Mornings

The biggest meal of my day, cooked before the commute.

oden and stir-fried dishes on a tray

Morning

Oden and Stir-fried Dishes

Japanese breakfast tray with oden, candied sweet potato, miso soup, sesame-dressed vegetables and yogurt.

Morning

Oden, Candied Sweet Potato & Sesame Vegetables

Breakfast tray with beef, tofu, vegetables and rice, prepared in a sukiyaki style.

Morning

Sukiyaki-Style Breakfast

Japanese breakfast tray with cheese omelet, miso soup, onigiri, chilled tofu, wakame seaweed and yogurt.

Morning

Cheese Omelet, Miso Soup & Mackerel Onigiri

Grilled zucchini, eggplant and tomato with seaweed and mayonnaise sauce.

Morning

Grilled Zucchini, Eggplant and Tomato

Breakfast with chicken tsukune, orange slices and green vegetables.

Morning

Chicken Tsukune Breakfast

Omelet and semi-dried tomatoes on a white plate.

Morning

Omelet with Semi-Dried Tomatoes

Goya chanpuru, a stir-fry with goya, tofu and pork.

Morning

Goya Chanpuru

Breakfast tray with chicken and egg simmer, stir-fried eggplant, beans, miso soup, sweet potato and yogurt.

Morning

Chicken & Egg Simmer with Eggplant & Crab Miso Soup

Teriyaki chicken with rice and a side of yogurt.

Morning

Teriyaki Chicken Breakfast

Hamburger steak with a butter sauce, served with yogurt and fruit.

Morning

Steamed Hamburger Steak

Japanese breakfast tray with grilled fish, seaweed rice, miso soup, simmered tofu, pickled vegetables and a tangerine.

Morning

Grilled Fish, Seaweed Rice & Miso Soup

Plate of stir-fried vegetables.

Morning

Stir-Fried Vegetables

Three-color rice bowl with seasoned ground meat, egg, spinach, and edamame, with a bowl of Chinese-style soup.

Morning

A Colorful Breakfast: Sanshoku Soboro Don

Japanese breakfast tray with grilled salmon, egg omelet, sweet potato, shishito pepper, miso soup, persimmon and yogurt with fruit.

Morning

Salmon & Egg with Nori, Sweet Potato & Persimmon

Japanese breakfast with ginger pork, miso soup, pumpkin, sweet potato, okra, mozuku and yogurt with figs.

Morning

Ginger Pork & Miso Soup

A grilled fillet of yellowtail saikyo-yaki on a blue-and-white plate, a bowl of takikomi gohan with maitake mushrooms and tuna, a bowl of soup, and small side dishes on a woven mat.

Morning

Yellowtail Saikyo-yaki & Mushroom Rice

Sukiyaki-style stew and a plate of seasonal fruit on a tray.

Morning

Sukiyaki-Style Stew & Seasonal Fruit

Stir-fried eggplant and pork with yogurt topped with dried fruit.

Morning

Eggplant & Pork Stir-fry, Fruit Yogurt

A bowl of gyudon with red pickled ginger, a green salad with tomato, blistered shishito peppers, wakame and glass noodle soup in a wooden bowl, and yogurt with blueberries

Morning

Gyudon, a beef bowl for breakfast

Keema curry on yellow rice topped with a soft egg, with a green salad and a glass bowl of watermelon and grapes

Morning

Keema curry for breakfast

Japanese breakfast with mackerel nanban and simmered turnip greens with dried daikon and kombu.

Morning

Mackerel Nanban & Turnip Greens

Grilled eel glazed in sauce over rice with shredded egg and shiso on a white oval plate, with simmered hijiki, a small side dish, soup in a wooden bowl and green tea

Morning

Unagi rice bowl with hijiki

Japanese breakfast tray with a gomoku rice ball, burdock and carrot kinpira, mozuku seaweed, blanched greens, soup in a wooden bowl, watermelon and yogurt with blueberries

Morning

Gomoku rice ball, kinpira, and watermelon

Slices of rolled omelet with hijiki seaweed, a piece of fried chicken, broccoli and tomato on a blue and white plate, with kabocha and cherries behind

Morning

Hijiki tamagoyaki and karaage

Omurice topped with ketchup beside a green salad, with a cup of pumpkin soup, a slice of pound cake and yogurt with fruit

Morning

Omurice, pumpkin soup, and pound cake

Hamburger steak with melted cheese and a fried egg beside lettuce and sprouts, with mushroom soup in a wooden bowl, melon and yogurt

Morning

Hamburger steak and a fried egg

A white bowl of mapo tofu with ground meat, simmered hijiki, a salad of onion, broccoli and tomato, yogurt with berry sauce, and two muffins behind

Morning

Mapo tofu and homemade muffins

Japanese breakfast tray with stir-fried bitter melon, simmered lotus root and carrot, miso soup in a wooden bowl, watermelon and yogurt

Morning

Bitter melon stir-fry and simmered lotus root

Braised pork and daikon on a blue and white plate, with a large chopped salad, cold tofu, fruit and yogurt

Morning

Braised pork with daikon

Japanese breakfast tray with grilled chicken and pink pickles, okra, tofu, mushroom miso soup in a wooden bowl, melon, grapes and yogurt

Morning

Grilled chicken, okra, and mushroom miso soup

Japanese breakfast with stir-fried liver and garlic chives, a bowl of multigrain rice, egg and wakame soup, small side dishes and tea

Morning

Liver and garlic chives with multigrain rice

Japanese breakfast with grilled salmon, cold tofu topped with green onion, soup in a wooden bowl, small side dishes and watermelon

Morning

Grilled salmon, cold tofu, and watermelon

A slice of swirl bread on a blue and white plate with a bowl of vegetable soup and yogurt

Morning

Swirl bread and vegetable soup

Japanese breakfast tray with grilled meat and shredded cabbage on a patterned plate, soup in a wooden bowl, melon, greens and yogurt

Morning

Grilled meat with shredded cabbage

Japanese breakfast tray with a meat and vegetable stir-fry, a small dish of dark greens, soup in a wooden bowl and a cold drink

Morning

Meat and vegetable stir-fry with greens

Two thick pancakes with a slice of butter on a white plate, with sliced pear and yogurt with berries

Morning

Pancakes with butter and pear

Real Japanese breakfasts, cooked before work

These are my breakfasts. I work full-time in Japan. I cook every morning from scratch, and it takes me about an hour. I have done this for more than ten years.

Breakfast is the biggest meal of my day. I cook more than I can eat in one sitting, and part of it becomes my lunch. My evenings are light, so the dishes many people save for dinner show up here in the morning.

Some mornings are a classic Japanese tray: rice or soup, a main dish, and several small sides, such as grilled salmon with cold tofu or bitter melon stir-fry with simmered lotus root. Other mornings are keema curry, hamburger steak with a fried egg, or pancakes.

This is not the quiet, light breakfast many people picture when they think of Japan. It is what one working person in Japan actually eats before the commute.