If you are reading this page, you are probably not Japanese. BUT, you might want to eat or buy Japanese food, and this is the guide for you!
Where to buy
Not as much as in London, of course, but you can find most of the major ingredients of Japanese cuisine in Birmingham. Some of the things, like rice, toufu, miso (fermented bean paste), seaweeds or condiments can be found in Day-In Chinese Supermarket in the Arcadian Shopping Centre, Chinatown. If you are after more specialist items, you might be able to find at H-Mart, near Selly Oak station (668 Bristol Road). H-Mart specialises in Korean foodstuff, but it has also Japanese stuff like natto (fermented soya beans) and frozen Japanese sweets. You can find Japanese (or Japanese style) rice at both places. Another place to try is a suburban Chinese supermarket Wing Yip (photo below). It is really huge and you can get even frozen eel (kabayaki), although it is rather difficult to reach if you don't have a car (but public buses stop nearby).
If you just Kikkoman soy sauce (Kikkoman being a famous Japanese soy sauce company) or rice vinegar, you might be able to find at local Sainsbury's or Tesco's as I did. The pudding rice, which you can find any supermarket, do look like Japanese rice, but it does not taste same. I know some Japanese people who use it as Japanese rice, but I am totally against; you'd better buy good quality Chinese rice or Korean rice that you can probably find any East-Asian grocers.
Rice Cooker
The electric rice cooker is one of the must have for Japanese people, but it is pretty difficult to find Japan-made rice cookers here. The cheapest option is to buy Chinese style rice cookers. You can find it at Argo, Day-In (see above), or Amazon.co.uk for less than £20. I heard that they are in working order, although not as good as sophisticated Japanese rice cookers.
If you are a student, look for second-hand ones; it is one of the most common item of Good-bye sale.
But, of course, you can cook the rice perfectly well with a pan with fitting lid.
Where to eat
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In the Mail Box, there is another Japanese restaurant called Shogun Sushi & Noodle Bar. It offers £10 lunch buffet. I have never eaten there, but people say it is ok for the price you pay. In the Selfridges of Bullring, there is Yo! Sushi outlet. I heard that it is nice, but pretty expensive.
In November 2007, a new Japanese eatery called Mt. Fuji opened in Bullring. It is not a restaurant in a proper sense, being more like a café or kitchen, but it does offer authentic Japanese food for affordable prices.
There is another café called Imagine Café in Harborne which used to offer Japanese food at dinner time, but I heard that it ceased to operate during the night. I heard that they still offer some Japanese food during day-time, but I don't know the detail.
Buying food on-line
There are on-line Japanese food sellers based in London. Rice Wine, T K Trading are big ones. If you buy Japanese food in big quantity, it might be useful.
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