Most Exotic Japanese Dishes You've Tried or Heard of

[IrieNaoki]

I'm planning to take a trip to Japan within the year or next year and I'm excited to try exotic dishes that are local to Tokyo and the nearby cities that I'll probably visit. I'm a huge fan of anything weird, fancy or food that can only be enjoyed in the places I visit. I'm game to try just about anything even fugu. An exotic food crawl is usually the highlight of my trips so I'd love to plan out a good one while in Japan. I hope you could share your thoughts and experiences while trying out these dishes if you've tried them.

I might be visiting in the summer in time for the Olympics but that depends if the Corona Virus situation isn't under control just yet. Hopefully, I'd be able to travel there next year the latest.

[J girl]

Have you eaten "Monjya " and "Okonomiyaki"?
Especially "Monjya" would be interesting experience for you.

Tsukishi area in Tokyo have lots of " Monjya shop"
Why don't you try!?

[SpaceManatee]

Probably horse meat sashimi. I can't remember exactly where I found it, but it's called basashi and was actually pretty good.

[IrieNaoki]

Thanks J girl and SpaceManatee! J girl There are Japanese restos around where I live who serve Okonomiyaki but I haven't really tried it. So yes, I'll try that but I'll wait until I get there. I think I've come across Monjya or Monjayaki in one of the food vlogs I've watched. I'll definitely try that, too. Looks really yummy! I'll check out the Tsukishi area as you suggested.

SpaceManatee I have tried stir fried horse meat so I'm trying out basashi, too. It's okay, I'll research on where I have to go to get it.

And I'm planning to visit the markets, night markets and streets where there's plenty of food served especially if it's seafood and meat. It would be awesome if I can take a tour to a market where fish auctions are held. Do you know of any islands in Japan where I can take a trip to where there's interesting local food, too?

[SpaceManatee]

I know there's the Tsukiji market in Tokyo, but I think they may have moved that to somewhere else, or at least that was the plan when I lived there. It would be a shame because the older market had a lot of charm and some really nice restaurants to get fresh fish from the morning auction. I'm not too sure about any of the islands because, unfortunately, I never visited any. I do know that each city in Japan is known for some kind of specialty. I heard that Hokkaido is known for the best sushi because they get more tuna with the colder water, whereas Okinawa has less sushi because of its warmer climate and seas.

[Koohler]

Weirdest huh? I think the weirdest that I've heard of is Shirako. I just forgot if we've seen this dish in Namba or Dotonbori but it's definitely within Osaka prefecture. So it's like a rice topping that you would often see in their rice dishes like okonomiyaki and similar dishes. I didn't bother to taste it but my friend says it's very good. He probably didn't know what it really is when he ordered it but when I asked a staff who can speak English very well, she told me that Shirako is actually fish semen. I only told my friend to research about it right after our meal. LOL.

[IrieNaoki]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys! SpaceManatee: Hokkaido is definitely in my list because I've heard that their seafood is excellent. Tuna sashimi is awesome but I've had a lot of it since my brother is an angler and he caught some fairly huge ones in the past, smallest was 13 kilos and the biggest was 17 kilos. We give parts of it to our relatives and friends and the rest we store it in the freezer for months at a time. Whenever it's still fresh we always prepare sashimi and poke. I like it but I thin my favorite is salmon sashimi because of it's nutty flavor. Koohler: I've tried fish semen before but I guess we cook it differently here. When we buy fish at the local market close to where I live, I ask the fishmongers to add the eggs or semen as a freebie. We add that to the fish soup or fish stew. It's good so I'm curious what Shirako tastes like and how they cook it if it's any different from how we prepare it over here.

[SpaceManatee]

That sounds amazing. Do you mind if I ask where you're from? I've only ever lived near lakes, so any fish I can catch wouldn't really be okay to eat raw.