eggy 6

Tokyo and Osaka are only about 2.5 hours away by bullet train, so perhaps you wouldn’t think they’d be that different. But while Kanto (Tokyo, Yokohama, Chiba) holds the image of a glittering metropolis, Kansai (Osaka, Kyoto, Nara) is full of the old, historical aspects of Japan. The most commonly cited difference is the dialects of the two regions. For example, dame in Kanto-ben is akan in Kansai-ben, both meaning something like “wrong, no good.”

So when Japanese people were polled about their food habits, it wasn’t so surprising that the two regions answered very differently.

This recent online survey conducted by Neo Marketing polled people ages 20-59 about a few food questions and decided to separate the answers by Kanto and Kansai.

Let’s start with the most important meal of the day, breakfast!

eggy 1Image: Flickr (I Believe I Can Fry)

There is no better way to start your day than with a hearty and healthy breakfast. Breakfasts around the world vary considerably but within each country there are similar foods we break our fast with each morning. Japanese breakfasts generally consist of a combination of rice, miso soup, eggs, meat of some sort, and bread.

And of all the questions about breakfast that could have been asked, this certainly ranks as one of the most important.

Q:  What do you put on your fried eggs?
Kanto:
1st: soy sauce 58.0%
2nd: salt 35.5%
3rd: pepper 28.5%

Kansai:
1st: salt 49.0%
2nd: pepper 37.0%
3rd: soy sauce 36.0%

Well, if these results don’t lead to some sort of battle, we don’t know what will! Kanto seems to overwhelmingly prefer soy sauce over their western compatriots. Some think that Kansai people prefer salt over soy sauce because they enjoy usuaji or more of a bland, only lightly seasoned taste.

Moving onto lunch!

eggy 2Image: Flickr (hirotomo t)

A nice hearty meal that every Japanese household should be able to make is curry. It’s that feel good, empty stomach satisfying, comfort meal. While the ingredients one puts into a curry are totally up to the cook, how about what forms the base flavor of your curry? Cue question number two!

Q: What is the main ingredient in the curry you make at your house?
Kanto:
1st: pork 68.5%
2nd: chicken 33.5%
3rd: beef 29.5%

Kansai:
1st: beef 60.5%
2nd: pork 31.0%
3rd: chicken 24.5%

Here again there is a clear difference between Kanto and Kansai. Who would have thought that a simple meat in a curry would cause such a divide?!? Be mindful when making curry for friends if you want to make them feel at home.

Finally, we go to the last question of the survey, the all-important rice versus bread debate!

Margot Restaurant　ご飯Image: Flickr (lulan & kame), Flickr (Steven Luscher) Edited by RocketNews24

Q: If you had to pick just one, which do you like better: rice or bread?
Kanto:
Rice 71.5%
Bread 28.5%

Kansai:
Rice 62.5%
Bread 37.5%

Huh, turns out Kansai and Kanto aren’t as different as they might pretend to be. Raise your hand if you weren’t surprised by this answer at all. Always one to be nitpicky, there was a theory floated to account for the difference in bread favor. The theory goes, since Kansai is famous for okonomiyaki and takoyaki, foods that use flour, this may be the reason that Kansai people like bread 9 percent more.

This survey may seem like a pointless time waster, but it does reveal one fairly important thing: why doesn’t anyone in Japan put ketchup on their eggs?!?

Source: My Game News Flash via My Navi News
Top Image: Flickr (marufish), Flickr (bryan…) edited by RocketNews24