Many people travel to Japan solely for the food. The first time I traveled there in 2022, I tried to stick to a close vegetarian diet, which was really hard. I was surprised by how meat-centric the meals were. Then I found out that most of the soup stock had either fish sauce or was chicken/beef-based. So yeah, it was tough.

When I went this past year, however, I decided to go with a different approach, opting for a pescatarian diet instead. This opened up so many more options for me! Japan has the best seafood I’ve ever had, sushi in particular, and it was so cheap compared to US prices. They also have really good desserts, which was surprising to me the first time I traveled there because I don’t typically associate desserts with Japanese food. I definitely have a sweet tooth, so wherever I travel, I like to try all the sweet treats.

Below is a round-up of some of my favorite meals and treats.

Sushi

Crab

Ramen

Soba noodles and tempura

Pizza

Desserts