Japanese Cuisine

Once known in the west either in the form of "sukiyaki" or the more exotic "sushi," Japanese cuisine has in recent years become much more familiar and appreciated around the world.

Many visitors to Japan will have already sampled the pleasures of raw fish or batter-fried shrimp. But few first time visitors to Japan are prepared for the variety and sumptuousness of the food as it is traditionally prepared.

Eating in Japan is an experience to be enjoyed and remembered fondly for the rest of your life. Among the types of cooking found in Japan are:
Sukiyaki
prepared right at the table by cooking thinly sliced beef together with various vegetables, tofu and vermicelli.
Tempura
Deep-fried food in vegetable oil, after being coated with a mixture of egg, water and wheat flour. Among the ingredients used are prawns, fish in season and vegetables.
Sushi
A small piece of raw seafood placed on a ball of vinegared rice. the most common ingredients are tuna, squid and prawn. Cucumber, pickled radish and sweet egg omelette are also served.
Sashimi
Sliced raw fish eaten with soy sauce.
Kaiseki Ryori
Regarded as the most exquisite culinary refinement in Japan. The dishes are mainly composed of vegetables and fish with seaweed and mushrooms as the seasoning base and are characterized by their refined savor.
Yakitori
Made up of small pieces of chicken meat, liver and vegetables skewered on a bamboo stick and grilled over hot coals.
Tonkatsu
A deep-fried pork cutlet rolled in bread crumbs. Shabu-shabu - tender, thin slices of beef held by chop-sticks and swished in a pot of boiling water, then dipped in a sauce before being eaten.
Soba and Udon
Two kinds of Japanese noodles. Soba is made from buckwheat flour and Udon from dipped in a sauce, and are available in hundreds of delicious variations.

Japanese "sake" or rice wine, goes extremely well with a variety of Japanese dishes. Brewed with rice and water, sake has been a Japanese alcoholic beverage since ancient times. Because it can be drunk warmed up, the "feelings" come on more quickly and in winter it warms the body. When drunk chilled, good sake has a taste similar to fine-quality wine.

There are local sake breweries in every region across the country, which make their respective characteristic tastes based on the quality of rice and water as well as differences in brewing processes.