Knowing Where to Eat: American Restaurants in Japan
While I'm gallivanting around Germany for the next two weeks, I've got some wonderful bloggers to guest post for me. Starting off the fun is Trisha from
. She and her family currently live in Japan and are going to move again to Germany in early 2016. She's got plenty of travel ahead of her, so make sure to check out her adventures.
Today, Trisha sharing some of the American foods that she's found while they've been stationed in Japan. Not all of them are what you'd expect!
_____________________________________
Hello to everyone visiting Cosmos Mariners today!
I wanted to give a BIG thank you to Natalie for allowing me the ultimate pleasure of guest posting with you all today. I am new to the blogging scene and was so excited when Natalie asked me to guest post for her. I hope I can live up to her blog’s name!
Before I start with the purpose of this blog post I just wanted to give you a little bit of information about me. My name is Trisha and I am the writer, editor and photographer for
I am also the wonderful mother to a new baby girl and an awesome wife to a very handsome husband. Because of my husband’s military career we get the opportunity to travel internationally quite often. As of right now we currently live in Japan and this winter we will be moving to Germany. This wonderful life that we lead allows us to try different food from all over the world.
I am a travel and food writer and often post about our awesome experiences with food that we get to have here.
So, for today’s post, I wanted to share with you some of the really amazing food experiences that we have had while stationed here in Japan. I figured we would start out with some really common ones and then move on from there.
The first dinning experience I would like to discuss is sushi. Sushi is such an integral part of the Japanese culture. Japan is actually credited for creating sushi as a cohesive dish, but it was the Chinese who were the first to create the idea of sushi.
To tel you the truth I never enjoyed sushi before moving to Japan. American sushi is just over done and filled with a lot of extras. In Japan, sushi is delicious for its simplicity. In the picture posted below, I am having grilled eel, boiled shrimp, raw tuna and yes, egg salad sushi roll. If you would like a brief history of sushi you can check out my blog post:
Traveling Japan: The History of Japanese Sushi
.
Another amazing thing in Japan is that you can order “sets” which are different variations of meals here in Japan. While my husband and I were traveling down towards the tip of Japan we had the opportunity to stop at this beautiful onsen (basically a hotel/spa).
The restaurant here was stunning. It over looked the beautiful bay waters that lead out to the deep, beautiful sea. Since we had both been traveling all day we ordered the largest set possible. I had fried tempura, rice, miso soup and a bowl of raw fish. I was surprised that in my raw fish bowl there was shark pieces! I will have to say… I am not a fan of eating JAWS. He’s a bit too fatty for my taste. Probably from all those surfers he was munching on in the movie!
While we were at this onsen we also discovered that near by was a small aquarium that over looked the bay as well. If you ever get a chance to visit Japan and want a very cool experience you have to go here. At the
Keikyu Aburatsubo Marine Park,
in Miura City, we got to hold hands with otters, pet sharks and watch a very cool dolphin show.
But the neatest thing was that they had Dr. Pepper. Dr. Pepper! In all of my time here in Japan, I have yet to see a single can of Dr. Pepper--that is until I visited this little out of the way aquarium.
As you probably have guessed, I have traveled quite a bit around Japan. But the one thing that continues to surprise me is all of the American restaurants that are over here. Including the
ones listed below, I have also seen a Red Lobster, Taco Bell, Burger King, KFC, HOOTERS, Outback Steakhouse and of course Dominoes Pizza.
Yes, you’re correct in thinking. That is a three story McDonald’s and it was packed! Another cool thing about McDonald’s here is that they deliver. Probably a good thing they don’t offer that service in America!
Breakfast anyone? Denny’s in Japan is not identical in flavor or in taste. But, it is unfortunately, the only place to get a decent American size breakfast on the main island. There is another place that is very similar to Denny’s and it’s called Jonathan’s. It too offers a a simple American breakfast option. But I think that is only because they are located so close to base. Denny’s, however, is scattered all over the main island. We have one near base and the one pictured below is about two hours from us near
.
Now, if you’re a Louisiana native this next image will blow you out of the water. My husband and I were just wondering around a train station waiting for our next train to arrive when we turned a corner and my eyes landed on this beauty.
If you have ever been to the famous Cafe Du Monde you know exactly how exciting this is. I am from Texas originally and traveled to New Orleans quite often. Having one of their delicious cafe au lait or a heavenly beignet can all but change your life. I was so beyond excited when I went in. All I could think was "powder sugar overload."
But alas, it was not the same. The beignets were not dusted with powdered sugar, but with cinnamon sugar. The cafe au lait was seriously lacking as well. But the excitement of it was sure to last a life time.
As most of you can tell, being stationed in Japan has been such a blessing. I hope everyone of you will have the opportunity to travel here. The people are wonderful and the towns are nice and clean.
Everything is made simple, with such heart and dedication to last generations. Thank you, once again, to Natalie for allowing me this opportunity to share with you some of my experiences here in Japan. I hope to talk to you all again!
___________________
Make sure to show Trisha and her blog some love!
|
|
|
_______________________________
Want even more travel goodness? Sign up for the newsletter and get the latest Cosmos Mariners updates, giveaways, and travel news right to your inbox!
