Deep-fried food, an American institution. From chicken and potatoes to donuts, folks in our country dominate the consumption of all foods cooked in a pool of oil, right?
It is only when you begin to travel that you realize how untrue this particular stereotype is. Sure, Americans rock the unhealthy goodies, but this is only the most famous of the hundreds of deep-fried cultures around the world. It is essentially the backbone of all street and fast food. China, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Mexico.....the list is endless. Heck, Mexico even fries its beans twice to be safe. The country immune to such impure consumption is the home of the "world's healthiest diet." Japanese people eat vegetables, rice, and fish and green tea almost exclusively.
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| katsudon |
While it's possible to lose weight if you come here, there is no guarantee. Fish is readily available at shockingly reasonable prices, plain rice is served with almost every meal, and green tea in all of its unsweetened, antioxidant-filled glory is sipped with regularity. However, the artery-clogging magic of home is just as common. Take-out chains like Hotto Motto serve almost exclusively fried options, French fries and fried chicken are among the most popular snacks at every bar and
izakaya, and local dishes like
katsudon (fried pork cutlet on rice, often covered by cheese) are favorites. What's best is that students will give me the Japanese equivalent of trash talk in class, and then pork themselves silly afterward at the Hotto Motto across the street.
To be fair, the helpings are far smaller than their American counterparts. Even McDonald's caters to the smaller stomach/appetite of the locals. This is an understandable reason to feel proud. Americans are unparalleled gluttons, yeah? Expect to hear things like this everyday anywhere you go in the world. At 6'6", there's not much I can say to defend my nation when confronted by someone and any assumptions they may make. After all, I've finished steaks bigger than some of my students on more than one occasion.
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| izakaya |
However, perhaps the greatest contributor of calories is the drinking culture. Whatever they may or may not avoid during the day are more than made up for at night during regular drinking binges. When I arrived two years ago, I couldn't believe how many Westerners still drink like college frat boys regularly. I told my friends and family that this appeared to be the mythical island of Neverland where people come to never grow old. The more I observed what was actually going on around me, the more I realized that it wasn't the Westerners acting abnormal at all. People here have just begun to follow local customs, and it's fantastic. As stressed, over-worked, anti-social, or overly formal some people may seem, you'll always meet a diferent person the first time you go out drinking with them.
Izakaya and
karaoke bars are where all visitors should go to get a taste of what Japanese people are all about as they are the only places people are able to let loose and enjoy themselves free of expectations. With the help of a little social lubricant, the constraints of daily life are lifted away. It is said that true friends are made after dark here. The age it is socially acceptable to drink until the sun rises is drastically higher and the karaoke bars keep popping far longer. As strange as it may sound to first-timers, a trip to Japan is not complete without a late night among the locals, eating fried street and
izakaya food, drinking
nama (draft) beer, screaming
karaoke hits until dawn, and relaxing during the sunlit cab ride home. Perhaps that's the real reason Japan still deserves to be called the Land of the Rising Sun.
