When thinking about Tokyo cuisine, I thought of one of my friends, Ashley Shin, who has deeply researched into Tokyo culture and took a trip there in August.  Before her trip, Ashley and I, along with the rest of our friend group, decided that we would all look into different things that Ashley could do while in Tokyo that would keep her occupied.  In between trips to Akihabara and the Tsukiji Fish Market, Ashley was mainly focused on all the Japanese food that she could find so she could get some of the best food that Japan has to offer.   

After her trip, I wanted to know all about the different foods that she had tried and catch up on the various things that made her trip so amazing.  One of the best things that she had to talk about was in fact the food (plus the ten or so plush characters that she had gotten out of vending machines in Akihabara).  She had been constantly updating her Instagram story just showing everyone all the different foods that she had eaten, and our universal bellies grumbled with both desire and envy.  

Thinking about this trip that Ashley had, I figured that she would be the most knowledgeable person to interview about Tokyo cuisine.  With the Tokyo trip fresh on her mind and the desire to recant whatever she could to keep the trip and memories alive, we delved into perusing and recreating Tokyo to the best of our abilities. 

Tokyo food is a delicate balance between tradition and contemporary culture.  At least when I think of Japan, I think of the growth in Japanese video games and technology while still thinking about samurais and the long history of Japan.  Ashley also thought the same way, especially when it comes to food in Tokyo: “Japanese culture strives to retain the elegance of traditional dishes, while constantly being able to push the boundaries of food.”  While she was in Tokyo, she remembered seeing traditional soba restaurants that had “a few dishes with little variety, but each meal was perfected as if it had been cooked the same way for centuries”; but also seeing popular contemporary brunch places a few blocks over “which had ever changing menus and was offering a variety of different dishes depending on what was new and trendy.”

There was always one element held to the highest standard in Japanese cooking, and that was the insistence on convenience that most of the culture is based around.  When I asked Ashley about how she felt the food culture was different from America, she focused on efficiency on one of Tokyo’s high points:

“Meals in Tokyo are very confined to one set of food in contrast to U.S. cooking. This was because meals in Tokyo often had two purposes, to be delicious and satisfying yet quick. This meant food was not offered in excess, and the short meals that were offered were done extremely well. I think the efficiency of Tokyo affected the meals. You could walk into any of the plethora of convenience stores throughout Tokyo and get a prepackaged meal that was nutritious, tasty, and required no effort on your part. Or order your food from a vending machine inside the restaurant. A city that’s often on the move wants food that is simple and quick, and many meals in Tokyo offered exactly that.”

While some people want elaborate sit down meals, Tokyo inhabitants focus on the ability to get up and move with their food and their lives.  If only we could all move so efficiently.