Bento boxes, or box-packed lunches, are a very common lunch style for many Japanese. In bento boxes, there are usually onigiri (rice balls), steamed and flavored vegetables, and some kind of meat, fish or egg dish.

People create their own Bento box or they can buy them at grocery markets, department stores or convenience stores for 400yen –2000yen.

Curry was introduced to Japan during the Meiji era (1869 - 1913), at a time when India was under the administration of the British. The dish became popular and available for purchase in Japanese supermarkets and restaurants in the late 1960s. Today, it’s as Japanese as sushi or sukiyaki.

Curry is commonly served in three main forms: curry rice (pronounced: kare raisu), curry udon (thick noodles) and curry-pan (bread). Curry rice is most commonly referred to simply as curry.

A wide variety of vegetables and meats are used to make Japanese curry. The most common ingredients are onions, carrots, potatoes, beef, pork, and chicken. In the Kansai region, beef curry is prevalent, while in the Kanto region pork curry is a favorite. Curry comes in numerous varieties including katsu curry (curry rice served with a pork cutlet on top), dorai curry (curry-flavored fried rice, or curry rice with a drier, mince meat sauce), maze curry (curry rice, served with the sauce and rice already mixed), curry don (curry, thickened and flavored with mentsuyu or kondashi and served on top of a bowl of rice, to give the curry a Japanese flavor) aigake (rice served with curry and a fried beef and onion sauce—also called hayashi), yaki curry (curry rice, topped with a raw egg and baked in an oven--originally from Kitakyushu), Ishiyaki curry (curry with rice served in a heated stone bowl), and supu curry (soup curry: a watery, broth-like curry with chunky ingredients such as a chicken leg and coarsely-cut vegetables--popular in Hokkaido).

Fugu is a seasonal dish, and it is best during the cold winter months. Fugu needs to be prepared by a trained chef to carefully remove the fish’s poisons, such as the liver and ovaries. But it is not as dangerous as its reputation might lead you to believe.

Fugu restaurants generally serve a full-course fugu meal. The most popular fugu dish is Fugu sashi (Fugu Sashimi) often called “Tessa”. Thinly sliced fugu is eaten with ponzu sauce. Another popular dish is Fugu chiri, locally called “Tetchiri” in Kansai. Fugu chiri is a hot pot dish with fugu and fresh vegetables. After finishing Fugu chiri, diners usually choose to put steamed rice into the leftover soup to make Fugu zosui. This is a way to enjoy everything that comes out of fugu. Hirezake uses the fin of the fugu. Toasted and placed in steaming sake (nihonshu), it gives a slightly fishy and burnt taste to the sake.

Kaiseki Ryori is a traditional, multi-course Japanese dinner. Kaiseki originated in Kyoto from Japanese tea ceremony in the 1500s by Sen no Rikyu, a tea master who had a profound influence in Japanese tea culture. Kaiseki started as a frugal meal served in the austere style of tea ceremony. Because the meal was eaten during the solemn tea ceremony, there were many “rules” for this type of dining, e.g. how dishes should be served and eaten.

However, when you eat Kaiseki today at Kaiseki restaurants, the rules are less of an issue. Kaiseki dishes have changed over time from a being a frugal meal to a expensive, elegant meal you eat at fine dining restaurants. If you visit Japan, and your pocketbook can bear it, do not leave without trying this wholly unique dining experience—especially if visiting Kyoto.

Nabemono, or nabe, is a term referring to all varieties of Japanese hot pot dishes. Nabemono is a hearty winter favorite throughout Japan.

People put one nabe (a pot) in the center of the dining table and bring raw ingredients of fish, chicken, meat and vegetables on serving trays. Eating together from a pot is considered as an important feature of Nabemono, as it is believed to strengthen the relationship of the people dining together. The pots are traditionally made of clay called donabe or cast iron called tetsunabe.

Sukiyaki and Shabu-shabu are the most popular Nabemono dishes among foreigners, but there are many kinds of nabe. Some popular Nabemono include, Oden, Yosenabe (Yose means putting everything together) Mizutaki (cooked in hot water, and served with dipping sauce), Yudofu (main ingredient is Tofu), Chanko (originates from Sumo wrestler’s nabe, again, anything goes).

Ramen is a Chinese noodle dish that has become a staple in Japan. It is served in a meat or fish based broth, often flavored with soy sauce or miso topped with some vegetables and sliced pork (chashu). Almost every prefecture in Japan has its own variation of ramen noodles. Ramen noodle are recognized as fast food, therefore the restaurants are usually crowded around lunch time with harried and slurping patrons. Each ramen noodle restaurant has their own unique style characterized by the thickness or shape of the noodles, the type of soup or the ingredients.

As in many other countries, instant ramen is also popular in Japan. It gained acclaim in the1960s through Nissin foods. It was recently named the greatest Japanese invention of the 20th century.

Tonkatsu is a deep fried pork cutlet. Ton means simply pork. Katsu is from the word cutlet. In this dish, thick slices of pork loin or fillet are breaded heavily and deep-fried. Tonkatsu is usually flavored with Tonkatsu sauce (similar to Worcestershire sauce).

There are restaurants that specialize only in Tonkatsu dishes, but it is also cooked and eated at home widely throughout Japan. Though pork cutlet is the most popular dish deep-fried dish, you may be able to find Chicken katsu, Hamu katsu (Ham cutlet), Gyu katsu (Beef cutlet), and Menchi katsu (a minced meat patty, breaded and deep fried). The finest Tonkatsu is said to be made from Kurobuta (black pig) from Kagoshima prefecture in Southern Japan.

Udon and soba are the two most popular traditional noodle dishes in Japan. Udon is a type of thick wheat-flour noodle. Soba is a thinner Japanese noodle made from buckwheat flour. There are restaurants that specialize in Udon or Soba separately. However, you can find many restaurants that serve both dishes.

Like many Japanese noodles, Udon and Soba noodles are often served chilled in the summer and hot in the winter. Toppings are chosen to reflect the seasons and to balance with other ingredients. Most toppings are added without much cooking, although some are deep-fried.

Both noodles are typically eaten with chopsticks, and in Japan, it is traditionally considered polite to slurp the noodles noisily. This is especially common with hot noodles, as drawing up the noodles quickly into the mouth acts to cool them down. However, quiet consumption of noodles is no longer uncommon. Here is a list of several of the most common preparations of soba and undon noodles:

Hot

Unagi (eel) is a popular ingredient used in many traditional Japanese dishes. Unaju (Grilled eel flavored with sweet soy sauce over a bowl or laquered box of rice) is the most widely known of all Unagi dishes. Unagi is almost always flavored with a sweet soy sauce. This sauce is usually highly guarded and prized by each restaurant.

Unagi without bowl of rice is called Unagi no Kabayaki which is also a popular Japanese dish. You may be able to find inexpensive Unagi dishes, but typically Unagi or Unaju is known to be an expensive delicacy. Unaju is known as a “must-eat” menu in summer because people believe eel gives you energy and strength to deal with the hot and muggy Japanese summers.

Yaki means “grill” and Niku means “meat”. In Yakiniku, you grill bite-sized beef (easy to pick with chop sticks) and vegetables over a grill. This type of BBQ was introduced to Japan after WWII by Korean immigrants in the Kansai area. Even today, most yakiniku restaurants offer other Korean dishes beside the BBQ fare.

At a yakiniku restaurant, you order meat and vegetables and grill them at your table yourself. When they are grilled you dip them in sauces known as tare. The communal nature of cooking around a single grill makes Yakiniku a particularlly popular choice for informal parties and meals with the family.

Family restaurants are casual restaurants where you shouldn’t hesitate to take children. Usually family restaurants serve a variety of dishes from traditional Japanese dishes like katsu don, to Western dishes such as hamburgers or pasta.

The restaurants usually have good size parking spaces and are able to serve up to about 100 people at a time. They offer reasonable dishes for reasonable prices, have many kids meal options, and meals come 3-5 min after you order. Most of these restaurants are franchises. Some Family restaurants chains include – Friendly, Royal Host, Gusto, Bamiyan (Chinese), Saizeriya (Italian), Washoku Sato (Japanese), Bikkuri Donkey (Hamburg steaks)

Izakaya is a type of Japanese drinking establishment or pub. The food is appetizer size, but usually more substantial than that offered in places like bars or snack bars. Izakaya restaurants usually offer inexpensive dishes (Japanese and some Western) along with a variety of drinks. Many places are crowded with college students and office workers after 6pm. Small Izakayas usually have red lanterns hanging outside of their door to show that they are open. Other franchised Izakayas are usually larger and located in retail buildings and near stations.

When you go into Izakaya, you will see waiters and waitress wearing Japanese clothing (happi) over their regular clothes. They usually bring a complementary appetizer (called tsukidashi or otoshi) before you order anything. Beer, Chu-hai (Shochu highball) or Sake are the most popular drinks in an Izakaya restaurant.

Restaurants that serve mainly Japanese traditional desserts are called Kanmi-dokoro. Though it is very easy to find Western style desserts such as ice cream, cake, and cookies in Japan, Kanmi-dokoro serve Mochi ( sticky rice paste), Azuki (sweetened red beans) and other traditional Japanese sweets. They are usually healthier than most Western desserts because fatty materials such as butter, milk and oils are not included most traditional Japanese desserts.

Japanese sweets are worth trying, and some foreigners find them quite satisfying. However, most Westerners may find Japanese sweets to be lacking in one important quality, sweetness.

Okonomiyaki is a Japanese savoury pancake containing a variety of ingredients that might include diced seafood, meat, and vegetables. The name is derived from the word okonomi, meaning "what you like" or "what you want", and yaki meaning "grilled" or "cooked". Okonomiyaki was originated in Western Japan, and is still is known as a local food in Osaka and Hiroshima. However, you can find Okonomiyaki throughout Japan.

Most Okonomiyaki restaurants are set up as grill-it yourself establishments, where the server brings a bowl of raw ingredients and the customers grill it at the table in front of them. When your Okonomiyaki is cooked and ready, you can top it with aonori (seaweed flakes), katsuobushi (fish flakes) and okonomiyaki sauce (similar to Worcestershire sauce, but thicker and sweeter) , and Japanese mayonnaise. The food is very popular especially among young people since it is tasty, inexpensive, and fun to prepare. The most popular types of okonomiyaki are buta-tama (with pork), ebi-tama (with shrimp), and ika-tama (with squid).

Sushi is hand-formed oblong balls of vinegar rice topped with sliced fresh raw fish. It is probably the best-known Japanese dish in the world. The word sushi actually refers to the type of vinegar used. Though it may seem like it is a simple dish, sushi takes multiple steps and can be daunting to get right, hence the reason professional sushi chefs are in such great demand.

In terms of quality, sushi has a full range. You can buy sushi inexpensively at grocery stores, or you can also find fine, expensive, and elegant sushi restaurants throughout Japan. Many Japanese restaurants have only a counter to sit at, or a few small tables. The nicer places don’t post prices, so be careful. If you don’t know what to order try the set menus, which usually provide a good value and a variety of fish. Another good inexpensive way to enjoy sushi is at conveyor-belt sushi restaurants, called kaiten sushi. Here, sushi pieces will revolve in pairs. Pick what you want when you want, and pay on the way out.

Hand-formed clumps of rice topped with sliced raw fish is called nigiri zushi. Sushi rolls are called maki zushi. Vinegar rice stuffed into a small pouch of fried tofu is called inari zushi. Slices of raw fish and vegetables on top of a bowl of vinegar rice is called chirashi zushi.

Tempura is a popular Japanese dish of deep fried battered fresh seafood or vegetables. The batter is made of chilled water, flour and eggs. The ingredients are lightly dipped into the batter then placed in hot oil. Unlike it sounds, this fried dish is crispy and fresh tasting rather heavy and greasy.

In Japan, restaurants specializing in tempura are called tempura-ya and range from inexpensive fast food chains to very expensive five-star restaurants. Expensive restaurants usually have course menus that serve tempura by the piece, whereas inexpensive restaurants usually serve tempura with bowl of rice called Tendon. It is common for Soba/Udon restaurants to serve their noodles with Tempura. They are called Tempura soba, Tensoba, or Tempura Udon. Many restaurants offer tempura as part of a set meal or an obento (lunch box), and it is also a popular ingredient in take-out or convenience store obento boxes.

Teppanyaki is a style of Japanese cuisine that uses an iron griddle to cook food. The word "teppanyaki" is derived from teppan, which means iron plate, and yaki, which means grilled, broiled or pan-fried. In Japan, teppanyaki refers to dishes cooked using an iron plate.

Typical ingredients used for teppanyaki are beef, shrimp, scallops, lobster, chicken, assorted vegetables, noodles (yakisoba) and okonomiyaki. In Japan, many teppanyaki restaurants feature Kobe beef—which can be very expensive. Side dishes of mung bean sprouts, garlic chips or fried rice usually accompany a Kobe beef meal. Some restaurants provide sauces in which to dip the food.

Yakitori is a Japanese style of skewered chicken. Several bite size pieces of chicken meat or giblets are skewered on bamboo, dipped in barbecue sauce and then grilled over hot charcoal. The restaurants that specialize in Yakitori are called Yakitori-ya. They are usually filled with people in the early evening, primarily office workers, who want to eat and drink before they go home.

Yakitori can be made easily at home, but Yakitori-ya offer fresher meat, therefore it is popular to eat Yakitori at a Yakitori-ya. Types of Yakitori include Hatsu -chicken heart, Reba -liver, Sunagimo – gizzard, Tsukune - Chicken meatballs, Kawa – chicken skin, Tebasaki – chicken wing, Shiro – chicken small intestine and Bonjiri – chicken tail.