Japanese food emphasizes pure, clean flavors, and spices are used rarely. Due to influences from Buddhism, meals are made up of foods with five different colors and flavors. The five flavors included are sweet, spicy, salty, bitter and sour. The five colors included are yellow, black, white, green, and red. Meals are also meant to balance and create harmony between the artistic presentation of the food, the selection of the serving piece, and the taste of the food itself. Meals are to be eaten slowly. Noodles in soups and salads are common for lunch. Hashi, or chopsticks are used to eat food in Japan.
Some traditional Japanese foods are, sushi, steamed vegetables, rice and green tea. Fugu is a poisonous puffer fish that is a delicacy. When properly prepared, the toxins in fugu create a tingling effect after being eaten. Foods are also prepared seasonally. In winter, mandarin oranges are common. Cherry-blossom rice is prepared during spring and in September, abalone, cucumbers, and bamboo shoots are made.
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