Top 3 Foods for a Summer in Tokyo

Tokyo is a wonderful city for a foodie, and even more so during the summer when the best way to escape the heat is through food. There are a multitude of foods that I enjoyed during my stay, but my top three during the summer were cold soba, kakigori, and ume juice.

1. Soba

While ramen tends to come to people’s minds first when thinking of Japanese cuisine, soba is equally as popular. Soba, or buckwheat noodles, can be served cold or hot, cold being preferred in the summer. My favorite soba experience was in Ginza, the high-end shopping district in Tokyo. Since my friend from out-of-town was visiting, I wanted to take her for a traditional Japanese meal and found a restaurant in the Edo-Tokyo museum that we were exploring. I ordered zaru soba which came in a platter with a mentsuyu (dipping sauce) and some sliced green onions. Atop the zaru soba is some shredded nori, which is a popular seaweed. The combination of the crispy nori, smooth noodles dipped in mentsuyu, and the crunch of the green onions makes for an amazing lunch. While food in Ginza tends to be priced higher, there are many noodle shops around Tokyo that provide a filling meal for a couple of dollars.

2. Kakigori

Kakigori is another popular summer go-to. While the Japanese name may seem unfamiliar, it is known to many as ‘shaved ice’. Those living in the United States may think of shaved ice as a carnival food served in a cup or cone drizzled with a sweet flavored syrup. People living in East Asia may think of the larger Korean patbinsgu, meaning ‘red beans with ice’, usually decorated with a variety of fresh fruits, sweet rice cakes, and condensed milk. Kakigori finds a middle ground between these two by adopting the shape of the classic American round shaved ice while incorporating flavors and toppings found in patbingsu, those familiar to the Asian palate. My favorite kakigori was actually in an okonomiyaki (savory pancakes filled with cabbage and meat) shop in Asakusa, Tokyo called Sometaro. Okonomiyaki are these delicious savory pancakes filled with cabbage and meat. I visited Sometaro a handful of times and could not leave without having one of their kakigori. While these may not be the most elaborate kakigori you could find in Tokyo, it was just as delicious. They had two popular varieties, one topped with anko (sweetened red beans) and another topped with green tea syrup. Both include a sweet condensed milk and are served in small bowls.

3. Ume Juice

Lastly, ume (plum) juice had to be one of the most memorable drinks I tried while staying in Japan. During the rainy season in the summer, ume-flavored foods are found everywhere as this is the time of the year when they are ripe. Ume juice is made by placing unripe ume and sugar together in a jar, allowing for the extraction of the plum juice. My host mom made her own plum juice and I had no idea what to expect when I tried it, but a little bit of the juice packs a punch! It is highly concentrated but very smooth and sweet. Mixing in a few cubes of ice makes it the perfect drink for the summer and something I wish I could make here in the U.S., but I am sure no plum I could find back home would match the flavor of the Japanese variety. Another widespread use of ume is in alcohol. Umeshu, or a plum liqueur, can be found in the city’s izakayas (bars) and is readily consumed during the peak of the rainy season. Like the juice, it is heavily concentrated and full of flavor.

These are only a few of the many amazing delicacies found in Tokyo. With a plethora of restaurants serving both traditional Japanese food and food from around the world, it was impossible to see, let alone eat, everything in four months! I hope that my next trip back will allow for new dining experiences and tasting more of the food that defines Japan.

By: Ria Jagasia (CIEE Study Abroad, Tokyo, Japan, 2016)