Food that won't make me sick??

[SkaKid0911]

Hey everyone. I want to go to Japan really badly. I decided I will have more fun when I am better at japanese but still, I want to ask this question now. What japanese food won't make me sick?
I mean I was never really keen to seafood except for like fish steaks and fish sticks, and when I saw some of the types of seafood they ate I thought they looked like aliens. Can you guys tell me some of the food you like, and attach pictures if you have some. I'm just afraid when I get there I will die of starvation because I will refuse to eat 95% of the foods lol.
Thanks in advance!
Plus what is the legal drinking age over there? Right now I'm 13 hehe
mmmm, sake... I think... lol I forget

[Uncle Frank]

When I went to Japan, I weighed under 100 lbs and only ate about 10 different things. Everyone who knew me said I was the most fussy eater they knew. When I got desperate, I would go to the American style hotels and eat there. I taught the cook at the resturant by my apartment to make Italian sandwiches and Spagetti, and good hamburgers. From what people say, there are plenty of places to eat with anything you might want, you just need a lot of yen !!

Frank

[jeisan]

riceballs and ramen

i was never really too keen on seafood either but im growing to like it. most of the types of sushi i have eaten dont really have an overwhelming fishy taste. for the most part its good stuff just dont be afraid to try anything at least once. octopus is better than squid.

i beleive 20 is the legal limit for drinking and smoking.

[kirei_na_me]

Seafood is not the only thing the Japanese have to offer. There are many other Japanese dishes that don't use seafood and that you might find more palatable. Things such as tonkatsu and katsudon(fried pork tenderloin and fried pork tenderloin on rice), gyudon(beef bowl, which might be in shortage now because of Mad Cow beef ban), okonomiyaki(like a pancake with all kinds of different toppings--not just seafood), etc. etc. etc. etc. There are many kind of neutral dishes using beef, chicken, and pork, if that is what suits you better. What do you like?

[SkaKid0911]

Thank you, I guess I was just sort of sterotypical that all they eat is seafood. I forgot about ramen and lots of rice. By the way, if you cannot understand a menu at a restaurant are the people there generally helpful or will they give you like cat feces and tell you its brown rice lol?

[Uncle Frank]

I don't know if they still do it now days; a lot of restaurants used to have displays of plastic food up front. The stuff looked real enough to eat. I would go and point to what I wanted, worked great. I bet now days most of the menus are in English. It amazed me how many signs were in English, very helpful !!

Frank

[SkaKid0911]

Ah, I see. Thank you. I'm just always a little skeptical when I m doing/trying someone I don't understand. I guess even more so when I am eating because I am a very picky eater I wish I wasnt but a lot of stuff just grosses me out. Thanks for clearing this stuff up for me.

[neko_girl22]

hey I know how you feel! I come from a very traditional English background..... beef and potatoes etc hehe and never seafood. The first time I went to Japan it was all a little strange, but everyone was very kind and understanding. If you want to, you don't even need to eat traditional Japanese food - there is an abundance of western style food - or Japanese style western food like Kirei-na-me mentioned.

This time though, I made myself promise to try everything at least once! It's amazing what a change of attitude can do, foods that I didn't like the first time I now love! I can eat anything, but..... that doesn't mean I enjoy all of it though... still can't understand the appeal of smelly squid and chewy octopus!!

Gambatte ne!

[m477]

Like others have mentioned, there's plenty of Japanese food that doesn't contain seafood.

But if you still can't stomach that, dont't worry, McDonalds and KFC are freakin' everywhere.

[SkaKid0911]

Lol thanks, thats cool fast food from america has made it there. Im a lot less worried now. Thanks everyone

[mdchachi]

No offense but Jeisan is smoking crack or something. Squid is way better than octopus. :-)

Here's something I put together about the food a couple of years ago:
============================
A brief description of some Japanese foods follow, ordered by 'safest' to most 'adventuresome.'


kamemeshi -- this is simply a baked rice dish. Various toppings such as shrimp and vegetables can be selected. How much safer can you get?
tempura / ten-don -- various items (vegetables & seafood) lightly fried and served with rice. Another safe and yummy dish.
tonkatsu -- deep fried and breaded pork. For some reason, Japanese fried foods are not as heavy and greasy as American fried foods. If you go to a nice place, it's melt-in-your-mouth good.
ebi-fry -- the tonkatsu places always have fried shrimp as well. This is the large shrimp (prawns), not the small ones commonly deep fried in the U.S.
curry rice / hayashi rice -- curry rice is basically a curry flavored stew with rice -- can be a little spicy (but nothing compared to truly spicy cuisines). hayashi rice is pretty much the same thing but without the curry flavor and never spicy hot.
gyuu-don (beef bowl) -- shaved/cooked beef on a bowl of rice. Another safe one if you're a meat eater. If you're feeling adventurous, you can throw in a raw egg on top.
okonomiyaki -- a mixed batter containing veggies, egg and meat/seafoods which are grilled. Comes out flat like a pancake but thicker. Sort of a cross between an omelette and a pancake.
monjya -- similar to okonomiyaki but no real batter to speak of (primarily a Tokyo specialty).
soba/udon -- Japanese noodles in a seafood and soy sauce-based broth. Fairly straightforward though hard to eat if you're not familiar with chopsticks.
ramen -- Chinese ramen noodles in a broth. If the only ramen you ever had was the cheap, instant kind then you ain't seen nothing yet. This stuff is awesome. There are many varieties and the style (of broth) tends to be regional. I generally go for the miso-ramen. (And don't forget a side order of gyouza!)
yakitori / kushiyaki -- skewered pieces of chicken, veggies and more grilled to perfection. Be careful, they eat some pieces of the chicken that we generally don't e.g. chicken-skin or chicken cartilage.
shabu shabu -- very thin-sliced strips of beef self-cooked at your table by dipping the meat in boiling water. It sounds weird but try it, you'll love it.
sukiyaki -- similar to shabu-shabu but cooked in a soy sauce broth and dipped in raw egg before eating.
yakiniku -- beef, veggies and seafood self-grilled at your table. Man, is it good. But again, they'll sometimes eat things such as beef tongue and tail that you may not care for.
sushi -- If you like sushi overseas, then you'll love it in Japan. It is much, much fresher and tastier. Don't be surprised if the sushi doesn't come with wasabi. In Japan, it's already in the sushi and one would never add more! By the way, for the squeamish please note there is plenty of sushi that doesn't contain raw seafood. Try it!
sashimi -- strips of raw fish and other seafoods. It's basically sushi without the seaweed and rice. Sashimi, unlike sushi, will come with wasabi on the side. Dip in wasabi-laced soy sauce and eat. If you can get over any psychological barriers, it's quite good. Technically you can get beef, horse and chicken sashimi too but it's not that common.

[jeisan]

Originally posted by mdchachi
No offense but Jeisan is smoking crack or something. Squid is way better than octopus.

lmao hahaha from my experience squid has more in common with a rubberband than a hunk of meat. though ive only had octopus once i enjoyed it more than squid, which for some reason i eat about once a week. *shrug*

[SkaKid0911]

Thank you but I have one more question. Will they tell you when things have tongue and tail in it or do you just have to watch out if you don't want to eat it.