I bet you’ve always wanted to travel abroad! Just imagine all the exotic places you would go, all the famous sites you would explore! But there’s just one problem—you’re a picky eater.

That can really mess up travel plans—I know! It wasn’t too long ago that I considered myself a very picky eater.

My dream had always been to go to Japan! But every time I thought about eating the food there, my gag reflex kicked into high gear.

Fast forward a few years. I practiced eating things I downright hated for a while—green beans, cooked broccoli, cauliflower, chili (yeah… I was REALLY picky)—and when I could eat all those foods without gagging, I felt that a new blossom had bloomed within me!

I could go to Japan, see the sights, and even enjoy the food!

Now, that path of overcoming pickiness isn’t going to work for everyone, especially if the picky eater isn’t you, but a family member or friend you plan on having with you on your travels.

But never fear! Here are 5 foods I found that you can eat in Japan that you can love, picky eater or not!

1. Ramen

I’m If you think you like Top Ramen, you’ll love real ramen!

A typical ramen dish in Japan has noodles and broth. That’s the same as what Americans call ramen.

What’s different is the thickness of the noodle and the toppings included in the ramen.

The noodles in Japanese ramen are about as thick as regular spaghetti, but are WAY more tender and curvy.

These are the typical toppings of my favorite ramen! Chashuu ramen:

• Seaweed square strips (aka nori)
• Thinly sliced pork (aka chashuu)
• Hard boiled quail egg
• Bamboo slices
• Green onions

Also, some places have a choice between salt-flavored ramen (shio) and soy sauce-flavored ramen (shoyu).

If you go to one ramen shop and find you don’t like the ramen there, don’t lose heart! Ramen is as various as barbecue. Some do it amazing. Some do it…different. I’m almost 100% certain you will find a ramen out there that will have you coming back for more!

2. Tonkatsu

(pronounced: tone-cot-sue)

Also known as pork cutlet, this is one of my favorite dishes not only to eat, but also to make!

Tonkatsu is pork pounded thin, dipped in flour, then egg, and then breadcrumbs, and fried to a golden crispyness that is just too good to resist! There is a special sauce (it looks and acts a lot like barbecue sauce) to pour over it, and it is usually served with unlimited, thinly sliced cabbage.

I’m not going to lie, this is Japanese cooking at its finest. The Japanese serve this in many ways. It is most traditionally served with bottomless raw cabbage, as mentioned before, but some restaurants will serve it with Japanese curry (katsu kare-), or even cook it with egg and a special blend of soy sauce and sugar, served over rice (katsudon)!

And to add a testimonial, I have tested tonkatsu on some of my most picky cousins. They ate it, no problem! All we had to do was remind them how it was just like chicken nuggets.

3. Pan

(pronounced: pawn)

While this is not a traditionally Japanese food, it is one that has swept the nation. The word pan is a borrowed word from French, pain, pronounced the same way as “pawn.” You know it as bread.

But the thing about bread in Japan is that it’s not just the loaves you would find in the grocery store (though they do have those too).

The pan I am talking about here is sold in bakeries, called panya (pawn-yah). There, you can find a wide range of savory and sweet treats to eat. I will admit, there were days when lunch came completely from a panya.

My favorite pan… oh! It’s so hard to choose!

I’ll just give three… or four!

• Butter croissant roll
• Melon pan (I could write a whole post about this bread alone)
• Mushi pan
• Curry pan

But now that I’m listing favorites, my absolute favorite can be found in a panya located at the Hachioji train station.

It is a danish with a soufflé outside. The dough is incredibly soft and melts in your mouth. And the fillings? White cheese, honey, and cooked, tender, chopped apples. The enclosed top has a careful sprinkling of almond slices on it, too, giving it an artistic appeal.

I remember the first time I saw the label for this particular bread (I was doing my routine trying out new panya food). Being the former picky eater that I was, I was incredibly hesitant to try such a combination of flavors. But I bought it anyway. A great panya such as this one wouldn’t put an item on the shelf everyday if it wasn’t good, I reasoned.

And I was right! Wow! It was so delicious! From then on, I would take any chance I could to sneak away to Hachioji train station, run to this unique panya, and savor every bite of this, my favorite bread.

When you do visit Japan, I give my full recommendation to find this panya, and try the food there, including my absolute favorite!

4. Tempura

Tempura isn’t a food with certain ingredients, but instead means a way of cooking the ingredients you choose.

The tempura restaurant will typically have an array of ingredients for you to choose from (price is determined by ingredients chosen), which they will batter and fry for you.

Eat it hot! Especially if it’s a vegetable (most tempura restaurants serve mainly vegetables)

My favorite tempura item is usually found in sushi restaurants, however. It is tempura shrimp.

When I was young and picky, I remember liking popcorn shrimp, though I hated all seafood. When I tasted tempura shrimp for the first time, I couldn’t believe how delicious it was! Ten out of ten, would eat again! … and again, and again, and again, and—you get the idea.

I want to add a note here. When people think “sushi restaurant” they usually picture a place that only serves raw fish, but that is not the case! Popular sushi-go-round chain restaurants, like Kurazushi, Kappazushi, and my absolute favorite, Hamazushi, usually also serve a wide range of other options, such as fried chicken (chicken karaage), tempura shrimp, cucumber rolls, and cake!

5. Yakiniku

(pronounced: yah-key-knee-coo)

This is last on my post today, but certainly—certainly—not least!

Now, yakiniku literally translates as cooked meat. Before I say anything more, you should know, this will not only be a great experience because you’re trying something new and loving it. Eating at a yakiniku restaurant is also amazing because you will love the fun way you’ll be eating your meal!

I recommend going to an all-you-can-eat yakiniku restaurant (all-you-can-eat is called tabehodai in Japanese). You’ll probably have a 90-minute limit, which is common for Japanese all-you-can-eat restaurants.

You’ll grab a plate, and go over to the buffet, which will have an array of raw meat, of all kinds. Don’t worry if you can’t read the labels, just pick meat that looks good to you!

You’ll bring your plate of raw meat back to your table, and—here’s the fun part—cook it yourself! You see, at yakiniku restaurants, there is a small grill embedded into your table! You can cook it as much, or as little, as you want to, dip it in a sauce, and then eat it.

Yakiniku can get pricey. I once paid about $20 for all-you-can-eat yakiniku. But it’s honestly something I saved for, because it was so much fun! And delicious!

Just remember not to leave any food on your plate at the end of your meal. You might get charged extra for leftovers!

And so much more!

Thanks for reading! There is no way I could talk about all the foods I loved in Japan, but I hope this gave a you a good start. Take your picky eater to Japan. Try these foods. My bet is, you will love then!