Japan Photo Guide

Going back to food, two of my favorite dishes in Japan are shabu shabu and sukiyaki, both of which are kinds of “nabe.” I like to describe this as Japanese fondue, except there isn’t cheese or chocolate (which is a too bad).  Nabe dishes are ones where the ingredients come raw and you cook them in some kind of soup stock at your table (hence the Japanese fondue comparison).  One major difference with this is that the beef (or sometimes pork) comes sliced very thin so the cooking time is just a few seconds, depending on how you like you meat cooked of course. After cooking, usually there is something to dip your food in. For example, for shabu shabu there are two sauces, a ponzu sauce and a sesame sauce and for sukiyaki it is common to dip your beef in raw egg (I am not a fan of this one to be honest). Of the photos below, the one of the left is sukiyaki and the one on the right is shabu shabu.

In addition to being very tasty, eating these nabe dishes are a good and fun experience and a must while visiting Japan, especially if you like beef. You can find places all over Japan, both local shops and chains; however, there are two that I want to recommend (both of which are “all you can eat”)! See more photos and read the rest of this entry »

Chashu is “Chinese” style pork that is usually boiled or grilled, and served sliced or sometimes in chunks. I used quotes because I have only had it Japan, so for all I know it could be different in Japan, you know like how in America, Chinese food isn’t really Chinese food and Japanese food usually is not really Japanese food (in my 3+ years I have never eaten or even seen teriyaki chicken). Anyway, chashu is usually served atop ramen, but sometimes you can order it as a side dish, or as my favorite, Chashuman. Chashuman comes in a couple different variations, but the one that is the best is this one that you can get from Family Mart. Don’t be fooled by impressions, notice the unique shape of this one (hint: it is not round)!

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I have already brought you chocoman and the run of the mill nikuman, now I present to you their Italian cousin, pizzaman! I love pizza and I live these doughy balls of goodness, so… See more photos and read the rest of this entry »

No, not Chocolate “Man” like a person, but pronounced “mahn.” Anyway, not too long ago I wrote about nikuman and mentioned that I would be missing it a lot. Like I said, there are many variations of nikuman and one such–and probably my favorite– is the chocolate one. There are a couple different chocolate ones I have found but the two I have photos of are just the regular chocolate “man” (commonly called chocoraman or chocoman) and the ever so sweet Belgium chocolate “man” (also known as Belgi chocoraman).

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Ikebukuro is yet another large entertainment and commercial district of Tokyo. Ikebukuro JR Station is the 2nd busiest in Tokyo (1st is Shinjuku Station) and it’s subway station is the busiest in Tokyo. It is estimated that about 1 million people pass through Ikebukuro on a normal day. There are what seem to be an endless amount of shops and restaurants in Ikebukuro and while it is an interesting place, I recommend checking out Shibuya and/or Shinjuku first. If you still need more of an urban fix and have time, then you should head over to Ikebukuro. To be honest, it doesn’t feel too different from those places except for maybe a little older; however, there is another reason why you might want to go to Ikebukuro….

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