Best Foods to Experience when visiting Japan

It is a popular dish all across the country, where you can even find unique variations of udon dishes that are specific to certain areas and prefectures. There is a great deal of pride and care for the handmade process of making the prefecture-specific udon.

For people who enjoy this dish, trying out the different udon in the various prefectures could be a fun little challenge to take on.

Tonkatsu / Gyukatsu

Forget ‘karaage’ or Japanese-style fried chicken; tonkatsu or gyukatsu is the crown jewel for fried goodness.

Tonkatsu is a pork cutlet that has been breaded with ‘panko’ bread crumbs, deep-fried, and eaten with a sweet brown ‘tonkatsu sauce,’ which is possibly best described as a Japanese-style Worcestershire sauce. When served, it also typically comes with rice and a side of shredded cabbage, which fits surprisingly well.

Outside of Japan, the chicken version known as ‘karaage’ is probably the more common and popular choice. However, in Japan, tonkatsu is the superior option, and you should not be surprised if you see restaurants that sell tonkatsu but not ‘karaage.’

Gyukatsu can be described as the fancier version of tonkatsu. Rather than pork, it is instead a beef cutlet. With the availability of high-class beef such as ‘wagyu’ or ‘kobe,’ you can only imagine how good this must taste. Because of that, gyukatsu is not something you can expect to see at any restaurant and must visit specialized restaurants that serve this dish.

Unagi

Unagi is freshwater eel in English and quite a popular dish. When you first hear of what it is, you may be put off by it or assume that it is something you may not like.

People initially have similar impressions too, but you should always try new foods as you never know; you may find your new favorite meal. When unagi is served, it is usually gutted, deboned, cut into fillets, glazed in a sweet soy-sauce-based sauce, and finally grilled.

You can find unagi in a variety of different dishes such as sushi, and probably the most popular, ‘unadon.’ It is where the unagi is served on top of a bed of rice in a bowl, and this style of dish where something is served on top of rice is called a ‘donburi.’

You may also find something called ‘unagi no kabayaki,’ which is essentially the same thing as ‘unadon,’ but instead served in a special box designed with elegant and luxurious designs.

Ramen

A dish that needs no introduction, this flavorsome noodle explosion is admired all across the world. You can find multiple variations of this dish all over the nation in the different prefectures.

One of the most common and subjectively most delicious variants is the ‘tonkotsu’ version. You may recognize the name from tonkatsu earlier on the list, and that is because this style of ramen uses a pork-based broth. It originates from the Fukuoka Prefecture and is a prominent destination for lovers of this style of ramen.