Ramen, onigiri, sushi. These dishes stand for Japanese food abroad and need no introduction. But there are plenty of others, just as good, that you have most likely never tasted.
Here are five Japanese dishes you probably don’t know yet, and that are worth seeking out on a trip to Japan.
Sukiyaki
Sukiyaki is a Japanese hotpot in which a range of ingredients — vegetables, noodles, meat, tofu — cook in a simmering broth.
What sets it apart from other hotpots is the raw egg served alongside. The egg is the sauce: you dip each ingredient into it before eating. The taste of the ingredient, the broth and the egg together is the point of the dish.
Expect 3500 to 6000 yen depending on the restaurant and on whether you eat at lunchtime or in the evening (between 20 and 40 euros).
Unagi-don
For Japanese people, unagi-don is a dish kept for occasions. It is a bowl of rice topped with eel cooked in sauce.
It is a delicate dish, and one to recommend to anyone who likes fish.
Expect 3000 to 4000 yen for an unagi-don (between 20 and 30 euros)
Chanko nabe
Chanko nabe is a form of nabe, the Japanese equivalent of a pot-au-feu. Its particularity: it is the dish traditionally eaten by sumo wrestlers to put on weight. It is very high in calories and rich in protein.
Worth trying once, to eat like a sumo for the length of a meal.
Expect around 5000 yen for a chanko nabe (30 to 35 euros depending on the exchange rate)
Okonomiyaki, Hiroshima style
You may already have heard of okonomiyaki, a kind of pancake built on cabbage.
But do you know the Hiroshima version, which adds noodles to the dish?
Well balanced and filling, it is the right thing to eat after a long day of travelling.
Our advice: eat it in Hiroshima itself. The best okonomiyaki are in the city where they were invented.
And if that is not reason enough to put Hiroshima in your plans, here is an article that may change your mind: Hiroshima, the best city in Japan?
Expect between 1000 and 1800 yen (7 to 13 euros) for an okonomiyaki, depending on what you have added inside.
Somen
A summer dish: somen are cold noodles that you dip into a sauce, also served cold.
Simple and inexpensive, it is a recipe that deserves to be better known.
Expect around 1500 yen (10 euros) for a plate of somen.
Bonus: taiyaki
A bonus, because it would be a pity to visit Japan without tasting its sweets: taiyaki.
Filled wafers, traditionally with red bean paste, also made with custard or sweet potato fillings. A word of warning: they come out very hot.
Expect around 300 yen (2 euros) for a taiyaki.
Our challenge to you: eat every dish in this article during your trip to Japan. And leave us a comment to tell us what you made of them.
