Nearly 30 million foreign tourists visit Japan every year, one of the countries with one of the most exciting gastronomic cultures in the world , but also one of the most difficult places to understand because, as in Lost in Translation, the Japanese still don’t speak much English.
“It’s not that anyone has mastered the language, but almost,” explains food writer and journalist Matt Goulding on the Sushi, Ramen, Sake pages ; a book that was awarded by the Society of American Travel Writers as Best Travel Book in 2016 and that has recently been translated into Spanish by the Salamandra publishing house. Goulding, who shared friendship and business –the Roads & Kingdoms publishing house– with Anthony Bourdain and who returned from the US a few weeks ago after presenting a new book with chef José Andrés , has traveled more than eight thousand kilometers through noodle shops , tempura temples and tea houses to post sushi, Ramen, Sake. Who better than him to discover the ins and outs of Japanese gastronomy?
“Start by visiting small restaurants and places…
… because the good thing about Japan is that world of specialization that the country has always experienced. Japanese chefs and teachers have dedicated themselves to cooking one thing –sushi, ramen, puffer fish, yakitori…– for 50 years and, as foreign visitors, we have the opportunity to live a unique experience trying something that a person loves. He has been specializing throughout his life. This does not exist outside of Japan, where the level of detail is maximum, and the best place to find it is small restaurants where only one person cooks.
“People think that Japan is an expensive country to eat, but it’s not true…
… it is true that you can end up spending 250 euros for lunch or dinner in a good sushi or tempura restaurant, but the vast majority of Japanese cuisine is cheap. If we talk, for example, of a bowl of udon , with its homemade broth and very well prepared, it can cost us about 400 yen (3 euros) being completely handmade. Or the ramen, which here in Spain costs about 12 euros in each corner, there it costs 5 euros at the most”.
“Visit some quality sushi or kaiseki…
…because while it’s fine to focus on more casual dining, going to a quality sushi or kaiseki restaurant gives you the opportunity to appreciate Japanese haute cuisine where there is an unthinkable level of perfectionism.”
“Don’t miss the konbini either…
… are small Japanese supermarkets. The four main distributors are Family Mart, 7 Eleven, Sunkus and Lawson, but there are other smaller ones. There are incredible things in them and you can also find quality fast food : from Japanese stews, onigiri, a large selection of sake or Japanese whiskey. It’s always fun for me to go and pick a couple of new things to try out.”
“If you only have an hour to understand Japanese cuisine…
… go to a Depachika. It is the Japanese version of El Corte Inglés, basements that have gastronomic centers with between 50 and 100 vendors of Japanese cuisine . You can find yakitori, incredible sweets, tea, sushi, sashimi… If you only have an hour to learn about the country’s food culture, I would spend it there learning and trying each vendor. In addition, you can always buy products to take away: soy, miso sauces, pasta”.
“Eating on trains is a great experience…
…people always make the same trip: Tokyo, Kyoto and, at the most, one night in Osaka. But foreigners have the possibility to travel by train without paying a lot of money and the good thing is that the train food is incredible in Japan. At the stations there is always a regional or local version of bent? –prepared take-out food– with which you can try all the emblematic dishes of the country without leaving the train. Giozas kiusu, Toima game sushi… you can see how the gastronomic world works outside the cities while the train takes you to a new and original place”.