What’s Your Favorite Japanese Food? (And Why Is It Sushi/Ramen)

What’s your favorite Japanese food?

If your answer is sushi or ramen, you’re not alone.

Ramen and sushi are the heavy hitters of Japanese cuisine outside Japan.

But how do Japanese people feel about sushi or ramen? Do they approach these foods with the same level of zeal and fervor seen beyond Japan’s borders?

In this edition of the Japan Travel Pros blog, we’ll give an overview of these popular Japanese mainstays, putting them head to head – and then onto the back burner as we later look at popular Japanese foods that are lesser known outside Japan.

Sushi: Ever Popular, In Japan & Worldwide 

Sushi is one of the most popular foods not just in Japan but these days around the world as well.

In Japan, the sushi dining experience runs the full range, from inexpensive conveyor-belt sushi eateries to Michelin-starred sushi restaurants.

Outside Japan, sushi has taken different forms including all-you-can-eat sushi buffets, modern “sushi bars” that make creative rolls combining all sorts of elements, and high-end establishments that fly their fish in from Japan daily.

Most folks on a self-guided tour in Japan eat sushi at least once while they’re here, and some opt for multiple meals across the range of sushi eateries. I’ve literally never heard anyone visiting Japan say they were disappointed with the sushi here!

Beyond Sushi: What Other Fish & Seafood Should You Try in Japan?

This isn’t one of those “instead of A, why not try B” articles.

In no way, shape or form would we ever recommend you skip the sushi experience in Japan. It’s a culinary highlight on most people’s trips to Japan, both in expectation and results. Even if you’re a vegetarian or vegan, you’ll find sushi shops that cater to those preferences as well.

Beyond sushi, though, is a wide array of seafood options in Japanese cuisine. While you’re here, we highly recommend you give some of these a go.

Tempura: Japan’s Most Well-Known Fried Food

You’ve no doubt heard of and probably enjoyed tempura already. 

Before the ramen boom, tempura was on par with sushi as being the stereotypical Japanese foods.

While tempura often appears on the menu at a variety of Japanese restaurants overseas (including sushi restaurants), in Japan your best bets for tempura are usually at restaurants that specialize in it. Aside from the favorite of tempura shrimp, you’ll also find tempura fish, squid, eel and other fried goodness (plenty of veggies, too).

Shioyaki: Grilled Fish is Always a Hit in Japan

Being an island nation, it comes as no surprise that Japan is a great place to enjoy fresh fish. But it’s not all raw. On the contrary, Japanese people more commonly eat fish grilled.

“Shioyaki” refers to “salted grilled,” a way to bring out the optimum flavor levels in fresh fish. There’s salmon shioyaki, saba (mackerel) shioyaki, iwashi (sardine) shioyaki, and countless others. 

Any restaurant worth its salt – sorry, obligatory dad joke – will serve the freshest fish that’s in season, grilling up your shioyaki that’s sure to please. You’re likely to find shioyaki (and the subsequently mentioned teriyaki fish) in casual “teishoku” eateries, izakaya pubs and a plethora of seafood restaurants around Japan.

Teriyaki Fish: Shioyaki’s Cousin

Beyond the simple shiyaki, you can also get your fish cooked teriyaki style.

If you’ve had teriyaki in the US or elsewhere, this is the original and real deal. Far less sweet and more balanced as a sauce, teriyaki fish dishes are crowd pleasers in Japan. 

Popular teriyaki fish include buri (amberjack), hamachi (yellowtail), salmon, tuna and more.

Nimono: Simmered or Braised

In addition to grilled fish, another popular method of preparing fish is called “nimono” – basically, braising.

In nimono, the fish (and a selection of fresh vegetables) is simmered in a stock with soy sauce, sake and a bit of sugar. Popular nimono fish and seafood include buri (amberjack), tai (snapper), saba (mackerel), clams, scallops… pretty much whatever is freshest.

Teishoku restaurants and izakaya pubs often have various nimono on the menu. Looking for an elevated meal with nimono? You’ll likely see it as one of the courses in a “kaiseki” fine dining experience.

Unagi / Hamo / Anago: Eel Team Go!

You may have had unagi (freshwater eel) or anago (conger eel) on sushi before.

Eel is a delicacy in Japan, loved by many. It’s not eaten daily, though, as good eel (raised in Japan in more traditional means) is on the expensive side.

You’ll find eel in street markets across Japan (though be wary of skewered eel offerings in touristy areas, as the eel might be imported and of inferior quality) and in sushi shops of course. 

In our opinion, unagi or anago are best enjoyed in specialty shops. No matter what city you’re in, a local restaurant offering unagi or anago is a great meal. Need recommendations? Don’t hesitate to ask us!

Fugu: The Pufferfish You Need Not Fear

Finally, it’s fugu time.

Admittedly, fugu can be a little off-putting for some visitors.

Not familiar with fugu? This is the pufferfish that contains small (but lethal) amounts of poison.

Chefs who prepare fugu – and restaurants that serve fugu – must go through extensive training and licensing to ensure that they cut it the right way and eliminate the possibility of poison.

While it’s true that a handful of people die each year in Japan from ingesting the toxins of the pufferfish, this is almost always due to inferior preparation technique and off-license cooking.

We’ve eaten fugu several times, and can recommend local eateries both in Tokyo and in the Kansai Area.

Ramen-Mania: Hot Bowls of Perfection

Japanese will often be quick to point out that ramen’s origins are, in fact, from China.

Having said that, ramen is a uniquely Japanese food.

The quintessential noodle soup in a pork or chicken broth, ramen is popular both inside Japan and worldwide. The most popular ramen shops in Japan regularly have lines of an hour or longer. A few even have Michelin stars.

But you can get great ramen virtually everywhere in Japan. Follow our rule of thumb: so long as you’re outside of the really touristy areas, any restaurant with a Google Maps star rating of 3.5 or more is bound to be good. That means that the “best” ramen shop for you, the visitor, is probably one that fits best with your itinerary (spending less time in line and/or en route).

We could do entire articles on ramen, the history and different varieties etc. – in fact, I assure you, we will!

Other Than Ramen: The Noodles That Japanese Are Slurping on the Daily

Ramen, however, isn’t the only noodle that Japanese people enjoy.

Again, don’t skip ramen while you’re here. There are a ton of great ramen shops and I really do encourage our clients to visit a few.

But beyond ramen, as much of a “rice culture” as people expect Japan to be, it really is noodle heaven here.

Udon: A Noodle Soup That Isn’t Ramen?!

You might be surprised that the noodle soup slurped and savored the most in Japan isn’t ramen, but rather udon.

Thick, almost white noodles are served in a hot (or cold) dashi broth, and then topped as you like – green onions, togarashi pepper, even tempura.

Udon shops are everywhere in Japan, from local mom-and-pop eateries to national chains such as Marugame.

Soba: Thin Buckwheat Noodles, a Versatile Staple

Udon’s cousin, you could say, is soba.

Thin buckwheat noodles are called soba, and a common preparation is in a bowl like the aforementioned udon.

A derivative is called “zaru soba,” where the soba noodles are served on the side, and you dip them in a chilled broth. It’s especially refreshing to eat in the hot, humid months of Japanese summer.

Hiyashi Chuka & Reimen: Cold Is Nice

Speaking of chilled noodles, there are many other categories of noodles enjoyed cold or at room temperature.

“Hiyashi Chuka,” for example, is essentially a bowl of ramen ingredients without the hot broth, but instead a chilled and slightly sweet one. You can eat it year round, but hiyashi chuka is particularly great in the summertime.

“Reimen” (not to be confused with ramen at all!) is the cold noodle of Korean origin.

If you’re at a yakiniku barbecue restaurant in Japan, you’ll likely see reimen offered as well. It’s a semi-translucent noodle served in a chilled bowl with vegetables, meat and egg, with a sweet and spicy broth accompanying it.

Yakisoba: Fried Noodles Served in a Variety of Ways

Getting away from broth but sticking with noodles, a wildly popular noodle in Japan is yakisoba.

The yakisoba noodle is also Chinese in origin but served in ways that are uniquely Japanese. It’s thicker than soba or reimen noodles but not as thick as udon.

The standard yakisoba preparation is on a flat top with cabbage, pork (or shrimp), onions and topped with aonori (dried green seaweed) and a tangy brown sauce.

Yakisoba noodles can also be combined with okonomiyaki (the savory pancake), a style most associated with the city and prefecture of Hiroshima. 

All told, if you say “men” (meaning ‘noodles’) to a Japanese person, it’s likely that the image conjured might not be ramen but rather one of these other noodle dishes.

What’s Better, Ramen or Sushi?

Okay, so with all that said about the various types of fish and noodle dishes in Japan, for a lot of us westerners, it still comes down to sushi or ramen as our favorites.

So what’s my favorite?

If we’re talking about one meal, the “last meal in Japan” or “I have a layover in Tokyo, what should I eat” kind of question?

I’m gonna go with sushi.

Wow, I almost typed ramen there! It’s a tough question.

But yeah no, it’d have to be sushi. If one meal is emblematic of “Japan on a plate?” Yes, for sure, that’s sushi.

Still, I’m always happy when a steaming bowl of hot, delicious ramen is placed in front of me. So really, no complaints with either.

How about you? What’s your favorite Japanese food? Let us know in the comments below.

And, until next time… happy travels (and bon appetit)!