Much has been written about the relationship between the French and their cuisine, but one could also argue that the people of Japan take their love for food a step - or several galloping strides - further. Where else is it common to embark on weekend trips, the sole purpose of which is to sample several varieties of a single dish?

Modern Japanese kyodo ryori, or regional cuisine, is a tourist attraction all of its own, with a signature dish for nearly every major city.

And while some of these foods are undeniably Japanese (sushi springs to mind), many are actually adaptations of dishes that originated in other countries, demonstrating the uncanny ability of the Japanese to take something new and make it their own.

Mouse over the hotspots or click the place names on the map below for a quick spin round Japan’s most notable regional dishes - from Hokkaido in the frozen north to Okinawa in the deep south, there’s good eatin’ across the board.

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