ashimi (刺身) is thinly sliced, raw food. It is one of the most famous dishes in the Japanese cuisine. Seafood is most commonly eaten as sashimi, but other types of meats (such as beef, horse and deer) and foods (such as yuba tofu skin and konnyaku) can also be served as sashimi. Some people confuse sashimi with sushi. Unlike sashimi, sushi includes vinegared rice.
Sashimi dishes are available at many types of restaurants and at most izakaya. They are also popularly used in teishoku set meals and are a standard element of traditional kaiseki course meals. The slices of raw food are often presented arranged atop of a bed of shredded daikon and garnished with shiso leaves. At some restaurants, the rest of the fish is sometimes presented alongside the sashimi as decoration.