BON

Good topic! In my childhood, there were only 2 kinds of spagetthi in Japan, which were "Napolitan" and "meat sauce". There is a unique restaurant in front of Yurakucho station, which serves intentionally Japanised spagetthi like below. The diameter of this pasta is 2.1mm.

Kristin: Are you sure? Tobiko should be easily found at sushi restaurants in/around Tokyo?

Kristin Experienced over a thousand different ramen shops, I have recently concluded Tonkotsu is not my favorite. It is quite difficult to find good Tonkotsu ramen shop! Altough many (even Japanese) have mistakenly included Tantanmen in ramen category, it is NOT. Here is the link to the pages of other noodles often considered mistakenly as ramen. Noodles found at chinese restaurant in Japan (and mistakenly considered as type of ramen)

I think Rakkyo and shallots (eschalot) are exactly the same stuff. I have never seen shiozuke Rakkyo. Kristin will answer your qustion. More about info. on Rakkyo, Rakkyo comes along with curry and rice in Japan. I am serious!

Seems hanpen is not popular... I am wondering why? It does not have strong character in taste. Texture?

Akiko Your guess is right. It IS Hoshi Imo. It is rarely seen recently. I remember eating it in my childhood as it was. But never tried it dipping in soysauce.

Hi Jason, I think you need to identify small brewers' name like "Kadocho" or "Mitsuboshi". They are located in Wakayama prefecture, famous for Shoyu production.

Major soysauce makers (Kikkoman, Yamasa, etc.) in Japan used defatted soybeans rather than whole beans till early 90's when they introduced whole-bean soysauce. It was their marketing effort to differentiate their newly introduced saysauce which was premier from their onventional ones to label them "Marudaizu" explicitly. Jason: The simpler the cooking, the better you can enjoy material itself, I think you can use your fancy soysauce for sashimi or sushi if you eat them at home.

What do you put for DASHI when you cook oden yourself? I like oxtail in addition to dried bonito and kombu, though it is not at all usual.

Hi torakris, Thank you for the funny episode! The writer must be a big fan of the movie, "Tampopo."

Out of curiosity, I bought "Frommer's Tokyo 6th editon" a few years ago and got dissappointed to see its poor description of my dearest ramen. Click to see what made me dissappooited, if you're interested! Since then, I have been wondering which guide book travelers to Japan would bring with them. Which one did you get and found how it was?

mamster Let me give you a hand. "Eat in season!" This is my belief. So... Don't miss Sanma or Pacific saury, the most popular fish in autumn. Broiling with salt is recommended. Oyster Raw, deep-fried in bread crumbs coating Fugu, bit expensive but will be good experience Sashimi (paper-thinly sliced. you'll get amazed.) Nabe(big pan) called Fugu-chiri Buri or adult yellowtail Teriyaki, Sashimi Besides, seafood Nabe in general is what you should try here. I would recommend chanko nabe, sumo wrestles' cuisine, and Udonsuki. You can enjoy both meat and seafood. As torakris also recommended, Yakiniku should be in your list. It originated from Korea, but completely Japanised. I tried Yakiniku in Korea, NY, Chicago, Europe and south-east Asia and never found anything equivalent. I suppose basic preference toward beef is causing the differnce. Internal organs are tasty, too. I'll list when I recall more.

To tell you the truth, I was surprised to see so many of you listed Uni as your favorite, since I remember I surprised my classmates by telling them sea urchin was edible. It was almost ten years ago, though. FYI There was no battleship nigiri before Kyuubei, one of the best reputed sushi shop in Tokyo, invented it to make Uni as sushi topping.

Cire Welcome to eGullet.com and Japan Forum! There are so many Sushi restaurants in & around Tsukiji fish market that no one tells how many actually. But Daiwazushi is definitely ranked one of the top 3 at worst. Runnner-ups are Sushi Dai and Ryuzushi, also inside the market! Have you tried other sushi restaurants in Tsukiji or somewhere in Tokyo?

Speaking of Yakitori, may I ask whether you eat internal organs of chicken or pork? Liver, heart, and intestines are very popular at Yakitori-ya and Motsuyaki-ya (Literally translating "Internal organs BBQ shop" ).