14-Day Japan
Itinerary

Sushi & Sashimi

Japan's most refined culinary art, vinegared shari rice pressed by hand around or beneath a slice of neta (fish or seafood) in the Edo-mae style that originated in Tokyo's Tsukiji district; the itamae (sushi master) trains for a decade before touching the fish; served at the counter and eaten immediately; the temperature of the rice (body-warm), the knife angle and the sourness of the rice are the variables of a lifetime.

Ramen

Japan's most culturally significant bowl: four regional schools: Fukuoka's creamy tonkotsu (pork bone broth simmered 18+ hours), Sapporo's miso ramen with corn and butter, Tokyo's shoyu (soy) and Kyoto's rich chicken paitan; the noodles, broth, tare (seasoning concentrate) and toppings are each a separate study; Japan's 200,000 ramen shops represent a 600-billion-yen industry.

Wagyu Beef

The world's most coveted beef: cattle raised in Japan's Hyogo, Miyazaki, Ōmi and Matsusaka prefectures with a genetic predisposition to deposit fat within the muscle fibers as a marble-fine intramuscular fat; the A5 grade Kobe beef has a fat content that raises its melting point below body temperature, meaning it dissolves on the tongue; grilled thinly at teppanyaki or eaten as shabu-shabu.

Takoyaki

Osaka's most iconic street snack: golf ball-sized rounds of dashi-flavoured wheat batter containing a nugget of octopus tentacle, pickled ginger and tenkasu (fried batter bits), cooked in a special cast-iron takoyaki pan and rotated with picks until the exterior is a crisp golden ball and the inside flows with hot, creamy batter; topped with mayonnaise, okonomiyaki sauce and katsuobushi that dance in the heat.

Tempura

Japan's greatest contribution to frying technique: seafood (tiger prawn, squid, kisu fish) and seasonal vegetables dipped in an ice-cold batter of soft wheat flour and egg yolk and submerged briefly in 180°C sesame oil; the batter must be mixed with cold chopsticks until it is still lumpy (lumps are not a defect); served immediately with tentsuyu dipping broth.

Omurice

Japan's most beloved yoshoku (Western-influenced) dish: a pillow of tomato-flavoured fried rice wrapped in a thin, French-style omelette skin that is split at the table and draped over the rice like a blanket; at Kichi Kichi in Kyoto, chef Motokichi Yukimura's tableside technique of slicing the omelette skin with a knife has been filmed 100 million times.