various shapes and generally dark colors. Japanese cuisine, he says, is intimately linked to shadows and darkness. “a lacquer bowl will transport us to a sublime world of Zen experience”.
In Japan there is a term to refer to traditional cuisine, it is WASHOKU. In 2013, the health benefits and particular characteristics of WASHOKU were recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage. This term does not focus on the food itself, but on the culture linked to it. It is a set of techniques, knowledge and traditions related to the preparation, presentation and consumption of food. It is based on respect for nature and the use of fresh, regional and seasonal ingredients.
Another concept linked to WASHOKU is ICHUJÛ SANSAI, which means “one soup and three dishes” and expresses the typical Japanese menu: a bowl of soup, a main dish, 2 less abundant portions and a bowl of rice.
Japan’s best-known dish internationally is sushi, but it is eaten there on special occasions although there are many sushi restaurants and bars. By the way, it is always taken with hot green tea.
After meals, there is no dessert, no fruit, no sweets. Nor after dinner. They love pastries, but not as dessert and it is much less sweet than Western ones. There are sweets everywhere: versions of Western cakes, all kinds of sweets called wagashi such as pastries filled with sweet bean paste (anko). These particular cakes are called Dorayaki and are famous for being Doraemon’s favorite food.
Also striking is the number of KitKat versions that exist in Japan, more than 300, made from green tea, wasabi, soy, fruits, in addition to those typical of each region. There are even specialized stores, they are called Kit Kat Chocolatory. The success of these chocolates in Japan is in the sound, kit kat sounds similar to Kitto kotto, which means “you will win for sure”, which is why they are given to students during exams, friends or family to wish them good luck.
One of the delights of Japanese food is miso soup, it is eaten with any of the meals of the day, including breakfast. Pure umami flavor.