WHAT TO EAT IN JAPAN

I’m overjoyed to be handing the newsletter over to Kate Carruthers this sunny Sunday morning. If you’ve been here since the beginning, you’ll know When In Rome might never have got off the ground without her. She even came to Málaga to keep me accountable and help me work my way around all my favourite restaurants and bars putting pen to paper.

She also wrote the guide to Deal on here, which remains one of the most-read pieces. If you’re UK-based like me and are welcoming these first warm days of Spring, what are you waiting for? You could be eating Seaview fish and chips on the pier by the afternoon!

Kate and I met at work, at Ottolenghi. She might not be a chef, but she took so much joy in the food and was always hovering at the tasting bench, full of curiosity and enthusiasm. Recently, she took six months off with her partner Matt, setting off on a trip they’d been planning for years: Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Canada.

I was especially interested in their six weeks in Japan and asked if she’d write it up for us, because, really, who doesn’t want to plan a trip to Japan? The only question is where to begin? I’m beginning to map out an autumn trip of my own, and it’s been 20 years I’ve been to Japan, so I’m taking notes. Over to Kate!

Where to start? I’ve been reading Modern Delights and came across an essay by Bill Nighy, in which he lists, in the loveliest way, the things that make him very happy.

So, to start:

Things in Japan that brought me delight.

The smell of dashi at 8am. The jingle a convenience store plays when you walk in. Standing at a counter eating udon. Sitting in a solo cubicle eating ramen. The silence of a packed commuter train. Vending machines every forty metres. Aquarius from a vending machine. Cold Sapporo from a vending machine. Onigiri with the instructions on how to open it in three steps. The konbini egg sandwich. The television in the corner of an izakaya, tuned to sumo. The television in the corner of an izakaya, reporting on a bear attack somewhere disconcertingly close by. Family photos taped to the walls. Sports memorabilia of the owner’s favourite team. A bell you ring at the table when you want something. Being laughed at for being too tall. Heated toilet seats. The panic of a heated toilet seat the first time. The curtain over a restaurant door that means it’s open. The curtain over a restaurant door that means it’s closed. Not knowing which. Dark red leaves. Dark orange leaves. The whole country turning red and orange in November and everyone taking photos. A passionate bartender in a tiny bar. Mister Donut. Another Mister Donut. Tea. So much tea. So so much tea.

Our route took us through Tokyo → Hakone → Lake Kawaguchi → Kyoto → Osaka → Okayama → Naoshima + Teshima → Hiroshima → the Nakasendo Trail → Nikko → back to Tokyo. Below are some favourite places to eat along the way.

• Tabelog is your bible. It’s the Japanese equivalent of Google reviews, only more reliable. Use the map function, find where you are, and look for anything over 3.5 stars.

• The best spots are almost always at least three floors up in buildings that look, from the outside, like they might contain nothing at all…Always look up at all the neon-lit signs!

• No tipping - it’s considered rude.

• Many restaurants put plastic or wax replicas of their dishes in a window by the entrance. They make it like this. Point and you shall receive!

• Izakayas are Japanese pubs, but more food-focused and much better. Small plates arrive as you order - yakitori, gyoza, fried things, raw things. They range from tiny smoke-filled rooms with six seats and a television in the corner to slightly smarter spots where you’ll want a reservation. There’s usually family photos on the walls, sports memorabilia, the news murmuring somewhere. Occasionally sumo. Go to as many as you can!

• Carry more cash than you think you might need.

• We were given this cheat sheet on night 1 in Tokyo and it saved us the entire trip!

Quick note: I got loads of Tokyo and Osaka recommendations from our friend Angelos, and the rest came from much stalking of Instagram pages like Milli Lagares, deep Substack rabbit holes, and generous local tips from guesthouse hosts along the way.

We stayed in Tokyo for around 10 days overall. Our routine was as follows: Wake up. Pick a neighbourhood. Find coffee and Mister Donut. Walk 20,000 steps, fuelled by at least three stops at vending machines hunting for fun drinks. Find an udon shop for lunch, or grab onigiri from the chain ‘Lawson’. Shop, walk, sit with a Sapporo beer in a tiny bar. Then izakaya-hop around wherever we’d ended up - this could take us to a chill couple of hours in a record bar, or four hours on the Mario Kart machines in a massive, neon, multi-story game centre. We’d often stumble drunkenly into a ramen shop to end the night. These were some of our favourite spots.

For udon: Udon Oniyanma Shimbashi
We followed a few salary men inside, before realising you order via a screen out front. I got the mixed veg with extra spring onion, every time. The bar tops have all the spicy oils, buckets of tempura pieces, big packets of tissues (essential). You slurp and dip and don’t say very much. One of my favourite ways to lunch, and it cost about four pounds.

For Ramen: Wakura or Warito
Wakura was the best 24 hour spot in Shibuya. We went back many times, always asking for extra noodles once we finish our broth.

What we didn’t realise (though it turns out this is common knowledge) is that you’re not actually meant to drink the ramen broth once you’ve finished. It’s incredibly salty. Delicious, yes, but we woke up in the middle of the night with a thirst so intense that a litre of water wouldn’t quench it.

Go to Warito for tsukemen ramen (dipping ramen) - you drag the noodles through a rich, intense broth rather than sitting them in it.

For izakayas: Makochan Honten and Nakame no Teppen Honten

Makochan Honten for skirt steak skewers, big juicy gyoza, delicious beer and if you need something in the middle of town. Nakame no Teppen Honten is a slightly smarter izakaya - book in advance! They’re known for their mackerel, which the chef puts on one large stick in front of you before grilling. The tuna nigiri was, surprisingly, the best we had in the whole of Japan. It’s in a wonderful neighbourhood called Nakameguru.