Japanese Food

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A large reason for this is Japanese Food. The Japanese have a very different approach to food than western countries do.

To start with the Japanese serve communal dishes with a variety of foods to choose from. This encourages people to sample smaller portions of each food and inadvertently causes you to eat much slower, giving your brain time to register when your stomach has had enough. Thus leading to lower obesity rates.

Not only is portion and serving methods a benefit the Japanese also tend to eat a lot more healthy foods as well.

For example a typical Japanese Diet contains a large amount of vegetables, fish, fruit, tofu, and broth based soups.

In fact you could even say that the Japanese are obsessed with eating fish. This is a good obsession though as it is well known that there are big health benefits from the Omega 3 fatty acids found in fish.

In addition to this the Japanese also eat a lot of Soy based products like Tofu and certain beans which have very little saturated fats. Where as western diets tend to eat more red meat and run the risk of taking in too much saturated fat leading to heart problems.

One of the leading problems with health in America is that the people eat too much high saturated fatty foods such as cakes, fried foods and chocolates. The Japanese on the other hand have rice as the cornerstone of the diets and it is usually served with every meal, yes even breakfast. The great thing about rice, especially brown rice, is that it fills you up and is low in saturated fat.

These anti-oxidants have been linked to drastic reductions in Cancer rates, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Cholesterol levels and Cardiovascular Diseases.

Some studies have even stated that Green Tea has a positive dental effect by killing bacteria that cause decay in the mouth.

It is becoming more evident these days that the large consumption of Green Tea in Japanese diets must be reducing the negatives effects that smoking cigarettes has on the body, because as mentioned earlier approximately 75% of Japanese men smoke yet Japan has the lowest rates of smoking related diseases in the world.

Green Tea is such a large part of the Japanese culture that the Japanese have special Green Tea drinking ceremonies called 'sado'

Food

Below is a list of some of the most popular foods that are common in Japan and unlike western diets breakfast includes such foods as rice, fish and even pickles!!

Manners

Make sure that you check if you are required to remove your shoes before entering the place for eating. Many westerners can end up embarrassing themselves in Japan by neglecting to do so. It is also important to note that if you are going to use chopsticks please do not keep them in your hands when making hand signals in conversation as this can be seen as slightly rude.

Before you eat a meal it is polite to say "Itadakimasu" which means "I gratefully receive". Upon finishing the meal you say "Gochisosama (deshita)" which means "Thank you for this meal".

As mentioned earlier the Japanese serve food to be shared, and it is polite to serve others first. Also when you are taking your portion be sure not to stick you chopsticks into the food, as this is seen as rude and actually only ever done at funerals.

If you can try your best to finish all of the food on your plate as this is also polite.

Also take care not to burp at the table

Alcohol

It's no secret that the Japanese like to have a drink, and it is not seen as rude to have a few too many, as long as you are not offensive to people. The most common alcoholic drinks in Japan are Beers and Saki (rice wine).

Vending Machines

If you live in Japan and find yourself in a hurry and don't have time to make breakfast or lunch one day, then rest assured that the chances of finding quick relief from one of the millions of food vending machines scattered across the nation is pretty good.

You can find vending machines that sell soft drinks, rice, vitamins, tea and even noodles. The amazing thing is that Japan has roughly 1 vending machine for every 23 people.

I hope this helps you understand some of the aspects of the Japanese food.

All the best!

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