The main staple food, of any Asian nation is readily rice and the Japanese are not left out, they not only consider rice an important meal but the Japanese, use rice as an ingredient for most of their meals.

The word “Gohan” means rice, in Japanese and its also used, to identify most Japanese meals in general. Rice is eaten daily in Japan and if its not the main dish, its then used as an ingredient, in other dishes or as a side dish.

Now here are some popular and even Traditional types of Japanese rice dishes, I'm sure your mouth would start to water even before you're through the list, well don't forget to send in your delicious comments, suggestions or questions, enjoy!

Donburi:
Donburi is your typical rice in a bowl, that is served with any other type of food with sauce. Donburi is basically defined by the type of topping used to eat it.
Some popular types of Donburi dishes are Tamagodon which is egg and sauce with rice, Oyakodon is simmered chicken with egg and onion on rice, Gyudon is beef and onion with rice.
Unadon is another type of Donburi rice dish, which is rice and grilled eel, Tendon is rice with vegetables and tempura shrimps, Katsudon is fried pork, onion and egg with rice.

Chahan:
Chahan is a rice dish that was introduced from China, the Japanese Chahan is lighter and has more flavor than the Chinese Chahan but they both have the same ingredients. Chahan is stir fried rice with carrots, pork, peas and egg.

Onagiri:
Onagiri is a rice dish, that is quite popular in Japan, its also being made as a ready snack in most stores. Onagiri is a ball of rice, usually wrapped in either seaweed or nori, Onagiri always has a sour or salty filling, such as pickled plums, tuna, Umeboshi and even miso or salted salmon in the center.

Sushi:
Onagiri and Sushi are almost the same, the major difference is that the rice used in making Onagiri, is slightly salted and the rice for Sushi is usually mixed with vinegar.
There are many types of Sushi rice but the Vineyard type of rice, is more popular for instance in Makizushi also called roll sushi, the rice plus other ingredients, including the fish are rolled into a cylindrical shape with seaweed and later sliced into smaller pieces.

Another type of Sushi vineyard rice is Nigirizushi, which has ingredients such as raw fish and any type of seafood, placed across a block of vineyard rice, other types of Sushi vineyard rice are Chirashi, Inari, Oshizushi, Temaki and Gunkan.

Kayu:
Kayu is a type of Japanese rice that is made into porridge, Kayu rice usually has no toppings and its just made with water and rice, sometimes egg is added for thickening. Kayu is a watery gruel, its cooked with water always more than the rice, Kayu is so easy to digest and very suitable for infants or those who are too ill to take solids.

Ochazuke:
Ochazuke is white rice seeped in green tea or dashi [Japanese broth], most times other ingredients such as Tsukemono or Umeboshi can be used to make Ochazuke.
In Japan, left over rice from a previous meal is not wasted, as it can also be used to make Ochazuke.

Kare Raisu:
Kare Raisu is white rice topped with curry sauce, Kare Raisu
is not originally a Japanese rice dish, as it was introduced into the country about a century ago, though not as spicy as the Indian type of curry rice, its still a popular dish in Japan.