We were always on the constant lookout for vending machines that sold ‘unconventional’ foods and other strange miscellanous items. By unconventional I mean items that you wouldn’t really expect to purchase from a vending machine on a day-to-day basis.

So when we came across this vending machine at the Mount Fuji lookout that sold dumpling soup, American hot dogs, Takoyaki balls, stir-fried Soba noodles, deep fried rice balls and french fries, out came the spare change!

Out of all 6 items, I’m not really sure why we picked the most ordinary food item on the menu – French fries (Or potato fries – whatever you call them) – but hey, it was novelty enough buying anything from that machine! It was interesting to see how this apparently simple technology worked.

So in went Naomi’s 380yen (around $4.50) – Or rather, a large bill (yes, it returns your change). It took just one press of a button on the item of your choice, and a 3 minute wait for the fries to be heated up before we heard a tumbling sound followed by the appearance of a fancy box of french fries in the opening of the machine:

It was hot alright, and when we opened the box my sunglasses fogged up from the steam! The fries were well, fries. They looked and tasted like the real thing and even had the ‘burnt edges’ taste. The only thing I didn’t like was that the fries were soggy. Looks like the Japanese still need to work on their crisping technology! Some ketchup would have gone down well though.

I wasn’t really sure what to call it, but that’s exactly what it was – Soba Noodles in a bun!

We found this interesting combination of carbohydrates at a cafe in Tokyo. It was pretty much a white bread bun sliced open and slathered in thick mayonnaise, then topped with Bolognaise-flavoured Soba noodles and some pickled ginger!

As the noodles were dark brown, we thought it would have been flavoured with soy sauce or something. But strangely enough, it tasted like Bolognaise, albeit artificial.

My friend Josh didn’t like it, so I snatched the bun off him and wolfed it down. I enjoyed it – I figured I wouldn’t see or taste anything like this often so what the heck – I couldn’t let it go to waste!

A stroll through a supermarket in downtown Tokyo was a fascinating experience! The quality and variety of the fresh produce was top notch and I was surpised to find that they weren’t too ridiculously expensive. Here are some photos I took of a few items at the supermarket:

One of our missions while in Japan was to try as many kinds of confectionery as humanly possible. We came across this adorable box of treats called ‘Every Burger’ at a convenience store. Naturally, we were curious. We found them in the sweets and chocolate isle, so they couldn’t have been savoury mini burgers complete with meat patties? Didn’t think so.

Inside the box lay 8 mini burgers. They ‘buns’ were actually biscuits, while the ‘cheese’ and ‘meat patties’ were a combination of milk and white chocolate that melted in our mouths. The verdict? Sweet, crunchy, chocolatey and gooey with no burgery aftertaste. A pretty tasty snack and for 200 Yen a box, not bad at all! Definitely satisfied the sugar and chocolate craving…

One morning during a stroll through a convenience store in Kyoto in search of a hearty breakfast, I bypassed the rice balls, bento boxes and sandwiches and decided to get a bit creative with my meal. Japanese convenience stores never cease to amaze me when it comes to variety!

Four easy steps on how to create the ultimate D.I.Y. convenience store meal:

1. A packet of cooked rice – readily available from the cold food isle.

2. One serving of pickled cucumbers, seaweed and white bait.

3. A can of smoked sweet Mackerel.

4. Bring purchased items to a nearby park, combine ingredients and serve.

Ever had the problem of a watermelon not fitting in your fridge due to its awkward round shape? I bet the tupperwares had many a discussion about the bulging mass of green taking up their precious refrigeration space. Sprigs of celery and coriander stuffed along the sides of the melon, much to their dismay. What about those times when you did your weekly grocery shopping and had a watermelon chucked in the back of the boot – only to find moments later as you accelerate and turn corners you get distracted by the rumbling, tumbling racket going on in the back of your car?

The crazy Japanese have come up with yet another brilliant – albeit expensive – solution. To solve all the above problems, the square watermelon was born. For watermelon farmers, this means easy packing for shipping purposes. How clever. These watermelons are grown in square glass containers from the vine, and as they grow they mould themselves into the square shape of the container. However, the square watermelon would probably only appeal to the hip and upmarket class of Japan as they aren’t cheap – starting from around $50 up to a whopping $160!

I was walking along a street in Hiroshima when I saw these watermelons displayed at a fruit shop. Over the years, I had heard stories about these watermelons but they always sounded like a silly but cute urban myth – until I saw them with my own eyes. What shocked me wasn’t the fact that I had actually seen square watermelons, but how much they cost!

Okonomiyaki is a savoury Japanese pizza or pancake – Unlike its western counterpart, the Okonomiyaki is made on a thin pancake-style base that almost resembles a crepe. This unique dish is very popular in Osaka and Hiroshima, and we were fortunate enough to get a chance to savour the Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki during our travels in Japan.

The chef-lady started by spreading the pancake mixture on the hot plate, creating the pancake. To be honest, it tasted more like crepe than pancake. Next came the shredded raw cabbage – lots of it.

We found an Okonomiyaki stall in a building in town. In fact, there were about 10 or more Okonomiyaki stalls in this one building, spread out between 2 floors and all right next to each other. We took a chance and randomly picked one. The stall we picked was run by a father-daughter team and they were more than happy to serve a bunch of gaijin - the father was so enthusiastic about having westeners in his restaurant, he even changed his TV channel to a Michael Jackson concert to apparently suit our western tastes…

She worked very quickly – in fact, she laid down all 7 pancakes in less than 4 minutes. Next on the topping list came the beansprouts, spring onions and bacon strips. Our daily intake requirements for lipids, proteins and vegetables were met by this stage.

The stall was set up in such a way that the seats wrapped around the cooking area, very similar to Teppanyaki so we could witness the creation of these magnificent pancakes right in front of us. Generally, the Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki already comes with the standard shredded cabbage, bean sprouts, spring onions, bonito flakes, bacon, Japanese sweet sauce, mayonnaise and Yakisoba noodles. On top of the ‘base toppings’, we get to choose a main topping: scallops, shredded beef, fish, prawns, squid, oysters, pork, chicken and so on. I opted for the oyster version.

The dried bonito flakes were next! Making Okonomiyaki is an art in itself.

The carbs were next on the list – enter Yakisoba noodles. As you can see, the servings were pretty hefty! and we had one each! The noodles were fried and seasoned with salt, pepper, and yes, Ajinomoto. Someone from the group had ordered the seafood topping which I believe were prawns and squid. Basically everything is cooked in front of you, very similar to Teppanyaki minus the egg-throwing. While the noodles were frying away, she flipped the Okonomiyaki over onto the topping side to get the bacon cooked. Watching her flip something with loose vegetable shreds and not have them fly into your eyes and lap was quite amazing!

The end result: A towering inferno of pancake, cabbage, sprouts, bacon, bonito flakes, yakisoba noodles, omellete, sweet sauce, spring onions and my main topping of succulent Japanese oysters. It was a large serving enough for 2, but yes I wolfed it down on my own in one sitting. I really enjoyed the combination of textures in this dish.