Walking downtown I saw a vendor selling Takoyaki on a stick for 200 yen. I thought wow! I could really use some takoyaki right about now! And I decided to grab some of these tasty octopus treats at a great value! It’s strange to have a piece of wood go through the takoyaki because there’s supposed to be some octopus in the middle. The presentation and the vendor’s friendliness helped secure the sale. The value was good, but it turned out the food wasn’t.  So I’ll be sticking to the freshly made takoyaki in a box for now on. Take a look at the difference. The 2nd picture is from a summer festival.

Takoyaki on a stick with what I'd consider great presentation and a lot of mayo!

Fresh takoyaki in a box at a Japanese summer festival

Fish, chicken, eggs, salad, rice, miso soup, delicious, healthy, variety, bright, perfect.

Cold noodles are awesome. You take them out of the cold water, dip it in the sauce, and enjoy. Add  perfectly boiled egg, fruit, and vegetables, and you’ve got an energizing meal! I’d say cold noodles are in the top 10 of my favorite Japanese foods.

It feels like half the grocery store is dedicated to fish. And the price is always right in Japan!

Fresh sliced fish perfect for grilling

Egg stuffed fish... I stay away from this. I don't like the exploding eggs when you chew it.

Tiny fish, great for a yakitori style dinner. Slap it on a stick, grill it, eat it just like that.

Now let’s work on getting some Chicago style pizza cookin’ in the bakery Mr. Grocery Store! If they had a suggestion box I’d be dropping notes every day. Non-seafood-non-mayo pizza, big steak, some Diet Dr. Pepper please and thank you.

We found a sushi restaurant that serves fresh fish daily. Dinner costs a person no less than 3000 Yen and can easily run 5000. But lunch is a steal! For 1000 Yen you get this tray of fresh sushi, soup, green tea, and a fruit desert that feels like you’re eating clouds of happiness. This is one of the many reasons I really like Japan.

Besides the last picture, the quality isn’t bad for a 2 megapixel camera phone.

I went undercover at the local grocery store (as that really tall white guy) and snapped these pictures with my phone (with a really loud CLICK CLICK!). Sometimes the price of fruit can get crazy. Famous this, famous that, from a famous place, etc etc. I’ve eaten some of these grapes and they are THE BEST grapes ever to exist! You’re probably laughing, or going “what-ev” but I’m for real. Are they worth $18? Well… only if I get or give it as a gift, or a once a year purchase. I never knew that grapes could taste this good.

I haven’t eaten any melons yet, but I think I’d save myself $20, I mean 2000 Yen, and take the melon on the left!

Here’s a picture of a bento box lunch my wife made. Japanese bento is way better than the mystery brown paper bag special I grew up with!

Yoshinoya is the bomb! The food is decent, and it’s really fast. We timed their service and all the people in the restaurant got their order within 25-45 seconds of ordering. The staff was loud, yelling things in Japanese, and preparing food swift like ninjas, it was incredible! Their most popular dish is Gyudon (beef on rice) but I went for the pork on rice dish. This + some green tea comes to less than $4.

I’ve never cooked full shrimp before and these suckers were HUGE! They were the size of brats, and it was pretty nasty cutting their heads off with a crunchy snap. They tasted good though.

These tacos were inspired by the blog, All Things Japan. She made a post earlier this year about a Taco Bell care package her friend sent her. I was like “Whaaaaaaat!? No way!” So I had some friends send us some Taco Bell seasonings and supplies too! Sure you can get some Ortega seasoning here for about $4-5 (lame) and  it’s no Taco Bell. I forgot to take a picture of what our friends sent us, but here’s the final result. This made me realize how much I miss Americanized Mexican food.