In Japan there has been a huge green tea, or matcha flavored boom.Green tea is a traditional, old tea, but there has been a modern trend in green tea fusion snacks and drinks. For example matcha ice cream and matcha lattes.

The origins of match ice cream are not clear, but it is said that it has existed as a flavor in Japan since the meiji period as it was an item on the emperors menu. Green tea ice cream was always handmade but it was not properly merchandised by major companies because they stuck to normal flavors like vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. However, the reason for its recent boom in popularity is actually from California. Maeda-en USA, the Japanese green tea company in the US started selling green tea ice cream saying it was pure japanese style from California. It became a huge popular dessert in California and even started to sell it in sushi restaurants. They began to import it to Japan and sold it in combinis and advertised it in newspapers. So, chefs began to realize that they can't just stick to the original three flavors and started including green tea as a modern twist. Maeda-en also invented the matcha latte in 1999 in the world's first ever Matcha cafe. Now matcha flavored snacks and drinks are literally everywhere in Japan.

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Gyutan is Japanese cow tongue and a popular dish in Sendai. It usually comes either in the form of a set meal or as a yakitori at izakayas (they are usually called just tan at izakayas). The set meal is popular to eat with barley rice, tail soup, pickles and sometimes grated yam. You can get gyutan set meals at gyutan restaurants or just tan on yakitori at izakayas.

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Some of the most commonly consumed alcoholic drinks in Japan are beers and sours. But another favorite alcoholic drink is the highball. A highball is essentially a beverage with a base spirit - typically whiskey - and a majority of a carbonated mixer with ice. The regular highball in Japan is whiskey mixed with carbonated water. Some other common ones include coca cola highball and ginger ale highball. You can drink highballs at almost any restaurants and drinking establishments.

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These traditional, crispy, candied sweet potatoes are the perfect snack - they're cheap AND addicting! Imo Kenpi are a very common snack from Kochi Prefecture that are made by frying thin strips of sweet potatoes and coating them with sugar afterwards. They look like french fries but are crispier and sweeter. You can buy imo kenpi at select Japanese sweets shops or convenience stores. You can also try them on out tokyo food tour!

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Japanese curry or Curry Rice is a widely popular dish in Japan. Basic Japanese curry consists of the curry sauce, potatoes, carrots, some kind of meat and onions inside. It was introduced by the British in the 1800s but has developed into its own unique Japanese style since then. Compared to Indian or Thai curry, Japanese curry is much thicker and sweeter. The sweetness comes from the caramelized onions, carrots and grated apples. Oftentimes, Indian and Thai curry are very spicy making it hard for children to eat, but as Japanese curry is a lot milder and sweeter, it’s very popular among children in Japan. Curry specialty stores can be found anywhere in Japan.

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Kaisen Don is the combination of two words combined - kaisen means seafood and don is from donburi which means rice bowl - meaning a seafood rice bowl. Kaisen Don usually consists of a variety of different raw seafood over white rice. It’s not to be confused with chirashizushi which looks the same, except the rice is usually sushi rice meaning it's seasoned with vinegar. Kaisen Don restaurants and places like the Tsukiji Outer Market are popular places to get kaisen don.

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If you're fond of fried chicken then trying karaage is a must. Karaage is Japanese fried chicken that's juicy, crispy and bursting with flavor. What makes the fried chicken Japanese is that it usually uses soy sauce and sake when cooking the chicken. Karaage can be found anywhere. You can find it at food stalls, convenience stores, bento shops (lunch box shops), and a menu item that every Japanese person knows is on any izakaya menu.

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Kit Kat is one of the most popular chocolate brands in Japan for several reasons. In Japanese, Kit Kat is pronounced Kitto Katsu which is an expression of good luck in Japan or literally “you will win”. It is often given to school children before a test as a good luck treat. Aside from this clever word play, Kit Kat also has over a hundred different flavors in Japan with some bizarre ones like wasabi, sake and pumpkin pudding to name a few! You can buy Kit Kat almost anywhere in Japan. Of course, you will come across the basic ones in supermarkets, but you can find far more varieties in Don Quijotes, select Bic Cameras and the Kit Kat Chocolatory stores for high-end expensive Kit Kats.

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Kombu is Japanese kelp widely enjoyed in Japan. It is a primary ingredient in dashi (a type of broth) and forms the base for many Japanese dishes. Lots of miso soup or shabu shabu will use kombu as the base of the broth. Kombu can also be enjoyed pickled and eaten as a side dish with rice. We try pickled kombu from a store that opened up in 1877 as part of our Tokyo food tour.

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Manju is a traditional Japanese confection that is one of the cheapest and most popular in Japan. There are many types of manju, but most of them are typically a small round cake made from wheat, rice and buckwheat flour, filled with azuki red beans. It is commonly enjoyed with tea. You can find manju at convenience stores or wagashi shops (Japanese sweets shops).

Photo Credit: Just One Cookbook