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The Japanese cuisine offers a great variety of dishes and regional specialties. Some of the most popular Japanese dishes are listed below. They are categorized below into rice dishes, seafood dishes, noodle dishes, hot pot dishes, meat dishes, soybean dishes, yoshoku dishes and other dishes. Some dishes may fit into multiple categories, but are listed only once.

Rice dishes

For over 2000 years, rice has been the most important food in Japanese cuisine. Despite changes in eating patterns and gradually decreasing rice consumption over the past decades, rice remains one of the most important ingredients in Japan today.

Cooked rice

Sushi

Donburi

Rice balls (onigiri)

Kare Raisu (curry rice)

Fried rice (chahan)

Chazuke

Kayu

Seafood dishes

Hundreds of different fish, shellfish and other seafood from the oceans, seas, lakes and rivers are used in the Japanese cuisine. They are prepared and eaten in many different ways, such as raw, dried, boiled, grilled, deep fried or steamed.

Sashimi

Yakizakana

Unagi

Noodle dishes

There are various traditional Japanese noodle dishes as well as some dishes which were introduced to Japan and subsequently Japanized. Noodle dishes are very popular in Japan and are served both hot and cold depending on the season. Noodle restaurants and food stands are ubiquitous, and it is common to find noodle stands along train platforms.

Soba

Udon

Ramen

Somen

Yakisoba

Hot pot dishes

Nabe, or hot pot dishes, are prepared in a hot pot, usually at the table. Typical ingredients are vegetables such as leek (negi) and hakusai (Chinese cabbage), various mushrooms, seafood and/or meat. There are many regional and personal varieties, and they are especially popular in the cold winter months. Some special nabe dishes are:

Sukiyaki

Shabu Shabu

Chanko Nabe

Meat dishes

Meat has been eaten in Japan in larger amounts only since the late 19th century. Nowadays there exist a variety of popular Japanese meat dishes.

Yakitori

Tonkatsu

Yakiniku

Nikujaga

Teppanyaki

Soybean dishes

Tofu, natto, miso and many other important ingredients of Japanese cooking are made of soybeans. The following are some of the most popular soybean-based dishes:

Miso soup

Hiyayakko

Yudofu

Agedashidofu

Yoshoku dishes

A large number of Western dishes have been introduced to Japan over the centuries. Many of them have become completely Japanized and are referred to as Yoshoku dishes (lit. "Western food"). Some of the most popular ones are:

Korokke

Omuraisu

Hayashi Raisu

Hambagu

Other dishes

Bento

Tempura

Okonomiyaki

Monjayaki

Gyoza

Chawanmushi

Pickles

Sweets