Rice, Noodle, Fish (27 page)

Emperor Meiji is seen publicly consuming beef, thus ending a 1,200-year ban on meat consumption (just one of Buddhism's many marks on Japanese cuisine). The rise of Westernized and meat-centric cuisine—yakitori,
tonkatsu
,
yakiniku
, and ramen—soon follows.

1945

Americans begin a seven-year occupation of Japan. They bring with them boatloads of surplus wheat, convincing a starving nation of its nutritional superiority. (In return for cheap wheat, Japan agrees to purchase American arms.) Ramen, udon, and
okonomiyaki
culture flourish.

1975

Akira Okazaki, a Japan Airlines executive, successfully air-delivers bluefin tuna from Nova Scotia to Tokyo, ensuring decades of Japanese sushi superiority but at a steep cost to the world's ocean life. Today's fish markets in Japan are an edible atlas of the twenty-first century.

2011

Bread consumption surpasses rice consumption for the first time in Japanese history. While traditionalists lament the rise of wheat, Japanese cooks continue to one-up the world in the art of pizza, pastry, and baking as the national waistline inches ever so slightly outward.

 

Located on every block in urban areas (and every other block in rural ones), the Japanese convenience store is much more than a ubiquitous repository of junk food and cheap buzzes. It sells sushi and soba, manga and medicine, single-malt whisky and next-day hangover cures. Many Japanese swear allegiance to one of the Big Three
conbini
—7-Eleven, Lawson, or Family Mart—but all share a common ethos of maximum utility, minimal hassle, and food that's better than it needs to be. There are many things to love about
conbini
(and a few things not to), but these are the most heroic features of the Japanese convenience store.

(Michael Magers, lead photographer)

(Matt Goulding)

ONIGIRI

One of Japan's most popular snacks looms large on the shelves of
conbini
—endless triangles of packed rice wrapped in shiny sheaths of crackly seaweed. Try it stuffed with
umeboshi
(pickled plum) or tuna and mayo.

(Matt Goulding)

KARAAGE

Fried food has a strong presence in
conbini
, but chicken—spicy nuggets, patties, thighs, and drumsticks—is the standout. Lawson has a deservedly strong reputation for its
karaage
: salty, unreasonably juicy, and as delicious cold as it is hot.