Category: Food

While I have written previously about the myriad food options in and around Tokyo, I don’t think I’ve captured well how integral food is to the culture here in Tokyo and across Japan.

Take, for example, the many, many mom-and-pop restaurants and small shops which cater to the nouveau riche and the salary men alike. Certain neighborhoods can have hundreds of these types of restaurants up and down the streets, and stacked on top of each other. Sometimes you need to start looking up in order to figure out where you need to be for a dinner reservation! And you will always find food as the focal point — if not the primary draw — at the many summer festivals across Japan.

Eating at a restaurant is a very common activity, especially for post-work socialization and for the ever-critical business meeting. More business can get done over a meal than in a conference room, and more friendships are built sharing a stick of yakitori than at a club.

But the thread of food winds even deeper than that.

Becoming a chef skilled in your particular cuisine can require many years of practice. A would-be sushi chef starts at a level 5 diploma and works for years up to level 1. For years. I’ve met restaurant owners in other countries who are barely out of high school, which puts the experience here in Tokyo in extreme contrast. Before ever serving a dish to restaurant patrons, a sous-chef must prove his skills through practice and review, living up to the standards for that particular eatery.

So, does the food actually taste better after all that hard work?

I’ve never had a bad meal in Tokyo, but then again I still have a lot of restaurants to try. From my experience, it’s less about how the food tastes on its own, and more about the full experience. A Japanese term, umami (うま味), really does describe that there is something extra when preparing food. There are the flavors as they are independently, and then the combined “n + alpha” flavor, which comes only if everything is well balanced.

And then there’s the presentation of the dishes. I can honestly say meals have never looked so good! That’s where the magic is, I believe. We eat with our eyes, and the chefs in Japan are skilled in making even small portions or unknown foods look amazing. After all, there must be a reason people immediately grab their cameras and start snapping photos of the food the second it appears on the table.

I cannot believe one year has passed already since I moved to Tokyo. It has been a challenging, fun, and rewarding year in Japan, with some valuable self-awareness education. I am forever grateful to those who made this work assignment possible, and want to share back some insights as I start my second year here:

1. We Americans/foreigners are very loud!
There is something affectionately called “the Japanese whisper”, or the normal volume of speech used in conversations. (Only the Japanese would invent a device which is supposed to make other people stop talking on command.) By contrast, I am loud, and people in the office know when I’m at my desk because they can hear me on the other side of the floor. I have become much better at knowing the volume of my voice and about accepting long periods of silence in meetings.

2. It is good to know where every inch of you is at any moment.
While living in the world’s most populated city, I have become acutely aware of where every part of me is – from my elbow to my briefcase to the tips of my shoes – at any point in time. Being on a full train is a reminder of the fact that someone else may not be so thrilled having the corner of my briefcase wedged into their ribs. This does put forward a wonderful respect for the space around all of us, where people use only what they need, and leave the rest for someone else.

3. It doesn’t matter how much you try, blending in is just not possible, nor necessary.
Japan is unique in many ways, once of which is the fact that Japan is comprised of 98.5% Japanese, 0.5% Korean, and 0.4% Chinese people. This leaves only 0.6% for those of us without north Asian physical features, and that small percentage is very apparent when I’m out and about. (For contrast, about 72% of the U.S. population is white/Caucasian, and even that can feel very skewed at times.) Let’s just say that people know where in a crowd I am at any point, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

4. Food is amazing in Japan.
No, sushi and ramen are not the only foods in Japan! Yes, they are delicious, but we don’t eat them daily. Growing up, I was never too keen on certain ingredients, such as mushrooms, Brussels sprouts, dark meat chicken, etc. I eventually let my tastebuds run free during the first multi-cultural festival in graduate school, and a world of deliciousness opened up in front of me. The same has been true in Japan, even if eating the whole shrimp (head included) is required at times. The best of the best is here – Tokyo has more Michelin stars than any other city in the world – and your palate will thank you for breaking through the norms.

There are more experiences awaiting me in 2013, and I’m looking forward to sharing them with you.