Curry Rice
This is considered to be a casual, comfort food in Japan – usually enjoyed in a curry house-style diner kind of restaurant. Curry rice is considered to be a “good old reliable” dish in Japan. So much so that it’s almost always on school cafeteria menus and many people also bring along a portable hot plate to heat up a hearty pot of homemade curry rice while camping or at a winter barbecue with friends.
I, personally, liken Japanese curry rice, to a curry casserole more than an Indian or Thai style curry. It’s hearty and filling in the best ways.
When trying “Curry Rice” with kids for the first time, I highly recommend a visit to the franchise “Coco-Ichibanya” ( or “cocoichi” for short)
Google your closest option in Japan to try – you can also grab a omochi kaeri ( take out) option.
This is a fantastic option for dining with children as they can choose their ingredients to go in the curry, if they would like any additional ingredients on top of OR on the side of the curry and they can also customize their “spice level”* from options 1-10.
*I find the spice level to be more indicative of “level of spice” more than”chilli spice” … my husband and I learned this the hard way as we love spicy food ( as in Indian type of spicy food) and decided to try a “Level 8″ spicy of Curry Rice and were so dissappointed! It felt like someone had just added too many different spices so it was more ” concentrated” than full of heat, if you get what I mean.
Okonomiyaki
Cooked on the hot plate in front of you (and many restaurants also allow you to cook your own! This is also a great option for those with picky eaters in Japan as you can decide all of the ingredients as they are added to the dish.
See here for tips on how to order vegetarian okonomiyaki.
Gyoza
See my area guides (or just search “gyoza” on my blog for our recommended spots.) Gyoza is such an affordable way to try something new and with new sauce combos (if you wish – or you can just have them as is!) For incredible vegan gyoza, I recommend going to your closest T’s Tan Tan in Tokyo.
Karaage
This is Japanese fried chicken. It is sold in most casual izakayas and also in most Japanese convenience stores just next to the counter. Can also be found at many outdoor festivals or near tourist attractions.
Japanese bakery goods
Japanese bakeries are like no other! Many of the breads have sweet or savoury fillings. The bakeries are often open early in the morning too. If you think Japan is all rice? Thing again – Japan does bread so so well.
