Honorific speech in Japanese word "meshi", the Japanese equivalent of Sino-Japanese "go-han", is considered rough and masculine (男性語). The honorific "o-" is also sometimes attached to of native verbs (hence native "o-") to refer to a specific item associated with the verb, as in oshibori (お絞り、絞る) "hot towel", and onigiri/omusubi (お握り、握る and お結び、結ぶ) "rice ball". In rare cases, both a base form and honorific are in use with different readings. A notable example is 利益 "ri-eki" "benefit, profit (e.g., business)" and 御利益 "go-ri-yaku" "divine favor, grace"; plain "ri-yaku" is sometimes used, but "go-ri-eki" is generally not. The former, an everyday term, uses the usual
Japanese cuisine outside Japan. Over the past years, many restaurant chains such as Koni Store have opened, selling typical dishes such as the popular temaki. Yakisoba, which is readily available in all supermarkets, and often included in non-Japanese restaurant menus. In February 2012, the Agency for Cultural Affairs recommended that 'Washoku: Traditional Dietary Cultures of the Japanese' be added to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. On December 4, 2013, "Washoku, traditional dietary cultures of the Japanese, notably for the celebration of New Year" was added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage, bringing the number of Japanese assets