What to Eat in Japan
Japan eats in small portions and in many kinds of place: a konbini onigiri at breakfast, skewers at a market stall, a shared table at an izakaya in the evening. The rules matter as much as the menu.
Eating in Japan is organised by place. The convenience store sells onigiri, sushi, bento, fried chicken and egg and fruit sandwiches, and has seats where you can eat them. The izakaya is a casual pub where food comes in small dishes to share.
Street food has its own rules. It is sold from yatai stalls, in markets such as Tsukiji in Tokyo and Nishiki in Kyoto, and on shopping streets, and eating while walking is frowned on.
The recipes here are the dishes that can be cooked at home from a reasonable cupboard: soup, omelette, cutlets, fried chicken and rice bowls. Sushi and ramen, which are the work of specialists, are described but not given a recipe.
How a day of eating goes
Breakfast can be a konbini onigiri or an egg sandwich, or a home meal of rice, miso soup and egg.
Through the day, street snacks and noodle shops fill the gaps. At the stall, eat on the spot and not as you walk.
In the evening the izakaya takes over. Order drinks and several dishes to share, take a little of each on your own small plate, and wait for the toast before drinking.
Breakfast and brunch
Breakfast ranges from a home set of rice, soup and egg to a konbini sandwich.
Ichiju sansai
The classic Japanese breakfast set: rice and soup with three side dishes.
Tamago sando
Soft white bread filled with egg salad, a staple of convenience stores.
Tamagoyaki
A sweet or savoury omelette cooked in thin layers and rolled in a rectangular pan.
Onigiri
Rice shaped by hand round a filling and wrapped in nori, sold in every convenience store.
Shio pan
A rich roll with salted butter baked into it, a modern bakery favourite.
Street food and snacks
Look for stalls and shopping streets, and eat at the stall.
Takoyaki
Balls of thin batter with a piece of octopus, turned in a special pan and topped with sauce, mayonnaise and bonito flakes. Osaka's street food.
Yakitori
Chicken skewers grilled over charcoal and seasoned with salt or a sweet soy glaze.
Yakisoba
Fried noodles with cabbage and a sweet-sour sauce.
Taiyaki
A griddle cake shaped like a fish and filled with sweet red bean paste.
Dango
Chewy rice-flour balls with a sweet topping.
Yaki imo
Sweet potatoes roasted until sticky and naturally sweet.
Kushikatsu
Skewers of meat and vegetables dipped in batter and breadcrumbs and fried, a speciality of Osaka.
Starters and small plates
At an izakaya these come first and keep coming.
Edamame
Salted soybeans in their pods, the usual first plate.
Karaage
Bite-sized chicken marinated in soy, ginger and garlic, coated in starch and fried twice.
Gyoza
Dumplings of pork and vegetables, crisp on the bottom.
Chawanmushi
A savoury egg custard flavoured with dashi, eaten with a spoon.
Agedashi tofu
Tofu fried until crisp and served in a hot dashi broth.
Sashimi
Slices of raw fish served with soy sauce and wasabi.
Soups and stews
Soup runs through every meal, and in winter the hot pots come out.
Miso soup
Dashi flavoured with miso, with tofu, seaweed and spring onion. It is never boiled once the miso goes in.
Oden
Fishcakes, daikon and eggs simmered in a light broth, sold from konbini and street stalls in the cold months.
Nabe
A pot of broth with meat, fish and vegetables, cooked at the table, an izakaya winter dish.
Tonjiru
A hearty miso soup of pork and root vegetables.
Zoni
A soup with mochi eaten at the New Year, which differs by region.
Main dishes
Rice bowls, cutlets and noodles are everyday meals, and sushi and tempura are the specialists' food.
Tonkatsu
A thick pork cutlet coated in panko and fried, sliced and served with shredded cabbage, rice and a dark fruity sauce.
Okonomiyaki
A pancake of cabbage in a dashi batter, topped with sauce, mayonnaise and bonito flakes. Osaka and Hiroshima make it differently.
Oyakodon
Chicken and onion simmered in a sweet dashi sauce, finished with egg and served on rice. The name means parent and child.
Gyudon
Thin beef and onion simmered in a sweet-savoury sauce and served over rice.
Kare raisu
A thick, mild curry of meat, carrot and potato served with rice.
Tonkotsu ramen
Noodles in a cloudy pork bone broth, the Hakata style from Fukuoka.
Nigiri sushi
A pressed bed of seasoned rice under a slice of raw fish, in the Edomae style of Tokyo.
Tempura
Seafood and vegetables fried in a very light batter and eaten at once.
Sukiyaki
Beef simmered at the table in a sweet soy broth with vegetables and dipped in raw egg.
Desserts and sweets
Sweets are less sweet than in Europe, and many are made of rice and bean paste.
Mochi
Soft, sticky rice cakes eaten at the New Year. They are a choking risk and should be eaten in small bites.
Dorayaki
Two small pancakes with sweet red bean paste between them.
Fruit sando
Soft white bread filled with whipped cream and fruit, sold in convenience stores and cafés.
Soufflé pancakes
Very tall, soft pancakes served warm in cafés.
Kakigori
Finely shaved ice with syrup, a summer treat.
Drinks
Beer is the most popular alcoholic drink in Japan. The legal drinking age is 20.
Matcha
Powdered green tea whisked with water, from Uji near Kyoto.
Sake
A rice wine drunk hot or cold, whose flavour depends on how far the rice is polished.
Shochu
A distilled spirit of typically 25 to 30 per cent made from sweet potato, barley or rice.
Chu-hi
Shochu mixed with soda and fruit flavouring, a favourite at izakaya.
Umeshu
A sweet liqueur made by steeping unripe plums in shochu and sugar.
Ramune
A fizzy drink in a glass bottle sealed with a marble, sold at summer festivals.
Beer
Ice-cold beer is the usual first drink at an izakaya.
What is changing
No source read describes a change in how Japan eats. A February 2025 article on convenience stores shows how much everyday food is now sold ready to eat: onigiri, sushi, bento, fried chicken, egg and fruit sandwiches, and oden in winter, with seats to eat them.