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What’s really for breakfast? 20 Japanese people give us a peek at their morning meal【Photos】

KK Miller Feb 20, 2015
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Like most countries around the world, Japan has quite a few delicious foods, like sushi, tempura and sukiyaki, that really stand out. But as delicious as they are, these wonderful dishes are usually only enjoyed every once in a while and are by no means what a regular Japanese person enjoys for their meals on a daily basis.

Of all the meals, a typical Japanese breakfast is perhaps what people are most curious about since it’s the least talked about (it’s not like breakfast is usually served at your local Japanese restaurant, after all!). Are Japanese people still scarfing down traditional Japanese foods each morning, or have they switched to a simpler, more Western style of breakfast? Let’s find out!

We asked a group of Japanese men and women from all over the country to share a photo of their breakfast on one particular day and list its ingredients. Although two told us that this was impossible since they didn’t bother with a morning meal, 20 were more than happy to oblige. Here are their responses. Warning: these pictures may make you seriously hungry.

1. Man in his 20s, Tokyo

– Japanese tea
– banana
– natto (fermented soybeans)
– white rice
– raw eggs

▼He says, “I really love natto, so I often eat it together with raw eggs and rice!”

▼”First I mix the eggs with the rice.”

▼”Then I add the natto and mix that.”

▼”It’s highly nutritious and really delicious!”

Wow. So far, so Japanese! We doubt natto would be at the top of the list for everyone, though. What else is on the menu?

2. Man in his 20s,Tokyo

– fried pork with ginger
– miso soup
– white rice

Fried pork for breakfast! Very nice.

3. Man in his 30s, Fukuoka

– white rice
– natto
– vegetable soup

4. Man in his 30s, Tokyo

Apparently, our fourth respondent has three different breakfasts that he often eats:

1) Natto and a fried egg on rice with miso soup.

2) Oyakodon (literally meaning “parent child bowl”, this is chicken and eggs on rice) with miso soup

3) Healthy Japanese-style full course breakfast (white rice, natto, fried egg, cold tofu and miso soup)

These guys don’t do things by halves, do they? Certainly beats our wedge of toast and a spoonful of peanut butter while trying to find a matching pair of socks…

5. Man in his 30s, Tokyo

– white rice
– miso soup (with burdock root, carrots, and other leftover vegetables)
– sardines
– rolled scramble egg
– bacon
– sausage

OK, now we’re really hungry!

6. Man in his 30s, Tokyo

– rice with salted wakame (a type of seaweed)
– miso soup (sardine broth with Japanese yams, carrots, and cabbage)
– boiled fish (usually a threadsail filefish) with soy sauce

7. Man in his 40s, Tokyo

– convenience store bread
– convenience store coffee

▼”I usually have bread and coffee from the convenience store.”

OK. now we’re on familiar ground. It does look awfully lonely, though…

8. Woman in her 20s, Tokyo

– toast (homemade bread)
– marmalade (homemade)
– mandarin orange
– yogurt (Activia)
– coffee

Extra points for the homemade bread!

9. Woman in her 30s, Osaka

– coffee with lots of sugar and milk
– yogurt with a banana in it
– mandarin orange

▼“I can’t start my mornings without coffee. And I usually have yogurt and a banana but if there are other cheap fruits at the store, like apples or persimmons, I will sometimes have those. My breakfast is really simple.”

10. Woman in her 30s, Kanagawa

– buttered toast
– tuna salad
– yogurt (with blueberry jam)
– corn soup

11. Woman in her 30s, Tokyo

– vegetable juice (Japanese mustard spinach, celery, carrot, banana, pineapple, ginger)

▼“Every morning, I only drink vegetable juice. This morning I made it with the fruits and vegetables mentioned above, but I make it with whatever I have in the fridge.”

OK, now we feel unhealthy.

12. Woman in her 30s, Tokyo

– white rice
– tofu, fried tofu and wakame miso soup
– chicken fried with curry spices
– Japanese mustard spinach, egg and daikon with soy and vinegar

Yup, that’d get us out of bed too.

13. Woman in her 30s, Kanagawa
– ozoni (soup with mochi)
– iyokan (type of Japanese citrus fruit)
– green tea

14. Woman in her 30s, Tokyo

– soy milk

▼“Among Japanese woman, there is a popular diet where you drink soy milk in the morning or evening for 1-2 weeks before your cycle starts, and you will lose weight after it finishes.”

15. Woman in her 30s, Hiroshima

– fried fish
– avocado and natto
– double daikon miso soup (daikon, thinly sliced and dried daikon, fried tofu)
– white rice

Simple and classic, but with an unusual twist on the natto.

16. Woman in her 30s, Tokyo

– hydrogen water and enzymes (the pink bottle is the enzymes)

Hopefully she’s having a big lunch…

17. Woman in her 30s, Tokyo

– English muffin with butter
– strawberry yogurt
– coffee
– arugula
– pickled peppers
– scrambled eggs

18. Woman in her 40s, Tokyo

– toast
– cabbage cooked in butter
– sausage
– fried egg
– yogurt
– coffee

19. Woman in her 40s, Tokyo

– tanuki udon (udon with flakes of deep-fried tempura batter)

Yup, noodles for breakfast!

20. Woman in her 40s, Ishikawa

– bread with cream cheese
– omelet with spinach
– mandarin orange
– black tea

After looking at so many delicious breakfasts, there are a couple of things that become clear: miso soup and natto are still very popular in the morning in Japan, and the Japanese have done a seriously impressive job of incorporating other cultures’ foods into their regular Japanese-style diet. Some of these breakfasts look seriously tasty.

If you had to choose one of the above breakfasts to eat, which would it be? Are there any foods here you have tried, or want to try? Could you face natto first thing in the morning? Let us know in the comments section!