Gastronomy 101: Japan

Food Gastronomy 101 Japan Travel

HERE IT IS! The official first part of a mini-blog post series about my trip to Japan last summer. Initially I talked about the interesting thirst-quenchers I found thanks to the abundance of vending machines in Japan. This time I’ll briefly talk about food! I am changing the format of this blog and do an introductory text first, and then feast your eyes on the food photos. 🙂

If anything, Japan is serious about food. I never have to worry about where to eat because a quick glance and you’ll definitely find a decent place to eat. One thing I have noticed though is that I hardly saw anyone (if, at all) eat while “on the go.” There were food stands abound but people seem to stay put and enjoy the experience of eating.

Personally, I have a weak stomach so I brought extra medications when the situation arises (which never did, thank goodness). But I wasn’t too careful about where to eat because I want to make sure I am full during my trip as I have to walk around the city.

There are Japanese restaurants of course, and I tried both the sushi restaurant located within the Tsukiji-sho (nothing beats fresh fish!) and soba place near Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu in Kamakura (nothing beats freshly-made soba noodles!). I also tried the Japanese’s take on Italian food and visited a couple of Western-inspired restaurants, as well as the cutesy Hattifnatt Cafe in Koenji. Interestingly, I have discovered cassis in Japan. Huh.

Me and my friend also cooked at home, in those days that we didn’t want to eat out. I introduced my friend to adobo, while she cooked a mild Indian curry for me to accommodate my lack of interest towards spicy food.

The best food I have tasted restaurant-wise has to be the tapas-inspired restaurant near Fujisawa station. Man, I definitely want to go back there!

Despite the number of delicious food I consumed I still managed to shed 5 lbs on my entire trip. I was actually surprised. I guess all the walking did really good on me.

Anyway enough yapping.

For the techies: 99% of the photos taken using Fuji X10; the rest were taken with my tablet.