Our 2018 trip to Japan was full of interesting food experiences. I thought it would be fun to collect them together in one post along with the places we visited, in the hope that it will inspire more home cooking in the future.
Japan
Japan in autumn
We’re off to Japan again! This year’s trip, my first in autumn, promises to be the most fun yet.
Jon Tangomiyage review: regional Pretz
For a while, I’ve been meaning to post some reviews of Japanese food products. If you’re reading this in the snack aisle at the airport duty free on your way home from Japan, stop! Put down those salad-flavoured sticks! In this, my very first review, I’m going to guide you through some exciting Pretz varieties you could have instead.
First, a little background. One great thing about souvenir shopping in Japan is the huge domestic market not only for regional specialties – think Kobe beef or Nagasaki ‘castella’ (カステラ) cake – but also for ‘regional’ incarnations of national or even international products. Could you imagine a brand of crisps that came in Manchester, Glasgow, London and Cornwall flavours? Probably not. In Japan, this sort of thing is commercially viable thanks to the insatiable Japanese appetite for omiyage. This word encapsulates the charming but often stress-inducing practice of buying souvenir gifts for everyone who knew you were going away – even if it was just to another city.
5 things I loved eating in Japan in 2017
When I go to Japan, I don’t just eat all day long. But could you blame me if I did? Not only is Japanese food delicious, but at every price point, the variety on offer is so different to what we get in the UK. From convenience store snacks to fancy restaurants, there’s novelty for me everywhere I look. My philosophy is: we came all this way, let’s try it!