Rice

We live on rice.
Of course we eat potatoes, bread, pasta, same as other countries.
But we eat rice in the morning, at lunch time, and dinner. I don't mind to eat rice every day and I don't mind not to eat rice everyday...

I think not many Japanese people know how many types of rice exist in Japan, and what type are they..

Most of the farms grow Japonica Rice, which is characterized by its stickiness and texture when its cooked. There are over 300 different types of rice in the market today, and it's impossible to see every one of them in your normal life.
Farms/Producers usualy blend rice types. However some "brand rice" which hasn't been blended with any other rice, is also easy to find in the shops and it will be more expensive than "blended rice" as you can imagine.
Recently, many consumer think lightly of "Blended rice".
But "Blended rice" has also a strong point.
It had been mixed with different types of rice in which, each rice has different characteristics,hence it balances the taste and also gives a good value to the price. Some restaurants prefer to use "blended rice".

These rice are most popular variety of rice, today.
Koshihikari is a popular variety of rice cultivated in Japan as well as Australia and the US. Koshihikari was first created in 1956. It is one of the most highly-grown varieties of rice in the country, and its taste is said to differ per region. Some people think very highly of the Koshihikari harvested in Uonuma area of Niigata Prefecture and so traded at the most expensive price in all of Japan.

Hinohikari, a rice variety produced in northern Kyushu. The grain is slightly smaller than koshihikari.

Hitomebore is easy to grow compared to Koshihikari. It is soft in texture when it's cooked and tasty even when it gets cold.

Akitakomachi has similar characteristic to Koshihikari. It is originaly from Akita prefecture and created in 1984. The harvest time is earlyier than Koshihikari, strong enough to survive the common disease. The taste is very similar to Koshihikari and Sasanishiki, it is nicely moistured.

Sasanishiki was created in 1963 in Miyagi prefecture.
It used be very popular as Koshihikari. Sasanishiki was created as a mixture of Hatsunishiki and Sasashigure at Furukawa Agricultural Experiment Station in Miyagi prefecture. The unique feature of this particular kind of Japanese rice is its ability to keep the same taste even when cooling down. This makes it good for bento box (Japanese lunch box), sushi, and some sushi restaurants in Japan advertising the use of this rice.