Amazingly the Japanese palate is quite diverse, more so
than many of our jaded palates. In Tokyo one can practically
eat around the world on any given night. McDonald's,
Denny's, Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Chicken have all
made headways in changing the Japanese diet.

The things that the Japanese value in their food are freshness
and quality. Seasonal produce like pine mushrooms (matsutake)
and gift items like melons can go for exorbantly high prices
(imagine paying a hundred dollars for the perfect cantaloupe).

In Japan different foods are served according to the seasons.
Blowfish, or fugu, is available only during the winter.
Hot dishes are served during the colder seasons and vice versa.

While new dishes enter Japanese cuisine virtually all the time,
those that have been there the longest have become nipponized.
Take for instance tonkatsu and tempura. These two deep-fried
dishes had their origins with the early Portugese traders
and missionaries. Several hundred years later they have been
completely identified with the Japanese.

The one thing I loved about eating in Japan was the availability
of a wide selection of food. Major grocery chains and retail
stores sold a vast array of ready-to-serve food. You can
take home ready-made sushi, sashimi, tempura, tonkatsu,
yakitori, noodles, salads, etc.

If you're hungry and want to grab a cheap bite to eat, there's
always the local noodle shop, Denny's look-alikes or vending
machines. Whole television shows have been devoted to
battles of the chefs, finding the ramen shop with the best
soup stock, the best sushi shop, etc.

Indeed Japan was and still is a great country to eat in.
I will be writing more in my reminiscence, including thoughts
on various local ingredients and places I've eaten in.
So be sure to come back for further inclusions to this essay.