Japan
Sashimi
刺身
Thinly sliced premium raw fish or seafood, served with soy sauce, wasabi, and pickled ginger.
eastern-asia
Japan
Explore 264 foods connected to Japan, from everyday staples to rare local specialties.
264 foods12 leading categories2 Essentials guides
Start with Sashimi →
The local shortlist
Tokyo Essentials
10 editor-selected foods for understanding the place through what people eat.
Open the guide →
The full directory
Traditional foods from Japan.
264 foods in this view. Filter by category, type, rarity, or search every recorded name.
Filters
Kyushu, Japan
Satsuma-age
薩摩揚げ
Fried fishcake (surimi) from Kagoshima, often mixed with vegetables or octopus, used in oden.
Japan
Sekihan
赤飯
Glutinous rice steamed with azuki beans, turning it red; served at celebrations and milestones.
Japan
Senbei
煎餅
Crispy Japanese rice crackers, grilled or baked, flavored with soy, salt, or seaweed.
Japan
Sencha
煎茶
Japan's most common green tea, steamed and rolled leaves brewed in a kyūsu teapot.
Japan
Shabu-shabu
しゃぶしゃぶ
Thinly sliced beef swished briefly in a light kombu broth at the table, dipped in ponzu or sesame.
Japan
Shichimi Togarashi
七味唐辛子
Shichimi tōgarashi is a Japanese seven-spice blend combining chilli with citrus peel, sesame, sanshō, and other aromatic seeds.
Hakodate, Japan
Shio Ramen
塩ラーメン
Light, salt-seasoned ramen with a clear golden broth, originating in the port city of Hakodate.
Japan
Shirako
白子
Shirako, cod milt served raw, steamed or fried, is a named Japanese winter delicacy ordered by name.
Japan
Shirasu-don
しらす丼
A rice bowl topped with raw or boiled whitebait (shirasu), a Kanagawa and Shizuoka specialty.
Japan
Shogayaki
生姜焼き
Shogayaki, thin pork loin fried in ginger, soy and mirin, is one of the most-cooked Japanese home and teishoku dishes.
Japan
Shokupan
食パン
Shokupan, the tall square milk loaf whose pull-apart crumb has become an export phenomenon, is a named Japanese bread with dedicated bakeries.
Tokyo, Japan
Shoyu Ramen
醤油ラーメン
The classic soy sauce-based ramen with curly wheat noodles in a clear chicken-pork broth.
Kyushu, Japan
Shōchū
焼酎
A distilled spirit from barley, sweet potato, or rice, typically 25% ABV, drunk neat, on ice, or with water.
Japan
Shōyu
醤油
Shōyu is Japanese soy sauce brewed from soybeans, wheat, salt, and kōji, used as a seasoning and dipping condiment.
Japan
Soba
そば
Thin buckwheat noodles served chilled with tsuyu dipping sauce or hot in a soy-dashi broth.
Japan
Sobagaki
そばがき
Sobagaki, buckwheat mixed straight into a hot dough dumpling rather than cut into noodles, is the older named form of soba and is structurally distinct.
Kansai, Japan
Sukiyaki
すき焼き
Thinly sliced beef and vegetables simmered in sweet soy-dashi at the table, dipped in raw egg.
Japan
Sunomono
酢の物
Sunomono, cucumber and seafood dressed in sweetened rice vinegar, is a named fixed course of the Japanese meal.
Okinawa, Japan
Sōki Soba
ソーキそば
Okinawa soba topped with fall-off-the-bone stewed pork ribs (sōki)
Japan
Sōmen
素麺
Very thin white wheat noodles, served chilled with a light tsuyu dipping sauce in summer.
Hokkaido, Japan
Sūpu karē
スープカレー
Soup curry is the thin spiced Sapporo curry served as a broth with whole roasted vegetables.
Japan
Tai-meshi
鯛めし
Tai-meshi, sea bream cooked whole over rice in a clay pot (or, in Uwajima, served raw over rice in a dashi-egg sauce), is a named Setouchi regional dish.
Japan
Taiyaki
たい焼き
A fish-shaped cake filled with sweet red bean paste, baked in a mold, a classic street snack.
Japan
Takikomi Gohan
炊き込みご飯
Rice cooked together with seasonal ingredients like mushrooms, chestnuts, or bamboo shoots.
Okinawa, Japan
Takoraisu
タコライス
Taco rice, seasoned mince and salsa over rice, invented near the Okinawan US bases, is a named local dish with a documented origin.
Osaka, Japan
Takoyaki
たこ焼き
Spherical batter balls stuffed with diced octopus, cooked in a special cast-iron pan.
Japan
Takuan
沢庵
Takuan, whole daikon dried and pickled in rice bran to a bright yellow, is the named Japanese pickle.
Japan
Tamago Kake Gohan
卵かけご飯
A raw egg cracked over hot rice and mixed with soy sauce, the simplest Japanese breakfast.
Japan
Tamago sando
たまごサンド
Tamago sando, the convenience-store egg sandwich on crustless shokupan, is a named Japanese item that travellers seek out specifically.
Japan
Tamagoyaki
卵焼き
Tamagoyaki, dashi-seasoned egg rolled layer by layer in a rectangular pan, is a named Japanese dish and a benchmark of a cook's skill, not merely a sushi topping.
Japan
Tantanmen Ramen
担々麺
Tantanmen is a Japanese sesame-and-chilli noodle soup inspired by dan dan noodles and served under its own name.
Japan
Tekkadon
鉄火丼
A rice bowl topped with slices of raw tuna sashimi, often marinated briefly in soy.
Japan
Temaki
手巻き
A cone-shaped hand roll of nori wrapped around sushi rice and fillings, eaten with the hands.
Japan
Tempura
天ぷら
Seafood and vegetables in a light, airy batter, deep-fried to a delicate golden crisp.
Tokyo, Japan
Tempura Soba
天ぷらそば
Hot soba in broth topped with crisp shrimp and vegetable tempura, a winter warming dish.