Survey Finds Japan’s Favorite Rice Dish is Egg Fried Rice

Even More Popular than Onigiri

In a nationwide survey conducted in June by Nichirei Foods, 14,000 people ranked their favorite rice dishes, with “chāhan” (egg fried rice) coming out on top.

Respondents were given a list to choose from (with multiple responses possible) and “chāhan,” associated with Chinese food in Japan, was the clear winner with 69.9%. It finished ahead of classic favorites like “onigiri” at 63.0% and ”katsudon” (pork cutlet rice bowl) with 60.1%. Incidentally, chāhan also ranked first in Nichirei Foods’ 2020 and 2024 surveys.

People from all prefectures agreed that, when made at home, eggs and leeks (negi) were essential ingredients for chāhan. The type of meat used varied, but leaned towards pork, including Japanese wiener sausages, ham, char siu, and bacon. When it came to adding vegetables, respondents chose green bell pepper, carrot, and lettuce as standard. But regional differences could be seen too, such as sweetcorn in Nara and Wakayama, bamboo shoots in Tochigi and Yamaguchi, green beans and zāsai Chinese pickled mustard stems in Yamaguchi and Okinawa, and asari clams in Niigata. In regions north of Tokyo, nattō appeared as an ingredient too, in order to make the regional fried rice specialty nattō chāhan.

(© IllustAC)

On average across Japan, it was calculated it cost ¥297.2 to make egg fried rice at home. Most expensive was ¥393.4 in Tokyo, followed by ¥362.9 in Tokushima and ¥343.2 in Kanagawa.

Looking at the percentage of people who ate chāhan at least once a month by prefecture, Kōchi ranked highest at 60.9%, and with similarly high rates in places like Ehime (59.0%) and Shiga (58.7%), it indicated that this rice dish tends to be eaten more often in western Japan.

Data Sources

• Data from 2026 chāhan survey (Japanese) from Nichirei Foods

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Photo AC.)