Japan's abundant water resources provide unique conditions for Japan to grow rice and vegetables, which determines that Japanese people's eating habits are mainly rice and vegetables. This is in stark contrast to the eating habits of wheat, meat and dairy products in the northwest of Eurasia.

Japan's natural drinking water is characterized by soft water, and the content of minerals magnesium and calcium in soft water is less than 12 micrograms per liter. Because the water in Japan is fast-flowing, there is less mineral penetration in the surface rocks, so there is no peculiar smell. Therefore, all Japanese soups are clear soups, which don't need to be stewed for a long time. Instead, they take the umami flavor from kelp or wood fillets, and add some vegetables, so that the bottom is clear and the taste is mild. Even the miso soup of ordinary people's homes is the same, but the taste is slightly heavy.

Not only soup, but also traditional Japanese dishes are mainly stewed root vegetables and grilled fish. Abundant water resources and maritime climate determine the dense vegetation in Japan, which provides inexhaustible fuel for cooking. Wood is turned into charcoal after processing, and the volume and weight will be reduced after removing water, which is convenient for transportation. Charcoal burns for a long time and the heat of the flame can be controlled, and it will not be smoky when burning, which is more suitable for traditional Japanese homes. There is a ground stove in the traditional Japanese farmhouse room. The fire of the ground stove uses charcoal, while the people in Edo use braziers at home. The principle is the same. After modern times, stoves, commonly known as "seven rounds", also use charcoal or honeycomb coal, so the fuel used determines that traditional Japanese cuisine does not use strong fire to stir-fry but simmer.

In addition, traditional Japanese cuisine lacks meat. Since the Emperor Tianwu of the 7th century, orders to ban animal meat have been issued many times in history. Emperor Tianwu converted to Buddhism, forbidding the killing of five animals and rewarding their release. Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, the shogunate general in the Edo period, carried out the policy of "caring for the living", which made the folk anti-meat culture reach its peak. Furthermore, the Shinto code "Yanxishi" stipulates that "death, childbirth and blood" are all "filth". Therefore, in the Edo period, people also thought that killing animals and eating meat was a sin. Because it doesn't eat meat, it has never imported a lot of spices in Japanese history, and the main spices such as pepper and pepper have not spread to the people. It was not until the Edo period that ordinary people entered the modern society, and they had the opportunity to enjoy themselves. However, spices, oil, sugar, etc. have never spread to the diet of ordinary people. Soy sauce and yellow sauce are the most commonly used soy fermented seasonings in Japanese home cooking. Japan is surrounded by the sea, and the Kuroshio brings abundant fish to Japan.

The Kuroshio started in the Philippines, crossed the eastern waters of Taiwan Province and reached Japan. After meeting the parent tide, it merged into the North Pacific Ocean current. The Kuroshio is 2 kilometers wide and more than 1 kilometer deep. Like a warm river, it keeps flowing to Japan, so it can catch a considerable number of migratory fish such as bonito, sole and swordfish, and other large fish such as tuna attracted by these fish for food. When it comes to tuna, people immediately think of sashimi and sushi. In fact, this way of eating was only popular in Edo at first, and bonito and tuna tasted bad whether salted or heated, so they were cheap fish until the middle of Edo. After Wakayama people opened a workshop in Noda and Yaeko near Edo to produce a large amount of soy sauce, soy sauce gradually spread to the people, and tuna with soy sauce and horseradish (horseradish) formed a perfect combination of raw fish. However, the eating method of sashimi and sushi only became popular in Japan after the popularization of post-war freezing technology and logistics network, because only under the condition of freezing at -2℃ for 48 hours can parasites in fish be killed and food safety be guaranteed.

Japanese cuisine is characterized by paying attention to fresh and seasonal ingredients, tasting light taste, highlighting the original flavor of ingredients, matching the arrangement of dishes with the artistry of the shapes and colors of tableware and plates of pottery, porcelain and lacquerware, highlighting the seasonal atmosphere, and integrating aesthetics into food. Its peak is "Huaishi cuisine", which was a "one juice and three dishes" for Tang Muzhen to entertain guests according to the tea ceremony in the early Showa period.

Rich rice, fresh fish and vegetables, with soy sauce, horseradish and clear soup, can experience the delicate difference of food created by nature in a light taste, and the key to determining these tastes is natural conditions such as monsoon and Kuroshio circulation. People just adapt to this natural environment and pass on the taste from generation to generation.