This is Chad! Here is a short post about three things, out of the many great food, you should eat if it’s your first trip to Japan.
Ramen
Most people have eaten saimin or Cup Noodle here in Hawaii, but how many people have tried authentic Japanese ramen? We grew up on eating saimin and Cup Noodle, even now! With our love of noodles, coincidentally, our first meal in Japan was ramen. Chad’s first ramen was shoyu ramen with gyoza and fried rice (sorry no picture! we didn’t have smartphones back then…), and Brandon’s first ramen was Ichiran (一蘭, いちらん). Ichiran is from Fukuoka and they specialize in tonkotsu ramen, which is a pork-based broth (to explain really briefly). Brandon’s first bowl of tonkotsu ramen (picture on the top) is in a special square-shaped bowl. The picture on the bottom, also from Brandon, is also Ichiran ramen, but it was in Tokyo. Ramen is always good for your first meal in Japan or after a night out on the town!
Sushi
Of course your are going to eat sushi in Japan!!! Japan is the place to go to have fresh, quality sushi. For those who don’t like sashimi, you can have it aburi (broiled)-style, and this gives the fish a different texture and taste, so give it a try!
Also, sushi is a lot more than just your regular maguro (ahi) nigiri sushi. Salmon, scallops, ika, tako, ikura, uni (yes, it’s good when it’s fresh!), unagi, anago, and many, many other types to enjoy!
Yakiniku
Hibachi is a favorite pastime of Hawaii, and Japan is no different because this hibachi culture came from Japan! Japan takes it step further with high quality meat and all-you-can-drink options. The better the quality of meat, the higher the price will be, but if you know where to look for, you can find reasonable prices for broke-da-mouth meat!
In future posts, we will explain more about different experiences of devouring Japanese food!
Jet-Set Japan 