Taste the authentic world-famous "sushi"
When you think of Japanese food, sushi is the first thing that comes to mind. From melt-in-your-mouth tuna to shrimp, salmon, squid, salmon roe and sea urchin, these colorful seafood are served on vinegared rice with wasabi, a unique spicy condiment that stimulates the tastebuds, and then dipped in soy sauce and eaten in one bite. This is the island nation that is rich in seafood? Japan's most iconic dish, sushi.
Some sushi restaurants serve seafood and other ingredients cut on the spot in a glass enclosure in front of the counter on vinegared rice, and serve it quickly to customers. The cost of sushi at such restaurants varies depending on the amount of food served or ordered, and is usually around 5,000 yen to 10,000 yen per person.
In the case of super-exclusive sushi restaurants that charge more than that, the price of the sushi is sometimes not indicated. In and around Tsukiji Market, one of Japan's most famous wholesale fish markets, there are many sushi stores that make sushi from fresh fish, and prices range from 2,000 yen to 3,000 yen. Popular sushi restaurants such as Sushi Sanmai are concentrated in this area.
If you're looking for a place where you can easily enjoy sushi at an affordable price without language barriers, we recommend Rotary Sushi restaurants. As the name suggests, the conveyor belt in front of the seating area is constantly spinning with a wide variety of sushi, and guests are free to pick and choose their favorite plates to enjoy.
It's easy to choose your favorite sushi without having to order verbally, and its low price is also appealing, with a plate usually costing around 100 to 200 yen, and rotary sushi chains such as Sushiro are spreading all over Japan.
Crispy and tender deep-fried tempura
Tempura, which is also known as sushi, is a dish made of fish or vegetables that are coated with an egg batter and deep-fried. It has been a favorite of the public for more than 300 years as a common food.
The typical ingredients of tempura include shrimp, tuna, star eel, eggplant, pumpkin, and shiitake mushrooms, which are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Freshly cooked tempura is best dipped in sauce or soy sauce. You can add grated daikon radish to the sauce if you like, or you can skip the sauce and serve the tempura with a pinch of salt.
High-end tempura stores offer 5 to 10 types of tempura made with different ingredients, which are fried in different ways to make them hot and flavorful, while regular tempura stores offer 4 to 5 types of tempura with rice and miso soup as a set meal for about 1,000 to 1,500 yen, and "Tenya" is also available. "There are also cheap tempura chains, such as Tenya, that offer a wide range of tempura dishes.
Yakitori, in which bite-sized pieces of chicken are threaded onto skewers, grilled over a fire, and seasoned with a rich sauce made of soy sauce and sugar, or simply sprinkled with salt for a fresh, salty taste, is a popular dish at izakaya (Japanese-style pubs) because of its delicious flavor and reasonable price.
The unagi rice, in which unagi is grilled over charcoal and served on rice in a rich sauce made of soy sauce and sugar, is also a distinctive Japanese dish. The sweet flavor of the sauce and the aroma of the grilled eel are sure to whet your appetite. Unagi has been a favorite dish since ancient times as a preventative and energizing dish for the summer.
Sukiyaki & Shabu Shabu for delicious beef
Japan's famous Kobe and Matsusaka beef are so flavorful that their reputation has spread far and wide in recent years. You can enjoy their luxurious flavors by simply seasoning them with pepper and salt.
Yakiniku (grilled meat) made with brand-name beef is a delicious combination of tender meat and flavorful sauce that you can enjoy to your heart's content. Also popular are Japan's unique Sukiyaki and Shabu-Shabu Shabu, which are delicately seasoned and uniquely prepared to provide you with the ultimate in beef flavor.
Sukiyaki is made by pouring a sweet broth of soy sauce, sugar and cooking wine into a shallow pot, then adding thinly sliced beef and cooking it along with green onions, tofu, cabbage, coriander, carrots, shiitake mushrooms and konjac.
Shabu-shabu, on the other hand, is made by pouring hot water into a pot, quickly placing thinly sliced beef or pork into it, and then dipping it in a special sauce such as sesame sauce or orange vinegar. Because it's light and tender, you can savor as much of the delicious beef as you want, which is the biggest draw of shabu-shabu.
A variety of vegetables can also be added to the pot, making it a healthy way to enjoy your meal. At Kisoji, a chain of more than 110 stores in the Kanto, Chubu, and Kansai regions, you can enjoy both sukiyaki and shabu-shabu at the same time.
The Station Building at Main Station has many restaurants serving sushi and other representative Japanese cuisine, and the International Hotel has almost all of the dishes we've described. If you don't know where to go for a delicious meal, head to one of these places for a gourmet meal.