The ingredients for Japanese cooking can be confusing, difficult to find, or mysterious if you live outside of Japan. But they are always interesting—even if you make a mistake!
Fruits and Nuts
Chestnuts: Kuri ljoi
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Persimmons: Kaki///
Sesame Seeds: Goma////
Umeboshi
Grains and Beans
Cake Flour////
Panko: Japanese bread crumbs
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Meat
Pork Flank////
Miso
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Mushrooms
Kikurage, Black Cloud Ear Mushrooms
Noodles
Chuka Soba Noodles: ramen noodles/
Gyoza: Japanese Poststickers
Harusame: Japanese Potato Starch Noodles Spring Rain
Mung Bean Noodles: ryokuto harusame (Chinese Style)/
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Soba: Dried
Soba: Homemade!
Udon Noodles (flat)
Udon Noodles (round)
Instant Udon Noodles////
Seasonings and Flavors
Japanese Mustard Powder: Karashi is the general word for mustard. Wa-garashi is the expression for Japanese mustard. Yo-garashi is its Western counterpart. It is sold in powdered form (konakarashi), and when you mix equal parts powder and water it becomes a paste (nerigarashi). Japanese mustard is hotter and has a slightly bitter taste. The paste looses pungency when it’s exposed to air, so be sure to keep it covered until ready to use. It is used as a condiment for oden, gyoza, simmered vegetable and meat dishes, and miso soup. It’s also used in dressings.
Tonkatsu Sauce, best to make your own!
Sea Vegegtables
Agar-Agar: Kanten////
Kombu (Dried Kelp)////
Snacks, Sweets, Drinks
Sweet Red Beans: for mitsumame
Crabs!/
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Tofu
Abura Age: fried thin bean curd. Find this in the refrigerator or freezer. Because these are oily, you have to rinse them and dip them in boiling water to get rid of the grease. These can be cut on one edge to make one large pocket or cut in the middle to make 2 small pockets which you can fill something tasty. You can also cut them into strips to add texture to soups.
Koyadofu: freeze-dried tofu.
Vegetables
Baby Bamboo Shoots: Takenoko//////
Dried Bamboo///
Chinese Cabbage: Hakusai .
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(Edible) Chrysanthemum Leaves: Shungkiku , edible chrysanthemum leaves
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Gai Choy/
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Kabocha
Lotus Rood: Renkon (Lotus Root)
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Sweet Potato: Satsuma Imo needs upload of smaller picture 3286///.
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Taro: Sato Imo tastes sort of like potato
Yama Imo (Mountain Yam)////
Tess's Japanese Kitchen 
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I am Japanese lived in the South for more than 10 years and loves grits. Your recipe of grits is very interesting. Living now in Japan and looking for grits, I found it sold at Foreign Buyers Club but they are soo expensive. I wish to seek your advise or information on how to find grits economically. Thank you in advance for your help. Regards,