Many years ago, my family had a wonderful Japanese food experience right in our own home.  We had a guest in from Japan and we invited her over for dinner, with a strange request – we wanted her to help us prepare dinner.  What she prepared was a huge departure from anything that we had eaten in our local sushi restaurants!  Until that moment, my knowledge of Japanese food consisted of sushi, tempura, noodles, and teriyaki.  What she presented to us were many small dishes consisting of vegetables, rice, and many types of tofu, including natto – a fermented soybean that is commonplace in Japan but an acquired taste for the American palate.  Not only were the tastes different, but so was the method of serving and eating.  This was a precursor to what we would experience in Japan.

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Depachika – Food Lover’s Paradise

You can’t go to Tokyo without checking out a depachika, the lavish department store food basements that sell everything from dainty wagashi (traditional Japanese sweets) and bento to$500 melons and European pastries.  Depachika is a combination of  ‘depa’ (department store in short) and (‘chika’) and they are truly a food lover’s paradise.  In addition to buying wonderful meals and gifts, you can also sample your way through and end up quite full.  Some of the highlights included:

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