Japanese Popular Culture

The Japanese people have always seen themselves as a nation uniquely apart. Their exquisite art forms and elegant culture, military prowess and technological precision, have long been the envy of friend and foe alike. Today, even as Japan adapts to a rapidly changing world, its traditional culture and consensus-based philosophy have proved remarkably resilient. Culture Smart! Japan will broaden your perception and understanding of this complex, rich, and dynamic society.

Introducing popular Japanese dishes such as "YAKI-TORI"(means 'grilled chicken') and "SUSHI", as well as "IZAKAYA" menus.

Tsukemono is a kind of food, mostly vegetables, that has been pickled in salt, rice bran, miso, or something else.

Rice has been an important part of the lives of Japanese people since ancient times.

Umeboshi are a type of pickle made from ume (plums) fruits that are dried in the sun after being salted and soaked in ume vinegar.

Chawanmushi is a dish made by mixing various ingredients along with a beaten egg and dashi stock in a small bowl.

Sweet foods, such as Japanese and Western confectionaries, are known as kanmi (sweets).

The fundamental components of Japanese meals are rice, soup, and side dishes, with the soup providing both water and salt.

Among the many types of egg cuisines, tamagoyaki is said to be one of Japan's unique household dishes. It is also known as atsuyaki tamago.

As well as okonomiyaki and takoyaki, there is another type of well-known "flour-based food" called monjayaki.

In Japan, "croquette" refers to a food that is made by mixing boiled and crushed potatoes with minced meat, covering it in bread crumbs, and frying it until the outside is crispy.

Natto is a traditional Japanese food made from fermented soybeans.

Omurice is one of the most well-known "Western foods" born in Japan between the Meiji and Taisho periods.

It is said that donburimono—rice served in a dish with its side dish placed on top—was created in the Edo period and originated with unadon, rice topped with eel.

Takoyaki is a specialty of Osaka that is just as famous as okonomiyaki.

Tsukudani is a dish that boils foods like seafood, seaweed, or vegetables in a salty-sweet seasoning made from ingredients such as sugar, soy sauce, and mirin.

Like soba noodles, udon noodles are a well known type of Japanese noodles. Made from flour, they are distinctively thick and white.

Yakisoba is a noodle dish created by frying steamed Chinese noodles with meat and vegetables.

This teppanyaki style of cooking involves cooking meat, vegetables, seafoods, and the like on top of an iron hot plate called a "teppan".

The onigiri (rice ball) is a simple dish consisting of a compacted ball of rice with some ingredients placed inside.