You don't need to buy teriyaki sauce for your Japanese food; you can make it yourself from soy sauce, sweet rice wine (mirin), and sugar. A typical recipe calls for ½ cup each of the first two ingredients and two tablespoons of sugar. Put it all together in a pan, stir, simmer for a few minutes, then let the mixture cool.

Sake (clear Japanese rice wine) comes in two basic flavors, both of which are often used in Japanese food recipes: mirin and regular sake. If you can't come by mirin, you can always make it by adding sugar to sake at a rate of one part sugar to three parts sake.

Be careful when comparing cup sizes when purchasing rice cookers and other Japanese food appliances and cookware for your kitchen. The Japanese cup averages about 200 ml, while the standard American cup is 240 ml -- so you might not get the capacity you expect if you purchase a Japanese-made cooker.