Sushi is without a doubt the most famous Japanese dish in Western culture. It is often thought that “sushi” refers to the seafood (or other) topping, but in actual fact it refers to rice which has been prepared with sushi vinegar. “Nigiri” - a bite-size square ball of vinegared rice topped with a small piece of seafood - is what most people will think of when we mention “sushi”. However, there are a variety of different kinds of sushi.

Most popular types of sushi:

• Maki-zushi (sushi rolls that are served in slices; “maki” means “roll”)
• Gunkan-maki (small “boats” of nori seaweed and rice topped with various ingredients; “gunkan” means “battleship”)
• Chirashi-zushi (sushi rice topped with various ingredients, a bit like a sushi pizza)
• Te-maki (cones of nori seaweed filled with sushi rice and other ingredients),
• Inari-zushi (deep-fried pouches of tofu containing sushi rice) - vegan friendly!

Yakitori are charcoal-grilled chicken skewers using bite-sized pieces from all different parts of the chicken. It is worth noting that the bite-sized pieces are taken from both inside and outside the chicken. They can be found on the menu at special yakitori restaurants called yakitori-ya; (“ya” means “shop”) as well as izakaya which are like Japanese pubs. 

Popular varieties of Yakitori include:

• Momo (thigh meat)
• Tebasaki (chicken wings)
• Tsukune (meatballs)
• Negima (alternate pieces of thigh meat and leek)
• Torikawa (crispy chicken skin)
• Reba (liver)

Many places also offer vegetable varieties, including shiitake mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, leeks, green peppers, okra, and aubergine.

In many places, yakitori is sold by the stick or the set of two sticks, each costing a few hundred Yen per stick. You will often be given the choice of seasoning between salt (shio) and sticky sauce (tare). Since yakitori are usually cooked to order and served fresh from the grill, it is usual to order them in small batches and eat them accompanied by beer.

Udon is a well known type of Japanese noodles. Made from wheat flour, they are pasty white in colour and a glutinous chewy type texture. Traditionally Udon noodles are served either in a broth or dipped in sauce and are available in hundreds of delicious variations, both hot and cold.

Common kinds include kake-soba (hot; served in a bowl of clear broth and topped with sliced green onions), zaru-soba (cold; topped with nori seaweed shavings and served with a dipping sauce of chilled dipping sauce), tanuki soba (hot/cold; topped with crunchy bits of leftover fried tempura batter), kitsune soba (hot/cold; topped with thin slices of fried tofu), curry udon (hot; served in Japanese curry sauce).

Karaage usually refers to chicken karaage, Japanese-style fried chicken. However Karaage properly refers to a Japanese cooking technique in which food is optionally marinated in a sauce before being lightly coated in seasoned wheat flour and deep-fried in a light oil. Chicken is the most popular variety by some distance, however other meat and fish can also be cooked in the same way.

Shabu-shabu is a Japanese hotpot dish consisting of pieces of tender, thinly sliced meat and seasonal vegetables cooked by being plunged into a steaming pot of water or broth. The thinly sliced meat is beef more often than not, however it can sometimes be pork.

A unique aspect to shabu-shabu is that diners cook the ingredients in shabu-shabu for themselves at the table. Each diner selects the pieces they want to eat and adds them to the large communal pot of broth on the table. Since all the ingredients are sliced wafer-thin, the meat cooks in a matter of seconds with the harder vegetables taking only a few minutes.

After cooking, the piping hot pieces of food are dipped in a sauce before being eaten. Popular sauces are yuzu citrus sauce and sesame sauce. Bonus fact: the name comes from the sound made when the slices of meat are swished around in the boiling broth by the diners - 'shabu-shabu'. 

A traditional multi-course Japanese haute cuisine, Kaiseki ryori origins lie centuries ago in the simple meals served to accompany the tea ceremony, but over time it has evolved into an elaborate dining experience popular among aristocrats and nobility.

Consisting mainly of vegetables and fish with a seasoning base of seaweed and mushrooms, the dishes are characterised by their refined flavour. Following a prescribed order of dishes from start to finish, each dish is designed to showcase a traditional cooking technique. Typically they include a selection of boiled, grilled, deep-fried, steamed, and vinegared dishes as well as set items such as sake, rice, miso soup, and pickles.

Regarded as Japan's most exquisite culinary achievement, Kaiseki ryori is served in specialised restaurants such as ryotei (traditional restaurants), as well as ryokan and minshuku (traditional inns).