Tired of sushi? Try these!
- Kaiseki-ryori, Japanese haute cuisine
- Kushiage, food fried on a skewer
- Nabe, stew cooked at the table
- Ramen-ya, Chinese-style noodles
- Soba-ya, Japanese-style noodles
- Tempura, deep fried battered food
- Yakitori, chicken skewers
- Sukiyaki, meat dish fried at the table
Fugu, a dangerous delicacy
Fugu, or puffer fish, is a popular delicacy in Japan, despite the fact that if prepared with inexpert hands, the dish is lethal. Fugu may only be prepared by those who have completed a special fugu diploma. There are still a few deaths caused by fugu every year in Japan.
Do you see a queue? And the prices?
You can usually tell the restaurants with the best price-quality ratio – or the newly well-praised restaurants – by the queue out front. As a good rule of thumb, if the prices aren’t shown, the restaurant is expensive.
Download a beginner's guide to sushi
Finnair flies you quickly to pulsing Tokyo
Food
Many Japanese dishes – from sushi to donburi – were born in Tokyo. The whole wealth of Japanese cuisine can be found in the city. In addition, the city offers a variety of local specialties.
Where to eat
Some of the best restaurants in the world are found in Tokyo; they are, at least, the most expensive. In the first Michelin guide to Tokyo the restaurants amassed almost 200 stars in total. Food is also good in the city’s smaller and cheaper establishments.
How about a thousand-euro steak?
The true meat-lover, traveling in Tokyo with a thick wallet, must try the delicious Kobe beef. The cattle are served wine and massaged by a professional.
Two euros will do, too
Various seafood delicacies are, in addition to rice, the most essential part of Japanese cuisine. Tasty rice and noodle dishes cost only a couple of euros in most restaurants and snack bars.
The Tsukiji fish market
The Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo harbor is quite an experience. Hundreds of types of fish, mussels, octopus, crab and even whales are chopped, sold, and bought here. The market is surrounded by fish and sushi places to suit all budgets. And the fish available from all of them is certainly fresh.
What to eat
The Tokyo restaurant scene caters to a wide range of tastes. There are plenty of pizzerias, hamburger restaurants, Mexican restaurants, and so on, which makes the city an easy destination for families. Naturally, traditional Japanese food is also well represented.
Tokyo, Japan’s testing kitchen
Japanese innovation is also present in the country’s culinary culture: foreign influences are absorbed, good ideas are developed further, and new things are constantly tried out. Some say that the best Chinese restaurants can be found in Tokyo. Many exotic delicacies, such as sushi and donburi, were developed here.