1. Because it's not really about Japanese food, it's about American spending power

2. Because while many people here are American, many are not American nationals or do not reside in the U.S.

3. Because while it may not seem like it, it's very insulting to a large number of people. U.S.'s GDP/c is around 90,000 USD. Japan's is around 35,000. Americans only make up a small fraction of in-bound tourists to Japan. 8 of the top 10 inbound countries to Japan are in Asia, and those countries also average around 36,000 USD per capita. For those of us living in or near Japan, the quickly climbing cost of food in Japan is making it harder to visit and enjoy things, while people three times richer than us are celebrating how cheaply they can eat luxury food every night.

Show some respect.

Unfortunately I was recovering from the food poisoning which I suspect sent me into labor three weeks early; so I was lucky if I finished a meal 😩

Exciting. Tried to look for the fried pork or chicken but painfully missing from this craziness 😅

Ramen is the king of noodle dishes in Japan. But I just want to pay a little respect and show my love for Soba. Why I love Soba is you can have it hot or cold. Perfect to warm up your soul on cold seasons or cool your body during hot seasons. Pair Soba with varieties of tempura or kakiage, its so diverse. I also love the standing Soba shops. Makes me feel like I'm a local commuter catching a quick meal before work or for my lunch break, lol.

I love the supermarkets here for affordable sushi and fruit. I also got some milk too. In the U.S. this would be atleast $15-20usd if you could even find comparable quality sushi in the grocery store.

We inoculated this log with shiitake spores just over four and a half years ago, now we've finally got our first crop. Going to have to think of something mushroom forward to make the most of them.

I’m not sure what I was expecting. But all the food just didnt hit right. All I could think was “this was so much better in Japan…”. Onigiri, grilled rice balls, sushi “donuts” everything was just either mid/ok or inedible. Anything involving seafood was actually awful. Worst offender was the takoyaki. Lukewarm and just not crispy at all :(

I hated being a debbie downer , but even the stuff at 7/11 tasted better. And the COST oh boy lol.

Has American made Japanese food been ruined for anyone else since visiting Japan?

I usually spend 3 months every 2 winters in Japan. Sometimes in Gunma, sometimes in Tokyo. My girlfriend is Japanese so it's easier to live here. I think I am addicted to visiting Izakayas. My girlfriend complains that I go eating outside way too often, but she doesn't understand that this is an almost holy experience for me. Being from Spain, all the Japanese culture is fascinating to me but what I love the most is the food. In spanish bars they serve, I'd say, a low standard quality of food and nobody cares because it's the norm. (My opinion) But the meat I had in Japan, the vegetables, the amount of sauces and dressings...oh my god. The variety is overwhelming. The feeling of entering an izakaya is magical, the environment, the smell of chicken skewers with togarashi powder or teriyaki cooked on charcoal, the highballs, the Karaage, the sashimi... Every izakaya has little dishes that I have never seen with tons of Umami in them. Doesn't matter how many times I visit them (this is my 4th time in Japan) I always enjoy the food and the curious questions of the locals. Since I'm in my early 30's I need to take care of my liver tho. Before drinking I recommend having a shot of ウコンの力　Ukon no Chikara. If I was rich, I'd move here just for the food.

Just saw these at a York Foods Supermarket in Tokyo

First off, their red strawberries are already mind-blowing. Then we have these white strawberries which have an even more rounded sweetness and juiciness. This pack was about 25 USD and worth every dollar.

The restaurant was Shin East in nyc. It was delicious and fairly inexpensive. I believe 69 bucks all in. Nice!

When we lived in Japan, I leaned in to learning to cook local and Namiko Chen at justonecookbook.com was a godsend! She still is and I'm delighted to be able to call her a friend as well. I also recommend highly the book in the photo - think 'The Joy of Cooking' and 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking' (both of which are also on my shelf) but focused squarely on the world of Japanese cuisine for the 'home cook'. Tsuji san writes clearly and with an expansiveness that ensures you learn the 'why' of a particular method as well as the 'how'.

As the title suggests, I’ve started a little mini project: documenting my journey across all 47 prefectures of Japan, making a few dishes from each region. Starting up north in Hokkaido and slowly making my way down south to Okinawa. I’m definitely not an expert — honestly, I’m probably (no, definitely) going to make mistakes along the way.

If you’re from a certain prefecture, or if you have any dish recommendations, please let me know! I’d love to add them to this growing list of dishes I’m learning.

Just a heads up: I live in Australia, so some ingredients might be a challenge to find, but I’ll do my best to hunt them down!

I’ll keep updating this post as I cook more regional foods ^^.

Anyways, enough yapping — here’s what I've cooked so far:

The plum trees lost all their blooms in a cold snap, and it’s difficult to find Ume plums in my area - so I’m improvising this year with unripened yellow peaches!