I have always been very interested in Japan. Their sense of fashion, creative technology, and young people’s favourite anime, have all been the reasons for my interest.
Trying out all sorts of food is another one of my interests, which is how I decided to combine the two ideas (Japan and food) for this topic. The main audience for my e-portfolio will be people who are interested in Japan or maybe are studying Japanese. I hope that, by combining the two subjects, I can discover many other aspects of the Japanese culture that I was not aware of before, and that more people will become interested in them by reading my blog. Enjoy! : )
2008年10月29日 星期三
2008年10月19日 星期日
Chocolate Adventure
Around the time of 1873 in Japan, chocolate was considered as a luxury item, because the stocks were imported from overseas, so the price was extremely high. Now, chocolate in Japan is not only common, but very popular as well. On the 14th of February in Japan, girls give chocolates to boys as a custom, and the boys who received chocolates are to give chocolates to girls in return on the 14th of March. Therefore, Japanese manufacturers certainly do not miss this opportunity, and many chocolate related events are held during these two months. It is said that chocolate contains some kind of magic which cheers up whoever eats it (This ingredient is known as cacao polyphenolics), maybe that is why people feel so happy when they eat chocolate, and connecting such an emotion to the person to whom you give chocolate is a possible reason why giving chocolates as presents is so important.
On Valentines Day, Japanese boys do not give chocolates or flowers to girls, but the other way round, when girls take this special opportunity to show their feelings. The interesting thing is, there are two different names for the chocolates given to different boys. The chocolates which are given to the boys they like are called “Honmei chocolate”, and Honmei means the person you like the most in Japanese. The chocolate given to male friends are called “Giri chocolate”, and Giri means “ties of friendship”. The two types of chocolates differ both in the cost and intentions. The 14th of March is the unique Japanese Valentines Day, called “White Valentines Day”. On this occasion, boys give flowers, chocolates or sweets to girls in return, and of course, responses to the girls they like and the girls they don’t like will be different.
「100% Chocolate Cafe.」The special thing about this tag is that different chocolate are provided for each of the 365 days, every new number is a new taste and experience, like an adventure in chocolate.
”Rakuten”, the famous Japanese internet shop and first place in chocolate market. The unusual combination of chocolate and “Matcha” (Traditional Japanese green tea) was said to have a sale of over 30000!
On Valentines Day, Japanese boys do not give chocolates or flowers to girls, but the other way round, when girls take this special opportunity to show their feelings. The interesting thing is, there are two different names for the chocolates given to different boys. The chocolates which are given to the boys they like are called “Honmei chocolate”, and Honmei means the person you like the most in Japanese. The chocolate given to male friends are called “Giri chocolate”, and Giri means “ties of friendship”. The two types of chocolates differ both in the cost and intentions. The 14th of March is the unique Japanese Valentines Day, called “White Valentines Day”. On this occasion, boys give flowers, chocolates or sweets to girls in return, and of course, responses to the girls they like and the girls they don’t like will be different.
So now let me introduce some unique chocolate made only in Japan.
「100% Chocolate Cafe.」The special thing about this tag is that different chocolate are provided for each of the 365 days, every new number is a new taste and experience, like an adventure in chocolate. 
”Rakuten”, the famous Japanese internet shop and first place in chocolate market. The unusual combination of chocolate and “Matcha” (Traditional Japanese green tea) was said to have a sale of over 30000!
↑「Frantz」A type of chocolate from Koube, the “chocolate tool kit”. Targets are of course the boys who love to play around with cars, and this is also very popular during the Valentine period. Boys who receive these should be very impressed. The chocolate tools can also be bought separately rather than as a kit.
Another design of 100% Chocolate Café is the “message chocolate”. Customers can choose to spell any message they like. I imagine that the “message chocolate” shown in the photo could be given to a boss if some-one was planning to resign or if some-one was being fired during the month of February. When you click into the website, you will see a keyboard. Type in the message that you would like to pass on to your receiver and click on the blue "return" key on the keyboard when you finish, you will then see the completed preview of your chocolate message! Also, apart from the default dark chocolate, you can also choose from white or strawberry flavoured chocolate on the top right corner just above the keyboard!
2008年10月13日 星期一
Extraodinary tastes in Japanese food!
So maybe you found the stand-up eat and drink culture interesting, but not interesting enough to make you feel strongly about visiting Japan? Well here is another little piece of information which might build up your motivation, you will never want to miss out on THESE! You may feel that there are shops here in New Zealand which are quite similar to the Japanese stand-up shops, but you will never be able to taste just about any of the following food if you were no in Japan, so check out and get ready for some STRONG tastes!
People will never forget to taste Japanese food when they travel to Japan, especially famous dishes such as sushi, sukiyaki and tempura. However, there are actually many newfangled foods, and not even Japanese themselves can stand their taste!
「くさや」（kusaya）
Kusaya is often made from mackerel, and the process takes months. First of all, the fish are soaked in a kusaya gravy that consists of a brine solution that is used over and over again. Some of this gravy is over 100 years old. When the kusaya gravy is not being used to process mackerel, a fish fillet is added to it to maintain the microflora that boosts the distinctive pungent aroma. When the fish are removed from the kusaya gravy, they are dried in the sun.
The kusaya gravy has a very foul smell, because it is actually fermented from the juices of fish. I have heard an interesting news item that once, when a person was handling kusaya gravy in another country, the smell was so strong that people nearby thought someone was burning corpses and called the police!
「納豆」（Natto）
Natto, like tofu, has existed for around a thousand years in Japan, although it is not a very popular food because of the extremely strong smell and the sticky taste. However, Natto actually consists of very rich protein and is extremely nutritious. The richness of nutrition has in fact surpassed most of the other types of food. It is currently known as a very healthy food which benefits human health in many, many ways. As people begin to pay attention to personal health, Natto is becoming a more popular product.
The following website teaches you how to eat and make Natto.
http://www.ynest.com/nattoeng.htm
「フグ」（Fugu）
It’s an extremely toxic fish, it’s also an extremely expensive food. Before we came to know how this delicious food could be eaten, countless people in Japan had sacrificed their lives; in fact, Japan had once banned Fugu consuming. Nowadays, people are forbidden to kill Fugu with no licence. My friend's father had once tried Fugu during a trip in Japan. Apparently, a small dish of Fugu sashimi would cost you 5000 yen, which is very expensive. However, due to the Fugu's very special taste, anyone who has tried it felt that it was worth the price.
Famous Fugu Sashimi
「なれずし」（Naresushi）(Naresushi, also Funasushi)
Naresushi is an older form of sushi. After mixing fish meat and rice, a heavy object is pressed on top of the mixture, and stored like that for many months or years before you eat them. During the process of fermentation, the rice become sticky, soft, and sour (The miraculous thing is that the rice has not gone bad!). This is also a very strong smelling fermented food.
Japanese websites teaching you how to make Naresushi
People will never forget to taste Japanese food when they travel to Japan, especially famous dishes such as sushi, sukiyaki and tempura. However, there are actually many newfangled foods, and not even Japanese themselves can stand their taste!
「くさや」（kusaya）Kusaya is often made from mackerel, and the process takes months. First of all, the fish are soaked in a kusaya gravy that consists of a brine solution that is used over and over again. Some of this gravy is over 100 years old. When the kusaya gravy is not being used to process mackerel, a fish fillet is added to it to maintain the microflora that boosts the distinctive pungent aroma. When the fish are removed from the kusaya gravy, they are dried in the sun.
The kusaya gravy has a very foul smell, because it is actually fermented from the juices of fish. I have heard an interesting news item that once, when a person was handling kusaya gravy in another country, the smell was so strong that people nearby thought someone was burning corpses and called the police!
Japanese website introducing the making of kusaya http://pws.prserv.net/jpinet.yukitan/handmade/kusaya/kusaya.html
Kusaya is a special product in Hachijojima, this is a website of a kusaya shop.
http://www.miyatou.com/
Kusaya is a special product in Hachijojima, this is a website of a kusaya shop.
http://www.miyatou.com/
「納豆」（Natto）Natto, like tofu, has existed for around a thousand years in Japan, although it is not a very popular food because of the extremely strong smell and the sticky taste. However, Natto actually consists of very rich protein and is extremely nutritious. The richness of nutrition has in fact surpassed most of the other types of food. It is currently known as a very healthy food which benefits human health in many, many ways. As people begin to pay attention to personal health, Natto is becoming a more popular product.
The following website teaches you how to eat and make Natto.
http://www.ynest.com/nattoeng.htm
「フグ」（Fugu）
It’s an extremely toxic fish, it’s also an extremely expensive food. Before we came to know how this delicious food could be eaten, countless people in Japan had sacrificed their lives; in fact, Japan had once banned Fugu consuming. Nowadays, people are forbidden to kill Fugu with no licence. My friend's father had once tried Fugu during a trip in Japan. Apparently, a small dish of Fugu sashimi would cost you 5000 yen, which is very expensive. However, due to the Fugu's very special taste, anyone who has tried it felt that it was worth the price.
Famous Fugu Sashimi
「なれずし」（Naresushi）(Naresushi, also Funasushi)Naresushi is an older form of sushi. After mixing fish meat and rice, a heavy object is pressed on top of the mixture, and stored like that for many months or years before you eat them. During the process of fermentation, the rice become sticky, soft, and sour (The miraculous thing is that the rice has not gone bad!). This is also a very strong smelling fermented food.
Japanese websites teaching you how to make Naresushi
Stand-up eating shop (Tachigui) in Japan
Ever wondered how people living in such a busy society like Japan solve their eat and drink issues? Some of the salary-men are simply too busy to have a quiet lunch or dinner. Wander around in the busy streets of Tokyo, or any other cities, and you shall discover the unique secrets to Japanese eat and drink culture.
I am very interested in Japanese culture and I enjoy discovering how Japan is different from other countries. Following, I would like to share some aspects of Japanese culture that I find interesting.
I believe many people enjoy Japanese cuisine. Sitting down in a Japanese restaurant and tasting sake while enjoying Japanese food at the same time is enjoyable. Although people from New Zealand do sit down and slowly enjoy their meals as well. However, the interesting thing is that recently on the streets of Tokyo, a food and drink culture has been emerging. Eating places used only by old men have now become some of the most popular places among the younger salaried-men and office workers. So what exactly is causing such a big change?
This food and drink culture is actually called “Tachigui” (stand-up eating shop) and “Tachinomi” (stand-up drinking shop). The feature of this type of eating and drinking is that it is both money and time saving. These shops are normally furnished with only tables and no chairs, or have neither.
These shops have actually existed since a very long time ago, and the majority of customers are male. Whenever you feel hungry on the way home, you can always hop into one of the Tachigui shops and order a soba or udon, finishing them fast and loud (Yes, loud, which is a sign of respect to the chef in Japanese eating culture). You might also favour a few strings of Japanese BBQ kebabs with your colleagues (standing, of course) before you return home for dinner. Therefore, most people’s impressions of stand-up shops are of tightly packed people sweating and dining on their feet.
In the older days, such shops focused on speed rather than the actual quality of the food. Nowadays, however, such shops begin to focus on quality of food as well as speed. This type of service provides these young salaried-men and office workers new choices of dining even in a busy and economically disordered society.
This is a Tachigui soba shop in a train station.
I am very interested in Japanese culture and I enjoy discovering how Japan is different from other countries. Following, I would like to share some aspects of Japanese culture that I find interesting.
I believe many people enjoy Japanese cuisine. Sitting down in a Japanese restaurant and tasting sake while enjoying Japanese food at the same time is enjoyable. Although people from New Zealand do sit down and slowly enjoy their meals as well. However, the interesting thing is that recently on the streets of Tokyo, a food and drink culture has been emerging. Eating places used only by old men have now become some of the most popular places among the younger salaried-men and office workers. So what exactly is causing such a big change?This food and drink culture is actually called “Tachigui” (stand-up eating shop) and “Tachinomi” (stand-up drinking shop). The feature of this type of eating and drinking is that it is both money and time saving. These shops are normally furnished with only tables and no chairs, or have neither.
These shops have actually existed since a very long time ago, and the majority of customers are male. Whenever you feel hungry on the way home, you can always hop into one of the Tachigui shops and order a soba or udon, finishing them fast and loud (Yes, loud, which is a sign of respect to the chef in Japanese eating culture). You might also favour a few strings of Japanese BBQ kebabs with your colleagues (standing, of course) before you return home for dinner. Therefore, most people’s impressions of stand-up shops are of tightly packed people sweating and dining on their feet.In the older days, such shops focused on speed rather than the actual quality of the food. Nowadays, however, such shops begin to focus on quality of food as well as speed. This type of service provides these young salaried-men and office workers new choices of dining even in a busy and economically disordered society.
This is a Tachigui soba shop in a train station.
This website introduces a great variety of Tachigui soba shops in Japanese train station
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