Traditional Japanese Breakfast

Have you tried a traditional Japanese-style breakfast? I didn’t have that every morning in Japan but my mother used to prepare it for us once a week or so. It consists of steamed rice, miso soup and side dishes such as grilled fish, rolled sweet omelet, pickles and dried seaweed. Some people eat Natto (fermented beans). If you are used to Western-style breakfasts, it may take a little time to get used to the idea of eating fish and miso soup in the morning. But I also want to clarify that this is a “traditional” or “typical” breakfast and not everyone in Japan eat miso soup, rice and fish every morning. It is time consuming to prepare traditional Japanese breakfast so we used to just have toasts, scrambled eggs on weekdays in Japan. It’s quick and easy.

But if you are planning to visit Japan, I highly recommend that you try this traditional Japanese-style breakfast at your hotel. It is quite healthy as long as I don’t overeat rice (!!) and you have more energy throughout the day. My American friends were puzzled with this “traditional” Japanese breakfast because they think breakfast means pancakes, eggs, bacons, sausage etc..

I miss Japanese breakfast my mom used to make for us. I am Japanese after all so I don’t mind having that three times a week now. The only thing is that I don’t have the time or the energy to cook every morning or night for the next morning.