• The recognised Japanese people arrived in Japan from Korea and the Pacific Islands.
  
• Hunters and fisherman in Caucasian inhabitants (Ainu), lives in caves during winter and build nests during summer. They also discovered fire by rubbing woods together. Boiled and raw food are eaten at this time.
  
• Main diets consist of marine mammals, fish, birds (chicken, snipe, wild goose, sparrow, wild duck) and animal meats (rabbit, wild boar, deer).
  
• Bamboo shoots, ginger and chives is used to flavour food at this time. Chopsticks are used to eat and made from bamboo.

• Sake was invented by innovator from Korea, Niho.
  
• Buddhism and Confucianism arrive in Japan influenced by Chinese, effecting on food, thus Buddhism prohibits killing of animal, so monks and nuns followed the vegetarian diet known as kosei shojin.
  
• Soy sauce or hishio is used as dipping sauce for fish and meats.
  
• Namasu Tsukuru oldest established Japanese cookery – using fresh raw fish to mix with rice wine. Further exploiting sashimi style food preparation.
  
• 6th to 7th Century, Japanese starts to eat polished rice, wheat and millet. Since then, rice becomes a staple food in Japanese diet.
  
• Mochi made from glutinous rice shaped to round cakes and offer to their gods.

• Sushi was introduced and eaten during this time. Means having sour and acidic flavour. Fish was caught and kept behind rocks and damped by the waves, thus naturally turned sour. Further this century sushi was eaten with cooked rice stuffed in the sour fish.

• Drinking of tea customs were introduced by Zen monks to promote their wakefulness of fasting during meditation. It was believed that tea drinking benefits extended life, improving health and acts as a body tranquilizer. Black and especially green teas are rich in antioxidant and other protective phenolic compounds that appear to reduce damage to arteries and cancer risk.
  
• Tea that is drunk with a light snack become known, as Kaiseki

• Warrior culture of Japan – Samurai age – Eating and cooking become simpler and there was no considerable development of ideas for food which was suitable for taking into battle conditions.
  

• Shojin Ryori cookery style developed by the Buddhist beliefs. Consist of vegetables, seaweed and process dried foods. Fish and meats weren’t so popular during this age.

• Feudal system – Cooking techniques become more artistic, mirroring in many ways by the growing sophisticated samurai class.
  
• Many rules which are governed by how each food tray should be arranged.

• Japanese rulers closed the country to foreigners for about 200 years.
  
• Tea shops begin to appear for people to socialize in major areas of city and towns.
  
• The present style of sushi was developed at this time – pressed sushi (oshi zushi) and small rice ball sushi (nigiri zushi)

• Japanese government open the country to foreigner, inviting people from Europe to come in for various reasons. Mainly in Yokohama.
  

• Demand for beef is higher as more foreigners from Europe lived in Japan. First slaughter house was build in Yokohama at 1865. Cows obtained from Shina (in China) and Kobe (hyogo prefecture).
  
• Sukiyaki (boiled beef) became a popular meal in Japan.
  
• Canned Product was introduced in 1877.
  
• Refrigerators and thermos flasks was available from 1925, as a result, diets of common people was improved as storage becomes better, especially during the summer periods.
  
• Cookery training is taken seriously and government licenses is required to prepare and sell certain type food i.e. fish handling hygiene, licence on handling semi-poisonous blow fish (fugu).

• During second world war (1941) food situation worsen, one cup of rice was allowed per person per day and old people, children have less than this; half a white radish every two days was a ration for a five-person family. Fish was consumed twice a month and meat once a month.
  

• All food was very expensive after the war. Even though American rice is less favourable than Japanese rice, it is more widely available.
  
• Many kinds of foreign fruits were cultivated in Japan from the mid fifties.

2. All about Kaiseki-Ryori
Kaiseki-ryori is an artistic and gracious Japanese seasonal cuisine. In fact, it can be said that kaiseki-ryori is the ultimate Japanese cuisine. However, according to Richie, 1985: 7, Kaiseki-ryori is a rare diet in Japanese customs. In Japanese, ‘ryori’ means dishes. ‘Kaiseki’, the meaning comes from the story that said Buddhist priests in strict Zen, trained using to keep a hot stone (yakuseki) in their kimono pocket (kai) in order to make their fasting more bearable during long sessions of meditation. The kaiseki-ryori was originally served during traditional tea ceremonies and is also called cha (tea) kaiseki. It was thought that the tea would taste better if the people weren't starved. So the word "kaiseki" is used for the light meal served during the tea ceremony.
Kaiseki-ryori uses the fresh ingredients of the season and cooked in ways that enhance the original taste of the ingredients. Each dish is simply seasoned and presented beautifully in nice dinnerware. Often, things from nature, such as tree leaves and flowers, accompany the dish. Kaiseki-ryori was vegetarian in its origin, but in the modern kaiseki meal may include meat and seafood. Japanese people go to a kaiseki restaurant during special occasions. It is a meal of courses, consisting of a number of small dishes: steamed dishes, simmered dishes and grilled dishes. It often includes sliced raw fish (sashimi), tempura, grilled fish, soup, rice, etc.
The basic cha kaiseki course served in a tea ceremony includes one kind of soup and three kinds of vegetable dishes. In addition, a cup of clear soup called hashiarai (which means washing chopsticks), a plate called hassun, which presents a few kinds of vegetables, seafood and pickles called konomono.
Although each dish holds only a small serving, people take time to eat it, being sure to enjoy the presentation of the food and the atmosphere of the room. Most kaiseki restaurants are high class and very formal. Consequently, the kaiseki-ryori is usually expensive, since it takes time and skill to prepare. Some Japanese inns/hotel serves kaiseki dinner for guests, especially in Kyoto. Outside of Japan, sushi restaurants tend to serve mini-kaiseki.
Hanami (cherry blossom viewing) is very popular in Japan. It's an important social event for Japanese people. People have a little picnic or parties under sakura trees with their families, friends, co-workers, classmates, and so on. Japanese says "hana yori dango," which means "I would rather eat sweet dango dumplings than view cherry blossoms." People bring lots of food/drinks or buy food/drinks from vendors at cherry blossom festivals.

Sushi, in its earliest form, dried fish was placed between two pieces of vinegared rice as a way of making it last. Nori was added later as a way to keep one's fingers from getting sticky. Technically, the word `sushi' refers to the rice, but colloquially; the term is used to describe a finger-size piece of raw fish or shellfish on a bed of rice with vinegar. It is eaten as it is or often dipped into shoyu and then eaten. Often, much care is put into the creation of the dish and the many methods of preparing the food indicate the importance of appearance to the educated consumer. There are a few different kinds of sushi, depending on how the item is presented.

Sashimi is raw fish served sliced as it is. That means no rice bed or roll, but it is often served alongside daikon, wasabi, gari or shiso. Sashimi is often cut in different ways to enhance the appearance of the fish. Hira Zukuri is the standard rectangular shape cut. A thinner cut is called Ito Zukuri, and is often no more than 1/16 inch thick. The thinnest, called Kaku Zukuri is paper-thin and is often presented in a pattern.
To sum up, Japanese diets is rich in protein and omega-3 vitamins obtained from the fishes that they eat. Studies have shown that consuming a lot of fresh or raw fish can reduce lung cancer. This research is done by Professor Toshiro Takezaki, from the Cancer Centre Hospital in Aichi, Japan, said; “even though the Japanese smoke as much as people in the U.K., their rate of lung cancer are only two-thirds as high". The difference has been attributed to the traditional Japanese diet, which is rich in fresh fish and even raw fish in sushi cookery.

Spain's location and the mineral wealth of its sub-soil have exercised an attraction for many people, especially foreign political and ethnic interests. Thus, its ethnic and cultural heritage is complex. It is an area of Europe much fought over and invaded.
Its history began with Phoenician, Greek, and Carthaginian coastal settlements. Later the Romans, and more importantly the Moors, brought with them elements of their own cooking which lingered and blended with Spain's culinary heritage. Imports from the New World included the tomato, potato, sweet potato, vanilla, chocolate, variety of beans, zucchini and the pepper tribe. There are olives in profusion, vineyards and citrus fruit. Spaniards are very fond of garlic, they love all types of sweet and hot peppers and their beloved jamon serrano -- cured ham. The golden spice saffron enhances many Spanish foods, paella in particular. Spain's most famous wine, sherry, both dry and sweet -- flavors entrees and desserts.
Cuisine in the Iberian peninsula echoes the cooking of the Middle East (honey and cumin) and that of the Americas (dishes combining meat with chocolate). Yet, essentially, it is family cooking, comparatively simple to prepare and characterized by fresh ingredients. Besides meat, poultry, game, and fish entrees, there are a wealth of dishes featuring beans, rice, eggs, vegetables, and savory pies that make a meal. Tapas -- small morsels or appetizers in great variety -- play a role in meals throughout the day.
The northwestern area, Galicia, prominently displays its ancient Celtic heritage. Meat and fish pies are found here along with famed scallops and fine veal. Farther east along the coast, Asturias is known for its legendary bean dish, fabada, and a strong blue cheese, queso Cabrales. Hard cider is preferred as a drink. The Basque country features fish dishes principally, such as fish soup, garlicky baby eels, squid and a variety of dried cod dishes. Cataluna is considered the most gastronomically distinctive and exciting region of Spain. Catalan cuisine is inventive with fish, such as mixed seafood zarzuela, meats or poultry, which are typically combined with local fruits. Valencia is a region of tidal flatlands and rice is prepared here in endless styles on a daily basis. Paella is the region's most famous dish. Andalucia to the south is a parched and arid region, best suited to grape vines and olive trees. Gazpacho is native to this area.

Spanish eating habits are completely different from Japanese eating habits, particularly in their eating hours. Eating hours are more loosely defined and restaurants are open longer hours. In addition, Spanish life-style is vastly different from Japanese. A typical dining pattern involves a light breakfast (el desayuno) at 8 a.m.; These meal usually consists of fresh orange juice, coffee or tea, and toast with jam. The cooked English-style breakfast is normally not available. Churros, are deep fried, sausage-shaped fritters. They are normally eaten with a little sugar sprinkled on top and are traditionally for dunking in coffee or in a thick hot chocolate drink. A mid-morning breakfast at 11 a.m. Office workers who start early will stop for half an hour at this time for their breakfast. Tapas at 1 p.m. with a three-course lunch (el almuerzo) following at 2 to 3 p.m. Lunch meals are served until around 16.00-17.00 p.m. depending on the season. La merienda for tea and pastries or a snack at 5 to 7 p.m. Evening tapas at 8 p.m. or later and followed by three-course Dinner (la cena) 9-10 p.m. The two main meals of the day -- la almuerzo or lunch and la cena, dinner -- are no less opulent because of in-between snacks.

Catalan Cuisine is a caldron full of prawns, shellfish and monkfish simmering in rich broth, flavoured with paprika, saffron, onion, garlic and tomatoes. In Catalunya, Barcelona – North East of Spain, Catalan meals are available trough out days and nights. Multitude of restaurants, bars, and snack bars serves sandwiches, tapas and combination platters.
Catalan cuisine is individualistic and at the same time rustic – drawing on French and Spanish influences. It is both the cooking of the seacoast of the Mediterranean and of the villages nestled in the rugged Pyrenees mountain.
In recent years, more and more restaurants are offering a menu degustación - a sort of taster's choice menu. In typically Mediterranean fashion, meals in Catalunya are often veritable culinary marathons, with a great profusion of dishes which can be share with companions. A good meal amongst friends and family can last several hours, the most cherished part of which is the long sobretaula - the relaxed post-meal chat - usually accompanied by espresso coffee, liquors, and perhaps a Havana cigar
There are 17 official recognised varieties of sausage in Catalonia. Most popular is ‘Bitofarra’; it’s a grilled coarsely texture white pork sausage usually served with white bean or wild mushroom and stuffing.
Despite all meats and poultry, Catalan diets also consist of many organs meat. One of their staple foods are calf’s liver, sautéed with onion and glazed with dry sherry. Among others, tripe, calf’s head, foot and bull’s testicles are Catalan delicacies. They are stewed, braised, fried or made into casserole dishes. Some of the most famous dishes in Catalan cuisine are named after the pots or pans in which they’re cooked; i.e. tupi, caldereta but the most famous is paella. Comes from a Latin word patella, means a shallow pan; it’s a wide, flat metal dish with two ear shaped handles. The shape of the pan indeed makes a perfect dish for cooking rice – allowing an even evaporation of the cooking liquid and exposing a large quantity of rice to the surface of the pan, where it can form a so-called socarrat, a lightly burnt bottom crust much prized by paella aficionados.

‘La tapa’, as to be considered, has to be eaten between main meals as food that allows the body to hold until lunch or dinnertime. Some authors assure that ‘the tapa’ was born when and due to an illness, the Spanish king Alfonso the 10th, had to take small bites of food with some wine between meals. Once recovered from the disease, the wise king ordered that in all inns of Castile's land, wine was not to be served if not with something to eat. This royal providence has to be considered convenient and wise in order to avoid the alcoholic disturbances in the body to the ones that drunk the wine, those that, hadn't enough money to pay themselves mostly a regular and full of proteins appropriate meal. The story of the royal disease can be left apart if we rather consider the theory that ‘the tapa’ first appeared, because of the need of farmers and workers of other unions to take a small amount of food during their working time, that allowed them to continue the job until the main meal's time.
This snack asked for wine, because alcohol enhanced the enthusiasm and the strength and in winter it warmed the body up so as to bear the very cold days on the fields and into the middle-age workshops. In summer, the drink to be taken in the South was ‘gazpacho’ (cold tomato soup), instead of wine, that made bodies feel an unnecessary heat rather than the needed cold refreshment.
The snack is called ‘alifara’ on northern Spain, Aragón and Navarra; and after some time, in the Vasque Country, it began to be called ‘poteo’, because the wine had to be drunk in ‘potes’ (jars).
The traditional drink to be taken with the tapas is wine; either ‘peleón’ (young and cheap) or ‘reserva’ (long time oak-barrel brewed) wine of each region: young ‘txakolí’ in the Vasque Country, Penedés wine or Cava in Cataluña, ‘ribeiro’ in the Northwest, young Valdepeñas or Rioja wine in Castile and in the centre, or fine sherry in the south. In Asturias and in northern parts, where apples grow widely, cider replaces wine.
Unlike the traditional way of making sushi that essential with hand skills, art and techniques, Tapas recipes vary under the taste and gastronomic traditions of each region. However, olives in its many sorts are often in, as well as different dry nuts and all kind of cold cuts. From here on, tapas has prevailed with many other processing's, leaving most of them their condition of main food (that during the middle age and periods of shortage was completed with bread) to occupy, definitively, the condition of aperitif. Together with the olives, slices of garlic or smoked-ham sausages, slices of cheese or jamón curado became world-wide known. From these secular ingredients, the tapas recipe world takes all sorts of food: meat, fish, vegetables, eggs and any other product could enter the tapas world.
Today it has to be added to those traditional snacks, the new ones that appeared, some of them reserved only to be tasted on a properly dressed-up table, like the paella or the stewed potatoes with meat; and others from foreign recipes that finally ended up into spanish tapas, like smoked salmon, pate or caviar, vegetables spring rolls, the smoked fish from the Northern countries, the German sausages, the Swiss melted cheese and cakes or middle-Europe pate. The art of eating tapas can overtake lunch or dinner if quantity or variety of tapas is enough to satisfy the appetite. Just like sushi.
The elegance of the tapas, the aesthetic of the rite, resides in a sort of indifference demonstration to the table and chairs and even to the food that, although delicate and tasty, it is eaten standing on foot and in minimum proportions. Speech and gesture is given priority in tapas. There is no need demonstrating of neither gluttony nor materiality. The art of eating on foot has almost sacramental appearances.

Japanese food has been influence by Chinese and Korean administration during the first tenth century until the Samurai Ages. Spanish food has had their influence from the Medieval cooking influencing from Italy and France. It is also believed that Rome made Catalonia during AD 476.
Until today, Japanese food culture and eating habits is still more formal than the Europeans. Raw meats and fish are still eaten today as they were in the prehistoric ages (8000BC). These falls greatly on the Japanese diets as sushi and sashimi is served. In Europe, steak tartare, carpacchio of meats and smoked/cured meat is still loved by its people.
It also shows that Spanish mainly Catalan diets is rich with olive oil, dairy products and lots of salt, whereby Japanese has less dairy produce consumed and vegetable oils are used for cooking.
Spanish foods, such as paella, gazpacho and chorizo, have always been well-known in the West and East, but Spanish cuisine goes well beyond these, with an astounding variety of rich stews, soups, beans, seafood, meats and much more. Catalan diets are influence with marine life as Catalonia province (north-east Spain) is by the Balearic and Mediterranean Sea life capture. Sardines, mackerels and monkfish are the most common capture that contributes toward their daily diets. Similarly in Japanese diets, as it is an island surrounded by sea and more small islands by the North Pacific Ocean and Philipine Sea. Amongst the most popular marine capture found in Japanese diets are Tuna, Swordfish and Eel. Japanese Protein Diet falls greatly under the variety of fishes, as almost 50% of the world’s fish capture end up in Japan, mainly in Tsukiji Market, Tokyo.