Tea Bowl

Having matcha or green tea in a tea bowl is very special.
I just feel like being an authentic Japanese person (which I am).


Sometimes it is hard to realize what cultural background I have while spending everyday wearing jeans and a camisole under the sunny sky.


Among the tea bowls I have seen so far, my favorite tea bowl is the ones with black glaze.
The vivid green of matcha truly stands out in dark surface.  Very pretty.


I just need to be careful not to have it at night so that I have to stay awake for no reasons...




Photo:
Yuteki Tenmoku Matchawan by Taku Nonaka
http://www.japanpotterynet.com/en/products/detail.php?product_id=1226

Happy 2011 !!!

How was your winter holiday?
I am sure everyone had a great warm winter vacation.


In Japan the first seven days of January are traditionally New Year Holidays when I was a child.
Now it is the first three days.
It used to be from New Year Day to January 20th.
Our life is apparently getting busier and faster and I hope it is a good thing.


No matter how rapidly our life style changes, the Japanese New Year cuisine called osechi has not changed much.
I just love looking at them how pretty they are decorated.
Of course it is very delicious and healthy as well.

Wishing you a very wonderful coming year!!!

Matsutake

I love mushroom dishes especially the ones in Japanese cuisine.
You can find enoki, shitake, shimeji or maitake mushrooms at American markets now these days, but not matsutake.
This mushroom called matsutake has an amazing aroma and just triggers your appetite.
I saw some at Japanese and Korean super markets in LA.  Maybe I should try them soon!

Sweet potatoes

It will be a perfect time to eat sweet potatoes soon in Japan :D
There are many different type of sweet potato dishes, my favorite one is called "sweet potato"......!


It is a sweet that is made out of sweet potatoes.  Basically it is mashed sweet potatoes mixed with sugar, milk, butter, cinnamon or vanilla that is formed in oval in most cases with yolk brushed over and baked.
We call sweet potatoes satsuma imo in Japanese and the sweet potato sweets "sweet potato."

It sounds more like "sui - to po te to" (sue e eat oh poe te toe)

Convenient Stores

I miss conbini or convenience (convenient) stores in Japan.
They have literally everything you need.
If you forget something, you just need to go to one of conbinis.
You can find anything you need.
They have anything from food to underwear.
It could be your office.
You can buy post stamps.
You can make photo copies and send faxes.
It could be your kitchen.
They heat up your bento box.
They have both hot and cold canned drinks.
They are just so convenient!!!
Yes there is Famima in LA, but it's just different...

Hanabi

There are so many festivals in Japan during the summer!

I love going there in my yukata, which is a summer kimono!

My favorite ones are firework festivals.  Japanese fire works come in many colors and they are huge in the sky.

They are usually held by the rivers and the reflection on water is amazing.

Would it be great to have a ice cold beer or sake watching fire works outside with your friends?

Red Beans

Japanese people love sweetened red beans.  They go well with anything!

You can wrap it with a rice cake or wrap rice cakes with it ;)  It tastes amazing with ice cream, especially the green tea flavor.  An-pan or red bean filled bread is also popular.  

It is not only sweet but it is really healthy too.  People say that they have lots of vitamin B1.  That helps to reduce fatigue, stiff shoulders, muscle ache, etc.

I am sure eating too much would not help so much...but it is good to know that at least it is some way healthy!

Print Club

The photo booth called Print Club in Japan is getting more and more popular.
I used to take photos with my friends and brothers all the time.


Recently the photo booth machine offered "a beautiful skin."
Your face looks really smooth and shiny on the photos.
That is amazing.  I look completely different!
I mean I look how I want my skin to look like in the reality.


Now they have one that makes your eyes bigger!!!
I have never tried this one before, but that is almost like getting plastic surgery virtually.
You will not be able to tell who they are anymore.
I wonder if people use them for driver's license or passport...

Rice Fields

This time of year in Japan, the rice fields get really green and pretty.
I have never seen one in the States, but they must have an amazing scenery as well.
When I visited Bali Island, there were rice fields on mountain slopes and they looked like an art work.
It is always good to eat rice and also wonderful to look at when they grow.
How amazing rice is!
I just love the huge green fields that go on forever like the ocean.

Wet Towel

When you go to restaurants in Japan, the first thing you receive there is the wet towel.  It is for cleaning the hands before the meal.  They are either warm or cold.  This custom is getting known world wide now.  


One day I was at a Japanese restaurant and saw this one father telling his family that Japanese people clean their faces with the towel.  The family was all rubbing their faces...

Now I remember that the culture is learned, integrated and evolved according to anthropology.

Vending Machines

There are many vending machines everywhere in Japan.  I used to buy canned coffee and juice from it all the time.
The vending machines talk too.  They say, "irasshaimase" or "welcome" when you put money and "arigatogozaimashita" or "thank you very much" when you pick a drink.
Mostly they are for soft drinks, but there are vending machines that sell other items.


Here is a photo of a cigarette vending machine.

This one sells alcohol.  You can see Asahi and Kirin.

I could not find photos of the others, but I have seen ones with ice cream, rice, magazines, and other products.  It is convenient that you don't need to be in a line at a store.

Cell Phones

Most of us in the States cannot live without our cell phones now days.
The same is definitely true in Japan.
The only difference is that people absolutely love decorating their phones there.
I have some cell phones with decorations here in the US but the ones in Japan are way busier!
A lot of Japanese girls love their cell phones to have rhinestones and flowers.  There are shops where they specialize in decorating cell phones.

Some people have too much decoration and the cell phone itself looks smaller.

I guess you can never lose your cell phone this way then ;)

Beer!

It's getting hotter every day and I feel like having beer as everyone else does.

It is really popular to have beer in a ceramic cup or mug in Japan.

The bubbles from the beer froth get really tiny and very creamy once it's poured in.

I recommend to use unglazed cups!

Amazing Soy Beans

Soy beans are amazing when I think about it.

It tastes so good when you boil them and sprinkle some salt.

You can mix edamame beans with steamed rice and saturate it with soy sauce.

Soy sauce is made out of soy beans.

Miso paste is made out of soy beans.

Tofu is made out of soy beans.

Soy milk is made out of soy beans.

Natto is made out of soy beans.

Wow!

From one kind of plant, you can enjoy a lot of different flavors.

Luffa

Dishcloth gourd, sponge cucumber or luffa is a very common plant in Japan.

They are very strong and can grow anywhere.

You probably have seen a dried one as a body wash sponge.

In Japan, we plant them in elementary school and make the sponges.

We also make facial lotion and it soothes your skin.

Lately in Tokyo, people use them to create a curtain over the windows to make shades, this way they can save energy and cost. What a great idea they've got!

I would love to try that one day when I have a house.

Medicine

My friend seems he is catching a cold. He sounds like he is losing his voice.
Some people know tea with ginger is good for your throat.
What do you do when you feel like you are getting sick?

In Japan, we drink tamago-zake.

Basically it is sake mixed with a raw egg.

It has to be a very fresh egg, of course. The eggs in Japan are freshly laid and people eat them raw all the time.

Here is a recipe. If you ever go visit Japan, you can try this.

1) Warm sake.

2) Put row egg and sugar in a bowl and mix them well.

3) Strain it to make it smooth.

4) Pour sake into egg little by little as stirring it.

5) You can add little ginger or use honey instead of sugar.

What is that?

A lot of people have asked me what they are.

The white looking threads on sushi or sashimi plate.

Some people even asked me if they are edible.

It's called tsuma. They are made out of daikon or Japanese radish.

In Japan, tsuma could be seaweed.

They are edible and good for you. They are used to decorate the plate, but also the radish and seaweed decrease the smell of raw fish and kill the germs!

Sake

Sake is popular here in California.
You find it at any sushi restaurants.

I of course love drinking it, but also love taking a bath in it.
You do not use a whole bottle of sake in the tub.
You can put a half cup of sake and it makes your skin so smooth.
It's best to get the ones with no additives.
It really changes your skin!
Don't worry you won't get drunk bathing in it :)

Tofu Ice Cream

It is getting hot every day and we crave for ice cream :)

I crave for this one ice cream from Kyoto.

When I visited Kyoto, I ran into an amazing tofu ice cream.

I had had tofu ice cream many times and even made one before, but this one was exquisite!

The texture was really smooth and creamy, but light.

You don't feel like you are eating a lot of fat. You feel healthy.

I wish I could obtain the recipe. I would open a store in an instant!

The most unique part of the ice cream is that it does not fall when you put it upside down!!!

How does that work?

I just don't know.

The guy who invented this said it was a secret recipe...

Here's the photo I took of the ice cream I ordered and Tofu ice cream man.

Hydrangia

June is a rainy season in Japan.

It is humid and your feet get soaked wet.

The public transportation gets muggy inside.

The smell of cigarettes becomes stronger in restaurants and cafes.

The only thing makes me smile is hydrangea flowers.

They bloom fully in blue, pink, and purple.

Especially in concrete jungle, they give a peaceful colorful moment.