I was a bit apprehensive about finding food to eat in Japan.  Call me silly, but I just assumed I’d be surrounded by sushi.  Although that was definitely true, I was pretty surprised at the non-seafood food scene.  I couldn’t eat out at many restaurants while I was there because, per usual, I’m broke and on a budget, but I wasn’t forced to live on convenience store carbs either.  Japan has much more variety in their marts and grocery stores than Korea– something that I was very pleased about.  I took a particular liking to the goya (bitter melon) and cheap little seaweed salads that only cost a buck or two.  In Korea, the various seaweed dishes are typically fermented and drenched in a not-so-tasty sour sauce, but Japan presented variety.  Here’s what I ate while roadtripping in Okinawa.

My first “meal” upon entering Japan was a raw slaw, avocado cream cheese chips, and an cold Okinawan beer

Yubu Cho Bap: sweet rice in a pancake

The freshest mango and shaved ice

Seaweed salad with beans and sesame seeds in a gingery sauce; Okinawan yam hushpuppy on the side

Mochi: a glutinous rice cake. This one was stuffed with red bean paste.

A sweet and nutty tart- the filling was like a brittle

Stir-fried goya (bitter melon) and tofu

Seaweed salad in syrup with tempura tofu and ginger sauce

A yaki-imo (Japanese purple yam) bakery. They put the stuff in every sweet, and it’s delicious.