This Is Japan

in #food7 years ago

Explore everyday life in Japan

Barbecuing in Japan


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I don’t know about you, but for me, the word barbecue evokes a specific set of images: large pieces of chicken and meat being basted with some kind of sauce or marinade and roasted over an equally large grill next to hot dogs, hamburgers, and Italian sausages, plates stacked with grilled and boiled corn-on-the-cob, Tupper-ware containers and large serving bowls full of various salads (macaroni salad, potato salad, green salad, fruit salad, etc.), bags of potato chips and pretzels, and, of course, beer, lots of it.


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If your image of a barbecue is at all similar to mine, you will probably be pretty surprised the first time you go to a barbecue in Japan.

Why? Well, to begin, barbecues in Japan usually aren’t held at people’s houses. Many people here live in apartments and condominiums, and those who do live in houses, generally don’t have enough space around their house to keep a grill and entertain people. In addition to space issues, people also worry about the possibility of accidentally causing a neighborhood fire and bothering their neighbors with unwanted smoke and noise. That is why, more often than not, barbecues in Japan are held at a park, a beach, or somewhere alongside a river.

Though their locations may change, here are a few things you can expect to find at just about any barbecue in Japan.


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1. A small charcoal grill, maybe even two or three of them.

Large gas grills simply aren’t used in Japan. Not only is there very little space for them, but they aren’t very portable, especially not in small Japanese K-cars. For a life hack, if you ever want to barbecue in Japan and don’t have access to a grill of your own, check with a local supermarket. Many of them will rent a barbecue set (a grill and other necessary utensils) to you if you can give them at least 24 hours notice.


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2. Slices of meat.

Along with a variety of grilled sea food (from fish, squid, and octopus to large scallops in their shells and a plethora of other shellfish) you will always eat long, thin slices of meat, much like American cuts of bacon, that have been quickly grilled and served with a dipping sauce of some kind.


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3. Yaki-Soba

In my experience, a barbecue simply isn’t a barbecue in Japan without yaki-soba, the famous Japanese spiced noodle dish that is made by sautéing onions, carrots, green papers, and cabbage with soba noodles and then mixing them all with a powdered spice mix.

Without yaki-soba, a Japanese barbecue is all meat, seafood, and alcohol.


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4. Buying ingredients and splitting the bill.

Many times, barbecues in Japan begin at a supermarket. Rather than meeting at the chosen barbecue location, people often meet at a supermarket and buy all the food, snacks, drinks, and supplies that are needed together. They then, simply split the total bill evenly.

In the event that only a few members take on the responsibility of buying the barbecue supplies, those members will bring the receipts to the barbecue and, more often than not, the bill will be divided evenly among the number of participants or families.


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Image Credits: All images in this post are original.


This is an ongoing series that will explore various aspects of daily life in Japan. My hope is that this series will not only reveal to its followers, image by image, what Japan looks like, but that it will also inform its followers about unique Japanese items and various cultural and societal practices. If you are interested in getting regular updates about life in Japan, please consider following me at @boxcarblue. If you have any questions about life in Japan, please don’t hesitate to ask. I will do my best to answer all of your questions.


If you missed my last post, you can find it here Tanabata.


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That looks like a great time! A BBQ on a river's gravel bar is a great spot for a BBQ! Sometimes I think we get too tethered to the grill in our own yard. It's good to have a little travel grill for fun like yours. It's interesting to see the Soba noodles take the place of baked beans, potato salad, and cole slaw. Here's to more grilling this summer!

It's hard to believe, but coleslaw is something I had forgotten about.

Barbecuing along a river bank is very nice, not only for scenic reasons but for keeping cool as well. I do miss lawn games like bocce and horseshoes, though

Thank you for post about bbq and japanese food. and I heard about you from another steemian. In Japan is not spread steemit than another asia country, So I want to make more many people into the steemit community step by step. Have a great weekend. I followed.

It's nice to meet you. I've followed you back. Steemit seems to be gaining users in Japan little by little. I think someday it will become very popular here very quickly, just like Facebook, Line, and Instagram did.

これから先にも宜しくお願いします。

Thank you so much. As you mentioned, I believe that steemit will be popular in Japan. Someday, I want to make a meetup in Tokyo for steemian. Thanks コメントやご意見📝ありがとうございました。

That would be great. I know a few other people who would like to coordinate a meetup as well. It's a bit far for me, but maybe I could make the trip.

awesome !! If you have chance come to tokyo or meetup, Please let me know..

let me know and if it's early enough. I might want to arrange a trip there. :)

Based on the pictures you had an amazing time and delicious foods!
I have never been abroad and I didn't experienced Barbecuing (in person in real life) yet! I only saw it on images/videos!
I can only imagine the taste!
Thank you for sharing this with us!
Enjoy Steemit!
Have a nice day!

Exactly what I was thinking. The food looks crazy yummy. It's also cool how the bill is split by all those attending!

That's a pretty standard custom over here. It really threw me off when I first came over because if I didn't want to spend much money, I would hold off on eating and ordering. Now I'm accustomed to it and I agree, it's a nice, simple way to do things.

I hope can experience a BBQ soon. Before coming to Japan, I never imagined there would be such a variation in the ways BBQs are done. Hopefully, you can go abroad someday and see how BBQs vary from place to place.

Nice sharing!
It is wonderful to write about Japanese BBQ in detail.
I upvoted you and followed you.:)

Thank you. I'm always happy to see new users inJapan. I've followed you back and will try to keep up on your blog. Feel free to contact me in English or Japanese if you have any questions about Steemit. I will do my best to answer them.

Food and travel! What else do we need in life to be happy! lol, btw do check my latest post on India https://steemit.com/travel/@alexkoshy/the-majestic-western-ghats-a-unesco-heritage-location-why-you-should-tour-india
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I will. I'm always curious to hear about fellow travelers experiences in India.

Seems like a nice place worth paying visit one day

Japan has a lot to offer. It's a beautiful country with an interesting culture.

@boxcarblue - It is a rainy gloomy day at my location but your lovely description of Japanese barbecue brightened my day. Certainly unusual - right from the location (by a river or sea) to the purchases at the supermarket and splitting the bill. Even the type of meat is different than American or South African barbecues that I have attended. We rarely see thinly sliced meat or sea food in those. Thanks. It is nice to experience such culture through your blogs. Upvoted.

At my end, I am doing a Photospeak series on my African memories with a photo and minimal words. Letting the pictures do the talking. I request you to visit and see if you have time. Thanks

I will have a look at your post a little later in the day. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Hopefully the rain has stopped falling where you are.

It does look very different from what I'm used to but still very intesting! Also such a nice place for having a barbeque :)

You can't beat the location of this barbecue. It's very scenic and fun for kids too.

Mmm, yummy. I just made yakisoba last night, so your post has me craving leftovers tonight. I never use the powdered spice mix though. I prefer to make the sauce, using Bulldog tonkatsu sauce as a base. The images of the grilling meats look appetizing as well. Thanks for posting this. Following your Life in Japan series and looking forward to the next installment.

I'm glad to hear it. Thanks! I've never tried making yaki-soba without the powdered mix, but I've eaten other people's sauce based yaki-soba and have liked it much better. If you share your recipe, I'll try it out.

This sauce recipe is from Recipe Tin Japan
40ml Bulldog tonkatsu so-su Sauce
50ml Bulldog usutar so-su Sauce
1 tsp soy sauce
½ tbsp tomato sauce / tomato ketchup
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp dashi seasoning powder diluted in ½ tsp hot water
The powdered seasoning can be okay, but it's nice to know what's in your sauce, and this leaves the noodles less dry.

I'll try to whip that up some time. Thanks!

@boxcarblue very interesting story! Nice to see how barbecue looks like in Japane. Actually it's very similar what we have in Poland and only noodles surprised me a bit :)
If you will find a moment kindly please check my new story about the market Koszyki (polish- shopping basket) in Warsaw. A modern, fashionable and glamorous hot place to meet, chat and eat :) cheers!

Sounds like a nice place. Who doesn't love a glamorous place to do such things. I'll take a look at after work.

thank you :)