While I was in Hakone, I stayed in a hotel done in traditional Japanese style – Hotel Musashiya. We had to sleep on the floor (its NOT fun!) and we were served traditional Japanese dinners and breakfasts. This was the traditional breakfast we had.
Traditional Japanese breakfast served at Hotel Musashiya, Hakone
I had to face this at 8am. Picked beans, mochi cake, pickled ginger and nori sheets, chilled tofu with bonito flakes, steamed egg, grilled cod fish.
That was not all!
Left: Steamed Rice Right: Miso soup
It was accompanied by a large bowl of steamed rice and pickles and hot miso soup to round it off.
Goodness! That was a LOT for someone who does not even eat breakfast on normal days. That is not to say it was not delicious 
I loved the grilled cod. It was awesome and to my surprise, I finished up most of the rice too It was cold ok
I’d read in “Japanese Women do not get Old or Fat” that a Japanese breakfast was very hearty. Now I know for a fact it is. I can’t see myself getting up early to prepare this in the mornings for myself though
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Gosh, I wouldn’t be able to eat that much early in the mornings! At least, not unless I’d woken up at least 2 hours earlier.
@rinnah: Somehow when you’ve paid a lot of money for it, you jolly well scarf it all down – I did
I love Japanese breakfast! Especially in late autumn and winter.
Miso soup is very easily prepared actually. I made sure I had a big breakfast everyday when I was working crazy hours at my previous job. I used the timer of my rice cooker to get me perfect rice in the AM and then pre-pack single servings of miso soup to just add hot water to.
Check out MMMBento blog for tips. I forget the URL but very useful.