Convenience stores also sell cups of noodles that can be made with a hot water dispenser and enjoyed at a table in the store. Convenience stores aren’t the only ones to offer a better meal than the American versions. Although McDonalds and KFC exist here in Japan, most people will go to a ramen store for a quick lunch or dinner. Ramen is easily made and eaten, making it a great way to get something filling to eat when in a rush.
One food that I couldn’t wait to have was an onigiri, or rice ball wrapped in seaweed with a filling of meat or vegetables. My favorite is the tuna mayonnaise onigiri! This simple snack cost only 120 yen, or a little over a dollar.
Sushi is by far the most famous Japanese food and one of my absolute favorites! The conveyor-belt shops are the best to go to on an empty stomach. While the word sushi can refer to rolls and fried foods in America, sushi is mostly just nigiri sushi in Japan. Nigiri is simply a slice of fresh, raw fish or seafood on a small rectangle of rice.
My school cafeteria offers a number of lunches including curry rice, ramen and a beef rice bowl. The curry rice is a plate half-filled with rice and the other half filled with a thick golden-brown curry sauce with beef broth and vegetables and a small side of red radish. This is the best on a cold and rainy day! When short on time, I go straight for the udon ramen. This ramen has thicker noodles in a savory broth with a marinated tofu slice and green onions on top. And for those days when I have a long lunch, I get the beef rice bowl with slices of meat in a thick sauce covering the top of a large bowl of rice.
