Before I came to Japan, I had almost no cooking experience. I thought this would be a problem, considering I wasn't going to have a convenient meal plan. I figured once I got here, I would man up and cook some grub because eating out all the time would get too expensive and living off instant ramen would give me cancer.
After I came to Japan, however, I still have almost no cooking experience and I don't plan on getting any soon. The reason for this is quite simple: I always eat out or eat instant ramen. My dreams of becoming a world-class chef, specializing in healthy Japanese cuisine, were dashed when, after several very mediocre attempts at making my own meals, I realized that I absolutely hate cooking.
I hate opening packages of food, measuring the rice out for the cooker, standing in front of the stove trying to keep my eggs from burning (and always failing), washing the dishes and watching other people cook delicious meals while I eat burnt eggs and undercooked sausages that will probably end up giving me botulism. I even hate the word "cooking" and will never use it again after this sentence.
Luckily, my complete lack of desire to attain any level of proficiency in this necessary and extremely basic activity will not kill me. This is because there are many wonderful restaurants within walking distance of my dorm that serve tasty and exciting food at reasonable prices. At AU, the cost of a meal in TDR or the Tavern with the "200" meal plan averages out to be approximately $10; in Tokyo, one of the most expensive cities in the world, I can fill my stomach with authentic Japanese cuisine for about $7 on average.
Once I realized it was actually economical to eat at a restaurant pretty much every day, with even cheaper fare from the local grocery store thrown in to keep costs down, I decided to toss out my chef's hat and wear a new one: the "happy consumer of various types of Japanese food" hat. It looks just like a baseball cap, actually.
My neighborhood (Takadanobaba) is well-known for having high-quality ramen shops. This reputation is well-earned; every time I crave ramen, I always think of the incredibly delicious ramen served at a nearby restaurant called Ippudo. The only explanation for its delicious ramen must be divine intervention by the gods inhabiting the shrine right next door to it.
Ramen in Japan is almost always served as a pork-based soup. Different regions of the country have different variations. The ramen at Ippudo is called hakata ramen, originally from the southern island of Kyushu. The noodles are thin, and, in addition to slices of pork, bean sprouts and other vegetables are used as toppings.
Ramen is perhaps the most common food in Japan, but another favorite is tempura. This dish consists of deep fried seafood and vegetables served with rice or noodles. I really have to be in the mood for it to enjoy it, but the fact that the seafood in Tokyo is so fresh helps a lot. The difference between seafood here and back home in Kentucky or D.C. is quite noticeable.
Curry is also a popular meal. The Japanese version of curry is less spicy than Indian curry, but in Tokyo there is plenty of both. A nearby restaurant serves a dish for roughly $13 that is nothing more than a mountain of rice and a lake of spicy curry at its base. If you consume it within 20 minutes, the meal is free. I fully intend on trying this, although a friend of mine has already tried and failed with somewhat disgusting results.
While I enjoy Japanese cuisine, I still can't convince myself that I like the quintessential Japanese dish - sushi. There are plenty of other new and different foods to try, though, and if I ever want a burger, Wendy's and McDonald's are right down the street. Too bad Japanese pizza is the stuff of nightmares.
