In October 2017, I traveled in Okinawa and mainland Japan using 7-day Japan Rail JR pass. I realized there is always new food discovery with every trip I took in Japan. I have discovered great Wara Wara Izakaya 笑 笑 居酒屋 restaurant with amazing dishes, delicious soul-food chicken cuisine, almond tofu dessert, and special Japanese fruit tomato, etc. I am sharing my 2017 Japan mainland food discovery and where to taste those delicious food in this blog article. I plan to share my Okinawa food discovery in another article blog post in the future.

Dishes with brown sauce and mayonnaise over omelet are almost always delicious in Japan









- To read about my recommendations of affordable, Reasonable, Convenient hotels in Tokyo, visit: Affordable Cheap Reasonable Hotels in Tokyo

- To read about my recommendations of affordable and reasonable hotels in OSAKA, visit: Osaka Reasonable Affordable Hotels

- To read about how to plan your trip to Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe, visit: Planning your trip to Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe in Japan

















Wara Wara Izakawa Restaurant Chain 笑 笑 居酒屋

This chain Izakaya restaurant franchise is everywhere in Japan and many of the restaurants are located nearby major stations. I have visited the Wara Wara Izakaya restaurant located near JR Shinagawa station. Izakaya is known to serve small portion dishes that are tasty, easy to share with friends, and go well with beer or other alcoholic beverages. Many of the Wara Wara Izakaya restaurants close at as late as 5am, which makes it the best choice for late night meals. Wara Wara Izakaya restaurant is also known for their inexpensive dishes and colorful pictorial multi-lingual menu.

I am only writing about two of the few dishes I tried in 2017

but there are hundreds of tasty dishes at Wara Wara Izakaya,.





*Seafood Risotto

Wara Wara Izakaya restaurant seafood Risotto had the texture of porridge rather than Italian al dente risotto served in Italy. Nevertheless, the Umami and the heavy seafood aroma made this inexpensive dish very memorable.

*Japanese style chicken meatball with sauce

Ground chicken mixed with small bits of soft cartilage in Teriyaki sauce on a sizzling hot pot. Great texture when biting into the savory chicken meat ball.

INFORMATION

Warawara Izakaya restaurant

Shinagawa East Exit

TEL: 03-3450-2988

HOURS: 17:00～03:00 or 05:00

居楽屋 笑笑 品川 東口駅前店

〒 108-0075 東京都港区 港南2-4-18 第2秋山ビル 5階

Dashi Maki Tamago Egg Omelet だし 巻き 卵

This dish is served at every Izakaya in Japan. Tamago egg omelet is typically made from egg batter mixed with Dashi soup. T

he same Dashi broth is typically used in every other dish in the same restaurant, which makes up the backbone flavor of the particular kitchen.

This dish does not seem to be very unique in Japan, however, since the taste of Dashi Maki Tamago Omelet represents the backbone taste of the particular restaurant, many people in Japan believe that if the restaurant serves tasty Dashi Maki Tamago Egg Omelet, the entire menu is likely to be delicious.

INFORMATION

Try finding them on the menu of Wara Wara Izakaya restaurants or any other Izakaya restaurants.

Fried Creamy Cheese Tempura 揚げ チーズ

This dish typically consists of soft cheese in Wonton wrapper, deep fried to golden brown color. A bite into the cheese Tempura releases the heat and strong cheesy flavor on the tongue. Be careful not to get burnt when biting into the piping hot cheese wrap. Kushikatsu restaurants deep fried same ingredient on a stick.





INFORMATION

Try to find them on the menu of Wara Wara Izakaya or any other Izakaya restaurants. All Kushikatsu restaurants in Osaka or other parts of Japan also serve deep fried creamy cheese Tempura.

























Chicken Nanban チキン 南蛮

Deep fried chicken fillet in vinegar based sweet and sour sauce, topped with special Japanese style tartar sauce. This dish is said to be originated from Miyazaki 宮崎 in Kyushu九州, and it has been popularized by many family restaurants throughout Japan. The aroma of fried chicken thigh in sweet and sour sauce makes it very appetizing. Japanese homemade or restaurant-made tartar sauce is usually heavy in egg flavor which makes the vinegar base sauce less pungent to the palate.





INFORMATION

I have found a Chicken Nanban specialty restaurants near Tokyo, but they are served at many local eateries, family restaurants and franchise restaurants such as Yayoi Japanese Teishoku Restaurant.





*Yayoi Japanese Teishoku Restaurant (franchise)

Grand Maison Kabukicho Building 1F, 2-2-20 Kabukicho,

Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo

http://www.yayoiken.com/en/

T

EL: 03-5291-5597

Open 24 hours

やよい軒

〒 東京都新宿区歌舞伎町２−２−２０ グランドメゾン歌舞伎町ビル１Ｆ

*Chicken Nanban Senmonten Rokudori (specialty store)

https://www.rokudori.com/

TEL: 080-5057-2171

HOURS: 11:00～25:00

チキン南蛮専門店 ろくどり

〒 東京都杉並区上高井戸1-1-7





























Chicken Skin Wrapped Gyoza Dumplings 鳥 皮 餃子 or 鶏かわ 餃子

Instead of wrapping ground meat in dumpling wrapper, juicy and flavorful chicken skin is used instead. Deep fried chicken skin used in wrapper enhances and compensates the flavor of lean ground meat used in dumplings.

INFORMATION

Hakata Kawaya Kanda Tokyo store (Yakitori restaurant)

http://kawayatokyo.com

TEL: 81 3-6260-9898

HOURS: 16:00～23:00









Negi Toro Maki Sushi ねぎ とろ 巻き

This type of Sushi Maki roll is not very well known in North America. Negi Toro Maki is made with fatty Tuna meat, chopped into tartare texture and mixed with chopped green onion to enhance its flavor. Buttery taste with Umami うまみ from the fatty tuna expands in the mouth after taking the first bite. To my surprise, this dish is inexpensive when compared to other Sushi Maki rolls.

INFORMATION

Negi Toro Maki Sushi rolls are served at every traditional sushi bar or resolving sushi bars in Japan.





















Almond Tofu Dessert 杏仁 豆腐 あんにんどうふ

*Convenient Store of Lawson or 7-Eleven or other convenient stores

Supposedly a classic dessert in Chinese cuisine, convenient-store-bought Almond Tofu dessert is quite a refreshing treat after a heavy meal. I recommend travelers to pick up a few from local Lawson convenient stores after dinner or before heading back to their hotel room.

*Ichiran Ramen restaurant Almond Tofu dessert

It was a pleasant surprise that I found out that Ichiran Ramen franchise restaurant serves green tea Matcha 抹茶 Almond Tofu dessert. Creamy texture of the Almond Tofu and bittersweet taste of the green tea sauce is in great balance. Refreshing Almond Tofu is perfect after eating oily porky Tonkotsu 豚骨 ラーメン soup from Ichiran Ramen.





INFORMATION

Convenient store Almond Tofu are sold in every Lawson convenient stores in Japan.





*Ichiran Shinjuku central east exit

TEL: +81 3-3225-5518

HOURS: Opens 24 hours

一蘭

ラーメン

新宿中央東口店

〒160-0022

東京都新宿区新宿3-34-11 ピースビル B1F



















Abalone Awabi Sashimi あわび 鮑 さしみ 刺身



Abalone Awabi is considered to be one of the most expensive shellfish in Japan and other parts of Asia. Abalone Awabi is often served in soy sauce based stew and rarely served in raw Sashimi style. I was fortunate to get a chance to have luxurious Abalone Awabi Sashimi served as the daily assorted Sashimi meal at Kato

Washoku

和食 かとう

restaurant in Tsukiji market 築地 市場. The texture is crunchy, which is very different from the cooked Abalone Awabi I had in the past. The taste of raw Abalone Awabi consists of intense Umami sweetness of fresh shellfish similar to fresh scallop or clams.





INFORMATION

Kato Washoku Restaurant Kato Washoku Restaurant

https://www.washoku-kato.com/

TEL: +81 70-5364-1115

HOURS: 6:30~14:30

和食 かとう

〒104-0045 東京都中央区築地5-2-1築地市場 8号館



















Oden Daikon ( Japanese radish in Dashi stew) おでん 関東煮 大根

Oden is dish or a style of cooking consists of assorted ingredients cooked in a fish based Dashi broth. Typical ingredient include fish paste cake, Tofu, and Daikon Japanese radish, etc. Daikon is considered to be a signature ingredient in Oden cuisine. As simple as it may seem, great Oden Daikon requires skillful chefs to simmer Daikon in the Dashi soup to infuse the flavor into the Daikon without overcooking the Daikon that it breaks apart in the boiling pot. There are many Oden specialty restaurants in Tokyo, yet I had delicious Oden Daikon at DHC Akazawa Day Onsen House restaurant 赤沢日帰り温泉館 in Izu 伊豆. Great tasting and inexpensive Oden Daikon are also sold in convenient stores throughout Japan.





INFORMATION

Most of the 7-Eleven convenient stores in Japan have their Oden pot set up near the cashier.



*DHC Akazawa Day Onsen House or Akazawa Higaeri Onsenkan

https://top.dhc.co.jp/akazawa/

TEL: 0557-53-5555

HOURS: 10：00〜22：00

赤沢日帰り温泉館

〒413-0233 静岡県伊東市赤沢字浮山163-1





























Pineapple Popsicle from 7-Eleven Convenient store セブン-イレブン

Another pleasant surprise to be found at 7-Eleven Convenient store in Japan, Pineapple Popsicle is another refreshing dessert after oily meals while traveling in Japan. Texture and flavor of the Pineapple Popsicle are greatly enhanced because it is made with actual pieces of Okinawa pineapple and juice.



INFORMATION

Look for Pineapple Popsicle in 7-Eleven Popsicle freezer section.











Fruits Tomato フルーツ トマト

Slightly more firm than regular tomato. This special type of Japanese Fruits Tomato is know for its intense tomato flavor and high sweetness in balance with its tartness. They are quite expensive when compared with regular tomato.





INFORMATION

KEIKYU STORE Supermarket Shinagawa Store

TEL:

03-3441-8700

HOURS: 10:00～23:00

京急 ストア スーパーマーケット 品川 店

〒108-0074 東京都港区高輪3丁目26-26









博多 かわ屋 神田店東京都千代田区内神田3丁目22-4 花喜久ビル2F