Growing up in Japan, I’ve had the chance to experience all the in-n-outs of Japanese cuisine. I’ve had all the weird stuff: street shark meat, natto (fermented beans), unagi nigiri (eel sushi), you name it. That also means I’ve been lucky to try all the food you normally see on TV. I’ve had ramen and yakitori in hidden alleyway restaurants, five-star and fast food sushi, and yakisoba from summer festivals.

Japanese food is my favorite because you can never go wrong with whatever you get. There’s always something for every mood. Want something light but filling? Get miso soup. Want to eat something fried but don’t want all the grease? Tempura or tendon is the perfect choice! Craving sweet but don’t want dessert? I’ll just have omurice. Most importantly, having Japanese food makes me feel at home here in California whenever I’m feeling homesick.

Favorite Japanese Foods

• Omurice This meal has a special place in my heart, mostly for the memories. On Sundays after church, my family and I would normally go to Denny’s and without fail, I’d order omurice every time.
• Yakitori For this list, I’m talking about specific yakitori. There was a yakitori stand right next to the train station in my city that had stood there for a long as I could remember. Whenever I’d go home I’d stop by and eat 80¥ (70 cents) yakitori.
• Banana Milk There was a certain banana milk that had my heart. On the drives down to Iwakuni, there was organic bottled banana milk that was only sold at those rest stops in southern Japan. They stopped selling them in 2017, and I was devastated.
• Tarako Spaghetti Tarako spaghetti is a cod roe paste with small fish eggs. It’s a little salty, so some might find it a little weird to eat! In my opinion, it’s best eaten with an egg yolk.