Diet
 

Will I have much trouble staying on Atkins while in Japan? I know how to pick and choose, of course, but can you suggest some foods other than fish that I might stick with?

Beef?

Seriously though - a typical Japanese set lunch comes with a bowl of rice, which is easy to avoid if you're cutting carbs. Then a dish of pickles and a meat or fish dish and a bowl of soup. SO... I guess it should be fairly easy to stick to the fish or meat part - and just leave the rice. No?
Mosburger can give you a beef pattie wrapped in lettuce now I think.

I'm on the opposite side of the dining spectrum to you, so the only places I could imagine that would serve you well in this regard are those that specialise in Wagyu or Kobe beef.

Also yakitori places - which specialise in flame grilled chicken pieces.

Err... perhaps Wendys or Macdonalds and throw the bun away.

Best sensible suggestion I can give you for once you've exhausted your shabu shabu options (which will drain your wallet - you saw one of these near the end of Lost in Translation where the thin slices of beef all looked the same to the rude and ungracious characters) and have grown tired of the taste of grilled chicken pieces is to visit the basement floors of Departments stores which is where all the food is kept (depachika).

They are like massive delis - you can buy raw food and ingredients there, but you can also buy a great deal of pre-cooked goods. Some of these are in pre-packaged 'bento' boxes, but in lots of cases each component of a meal is packaged and can be purchased seperately.
Even with the concessions where the staff serve hot food in front of you, you can pick and choose elements individually - just make it clear that you don't want rice or whatever else it is you don't eat.

Even if you think you don't like fish, Tokyo would be the place to find out once and for all if you really truly don't like it (but prepare to splurge out if you want to taste famously great sashimi - don't decide it's no good after a visit to a conveyor belt joint).

A shame you won't eat fish. For many Atkins devotees, Japan must be a dream destination....

EDIT to add - I just re-read your question. You don't actually say you don't like fish, so forgive me if you are happy eating it. If so, remember that you can also buy ready made sashimi in the Depachika too - if you keep it in your hotel fridge, it may make a suitable breakfast for you the next day. (Sorry, but my imagination completely fails me for what people on this diet do to keep it up. Well, it doesn't entirely fail me - there are lots and LOTS of supplements, drinks and medicines around for those who want to keep themselves regular or require relief from 'bloating'. Once you know what you're looking at, the store shelves are packed with a whole range of these dietary aids.)

This is going to sound insensitive and I don't really mean it that way, but you pushed one of my hot buttons.

What is the point of foreign travel if you are not going to experience the cuisine? That is a major part of visiting new lands - to see how people there live. Can't you just give yourself a "vacation" from the diet and eat as the locals do? I struggle with my weight at times and always seem to be trying to shed some extra pounds but when I travel to new places, I always try the local food, even if it means my calorie count goes up for a few days. (katsudon must be 1500+ calories but it is food of the gods and not to be missed. Likewise, good tempura or soba. :D )

Vegetarian/vegan travelers have it easier in Japan as there are lots of meatless options. Some of the best is found in certain Buddhist temples and temple-run restaurants. They use tofu, vegetables and grains to make some truly memorable dishes. High protein, low carb options are much more difficult to find.

Seriously, there is lots of beef and pork used in Japanese cuisine, but they also use lots of veggies and grains. You can avoid those things but then you aren't experiencing Japanese cuisine! My suggestion: just give yourself a few days off and enjoy the trip.

JR

Thank you for the wonderful recommendations! I do eat fish, it's probably my favorite food and one of the things I already knew I would focus on in Japan, so that's why I was asking for other suggestions, I just wanted to know what I could turn to if I tire of fish.

abmj-jr, while I've never been to Japan, I do travel abroad once a month. If I were to go off my eating regime everytime I was in a foreign land I'd weigh twice as much. We'll be in Japan for 2 weeks, so it's more than a few days, but maybe I'll give myself 3 days of eating freely:)

Hate to say it, but you are making me miss my dose of Shabu Shabu. I had some at "Shayu Shayu" (yes thats the place's actual name!) across the street from Shinagawa station's exit that faces Prince Shinagawa's hotel. I felt I was in heaven once again but felt the whoosh as my wallet became lighter after 5400 yen of shabu shabu and pop!!! (yes they have shabu-shabu set menus starting at 4500 yen and up at this place and they will help beginners that are new to shabu-shabu.)

Sanosuke!

Atkins in Japan?

Man that is going to be expensive especially if you are wanting beef. Generally eating out is expensive but Japanese portion size is so small that the carbs helps to fill you up.

Best of luck.

By Taiwanese standards maybe.
My US colleagues are always happy with the prices and the portion sizes. Even beef is not outrageously expensive - if you're talking about "normal" quality steak etc. which is often imported.

It's called the natsumi burger. AdaQuonsett, good luck with your diet!

Before I opened this thread up, I thought it was going to be about the Japanese parliament!

It is, if their actions/inactions make you nauseous.

Ada, I'm not on Atkins so this doesn't directly respond to your question, but wanted to second what someone else said here - the portion sizes if you're eating Japanese food are generally small. I was not on a diet per se when we were there, but just took care not to stuff myself unnecessarily. I didn't deny myself anything, snacks, sweets, whatever, I just made sure I didn't over-order. Since the portion sizes are small, I found I ended up eating less, generally, and actually lost a little bit of weight while I was there. Had the added benefit that when we came back to the US, I think my stomach shrank and I found I didn't need to eat as much.

????

I can only think you must have been eating kaiseki, or other "haute cuisine," and picking out just those dishes you wanted. In most neighborhood-type restaurants, Japanese meals tend to be huge. A steaming donburi meal (rice+something bowl) consists of a lot of food. So do noodle bowls - ramen, soba, udon - where you consume the soup as well as the noodles. Omuhayashi or omuraisu are also more than I can comfortably finish. I think TaiwanEd was referring to MEAT portions as being small, within the context of a full meal set.

Aside from fish, I think the best bet for an Atkins follower is probably one of the various forms of yakiniku - grilled meat on a stick. You purchase by the skewer and only consume (and pay for) what you want. Or, the aforementioned hamburger pattie wrapped in lettuce leaves :( .

JR

Your typical Japanese meal consists of a protein source (fish, shellfish, chicken, beef), a bowl of soup, some vegetable side dishes (pickled or not), maybe a side of sashimi, and a bowl of rice or noodles. Many restaurants serve either sashimi (raw fish) or grilled fish as a main dish.

Just avoid the rice or noodles.

Miso soup is made of fish broth, soybean paste, and usually green onions and tofu, although other variations are possible, such as miniature shellfish. It's almost always served as a side dish, though, not as a meal.

If you must eat at a noodle shop, soba (the grayish noodles) is made of buckwheat and has a lower glycemic index than udon (the white wheat noodles).

Okonomiyaki has some flour in it, but it's mostly a giant omelet filled with your choice of meat or seafood, topped with mayonnaise.

The chicken version of shabu-shabu is called mizutaki.

Shoga-yaki is pork stir-fried with cabbage, green onions, and ginger.

The Chinese-style restaurants (chuka ryori) feature all kinds of meat plus veggie stir-fries.

Unless you order a fried rice (chahan) dish or a donburi (rice with stuff on top), rice is served on the side.

These days, every imaginable type of ethnic cuisine is also represented in Tokyo, so you can try those restaurants as well.

In most cases, affordable restaurants in Japan have either plastic models of their fare or photographic menus, so you can tell by looking whether a given offering is within your restrictions.