Review: Japan

Only a short 2-hour flight from Korea, Japan was the next stop of our trip. I thought Korea was hot, so words won’t be able to describe what Japan was like. It’s like I was a big fat steak being thrown onto a searing hot cast iron and right as I thought I was finished; they threw me into an oven at 400 degrees. Despite being cooked alive most days, I got to enjoy some great cooking from Japan’s chefs as well, not just the weather.

Japanese cuisine often highlights the four distinct seasons that Japan goes through (fall, winter, spring, summer) and their dishes utilize lots of seasonal ingredients. Furthermore, they’re known worldwide for dishes such as ramen, sushi, gyoza, and much more. Restaurants serving Japanese food are commonly found across Western countries, however, only a select few actually serve dishes that can match the Japanese standard. On the other hand, in Japan, the streets are absolutely packed with restaurants that serve quality meals. Every building you see is probably a restaurant and every building above that restaurant is also probably a restaurant. What I’m trying to say is: no matter where you go in Japan, great food will always follow.

Let’s begin this review with a heavy hitter, ramen. Ramen in Japan is nothing short of absolutely amazing. With firm and bouncy noodles, broths that can contain such diverse and complex flavour profiles, and toppings that only elevate the dish, every bowl is a delight to enjoy. There are 4 main types of ramen, shio (salt), shoyu (soy sauce), miso, and tonkotsu. These flavours describe the overall flavour and taste of the broth, whether it’s from the broth base or seasonings. I tried all of them apart from shio, and my favourite one was probably the miso ramen, which I of course don’t have a photo of.

A ramen shop that I really wanted to go to was Ichiran Ramen, a restaurant that’s been popular on social media for years. If you don’t know about them already, their spin is that you eat in these little cubicles by yourself. There’s absolutely no contact with anyone and all you have to do is place your order ticket in front of you, which a waiter will receive and return with your hot bowl of goodness. All the ramen here is tonkotsu and the broth was rich but missing more of that pork flavour. Typically, I dislike rich broths, but with tonkotsu, I like to go all in on the richness. What I really loved here was their noodles. When ordering, they give you a card where you can customize your broth and the firmness of your noodles, for which I chose firm. The texture of these noodles was spot on and were probably the best ramen noodle I had on this trip. The only complaint I have about them was that they weren’t the best at absorbing the broth. The toppings didn’t bring this dish to another level but were decent in their own right. Overall, I’d give Ichiran Ramen a FREATS rating of 8.4/10, but I’d recommend everyone to visit at least once for the experience of eating alone.

Much like Korea, street food is also extremely prevalent in Japan, maybe even more so. In Osaka, we stayed in Dotonbori, the nightlife and street food hub. There were vendors and stalls that sold Takoyaki, skewers, yakisoba, and many more street food items. One of the most popular items there is Takoyaki, which are hot balls of batter filled with octopus. They’re cooked and flipped in this ball shape mold and when finished, they’re topped with sauce and served to you piping hot. These balls are ooey, gooey, and full of umami from the batter and sauce. The octopus is nice; however, I do wish they would add more than one piece. Another popular street food item is melonpan, which is a sweet bun covered in a layer of crispy cookie dough. The inside of the bun is soft while the outer portion provides a nice crunch. Paired with a scoop of ice cream inside, and you have a sweet treat that is irresistible to try.

Another popular street food item is okonomiyaki, which is a savory pancake. It originates from Osaka, so I had to try it when I was there. Instead of going to a stall, I went to a restaurant, where they put our food on a teppanyaki grill in front of us. We ordered the beef okonomiyaki, and it was piping hot when it first came. Okonomiyaki is similar to a Korean Jeon and almost identical to Takoyaki, apart from the fact that it’s not a ball. They both use similar batters and sauces, which creates a crispy and creamy texture. The okonomiyaki we had was just as described, however, there was a bit too much of one sauce, which made it a bit overpowering. At the same restaurant, we also ordered a squid and pork yakisoba, which is a Japanese noodle stir fry. The noodles were bouncy while the sauce made everything a perfect blend of sweet and savoury. The teppanyaki grill kept everything hot and overall, it was a fun experience to try everything. This unknown restaurant gets a FREATS rating of 8.2/10 (I promise I’m not gatekeeping).

The last thing I wanted to include was Sukiya, a restaurant that serves gyudon (beef bowls). Sukiya was right beside our bnb, so we ended up going there a lot for breakfast. Their beef bowls are large, with a generous amount of beef and onions. When you mix the bowl with a raw egg, it adds an amazing rich and creamy flavour. Along with the extra condiments that were provided, such as sesame sauce, soy sauce, and pickled radish, each bite was extremely flavourful and enjoyable. Sukiya has some of the best food I’ve ever had from a chain restaurant and thus, gets a FREATS rating of 8/10.

I honestly forget how good Japanese cuisine was until this trip and I will gladly say that my opinion of it has been overturned. The meals are warming, the staff are welcoming, and the overall experience is a joy to have. It’s insane to me that with every step you take on their streets, you can enter a restaurant that provides a whole new tasting experience compared to one a few steps back. The food scene in Japan is nothing short of amazing, and I’ll impatiently wait for the next time I can return.