F


ood is a big part of the Japanese culture. There are many wonderful traditional dishes that have been enjoyed for centuries, but now there is a growing collection of quirky modern Japanese creations that really catch your attention.

More than just a gimmick for tourists, some of these gastronomic creations are made for a unique dining experience like any other in the world.

Crepes

Crepes are famous pancake-like creations that come straight from France. Japanese people love French food and have decided to take the crepe to a whole new level. Especially focusing on dessert crepes, you can find hundreds of unique filling combinations. To give you an idea of what you can easily find in popular areas like Harajuku, here are some interesting crepe combinations available every day:

• banana slices and chocolate sauce on a bed of Crème fraîche or sweet whipped cream.
• Whipped cream, sweet red beans, green tea sponge cake and vanilla ice cream
• Whipped cream, slice of cheesecake, ice cream and strawberry or chocolate sauce.
• Omelette, seaweed flakes and Japanese mayonnaise.
• Shrimp, avocado, Japanese mayonnaise and lettuce.

Seafood Ice Cream

Ice cream is available in thousands of flavors and textures all over the world. Again, Japan has taken this sweet dessert to a level of weird that intrigues and disturbs anyone who comes in contact with it.

Seafood ice cream is something that simply does not sound right, but there are so many variations of seafood that it must mean people out there truly like the taste. Some seafood ice cream flavors include:

• Octopus ice cream (with bits of octopus in it for texture)
• Jellyfish ice cream
• Fish ice cream (topped with salted dried fish)
• Squid ice cream
• Octopus ink ice cream

Ice Cream Ramen

As the name suggests, ice cream ramen is a big bowl of traditional ramen (soup base, noodles, seaweed, slice of meat and fish cakes) but with the addition of ice cream (and the ice cream cone). This is a creation unlike any other and there is yet to be a person to actually enjoy this dish on a regular basis.

You can find the home of ice cream ramen near Kita Senju station, approximately 30 minutes from downtown Tokyo.