Food in Japan

These are some dishes that I really enjoyed in a restaurant called Masuya in Minato, Tokyo.

Tuna Sashimi



Grilled Eringi Mushroom Skewers



Deep Fried Garlic Flavoured Chicken



Broiled Deep Fried Tofu



The restaurant:

Japan has some of the highest quality and most delicious cakes and desserts around. These little Mount Fuji shaped cream cakes are typical and can be found in many bakeries especially those near to Mount Fuji.

This is a japanese vegetable curry with rice. I actually found this restaurant online while looking for somewhere in Asakusa that serves halal food. Inside we found many visitors from Indonesia who were very friendly and all the food we ordered here was delicious.

I've included the following picture because I found a fantastic Indian restaurant in Asakusa, just below a hotel I was staying at. In general I have found Indian restaurants to be excellent in Japan, perhaps as locals are used to very high standards in food.

Cheese Naan



Aloo Gobi



Chicken Tikka Masala

One of my favourite foods in Japan is Tempura because it is always served fresh and hot which is great in the colder seasons. This place in Osaka specializes in tempura and the food is always delicious. The one in the picture includes Prawns, Fish and various vegetables on a bed of rice.

Seafood and Vegetable Tempura Rice

One of my favourite places to eat the freshest sashimi is at Numazu Port. Many fishing boats stop at Numazu Harbour to unload their catch before heading on to Tokyo. On the small street just adjacent to the harbour are many old restaurants where you can find the freshest seafood, sashimi, fishheads and shellfish.

Assorted Sashimi and Tempura

Gyudon Restaurant

This is the typical kind of restaurant where people stop off to eat after work. You choose and pay for your meal on a kind of vending/payment machine and sit down. Minutes later you are served delicious and hot food. You can choose to have sesame, mayonnaise or wasabi sauce with your meal. This place was in Asakusa near to the Azuma Bridge. Fortunately the machine had an English translation for the various dishes. The entire meal cost about ¥800 (about US$8) with free hot or iced Green Tea.

Grilled Beef Rice with Sesame Sauce



My Meal was Grilled Beef Rice with Salad, Miso Soup and a Poached Egg.



Inside the Restaurant



People eating in the Restaurant

SEKAI CAFE

Nestled in the heart of Asakusa, just a stone's throw from Nakamise Shopping Street and Sensoji Temple is this wonderful cafe with free wifi, a friendly service and with English speaking staff. If you just want somewhere to sit and have a coffee or a snack this place is ideal. The selection of food is good and the taste even better than we had expected. Their policy states, "We aim to be able to serve anyone including people who have diet limitation because of religion and allergies". So for vegetarians, muslims or whatever your preference on food, you can probably find it here.

The cafe has a great website where you can see the menu and everything else about this excellent cafe.

Sekai Cafe Website

Sekai Cafe Menu












Gaprao - Thai Minced Spicy Chicken over rice with Fried Egg - split into two for sharing...



Japanese Curry and rice with seasonal and fresh grilled vegetables



Salad with Homemade dressing



Chocolate Brownie with Ice Cream and Strawberry Jam

Kope Lani

Kope Lani is a hamburger restaurant with a Hawaiian theme located in the heart of Motomachi Street in Yokohama. It also serves excellent coffee, cheesecake, ice cream as well as great salads and snacks. If you happen to be in Motomachi Street and looking for somewhere to eat some truly delicious western food, then this is the place.







Super Lean Fried Chicken Pieces



Chili Burger with Jalapeños and French Fries



BBQ Burger with Onion rings



Side Order of French Fries



Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice

Cafe La Boheme

This fantastic Italian restaurant was located in the basement of a building near where we were staying in downtown Yokohama. We needed a snack after spending a long day out shopping and sightseeing and Italian food fitted the bill.

Firstly the place is really authentic looking, somewhere you might expect to find in Florence or Naples, with brick walls, vaulted ceilings and the smell of hot pizzas. The restaurant itself is really large and when we arrived was not so busy but by the time we left was pretty packed and very alive with music and people talking. The kitchen was completely open and there was a big pizza oven in the corner.

We ordered simple food, a salmon and spinach risotto, a spicy mushroom spaghetti, tiramisu,  ice cream and a strawberry milkshake for the kids. The waiter was Japanese but spoke English and not too long after ordering the food arrived. I have to say that everything was totally delicious, absolutely perfect. Even the milkshake served in a big metal beaker was wonderful. Next time we visit Yokohama we will order more food as the menu looked pretty amazing.
















Salmon & Spinach Risotto with Grated Parmesan



Spicy Mushroom Spaghetti



Tiramisu

Kosaku Hoto Kosaku, Kawaguchiko

The first time that we visited this place was with some Japanese friends who owned a jazz pub and who were also keen on photography like ourselves. He told us this was a Samurai restaurant with samurai style food. Not sure about that. But being in Kawaguchi beside the famous lake and near to Mount Fuji made it even more of a special experience.

The place is pretty big and quite unique, take off your shoes and leave them on a shelf near the entrance and then go find a place to sit or I should say squat cross legged on tatami mats.

The food was pretty much super delicious, huge tempura prawns, salmon and tuna sashimi, tempura vegetables, the best udon noodles that I have ever tasted, sliced beef and some seafood that I wasn't too keen to try. I also gave the big fish head a miss too.

Everything I tasted was amazing and to be sitting in such an incredible and apparently well known restaurant was quite an experience. Truly an amazing place!