Ippodo Tea opened in Kyoto in 1717. The store was originally called Omiya because the founder, Rihei Watanabe, was from the Omi area. In 1846, Prince Yamashina gave it the name Ippodo with a wish that the store maintain the highest quality tea for generations to come. Ippodo’s main shop, located in a quiet neighborhood of Kyoto, offers a wide variety of tea, from...
It wasn’t long ago – five years, maybe? – that the word on the streets of Seattle was that to find really good ramen, you needed to head north on I-5 and keep going until you reached Vancouver. Those days are long gone, thank goodness. Seattle is a veritable treasure trove of ramen choices these days. You can find Kyoto ramen, Hokkaido ramen, Kyushu...
Ichiran Ichiran is Japan’s most popular purveyor of tonkotsu ramen. The reason? It uses only natural ingredients and the latest technology to make its soup, and the odor so often associated with the pork-bone broth is completely eliminated. People turned off by the usual pork-bone odor gobble up this ramen without hesitation. Another unique feature at Ichiran is the private booth seating, known as...
Ever wonder what your child’s name would look like in Chinese characters, or kanji? We pick one baby photo and render the baby’s name in kanji. Valentina in Snohomish Here is her name in kanji: 葉蓮帝奈 The meaning behind the brushstrokes: 葉 This kanji means “leaf.” It’s the source of energy. It provides continual power for self-sustaining growth. 蓮 This is the kanji for...
THE NINJA’S GREATEST ENEMY: NOT ENOUGH NINJA! JAPAN IS FULL OF entertainment spots geared toward tourists. One of the most popular of them all is a place that puts on the Ninja Show, where veteran ninjas perform and show off their skills. During the last few years, however, the show has grown so much that it is bumping up against the problem of a...
THE TRUE STORY BEHIND Japan’s beloved spies SO, YOU THINK YOU KNOW NINJA? THINK AGAIN CLAD IN ALL BLACK with an air of mystery about them, ninjas are a global phenomenon. Much of their popular appeal has a lot to do with their depiction in movies as possessing super-human powers. They seem to appear out of nowhere and take down multiple enemies with the...
Our sister magazine, Origami has started holding a series of Meetups to introduce Japanese culture and cuisine to local Seattle people. We typically gather at an izakaya. The idea is to enjoy delicious food and drink while having a pleasant chat about Japan. One Meetup focused on dashi, an important soup and cooking stock in Japanese cuisine. A chef showed the group how to...
