10 Popular Japanese Dishes to Try Beyond Sushi

The thought of a trip to Japan instantly conjures up certain images: a walk beneath cherry blossom in a beautiful temple garden, futuristic technology sitting side by side with age-old traditions, or perhaps sushi being expertly prepared before your eyes.

Japan has, after all, an incredible number of sides to discover on a trip there. And when it comes to food, Japan has far more to offer than just sushi. In fact, you can quite rightly call the country a paradise for food lovers. Many Japanese dishes have been enjoyed for centuries, and the country's rich culinary tradition carries right through to the present day – whether in the form of old classics with a new twist or Japanese takes on foreign dishes. We would encourage you to try a different speciality every day of your trip to Japan. Here are 10 popular dishes to sample in Japan.

There are hundreds of different kinds of ramen in Japan. Ramen is a noodle-soup dish that was imported from China and refined in Japan. Today we want to introduce you to a special kind of noodle: Akayu Karamiso Ramen. For this ramen, Japanese miso paste is used as the soup base, enriched with a hint of garlic and chilli. This noodle soup was first served in 1960 at the "Ryu-Shanghai" restaurant in the Akayu area of Yamagata Prefecture. The restaurant's owner is said to have been inspired to create this classic Japanese dish after eating leftover ramen noodles with miso paste. The recipe was improved until today's blend of miso, garlic and chilli emerged. The ball of seasoning is placed on the noodles as a garnish when served, so the diner can decide how spicy to make it, to their own taste.

This popular Japanese dish belongs to Fukuoka, the large city in the north of the island of Kyushu, which was recommended by Lonely Planet as a destination for 2023 thanks to its cuisine. It is a Japanese curry topped with a layer of cheese and gratinated. Yaki curry is a fine example of the originality of modern Japanese cooking, which takes inspiration from foreign influences and adapts dishes with real flair.

Yakitori are grilled chicken skewers. "Yaki" means "to grill", and "tori" translates as "bird". These skewers are familiar to us too, as they are often served as tapas in sushi restaurants. What makes yakitori special is the choice of cuts, whether from chicken or, more rarely, pork or beef, mixed with vegetables. Here are a few examples of these delicious Japanese skewers:

• Yotsumi (四つ身): skewer with chicken breast

• Tsukune (つくね): skewer with chicken meatballs

• Torikawa (とりかわ): skewer with chicken skin (the best!)

• Tebasaki (手羽先): skewer with chicken wing

• Nankotsu (軟骨): skewer with chicken cartilage

• Enoki maki (エノキ巻き): skewer with mushrooms wrapped in pork

Be bold and try these tasty skewers at one of the small mobile street stalls or in the little shops on the streets of Japan. These stalls specialise in yakitori, and it is great fun to watch them being prepared right before your eyes!

A particular classic among popular Japanese dishes is tempura. For this dish, vegetables, seafood, fish or other ingredients are coated in a special batter and then deep-fried. The dish took its inspiration from the arrival of the Portuguese on Japan's shores in the 16th century. The word "tempura" probably has its origins in "tempora", the term for the days on which the missionaries ate fish. These Portuguese fritters were reworked by the Japanese, and the result was a delicate, refined, lightly fried dish. Tempura is often combined with noodles: soba (Japanese buckwheat noodles), udon (thick wheat noodles) or somen (slender noodles, popular in summer). But tempura tastes delicious as a dish on its own too!

Donburi (丼, meaning "bowl", usually shortened to "don") is a traditional Japanese dish consisting of a bowl of rice with various toppings. The best known are the following:

• Katsudon with tonkatsu (breaded pork, similar to a schnitzel)

• Gyudon with strips of beef

• Unagidon with grilled eel in a sweet sauce

• Oyakodon with chicken and egg (oyako is made up of the words for parent and child, as with the chicken and the egg)

• Kimuchidon with kimchi (fermented, spiced cabbage, inspired by Korean cuisine)

• Tendon with tempura

This tasty dish, quick and easy to prepare, can be found in countless Japanese restaurants. But why not give it a try yourself?

"Shabu-shabu" is the sound the meat makes when it drops into the hot broth. This dish, with its melodic onomatopoeic name, is a Japanese take on the Chinese fondue. This fondue, made with beef and vegetable broth or kombu seaweed broth, comes with wafer-thin strips of beef or pork, accompanied by tofu and vegetables such as Chinese cabbage, Japanese shiitake mushrooms and sometimes udon noodles. Everything is heated in a large pot in the middle of the table.

The ingredients are placed in the broth and, after a short cooking time, fished out and dipped into two delicious sauces. Gomadare is a mixture of soy sauce and ground sesame seeds; the other is a mixture of soy sauce and yuzu (a Japanese citrus fruit) or orange juice. Shabu-shabu is a very sociable dish, usually eaten in a larger group. Whether with family or with friends and colleagues, whether in a restaurant or at home!

Literally, "okonomi" can be translated as "as you like it/however you fancy" and "yaki" as "grilled". The dish consists of a batter filled with various ingredients, grilled on a hot plate and then brushed with a tasty sauce before eating. It is comparable to a pancake or omelette and – being typically Japanese – is served in different versions throughout Japan. In Tokyo you can eat Monjayaki (もんじゃ焼き), Negiyaki (ねぎ焼き) or Modanyaki (モダン焼き). Osaka is considered the birthplace of okonomiyaki, but the Hiroshima version is well worth a try too. You can try both versions with Japaventura.

Here we have another dish of Western influence, perfected by Japanese hands! Omuraisu ("omu" for omelette, "raisu" for rice) means rice omelette, served with ketchup or various other tasty sauces. This popular dish is very easy to make at home or to enjoy in one of Japan's Western-inspired restaurants.

Takoyaki is a snack, usually enjoyed with a beer in a Japanese pub (izakaya) or as late-night street food. They are little balls of batter with an octopus filling, cooked in a griddle with round hollows. Garnished with Japanese mayonnaise, bonito flakes, seaweed and a special sweet-and-salty sauce, they are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. But be careful! The little balls are very hot if you eat them straight off the grill.

Gyoza are Japanese dumplings, filled with chives, mushrooms or minced meat (beef or chicken). You can order gyoza three ways: boiled (Sui Gyoza), pan-fried (Yaki Gyoza) or deep-fried (Age Gyoza). The delicious dumplings are dipped in sauces such as soy sauce, sesame sauce, chilli oil or ponzu, a citrus-and-soy-based seasoning sauce.

Has all this given you an appetite for Japan? We promise you it will be more than satisfied on your trip with Japaventura. With our insider tips and plenty of time to explore Japanese cuisine on your own, you can savour the very best of Japan. We should warn you, though: Japan is a country you will never get enough of, in every sense.