An izakaya is a bar that specializes in plates of food that go well with alcoholic drinks. Most izakaya have extensive menus with lots of choices. But what makes an izakaya in Japan different from a traditional restaurant is that you tend to eat less and not get as full at an izakaya. Many Japanese customers will order two or three dishes and a...
Many people probably think an izakaya is a restaurant. but if you ask Japanese people, they will tell you that it is a place where people go to drink. In other words, it’s a bar. In fact, you won’t be breaking any protocols by walking into an Izakaya alone and ordering just one beer without food. You won’t find families with small children, or...
Cup Noodle maker solves Slurping CONTROVERSY Making noise while slurping and chewing is pretty much an etiquette no-no wherever you go. Of course, there’s an exception to every rule. Anyone who’s ever had ramen or soba or udon in Japan knows the noodle slurpers can get pretty loud. In fact, it’s said that the louder the slurps, the better the noodles. But we Japanese...
The bento is an essential part of Japan’s rich food culture. The bento has been shared by loved ones and friends for centuries. About 700 years ago, in the Nara Era, people would preserve dried rice wrapped in bamboo leaves to eat outside. That was the beginning of the portable lunch in Japan. Today, the bento has evolved into a well-balanced, pleasing-to-the-eyes meal that...
Why are people in Japan and around the world continuing to give the bento so much love? First, check out the photo below. This is a bento from Nadaman, a company that started business in 1830 as a Japanese restaurant. This bento speaks to Japanese aesthetics with its colorful arrangement while also delivering traditional tastes through its many different flavors. Some call it beauty...
Compared to the drab brownbag lunch (peanut butter and jelly again?), the bento is a thing of beauty. It’s nutritious, aesthetically pleasing and portable. The Japanese have known this for centuries, but here in North America, bento lunches are just recently becoming trendy. Martin Metke, a tech worker in Seattle, relates how he thought his co-workers would make fun of him for bringing a...
One of Japan’s most popular exports to the rest of the world is perhaps its smallest and quietest—haiku poetry. Millions of people write haiku around the globe, in many languages, and Western schools have taught haiku for decades. Many countries have haiku societies to help promote the understanding and enjoyment of haiku. You may have learned that haiku has to be in a pattern of...
Anyone with a taste for traditional architecture must agree that the Japanese toilet is perfection. — Junichiro Tanizaki, from In Praise of Shadows You know you love them: TOTO’s toilets are second to none. They are high-tech wonders with warm seats, automatic lids, bidets, and more buttons than the cockpit of the Dreamliner. And now, when you visit Kita-Kyushu, you can worship them in...
Start with Shiromi! One of the pleasures of dining at the sushi counter is having the chance to ask the chef what sort of shiromi is best that day. Sushi chefs want you to star t your sushi meal with shiromi so that the stronger- tasting akami (red- fleshed) fish doesn’t overpower your palate. The taste of shiromi is lighter and simpler. However, it...
“Tachinomiya,” literally standand- drink establishments, have been a culinary fixture all over Japan for two centuries. As the name implies, there are no chairs; customers drink alcohol while standing. They stay for less than an hour. Commuters grab a quick drink with a side dish or two on their way home from work. These places would be considered, in modern lexicon, the Third Place...
