# Japanese dishes you have to try at least once

The Japanese dishes that top surveys of foreign visitors and 'favourite washoku' rankings, from home cooking to specialist restaurants.

- 6 votes · 16 items
- Feb 22, 2025 · Takumi Yamazaki
- https://even.best/en/l/15/japanese-dishes-you-have-to-try-at-least-once

## Top 15

1. **Sushi** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Vinegared rice topped with fresh seafood, the symbol of Japanese food; number one as 'the tastiest' in visitor surveys.
2. **Unaju** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Grilled kabayaki eel over rice in a lacquered box, the classic for the summer Day of the Ox.
3. **Okonomiyaki** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Savoury pancake of flour batter, cabbage and pork; comes in Osaka and Hiroshima styles.
4. **Soba** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Buckwheat noodles served cold (zaru soba) or hot (kake soba), a specialty of Nagano and old Edo.
5. **Japanese curry rice** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Thick Japanese-style curry, a staple of school lunches and home cooking.
6. **Ramen** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — With clear broth styles (shoyu, miso, shio, tonkotsu), Japan's national comfort food is also a hit with foreigners.
7. **Tempura** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Seafood and vegetables in a light batter, deep fried; spread from Edo-era street stalls.
8. **Sukiyaki** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Beef simmered in a sweet soy broth and dipped in raw egg; made differently in Kanto and Kansai.
9. **Yakiniku** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Beef and other meats seasoned with sauce or salt and grilled at the table; popular with visitors thanks to wagyu.
10. **Udon** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Thick wheat noodles; Kagawa's Sanuki udon is the most famous.
11. **Shabu-shabu** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Thinly sliced meat swished in kombu broth and dipped in ponzu or sesame sauce.
12. **Tonkatsu** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Breaded deep-fried pork cutlet with shredded cabbage and sauce.
13. **Takoyaki** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Round batter balls with octopus inside; Osaka's soul food.
14. **Yakitori** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Chicken skewers grilled over charcoal with salt or tare sauce; an izakaya staple.
15. **Onigiri** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Rice balls with a filling, wrapped in nori; hugely popular at convenience stores.
16. **Sashimi** (-1 · ▲0 ▼1) — Sliced raw fish eaten with soy sauce and wasabi, all about the ingredient.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.