JAPANESE FOODS

Many Japanese restaurants specialise in one particular type of food. The best place to try Sushi (slices of raw seafood placed on lightly vinegared rice balls) and sashimi (slices of raw seafood dipped in soy sauce), is a kaiten-zushi bar.

You sit round a conveyor belt and pick plates of it - you generally pay per plate eaten. But Japanese food does not stop with raw fish; other specialities include teriyaki, marinated beef/chicken/fish seared on a hot plate), sukiyaki (thin slices of beef, bean curd and vegetables cooked in soy sauce and then dipped in egg), and tempura (deep fried sea-food and vegetables).

If everything so far sounds a bit meat and fish orientated don't be alarmed - there are vegetarian options in Japan. Try the wonderful zaru soba (buck-wheat noodles served cold), a bowl of Udon (thicker noodles) in a mountain vegetable soup, tofu steak or a vegetable okonomiyaki (savoury pancake). If you are feeling adventurous you could try natto, this is a sticky and slightly smelly concoction made of fermented soya beans. The Japanese liken it to marmite - you'll either love it or hate it.

If you want a more general selection, then the best place to go is an Izakaya (Japanese pub) where you will find an extensive and pretty cheap choice of food and drink. Izakaya often offer tabehodai or nomihodai - for a set price you get an hour or two to eat or drink as much as you like. Choosing exactly what to eat is made easier by well illustrated menus or plastic food displays at the doorway that Madame Tussaud would be proud of - just point and see what you get.

Western and Oriental foods are widely available in Japan. From a country that survived on a diet of mainly fish and vegetables just over a century ago, Japan has reached the stage where there is a steak house or McDonalds on nearly every corner.

Italian and Indian restaurants abound too, as well as some very good Chinese and Korean places. For a late night snack, a Ramen bar is a good bet, these can be found serving up steaming bowls of Chinese noodles, Japanese style, in various broth, until the small hours of the morning.