Japanese cuisine has been influenced by many different cultures over the years, and that’s just one reason why it comes across as such an interesting culinary experience. The word ‘Japanese’ in and of itself means ‘rice garden’ or ‘village diet,’ so it goes without saying that they have a lot of respect for food.
This article sheds some light on Japanese culture through their love of eating and drinking, so read on if you want to learn more about this fascinating country.
Breakfast in Japan is a social event.
Japanese people typically eat early, so most people in Japan eat breakfast at around 8:00 AM, an hour and a half to two hours before they start work. Many Japanese people meet for a simple bowl of natto (fermented soy beans) or okra, or a miso soup with some slices of fresh tofu with some rice to go with it.
Some people also have a bowl of green tea. At around 10:00 AM, most offices start and people head to their desks for the day, but restaurants and cafes in the areas surrounding train stations stay open, so that workers can have something to eat when they get off the train.
Don’t leave home without your coffee mug.
Coffee is one of the most important things in Japanese culture. In the West, people often drink tea instead of coffee, but Japanese people don’t think of tea the same way. Tea is something that is drunk after you’ve had your coffee, so it is an important part of the drinking routine.
Some people even have special cups that they only drink their coffee out of, so they don’t dirty up their nice set of cups with stinky beans. Most people in Japan drink coffee out of special ceramic cups. You might see people in the West drinking out of a mug or a bowl or even a glass, but in Japan, you drink your coffee out of a cup.
When you go to a Japanese person’s home, you will probably be served green tea or some other kind of tea, but you will almost certainly be offered coffee, and if you don’t have a special mug, you will be very strange indeed. Coffee is so important that it’s even one of the Five Basic Elements in Chinese philosophy, which means that if you are visiting Japan and are feeling a little lost, just go find a coffee shop and get lost for a while.
Why do Japanese people eat with chopsticks?
Japanese people tend to eat a lot with chopsticks, bringing them out whenever a Japanese person sits down to eat. Not only does this help you keep track of how much you are eating, but it also helps you appreciate how much of your food is left because you don’t want to waste any food.
This also helps you realize how much your utensils are filled with, so you aren’t eating too much or too little. Many Japanese people eat with chopsticks in restaurants and at home, but they also use them when they are eating out.
Chopsticks are great for eating noodles because you can use them to grab a large mouthful of noodles while you don’t have to use your spoon to get the smaller pieces of food. When you are using chopsticks, you should always remember that you are eating with them, so don’t try to pick up things like grapes or olives, because you will just ruin your utensils.
Lunchtime meal in Japan is the most important one of the day.
Many Japanese people eat their biggest meal of the day around 2:30 PM. Before that, though, people have small meals from around 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM called o-hanami. This lunch is usually a bowl of rice or some other kind of grain with some vegetables, fish, or meat mixed in.
Some people also have a bento box, a bag of food that they can open to find a different kind of food like a salad or a piece of sushi each day. Many people also drink a small amount of alcohol with their meals.
Dinner: A chance for family and friends to eat together.
Dinner is a chance for family and friends to come together and eat a big meal, often with some drinks afterwards. Some people might have a small meal before dinner, but most people in Japan eat dinner around 6:00 PM or 7:00 PM. This is usually when many people have a barbeque or grill some food outside while they talk to their family and friends.
Snacks are an important part of Japanese cuisine.
Many Japanese people snack on their way to work in the morning, or in the afternoon if they are working late. Japanese people like to snack on things that are simple and easy to eat, like vegetables dipped in soy sauce, or on things that are sweet, like mochi, a kind of sweet rice cake.
Alcohol is a big part of Japanese culture, too.
Many people in Japan drink beer and sake with their meals, but more and more people are using sake as a sort of social lubricant. People often drink sake with their meals, but they also often drink sake with snacks, at parties, and just for fun. Drinking sake is seen as a social activity, and many people even have special cups that have the characters for sake written on them.
Drinking sake is often done with friends, so you might be asked if you want to join a drinking session if you happen to be drinking with a group of people. Drinking sake is not, by any means, like drinking beer, so don’t worry if you’ve never tried it before; it’s not a hard thing to learn how to do, and it is a very interesting and fun thing to do.
When you go to a Japanese wedding, you have to get drunk first.
This might sound like a silly rule, but it’s important to drink a lot at a wedding because the bride and groom usually drink a lot, too! The wedding guests usually drink sake or beer, or sometimes a mixture of the two, which means that you should drink a lot as well.
Many people find themselves dancing or performing on stage after a lot of drinking, so you might end up getting on stage by accident. When you go to a Japanese wedding, you should drink as much as possible, because if you don’t, the hosts will probably make you drink even more!
Conclusion
Japanese cuisine is a wonderful way to explore a culture through its food. The key is to try and understand the ingredients and how they are used. If you keep this in mind, you will be able to reap the rewards of Japanese food, and you’ll be able to build a better relationship with your diet. Now that you know some really interesting things about Japanese food culture, you might as well go out and try some authentic Japanese dishes.