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Tokyo Signature Foods
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Tokyo Signature Foods

Tokyo, where Japan’s best food comes together

Tokyo is a city with a relatively short history, so it does not have as many traditional local dishes as Kyoto or Osaka. However, as Japan’s capital, Tokyo is a great place to try signature foods from all over the country.

In this guide, we focus on must-try foods in Tokyo.

This page briefly introduces signature foods, and for more details on how to find good restaurants and Japanese dining culture, please refer to Common - Japan Travel: Restaurants & Dining Culture.

Nigiri Sushi, a craft that began in Edo

  • The sushi most people know today started in Tokyo.
  • Sushi originally began as a preserved food, where fish was fermented with rice. In the Edo period, to help busy city people eat quickly, cooks shaped rice by hand and placed fish on top. This became the sushi style we know today.
  • In Japanese, Nigiri (にぎり) means to握 by hand, so the official name is Nigiri Sushi (握り寿司).
  • At the time, it was like a kind of fast food.
Japanese sushi

Tokyo Soba, with aroma and speed

  • In the Edo period, buckwheat soba, often seen as an early form of fast food, was popular—and it is still easy to find anywhere in Tokyo today.
  • If you want to fully enjoy the buckwheat aroma, it is common to eat soba with slurping.
Japanese soba

Monjayaki: surprising look, reliable taste

  • It may look unusual at first, but it is a Japanese-style savory pancake with a great taste.
  • It is fun because you cook it yourself. First, oil the hot plate, add vegetables, and finely chop them with a teppan spatula.
  • When the vegetables soften, shape them into a circle and pour batter into the center.
  • Mix the batter and vegetables and cook them together.
  • Once it is partly cooked, scoop it with a small spatula, press it again, and then eat it.