Japadog: Vancouver’s Original Street Food
Opened in 2005, Vancouver’s Japadog is an institution in Vancouver – a mobile institution. With five stands in the Lower Mainland, one food truck and one brick and mortar location, the little-trailer-that-could is expanding to serve uniquely flavoured Japanese hot dogs to the masses. Those masses include a range of celebrities, many of whom are featured in photographs on the sides of their Japadog street food trailers.
The dogs are a combination of unique meats (in a good way) and traditional Japanese toppings such as nori, bonito flakes and diced radish. The dog that started it all is the Terimayo. This hotdog contains a modest wiener, with a toasted bun, teriyaki sauce, mayo and seaweed. Sounds a little crazy? Trust us, its to die for!
Not Your Average Hotdog
Items that followed included the Okonomi, with Kurobuta sausage, the Negimiso, with miso sauce and shredded cabbage and my personal favourite, the Oroshi, with a bratwurst style sausage, grated radish and special soy. The current menu boasts a croquette dog, tempura shrimp and rice dog and Kobe beef dog. They also have a completely outside of the box desert dog, the Age Ice, with a deep fried bun and five flavours of ice cream to choose from as the sausage substitute. And for all you veggies, don’t worry, they have a wicked veggie dog as well.
Company History
The creators, Noriki and Masi Tamura, immigrated from Japan to Canada with hopes of opening a mobile crepe stand. Vancouver bylaws in 2005, limited food cart fare to solely hot dogs. Undiscouraged, Noriki and Masi altered their focus from thin pancakes to sausages. But it was their Japanese take on the hot dog that brought them world fame.
Global Exposure
The 2010 Olympics put them on the global foodie map, when they experienced lines of nearly 100 people, all waiting for a Vancouver fusion in a bun. This was the same year that the Tamuras opened their storefront at Robson and Richards. The menu was expanded with more creative dogs with a Japanese twist and a new item, shaken fries, in six mouth watering flavours.
Japadog received even more exposure with spotlights on the late Anthony Bourdain’s “No Reservations.” They also were featured on the Food Network’s “Chuck’s Eat the Street”.
This new fame has allowed the Tamuras to expand south of the border, to California. They now have stands in Los Angeles and Santa Monica. The California locations are perfect for one of their original supporters, the ‘O.G.’ himself, Ice Cube! You can spot multiple photos of Ice chowing down on sausage on their many trailers and stores throughout Vancouver.
