Almost everything in Japan deserves a photograph of some kind as it’s just so different. Sometimes it’s not that different to other parts of Asia, then some of the traditions, food or language come into play. Whether all this is a good thing for travelling solo or not I’m still trying to get my mind round!?!?! Here’s a round up of some of the food so far…. I’ve still to find the Tamagochi restuarants….I mean Yakatori bars…but if you know what a Tamagochi is I wouldn’t be too surprised to see them eating them somewhere!
You can’t really get dehydrated too easily around the parts of Japan I’ve been to yet. There appears to be vending machines for drinks all over the place. Unfortunately the coffee that comes out of most of them are cold, but here’s a sample of the drinks on order. Beer is available too.
Just incase you aren’t sure what part of the animal you are ordering, sometimes you can get a useful guide :
At some of the food stalls at the Sanja Matsuri festival it was quite difficult to work out what was being sold. Some were a bit more obvious though :
Anyone for octopus (above) or freshly barbequed fish?
For cheapo food, especially if you are away to board a train, there is always the bento box. I had my first one today on the train from Nagano to Yudanaka, and it was surprisingly tasty. A snip at 500 Yen (roughly £2.50 UKP).
I had my second sit down meal on my own today. Yesterday I was able just to point at a picture on the menu at a place close to the hostel, but today I had to be a more creative. Despite having the English name for them next to it I’m still getting up to speed (yes, it had the name in English, but not what it was).
Local menu next to the Lonely Planet’s food pages.
I’ve had my fair share of Japanese tea tonight in my ryokan, but they always have cheesy wee phrases in English on everything here. It almost puts you off as you almost start laughing. This was on the side of the insulated flask :
Of course you can get a few of the snacks you get elsewhere in the world (although I’ve noticed a distinct lack of chocolate in the grocery shops). Here’s a kitkat I just had to try tonight. I recognised the taste, but I can’t think what it was, but I know I’ll be going back to the normal chocolate version next.
I’m sure I’ve got a lot more learning to come my way over the next few weeks.