JAPANESE STREETS FOODS

Takoyaki

Takoyaki are fried balls of batter, similar to a hushpuppy, filled with little pieces of octopus, tempura, green onions, and pickled ginger. They’re golden in color and served piping hot, so eat them carefully to avoid burning your tongue. Takoyaki are a standard item in the street food scene in Japan, so you shouldn’t have trouble finding them. Part of the fun is watching the vendors skillfully flipping them with chopsticks at lightning speed

Crepes

The Japanese love this French dessert. They’ve adapted it and made it an extremely popular street food in Japan, especially in the Harajuku neighborhood in Tokyo. The crepes are cone-shaped with fillings that vary from sweet to savory. You’ll be overwhelmed by vast menus with an astounding number of options (which you’ll see in the window display). But when you’re combining fruit, chocolate, and whipped cream, you really can’t go wrong!

Shioyaki

This was probably one of the most distinct Japanese street foods and the most intimidating.This was probably one of the most distinct Japanese street foods that I saw on my trip… and the most intimidating.

. It’s a whole baked fish served on a stick and seasoned with salt. I was told it mostly just tastes like salt… lots and lots of salt. But I saw another girl order one and go to town on it, so there definitely are people who would find this right up their alley!

Dango

Now THIS was right up my alley. I fell in love with these rice dumplings on a stick and ordered them every chance I got. They’re made from rice flour similar to mochi and cooked until firm. You normally see vendors on the street selling three or four dumplings per skewer and covered in a sweet soy sauce that was absolutely delicious. During cherry blossom season, you’ll also see hanami dango, which are pink, white, and green to represent the flowers.

Okonomiyaki

This savory Japanese pancake is extremely popular. The ingredients can vary greatly, so you could easily order this item multiple times without ever having the same meal twice, just depending on where you buy it! The batter is commonly prepared with eggs, meat or seafood, vegetables and cheese, then poured onto a griddle to cook on both sides. Often, you’ll see it topped with a Worcestershire-style sauce, mayonnaise, bonito flakes, seaweed flakes, and picked ginger.

Yakitori

If you aren’t very adventurous with food, yakitori is your safest Japanese street food to try. It consists of small pieces of meat skewered on a stick and grilled over a charcoal fire. Most of the time you’ll see chicken yakitori, but you may also see vendors selling pork or beef. It’s a very popular item, served either with sauce or without. Keep in mind, there are hardly any public trash cans in Japan, so ordering food on a stick means holding onto that stick until you can properly dispose of it.But the muslims be aware of that because Japanese people can sell the pork flavour

Taiyaki

This is another one of my favorites! These fish-shaped cakes are really similar to waffles, but they’re filled with red bean paste, custard, or chocolate. It’s fun to watch them being made, because you can see the batter in each half of the mold bubbling as they bake (just like pancakes). The vendor then adds the filling and puts the two halves of the fish together to give you the final product. They’re served warm, and the gooey filling is oh so delicious!