Japanese soul food, bento boxes and Ryokan feasts

On a side street in the town of Sakai, a small restaurant sits emblazoned with welcoming banners full of kanji characters. Inside, two low tables are embedded with long, metal warming trays and seat no more than 20. Across the small space, two chefs chop and stir over a low griddle, pouring out round batters of eggy batter filled with seafood, wagu beef and vegetables in various combinations before spreading sauces on top.

The large paddies are then swiftly lifted by paddle-sized spatulas and carefully carried over to the tables where they are expertly slid onto the warming trays. Each guest has chopsticks and a small spatula to cut and select their portions. It’s a Korean based cuisine that’s a dear comfort on a cold evening, or as our guests put it, ‘soul food’ for the neighborhood.

Everything is comforting about dining out in Japan. While your taste might not run to eating sashimi, or raw fish, many traditional meals consist of sometimes a dozen different selections all arranged with creative and loving care. Japan is no place to diet.

In Ryokans, or traditional lodging houses, across the country elaborate dinners are placed on low tables before guests by servers in uniformed robes. These are special event meals (something like Thanksgiving feasts, but Japanese style).There are varieties of miso soup, many different preparations of fish, some meat and tofu, plus noodles in a broth that cooks on small multi-tiered burners at each place. A small bowl of rice is offered at the end in case you’re still hungry. The texture is welcome even if your tummy is full.

For the more hurried or budget-minded, there are stands on road sides and in train or bus stations where a quick meal can be had for less than $15. Small prepared boxes hold some of the same, elaborate meal preparations as in restaurants but there are fewer portions and they’re served cold. Nevertheless the boxes make an easy and satisfying meal to hold on your lap while riding the bullet train or bus.

Penthouse restaurants in Tokyo serve elegant prix fixe, or set, menus. At the Grand China, 24 floors above the street, the views are stunning and the service impeccable. The menu showed two evening dinners and one featured Shark Fin soup. As soon as I realized what the odd shaped meat floating in my bowl was, I put down my spoon. One taste was enough to keep from insulting our host. It was a cultural reminder that what we might find abhorrent at home may be considered an honorary delicacy in another land.

Izakaya is the Japanese version of a pub-eatery. The front doors are marked with a red lantern bearing the name in kanji characters. These are fairly casual eateries serving many varieties of Sake and Beer, plus a host of dishes. The small plates are swiftly placed on the table and it’s a treat to share with a group then find out the bill is far less than expected. It all depends on the location, I’ve found out. At an Osaka Izakaya one of the menu entries is a dish made with raw horse meat. I’ve heard it tastes a bit like tuna, but with so many other tasty choices it’s another cultural delicacy that won’t ever, consciously, cross my lips.

Photos by the author, Elaine J. Masters