In Japan it’s Not All Raw Fish, Rice & Noodles!

TOKYO – If typical Westerners in advanced countries are asked to name their most important concerns regarding any foreign trip they might take, food is almost always high on their list.

Americans who have not traveled abroad before can be especially skittish about both food and water—in part because of stories about visitors coming down with the “tourist trot” in countries where sanitary standards are low or virtually non-existent.
Those who are not familiar with Japan might assume that sanitation standards there may also be low, and that special care must be taken to avoid being exposed to unfriendly bacteria. There is no need for such concern.

As it happens, the Japanese were among the first -- if not the first -- people to develop extraordinarily high standards of sanitation in all areas of their lives…something they owe to their native religion, Shintoism.

One of the primary tenets of Shintoism is that cleanliness is an aspect of godliness, resulting in the Japanese being acutely concerned about cleanliness from the dawn of their history, and developing a lifestyle in which cleanliness was a moral value that became deeply engrained in their lifestyle.

Long before Westerners ever equated bathing with good health and the advantages of keeping their homes and workplaces clean, the Japanese scrubbed themselves daily in hot water, then soaked in hot tubs as an added health measure. [When the first Westerners showed up in Japan, their body odor was such that the Japanese could not stand to be near them.]

The Japanese also cleaned their homes daily. Cooking and eating utensils were washed after each use. People not only cleaned themselves and their houses daily, they also kept the area around their homes scrupulously clean.

This virtual obsession with cleanliness has remained a key element in Japanese culture, and still today is one of the reasons why foreign visitors are so impressed with the people and the country. Visitors do not have to be concerned about the sanitation standards in Japanese restaurants, or anywhere else for that matter, including at street vendor stalls.

This is good news, of course, but it is only half of the news where food and dining out are concerned. When it comes to food and restaurants, Japan is one of the most cosmopolitan and international countries in the world.

All of the major cuisines of the world -- American, British, Chinese, French, German, Greek, Italian, Mexican, Russian, etc. -- are available in Japan, in common, middle and upscale restaurants. Regional and local cuisines, from Indian, Indonesian, Korean, Malaysian and Thai to Tibetan are also available.

The number of “Japanese” restaurants that serve a variety of chicken, fish, meat and vegetable dishes that are “Western” in both appearance and taste is astounding. Western chain restaurants, particularly the fast food variety, are cheek-by-jowl in every city in the country.

Japanese restaurants serving traditional dishes, from sushi and noodles to combinations of rice, chicken, beef, eggs, pork and seafood -- all of which, with the possible exception of raw fish, most Westerners like the very first time they try them -- also abound throughout the country.

Office buildings typically have half a dozen or so restaurants in their basements. Newer, larger buildings have as many as fifty or sixty restaurants in their basements and on upper floors devoted entirely to upscale eateries, many of which offer panoramic views of the surrounding areas.

All of Japan’s major cities have what amounts to “restaurant districts” made up of dozens to hundreds of restaurants that attract diners as well as casual strollers who enjoy the sights, sounds and exotic ambiance.

Obviously, the Japanese are great diner outers…they have to be to support the incredible number and variety of restaurants -- there are well over 800,000 restaurants in the small county -- and they do so with a sense of adventure. They flock to new restaurants that offer anything new in the way of style or food.

First-time visitors to Japan should also make a point of having as many food experiences as possible. In addition to adding to their culinary knowledge and pleasuring the palate, it makes it possible for them to “rub elbows” with the Japanese and share in their daily life -- one of the main benefits of visiting the country.

Copyright © 2007 by Boye Lafayette De Mente
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Boye Lafayette De Mente has been involved with Japan, Korea, China and Mexico since the late 1940s as a member of a U.S. intelligence agency, student, journalist, and editor. He is the author of more than 50 books on these countries, including the first books ever on the Japanese way of doing business: Japanese Etiquette & Ethics in Business, first published in 1959, and How to Do Business in Japan, published in 1961.

To see a complete list of his titles [each one linked to Amazon.com’s buy page], go to his personal website: http://www.phoenixbookspublishers.com/.