Japan! Oh it was interesting!
I found it actually harder than I thought to tap into traditional food. I found a variety in the end, with my nose for tucked away gems, but I had to look hard! I actually love the challenges that come with travel in different countries, because I think in some shape or form it expands us into either admiring another cultures differences or appreciating our own even more.
Japan proved tricky to find traditional healthy meat free options! There weren’t enough vegetables, but there are never enough vegetables when travelling! During my two weeks with family I visited Kyoto, Hiroshima, Miyajima Island, Hakone & Tokyo. I tried to dip myself into as many onsens as possible & as many traditional matcha tea & traditional tea ceremonies as I could. I joined my brother, niece & parents on this trip, so pretty much just soaked up whatever areas were already planned. I’d hit a few more nature spots next time, but as I said any travel experience is a great experience because it often tests our comfort zone & that always leads to growth.
For the purpose of this blog post I’m going to focus on the food discoveries in Japan & how to best support your digestion & immunity while travelling.
I always try to tap into what’s local & traditional to the culture. If you follow me on social media you may have already read that I found the Japanese culture to be tricky to navigate not being a lover of meat (especially not knowing its source). However I found my way with a little seafood & discovered some unusual things along the way. My reason for not budging on meat is I always like to follow one of my nurturing 9 principles of conscious consuming. If a meal involves animal products I like to know the source - have the animals been treated kindly? As their stress factor & environment affect the products we consume.
Some of the delicious eats that were discovered in Japan were bean patties in miso broth, pounded rice sticks coated in sesame seasoning from a local market (amazing!), soba noodles/tempura veg/pickles/tofu, Okonomiyaki (Japanese cabbage pancake), red bean maple momiji maju sweet, minced fish & soya bean stick, plain miso soup with shallots (my fav), konjac* balls with miso paste (wouldn’t lose sleep if I never have one again 😂), an agar agar pounded cake with sesame dusting (yum!), konjac sashimi with soy sauce & wasabi (surprisingly delicious & creative!) & seaweed sushi with pickles inside & out (pickled ginger) with a tiny amount of squid & wasabi on the side. My favourite discovery though was my new appreciation of matcha tea (pictured below with a maple red bean cake).
*Konjac is a vegetable also known as elephant yam among other names. It is rich in fibre & quite wet in texture.
I felt quite a western theme while travelling through Japan, so it took a little while to tap into what was traditional to the area I was in. What do the locals eat, not what is sold to the tourists?!
While away I ensured that I had a lot of water & also took propolis everyday. I carried alcohol & aloe vera wet ones with me (Gaia brand) & my Doterra On Guard hand sanitiser. I also had my travel kit of 8 of my fav essential oils, that I used daily for immunity & balance (Onguard, Balance, Frankincense, Digestzen…). Sleep & meditation are a natural immune booster so I tried to ensure sound sleep & slip in a meditation before bed where possible. Alcohol, sugar & chemicals are immune suppressants so I kept this in mind. Often I will travel with a few more things like barley grass, one of my fav gut support powder blends, magnesium, selenium, etc but this time I kept it simple. I had been consciously boosting my immune system before leaving with herbs, greens & gut support, so I just remained mindful while away.
I’d love to know if you have travelled to Japan? Did you love it? Did you find the food tricky or a little more western that you would have liked?
I’m unsure if I would rush back there?! There are so many fabulous countries left to explore in the world & I find if I’m not able to really tap into traditions & immerse myself & learn quirky culture things (while getting my fix of nature spots) I often consider where else in the world I can do this!
Janelle x
P.S. If you would like to have a peek at my posts while away in Japan remember you can check out my other posts (& follow me if you feel to) on Facebook or Instagram.
