In mainland China, especially in the north where there are few rivers, lakes and seas, fresh food is rare and often sun-dried food is eaten, which needs to be stir-fried or deep-fried in oil. Some foods need to be finely processed to be seasoned, and it takes work to make them, sometimes days or even months of seasoning just to make soup. This is not the case in Japan, which is an island country surrounded by sea and can easily catch fresh fish. The Japanese try to savor the flavor of their food as little as possible. Japanese food is characterized by "five flavors, five colors, and five methods". The five flavors are: sweet, sour, pungent, bitter, and? Pungent; five colors: white, yellow, red, green and black; five methods: raw, boiled, grilled, fried and steamed. The difference in conditioning methods can be seen because of the different natural environments of the two countries.

Two, from the ingredients

In terms of staple foods, in terms of the current situation, China and Japan are both grain-based, unlike the West, which relies on meat foods and dairy foods, the south of China is mainly rice, and the north of China has more choices, such as wheat, beans, millet and so on. The most important feature of Japanese cuisine is raw seafood, and of course, the Chinese eat fish. In the aspect of eating fish, there is a difference between China and Japan. Japan is surrounded by the sea and relies mainly on sea fish, while mainland China, with its wide waters, relies mainly on freshwater fish. The raw materials for cooking are mostly plants and animals, but also fish from rivers, seas and lakes. According to relevant information, the Chinese people per person per year, an average of about a dozen kilograms of fish, this figure according to the geographic environment, the north and the south varies greatly, and Japan's ingredients and China has a big difference, Japan is a typical country of thousands of islands, less arable land, less developed animal husbandry, to rice-based food. Japan has a long coastline, is a typical country around the sea, fishery resources are very rich, especially in the Hokkaido area, produces a lot of high-quality fish, such as herring, salmon, trout, eel and so on. Therefore, the raw materials of Japanese cuisine are mostly rice, fish media and seaweeds, which are very different from China, and Japanese nationals have developed a good habit of eating fish, and each Japanese person can eat about 70 kilograms of fish per year on average. And recently science has discovered that the unsaturated fatty acids contained in fish can fight cancer. The Japanese are famous for their longevity in the world, probably all because of the contribution of fish-eating. Typical Japanese dishes include sashimi, sushi and ramen. The Japanese also have a sense of the seasons in their choice of ingredients, and they love to savor the "seasons". For example, when spring arrives, they like to savor tempura, a mountain vegetable, and they enjoy the details of putting seasonal flowers on the sides of pots and pans. The Chinese emphasize eating at the right time and temperature, which is essentially the same as the Japanese view of the seasons. The Japanese also emphasize the positive introduction of good parts of foreign ingredients, and re-improve them according to their own palate. Japanese people are very curious about various kinds of food, as long as they think it is delicious, even if it is something foreign to absorb and improve.

Third, eating utensils

In Chinese food culture, eating utensils are very important, chopsticks, bowls and plates are placed in the first place, and before the official start of each meal, chopsticks, bowls and plates must be placed in front of the diners first, which is the same in China and Japan. However, Chinese people usually have spoons in addition to chopsticks, whereas in Japan, they only use chopsticks, except for spoons when eating western food and drinking soup. If the Chinese pay attention to the food itself, then the Japanese pay attention to the utensils that hold the food. The different pursuit of taste and sight has created different food cultures in China and Japan. The Chinese, while noting that the utensils used to hold the food have an effect on the appetite, still focus on the food itself. Unlike the Japanese, the choice of tableware varies according to the season, holiday, and color of the dish. Japanese people eat not only with their mouths, but also with their eyes. In Japan, there is a saying that goes, "Dishes are the decorations of the pots, and that is how the dishes served in beautiful pots are refined to be delicious." What is called savoring indeed requires the coordinated cooperation of the senses of sight and taste. And what the eyes see is not only the dish itself, but also the utensil in which it is served. Chinese cuisine emphasizes "color, aroma, and taste", believing that a dish must satisfy the desires of its diners in all three aspects, with "taste" being the most important. This also explains why there are so many different ways of preparing Chinese food and why there are so many different kinds of ingredients. In contrast, Japanese cuisine pays great attention to "color, shape, and taste," and the characteristics of the food culture are reflected to the fullest extent. Although the taste of Japanese cuisine is relatively single, but the Japanese food is not only you can experience with the tongue, the real Japanese cuisine is very concerned about maintaining the original flavor of the food, do not advocate the addition of too much seasoning, to light. In particular, there are high demands on the color of the dishes, and not only do they use a variety of very delicate eating utensils to hold the food, but they also have very delicate considerations on the shape, arrangement, and color combinations of the food. Each dish is made by the chef with a heart of gratitude for nature. As someone described it, Chinese food has "color, aroma, and taste", and once eaten, the aftertaste lasts for three days. Japanese food, on the other hand, is a landscape painting, eat hard to give up, abandoned and hungry, after eating that touch is really unforgettable. The combination of simple, natural flavor and refined culture is the true essence of Japanese cuisine. The famous ones are: Kaiseki cuisine, Chokugai cuisine, tea ceremony cuisine and Honzen cuisine, which are mostly influenced by the tea ceremony and the Buddhist way, and are the typical representatives of the light category and vegetarian cuisine. In addition, Japan in addition to sashimi, sushi and other common food, there are special hot pot, hoe burn, teppanyaki, tempura and other specialties, the world has been unanimously praised.