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I'm going to admit that one of my enduring pet peeves in Japan is listening to Japanese people prattle on about how "healthy" Japanese food is. The truth is that they are talking about theoretical diets, not the real diets that most people are eating unless you think noodles in salty broth with fat floating around in it and bits of pork (ramen), white bread, deep fried and breaded food (tempura, pork cutlets, croquettes), pasta, and pizza coupled along with copious amounts of white rice and alcoholic beverages and a dearth of fresh fruit "healthy". I'm not saying Japanese people don't eat a sufficient balance of healthy food to be the longest lived people in the world (at least in some areas), but just that they are hardly the paragons of food virtue that people (both foreign and Japanese) believe they are. The main virtue in my experience, is very good portion control. Eating a little seems to be more important than eating "perfectly" or even "well".
I was strolling through the deli section of Ito Yokado supermarket and looking at the options on hand when this bowl of shrimp tempura caught my eye. One reason why this particular market is more interesting than most is that they put calorie values on the food and this moderate sized bowl of shrimp tempura over rice with pickles packs a whopping 969 calories. I've talked to students before and they insist tempura isn't unhealthy because it's cooked at high temperatures. I remain dubious, especially after seeing things like this for sale.
