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Japanese foods, Travel: Japan

Jozankei & Date: 定山渓&伊達

The last full day in Hokkaido, we decided (a little impulsively) to go ahead and drive down towards Lake Toyo and Date areas. We did not have much of a plan, other than to make some stops along the way and enjoy the fall colors.

We started the morning with an early stroll round town, just admiring the atmosphere in general before heading to the hotel breakfast. After breakfast we soaked in the hotel onsen before we jumped into the car and started on our way.

Our first stop was Hoheikyo Dam. Good thing we did this early, just as it opened (9am)… it was a Sunday. When we arrived there was enough parking, but as we left… there was a long line of cars waiting to park! This dam is on Jozankei Lake (funny, Jozankei dam is on another lake…). Anyway, we parked and started towards the dam. There are 2 options: a rather quick but crowded round trip bus ticket, or a 40 minute walk up a slight slope. We had a busy day ahead of us so we chose the bus. There were 4 buses continually making round trips, so there was not really a wait. At the dam/lake you can walk around and enjoy the leaves and the fresh air. Many people come to take photography, picnic, etc. It was really nice! But.. somewhat of a crowd! One thing I will mention: if you do not rent a car to drive to this dam, you can take a city bus– BUT it will have to wait in the SAME traffic as those waiting (to get in) to park at the dam parking lot… so you do not save any time!! Although the crowds are probably only during the Autumn season (so weekends in October)… probably other times of the year (or weekdays) are much quieter.

After the dam, we got back into the car and continued our road trip. Along the road we stopped at many local produce stands and a pasture with ice cream (yes, I ate MORE ice cream!) and cheese. There was also a road side michi-no-eki 道の駅 (service station), which was in Kimobetsu 喜茂別. Road side stations are popular stops in Hokkaido and each is supposed to be known for a certain food. I noticed a line for something called age-imo 揚げいも, which means fried potato. My husband was reluctant to stand in line but I insisted I would and he could use the restroom and get drinks; the line though long was quick, less than 10 minutes. Not sure what to order I just chose the number one regular age-imo  and hand-cut chips. They had some other stuff, but everyone was getting age-imo. Oishii~~ ! My husband was surprised to find me food in hand already, so I added some (free) sauces to my giant stick of 3 age-imo balls (it looked like an oversized dango!) and sat outside on the bench to devour. The age-imo is a cooked (reasonable sized) potato covered in batter (sort of like a corn-dog) and fried. It sounds weird, but it was really good, especially with the garlic sauce. The hand-cut chips were also crispy and hot. I highly recommend making a stop here if you are anywhere near the area!

Anyway, we continued our trip down the road, making many small stops along the way. We reached our “destination” of Date and stopped at the park next to the Bocca restaurant. While somehow associated with Bikkuri Donki, do not be fooled… this place makes its own fresh mozzarella and puddings. For lunch, my husband and I split caprese salad, margerita pizza, and potato-cheese soup. It was all very good. We also got pumpkin-caramel puddings to go… amazing.

At this point it was time to start heading back to Jozankei, and make any stops we missed along the way; one of these was the mushroom kingdom store. There were so many types of mushrooms and mushroom products. Plus you could get miso-mushroom soup (loaded with many types of mushrooms) for only 100yen.

As we headed back, traffic up to the Hoheikyo dam was really backed up. So, why not stop and relax in the Hoheikyo onsen? We were (barely) able to get parked, since this was a popular idea.

The building is a little run-down, and it was very crowded with people taking a rest from the stopped traffic. The facilities were similarly pretty “tired” looking, and the amenities scarce; I have been in rustic onsen that you could claim are traditional or retro, which makes them charming, but I don’t feel it applies to this onsen… “tired” is the best description. The changing room was elbow to elbow, make sure to have enough 100yen coins for shoe lockers, etc. Entering the bathing area was similarly crowded, and there was a bit of a wait for people to rinse off to get into the bath, as there were only about a dozen wash stations. After a good soap, rinse, etc., it was onsen time. There were 2 onsen; one inside and one outside. Almost no one was inside, everyone was outside. And, really it makes sense. The air was comfortable, the water warm, the scenery quite beautiful. Despite its tired and somewhat drab building, it was fairly refreshing. The outside onsen was a decent size, so it was not too crowded, plenty of space for everyone. While I would not necessarily recommend this onsen to everyone, it was not too bad… just be prepared for crowded weekends during autumn foliage season. Otherwise the place is probably pretty quiet during the off season.

After a good soak, I changed back into my clothes and drank a beer while hanging out with my husband for a bit, hoping for the traffic to die down a bit. There was an Indian restaurant in the onsen, but opted out of it after eating all day, plus there was a long wait to get in. When we left, it was still fairly bumper to bumper with people returning home after a long day of leaf-viewing, but we managed to make it back to the hotel. *Special note: this onsen allowed tattoo. It also allowed drinking beer while in the outdoor bath, but the older Japanese ladies gave stinkeye to the younger (and mostly foreign) ladies doing this. On the men’s side my husband said many of the ojiisan had a beer.

Back at the hotel, we took a night walk to enjoy the illuminated pathway by the river and the bridges, before going back to the room and relaxing with some beers. The next morning was an early day to head back to the airport. Since we were returning the rental car to the airport, the drive was quite lovely and we ended up taking the “back roads” and stopping at a waterfall area, perfect to see some ore autumn leaves!

The Sapporo airport was much larger than we anticipated; there is HelloKitty area, Doraemon area, Royce Chocolate factory, a spa, a cinema… we did not have much time unfortunately, but I was able to make some omiyage purchases and grab some goodies for the plane ride home!

Full album on imgur:

Hokkaido 北海度

Previous days here and here.

 

Japanese foods, Travel: Japan

Jozankei: 定山渓 (part II)

Continued from Sapporo (part I).

After spending the morning in Sapporo, we loaded into the rental car and started our route towards Jozankei onsen town for some leaf-peeping.

On our way out of the city, we stopped in some orchard areas, tasted some fruits, and purchased some snacks for the road. We also stopped at a winery, which had wines and hard cider (real hard cider, not just soda!).

After trying some wine, we stopped at a soup curry restaurant for lunch… yum! This place was nice, you had several choices to customize your order. Right after lunch my husband wanted to stop at a conbini; next door was an ice cream shop and many people were indulging despite the chilliness in the air… so of course even though I am stuffed, I have to try some! I ordered camembert cheese flavor, it was really good!

The next stop was at Jozankei Dam to check out some autumn leaves (kouyou 紅葉). It was gorgeous. There are 2 locations,  one at the dam itself where there is a museum, and one on the lake overlooking the dam.

Afterwards we headed to the hotel, checked in, grabbed a town map and set off to explore Jozankei. There are many kappa statues hidden all over. The town itself if rather small and not so many shops or restaurants, but it was nice. There are a few footbaths and even a hand bath. The river had a nice walking path, which is illuminated at night. The leaves were pretty but dusk settled in quickly being up north. After strolling around the whole town, we felt a bit tired so we grabbed some beers and snacks as we headed back to the room. Back at the hotel I changed into yukata and relaxed in the onsen baths.

Kappa 河童 are a type of yokai 妖怪 demon that inhabit rivers and lakes in Japanese folklore, supposedly luring people in, sometimes paying harmless pranks to drowning. Supposedly cucumbers are the favorite meal (ever heard of kappa-maki, a type of roll sushi?). Jozankei has many statues of kappa scattered all over.

continued in Part III: Jozankei & Date.

There are too many wonderful pictures from the trip, so here are the highlights. For more, go to the imgur album here.

 

Japanese foods, Travel: Japan

Sapporo: 札幌 (part I)

We took a 3-day trip to Hokkaido, stopping over in Sapporo overnight, then continuing on to Jozankei Onsen. It was October, so the weather was crisp, and the leaves were turning!

We arrived Friday night in Sapporo; our bags came quickly and we jumped onto the JR train from the airport to the city. IC cards are accepted here, so I used my PASMO without worrying about separate train tickets. The ride was not so short, maybe about 45 minutes.

We made it to our cheap hotel just south of Susukino area, checked in, and got ready to see the nightlife. We decided to walk from our hotel up towards Sapporo station area, even though it was a bit chilly. Most of the tourist sites were closed at this time, but we could at least enjoy the views. We walked by Odori park, Sapporo TV tower, Sapporo clock tower, the Sapporo Beer Hall… and stopped for some famous Sapporo miso ramen topped with corn and butter for dinner! We passed by the touristy “Ramen Alley,” but continued on to a smaller place out of the way, which happened to be quite popular with the local crowd.

The next morning, we got up early and ate hotel breakfast which came with the room; this is very popular in Japan unlike the US, so consider trying the hotel breakfasts.. it is nothing like the stale pastry and cereal that make up the typical “continental breakfast” at many budget US hotels. Afterwards, we walked to the Nijo seafood market and back to Odori park for some day time photos. The leaves in Sapporo were only just starting to turn, but it was lovely anyway.

At this time, we needed to check out and pick up the rental car… time to drive to Jozankei!

Our time in the city of Sapporo was wayyy too short! We have already decided we need to go back another weekend. Maybe when the weather warms up…

continued in Part II, Jozankei Onsen.

For more trip photos, go to the imgur album here.

 

Japanese foods, Restaurants

Floresta Nature Doughnuts: ドーナツ

ドーナツ doh-na-tsu is “donuts.”

A while back I had the cutest doughnuts at Floresta in Naha. It is a chain from Nara, in the mainland of Japan.

They are ultra-cute and natural donuts, making the famous “animal” donuts (doubustsu donuts どうぶつドーナツ)… I got a panda. The products are made with Hokkaido flour and organic soy milk. Prices here are be higher than MisDo, but the quality is very good. There is also ice cream… besides the panda donut, we got a maple-walnut donut sundae with milk ice.

company website: http://www.nature-doughnuts.jp

address: https://goo.gl/maps/2JeuYvxeEuB2
〒900-0005沖縄県那覇市天久2丁目29-3 タートルマンションQ 1F

Culture

Wearing Kimono: 着付け

着付け kitsuke: wearing/putting on kimono. This is truly an art form! But if I can do it, anyone can. I have not taken formal lessons, although I suppose I should at some point… as you can see in pictures below I am not very good but hopefully I can practice and improve some of the key points to “good kimono technique.” There are some guides online in Japanese which are very good for a beginner like me; there are also some English resources, but it is hit or miss as to how useful they are (some had good information and instructions, but others were significantly less informative). If you are interested, I recommend checking out some youtube videos on kimono dressing, yukata dressing, and obi tying, as well as tips and tricks to look good, and even tons of hair/make-up to match. This post is not a comprehensive guide, just the initial impressions of a beginner to the kimono scene.

Yukata is quite a bit simpler to put on than kimono, so after a collecting all the fiddly bits needed to put on kimono properly, I was finally ready to begin practicing with the kimono I purchased at the bargain sale. I bought the various accessories online and at second hand stores. Okinawa is not exactly mainland Japan, so very few stores even sell the pieces needed for kimono dressing, and ones that do tend to be a bit expensive. The obi-age (decorative scarf) and obi-jime (decorative cord) I was able to purchase cheaply at second hand shops (OFF-HOUSE is excellent for finding cheap bits and pieces).

So, here is the final list of items that I used for my first attempt, which is pretty much the minimum you should have to try and wear kimono. Obviously, you could use some different items, or make some substitutions to cut down on cost. Or you could go all out and add-in some of the extras (hair pieces, decorative collar, etc) to look super fancy.

  • hadajuban 肌襦袢: this piece may not be necessary if you want to simple use a camisole and leggings of some sort. It is simply thing cotton one-piece to protect the kimono from sweat and such.
  • nagajuban 長襦袢: this piece is more necessary. It is also an undergarment, but it features long sleeves to line the kimono sleeves and a collar (you can attach a fancier one if you wish) that should be exposed. I have seen some pictures with people definitely not wearing one of these with kimono, and without the exposed collar lining it looks a bit silly/strange, so I recommend to have some version of this. I think the effect is much cleaner and nicer looking. Yukata do not need the collar (although you can if you want), but kimono just does not look right without it. Some people use like a hadajuban and just attach a separate collar piece (the collar itself is called haneri 半襟, there is something called “easy collar” 簡単半衿, kantan haneri)– this is economical and probably a lighter feel, so I may just try this sometime. Okinawa is fairly hot and humid, so during warmer months, this would feel more comfortable. **Note: I have 2 types of nagajuban: 1 is a summer type and very thin/meshy (great for Okinawa!) and the second is a solid polyester-type fabric for cooler weather (only necessary for winter here in Okinawa).
  • erishin 衿芯: collar stiffener put through the nagajuban. It gives the beautiful collar shape.
  • koshihimo 腰紐: fabric ties to secure undergarments and kimono. You can instead use an elastic waist belt (often sold as a pair with korin belt), though it is handy to have some of these for helping tie obi (you remove them in the end, it just helps you keep it secure while adjusting the obi).
  • korin belt コリンベルト: help stabilize the kimono collar area (secured around the body under the bust area.
  • tabi 足袋: split-toed socks.
  • datejime 伊達締め: used to secure the waist below the bust, where the obi will be tied.
  • magic belt マジックベルト: a type of datejime with velcro, can be used instead of, or with the regular datejime. Usually one is used over nagajuban.
  • obiita 帯板: stiff plate inserted between obi and kimono to maintain shape.
  • obimakura 帯枕: makura means “pillow,” it is used to give the obi a beautiful shape.
  • obiage 帯揚げ: decorative cloth, also used to secure obimakura and obi.
  • obijime 帯締め: braided decorative cord, also used to secure obi. *you can use a obidome 帯留め decorative piece with this too.
  • geta 下駄: wooden sandals worn with kimono and yukata. You could also wear zori 草履 sandals, which tend to look a little fancier.
  • And of course a kimono 着物 and obi 帯.

For these pictures I used a Nagoya obi 名古屋帯, which is pre-stitched to make tying the taiko musubi easier. I have another fukuro obi 袋帯 as well, which can be used for the taiko musubi or some other types of knots as well. For informal kimono, either of these are a good choice. There are many rules as to which knot should be made with which obi should be worn with which kimono for which occasion during which season… etc. Do not feel overwhelmed. Honestly, just choose some things that you like and complement your appearance; many people, especially young people, do not know all of the rules, or even care to. People will be happy to see you in kimono, so have fun and don’t worry too much about adhering to any strict rules.

For my first time dressing and wearing kimono, I unfortunately did not bother much with hair and makeup, or even accessories… I was just sort of happy I got everything looking close to decent. I need to adjust the taiko musubi with more height, but otherwise everything else seemed to work nicely. As far as matching season, rank, etc… well I looked at some charts, and it appears that perhaps I have done O.K. Yellow, Gold and Orange are autumnal colors, matched with a komon kimono 小紋着物 (patterned kimono, best for informal wear or everyday wear, but also okay for New Years! however not for graduations, weddings or ceremonial events). I used a Nagoya obi, which also matches for the same occasions as a komon kimono (but again, not appropriate for formal events). I picked up the Nagoya obi at a second hand store, I just loved the momiji/kaede (maple leaves) with the kiku (chrysanthemum) and the fans in the orangey fall colors. I thought it would be lovely with the yellow kimono and appropriate for the season. Next time I will try my dark green fukuro obi for a slightly different look.

Version 2

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finally put it together

Since this first time, I have added several things to my “collection” both purchased or handmade… various obi-dome (ornaments for the obi-jime), obi-jime (decorative cords), obi-age (cloth), kinchaku (Japanese-style bag) and basket, different colors of haneri (collar), kanzashi (hair ornaments, also can use with the obi) and obi-kazari, different color tabi (socks), and of course a few different kimono and obi. It gives you a chance to explore different styles for different occasions; the possibilities are endless.

Culture, Travel: Japan

Okinawa Omiyage: お土産

Omiyage お土産 are souvenirs. I posted about omiyage in general, but what should you bring back from Okinawa or send to friends back home? These are some of the things I have sent to friends or taken with me to give to the host when we stay at an AirBnB. Here are a few of the top omiyage that are distinctly Okinawan… (don’t get me wrong, the weird KitKat flavors are interesting, but not really unique to Okinawa).

Food:

chinsukou ちんすこう: small cookies/biscuits, made mostly of lard, flour, and sugar. Not recommended for vegetarians or Muslims, since it is usually pork lard. You can find various flavors such as brown sugar, salt, milk, sweet potato, and even sakuna.

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Okinawa brown sugar 黒糖 (pronounced kokutou): cubes/chunks of brown sugar are sold in bags (and sometimes as candies). Also many other omiyage items will be flavored with Okinawa brown sugar.

shikuwasa (fruit, juice, etc) シークワーサー or シークヮーサー: small limey citrus fruit. You can buy the juice concentrate, or snacks/candies made using the flavor.

beniimo tarts 紅いもタルト: these are super popular omiyage. It is a small tart with the Okinawan purple sweet potato flavor. They are very pretty. They even make some for dogs now!

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Okinawa soba 沖縄そば: packages of Okinawa soba.

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awamori 泡盛: the local liquor. You can buy small or regular size bottles.

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spam スパム: while not especially Okinawa exclusive, it is extremely popular here in Okinawa, and not many people on the mainland of Japan eat this. There are many types (similar to Hawaii, really), and some may be exclusive to Okinawa.

Non-food omiyage:

Shisa シーサー: these come in pairs, and are replicated like the larger ones you see all over Okinawa on buildings, houses, etc. These range in very cheap, to very expensive. You can buy them about anywhere, but for nicer ones check out the pottery districts in Tsuboya or Nanjo.

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bingata 紅型: beautiful Ryukyuan technique for dying fabric. You can buy all sorts of items made from this fabric: coin pouches, purses, scarves, shirts, kimono, hair-ties, or even framed pieces of the fabric.

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Ryukyu lacquerware: Ryukyu lacquerware has a unique style compared to other Asian countries.

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ujizome うーじ染め: a technique for weaving and dyeing fabric using sugarcane leaves (uji うーじ in Okinawa language, 染め zome is dying). Items are a beautiful green color.

umeshi うめーし: Okinawan chopsticks (hashi 箸). They may look plain at first, but have an interesting history.

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Culture

Bargain Kimono Sale: 着物

I wrote about summer yukata in another post, but recently, I went to a used/bargain kimono and yukata sale… which of course led me to pick out some items for very cheap. While there were some beautiful pieces (even pre-picked out sets) for higher prices, my budget for these types of things is not very high. That being said, I am happy with my purchases.

First, I found a pink rabbit hanhaba obi (with a silvery pattern on the opposite side)… super kawaii. So since it is a casual (half) obi, I decided to look for a yukata that would match it; I ended up with a discounted medium blue yukata with pink and purple sakura-looking flowers on it. While normally I would not choose a flower pattern, this one contrasts and complements the obi so well. I am excited for next festival season already! I will need to alternate between my cats yukata and my bunny/flower yukata set.

The second combination I found was an antique komon 小紋 kimono 着物, which is a semi-formal/informal kimono with a repeating pattern (less rules, more free patterns and variety), and an full-width obi that I thought went well with it. The kimono is yellow-gold with a pattern of colorful omamori (charms, amulet)  お守り; it is rather unique, and maybe a little kitschy, and definitely not your typically flowers or elegance. At first I though the design was pots, like for shoyu or sake (which sounds like an awesome design itself!) until I looked closer. The obi is a dark green with wisps of white and black color on it, so it gives a nice contrast to the bright colors on the kimono. It is not proper for full formal events, but rather better as a more casual piece, while still being acceptable for semi-formal events by dressing it up a bit. This is perfect since I cannot imagine any formal kimono events in my future! I have started to assemble the fiddly bits that I need to be able to wear the full kimono ensemble; just learning to tie this type of obi seems daunting in itself. I am even tempted to hire a kimono dresser at some point so I can get it put together properly! Yukata are quite simple, but kimono add layers upon layers of complication.

Some of the fiddly bits necessary for kimono dressing:

Being a bargain shopper meant going through a large number of fabrics and obi to find the right size (I am a medium height Western female, which means rather on the tall side compared to most Japanese females), quality (some had obvious defects hence the discount), price, and designs. After a good hour of perusing, I settled on these 2 sets after contemplating some other designs. Considering new kimono run to the equivalent of hundreds (or even thousands) of US dollars, paying 2000yen (~$20 USD) for an antique kimono in good condition made me happy. The other pieces were all cheaper (900yen each, except the bunny obi costing me 2200yen, the only item over budget).

In Okinawa, there are a few places you can find secondhand yukata and kimono, mainly “recycle” shops (リサイクル), such as Manga Souko and OFF-house (2 of the bigger chain recycle shops and well known to gaijin, though perhaps you could get lucky with a smaller unknown recycle shop). There are also a few secondhand and antique kimono specialty shops (such as Kimonobana, the shop that held the bargain event). Prices at recycle shops can be as low as 500-1000 yen, but often the quality will be very poor in this price range (unless you are very lucky!). Most prices seem to be a bit higher than this, and I have seen some very beautiful 30,000 yen (or more!) kimono in some of the secondhand shops, you can imagine what the orginal price must have been. Of the 2 larger chains, OFF-house seems to be a better value and selection than Manga Souko in my opinion. I have yet to explore all the secondhand kimono shops, but hopefully I can get around to it before the New Year. Overall, these are still a pretty decent deal compared to paying for new kimono, so if you are in Okinawa and interested in kimono and yukata options, definitely check out some of these places. And of course, keep your eyes out for used Kimono sale events that happen throughout the year.

Japanese foods, Restaurants

Izumo soba: 出雲蕎麦

The other day, my husband was complaining that I did not take him with me to (Japanese mainland-style) soba restaurants. This was a bit of a surprise, as I assumed he mostly just tolerated my soba-eating habit and did not care for it as much… perhaps after eating it several times he has grown to enjoy it as I do. So I told him of a new Japanese soba restaurant I had heard of here in Okinawa, located in the old foreign housing neighborhood of Minatogawa 港川 in Urasoe, an area known for trendy little restaurants; he immediately says he is going there for lunch, if I want to meet him there… and off I go.

As a reminder, Okinawa soba (noodles made from regular flour, always served in hot pork broth) is quite different than mainland Japanese soba, made from buckwheat (buckwheat is actually called soba 蕎麦 in Japanese). Okinawa soba always feels like a misnomer to me since it is not made from buckwheat, and many foreigners here do not know what mainland soba is!

Anyway, I drove over to the neighborhood and checked the map on the sign at the entrance, but it was not labeled, so I followed GoogleMaps. I found the building that looked just like the picture online, but again, no signs or labels! I went to the entrance and sure enough this was it; my husband showed up a minute later. We chose one of the tables and started perusing the menu. What I did not realize was this was a special type of mainland soba 日本蕎麦– Izumo soba 出雲蕎麦! Izumo soba is darker and more aromatic than other mainland soba because the buckwheat hull is left on and ground up when making the soba flour. It also makes it a little chewier I think.

We ended up both choosing 2-tier 二段 warigo 割子 soba; this is considered the smaller size, 3-tier 三段 is the medium size, and 4 or 5 tiers for big appetites. We also split a 2-person size tempura, because what better to accompany soba than crispy tempura!

Warigo 割子 is round lacquered boxes stacked in tiers to serve the soba. It is particularly unique because unlike dipping soba, this soba you pour toppings and tsuyu (sauce for soba) into the first tier of noodles, mix and eat! When you finish, you take the leftover sauce and add it to the next tier of noodles, refresh the toppings and tsuyu, and continue this pattern until you finish. This was our first time eating soba in this way.

After we finished our noodles, the soba-yu 蕎麦湯 came out; it was thicker and more flavorful than others I have had. We poured our leftover broth into it and drank up to finish the meal.

address for 手打ち日本蕎麦 松平 Matsudaira: 2 Chome-19-3 Minatogawa, Urasoe, Okinawa Prefecture 901-2134 https://goo.gl/maps/qDYWCE9B6jn

Uncategorized

Types of Wagashi: 和菓子

A short introduction to “wagashi,” meaning Japanese sweets. There are many types, so let me review a few of the common ones. This focuses on Japanese sweets not Okinawan sweets, though it is possible to find most of these in Okinawa. Many of these are the perfect accompaniments to tea, especially matcha 抹茶. I will try to make posts about each of these individually at some point, but for now here is a brief description of each.

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nama-gashi

Nama-gashi 生菓子: these are fresh, delicate sweets, only lasting 1-2 days. The fillings, shapes and designs vary by the seasons and regions. If you click on the link, you can find out a little bit more about them in my previous blog post, and some places to find them.

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ice cream daifuku
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My stuffing my face with ichigo daifuku

daifuku 大福: soft mochi wrapped around sweet bean paste or other fillings, covered with a light dusting of starch to keep them from sticking together. A popular type of daifuku type is strawberry (ichigo 苺). You can even find ice cream filled daifuku in the freezer of most conbini.

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dorayaki filled w/matcha cream
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dorayaki (top), ohagi w/sesame (bottom)

dorayaki どら焼き: 2 light, sweet “pancakes” typically with red bean paste in between. Do not mix these up with hotcakes ホットケーキ which are western and serve with syrup.

ohagi おはぎ: cooked glutinous rice with red bean paste (or sometimes other toppings such as sesame or kinako) on the outside. Typically served during Autumn. The Spring version is called botamochi.

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dango

dango 団子or だんご: small pieces of steamed mochi dumplings, often served on a stick. Hanami dango 花見団子 is a very popular type, with color of pink, white, and green. Sometimes served with toppings such as mitarashi dango (sweet shoyu), goma (black sesame seed), anko (red bean paste), etc.

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manjuu

manjuu 饅頭 or まんじゅう: small “buns” that are either steamed or baked, filled with sweet bean paste or other sweet filling. Manjuu encompasses many different types of buns, so you will see a lot of variation. The one above is a stuffed pastry manjuu from an onsen town.

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taiyaki

taiyaki たい焼き: fish-shaped pancake-like pastry with filling, traditionally red bean, but many flavors can be found such as custard, kinako, chocolate, and more.

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youkan

youkan 羊羹: sort of sweet, firm, jelly-like confection made from sugar and agar (kanten かんてん). Travels well, so it is often a popular omiyage.

monaka 最中 or もなか: a wafer shell filled with sweet bean paste; the shells can come in different shapes and sizes. A popular modern variation of monaka is filled with ice cream, easy to find at the conbini! (I do not seem to have a picture of this one! mmm maybe that means it is time for a snack…)

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sakura mochi among the sakura blooms.

sakura mochi (Kansai-style) 桜餅: mochi rice dyed pink and sweetened with red bean paste inside, wrapped with a sakura (cherry blossom) leaf. It is traditionally eaten in spring during sakura season and Girls’ Day (March 3rd). You can eat the leaf or not eat the leaf; from I have heard there is no actual rule regarding this, though the leaf is edible– don’t let anyone tell you are doing it wrong!

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warabi mochi

warabi mochi わらび餅: jelly-like, similar to mochi, but made from warabi (bracken) starch. It is a little chewy and soft. It is usually covered in kinako or matcha powder.

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higashi 干菓子: known as “dry sweets,” or sweets with little to no moisture content. Sometimes this is a glutinous rice flour, sugar and starch mixture or a wasanbon sugar pressed in molds to form dry sweets. Rakugan 落雁, used during ceremonies and obon, also fall under this category.

Other special types:

Mizu manjuu 水まんじゅう: “water” manjuu made with kuzu, popular in summer!

Hanabiramochi: specialty namagashi named flower petal mochi, often served during the first tea ceremony of the New year.

Akafuku Mochi: 赤福餅: a type of namagashi from Ise.

A few of the wagashi I came across in Kanazawa (there are so many more, but these are the ones I managed to capture pictures of before nomming):

 

 

Culture, Japanese foods, Travel: Japan

Matsuyama 松山, part 3: Festival 祭 & final day

Continuation from part 1 and part 2 of Matsuyama trip.

At the end of the first day, we were lucky enough that there was a Lantern and danjiri (shrine/temple cart) festival scheduled during our visit, held in the park at the foot of the castle. So of course, we go to check out these interesting mainland matsuri called 大神輿総練 Oomikoshisouneri!

灯りの祭典(ランタン祭り): Lantern festival 

だんじり danjiri: a cart made to represent a temple or shrine, it has 
wheels, but can also be lifted up on the shoulders.

神輿 mikoshi: palanquin carried on the shoulders used by shrines and 
temples during festivals.

I have way too many photos to post, but it was certainly a lively and exciting matsuri. First we ate some matsuri food and drank some beer, then watched the taiko performances.

They lit the lanterns (by hand, all candles!) that adorned the danjiri. Next they started with the all-female mikoshi, parading through the crowds. Then the enormous mikoshi/danjiri rolled out with enthusiatic men on each corner whistling, waving towels, and shouting, while several men were carrying the cart and occasionally lifting it high into the air. Once they had their turn, the smaller danjiri got to go all at once– the field was filled with carts jostling about, drumming, chanting, whistling…! It was a site to see, a great way to end the evening.

To view all of the images, here is an album: https://imgur.com/a/03dUy 

During our final full day in Matsuyama, it rained quite a bit, so there were less pictures. We still had a fairly eventful day, though.

First we explored a historic tea garden and a folkcrafts/textiles museum, both which happened to be open fairly early.

We then went to the day onsen near the hotel 伊予の湯治場 喜助の湯 (“Kisuke”), while not historical, pretty nice with lots of different types of baths. You had to purchase amenities separately which could add up if you do not bring your own.

Afterwards we headed towards the castle gardens, despite the rain. We paid the admission fee to look around the gardens, as well as the tea set. The garden does not always do tea ceremony, so we were fortunate that it was being held this time of year. We were brought out usuzumi youkan 羊羹 to eat and frothy, bright green matcha to drink.

Even though we indulged in a tea set, I was not finished yet… we ended up also walking downtown where I sought out various treats famous to this area, including ichiroku (1-6) tart and shoyu dango. Ichiroku tart is a lovely yuzu citrus castella wrapped around smooth bean paste; you can also buy chesunut and matcha flavors. I also bought Madonna dango (also Botchan themed), which has a really western dango taste: strawberry, vanilla, and cafe ole! It is really good, and I think it must be popular with women.

A gelato shop called SunnyMade also caught our eye, and well, yes… ! Of course we decided to split the “10 small scoops of your choice plate!” We were given a check sheet and decided which of the 18 available flavors to try (the 10 we chose were kabocha/pumpkin, iyokan marmalade, kinako/roasted soy bean, passionfruit, blueberry, strawberry, matcha, salt milk, pear, and another local citrus flavor). There was even a free toppings bar. It was delicious and I would recommend trying it, especially the local flavors!

We shopped for awhile under the covered arcade until dinner time. For dinner, we happened to find this “German” restaurant… well, it was German themed but not really so German at all. It was called Munchen ミュンヘン. We noticed a large number of people getting carry-out right away and wondered what it might be… turns out it was karaage, and this place is super popular spot to get karaage. We ordered some (Japanese) beer in king size mugs, karaage, German sausage plate, and fried gobou (burdock root). It was all actually really good, and not pricey at all. Overall my husband was very happy. Afterwards we crashed at the hotel with a few more beers from the conbini and watched the local news.

 

Culture, Japanese foods, Travel: Japan

Matsuyama 松山, part 2: Castle 成

Continuing from where I left off about Matsuyama, part 1…

After Dogo onsen area, we set out for lunch and walked a bit aimlessly until we settled on an okonomiyaki place, which turns out to be a lovely find. We split a kimchi yaki-ramen and a Hiroshima style okonomiyaki with some beer. The owner ojiisan and customers were a bit amused by the gaijin coming inside (this was not exactly on the main path, but rather tucked behind some sketchy neighborhoods), and then being able to order in Japanese. Quite good, really.

Next it was time for sake (nihonshu) sampling! There is a place where you can (for a price) sample sake from all over the prefecture. The price is per glass, so not really so much as sample, as just a small glass. To be quite honest, I felt completely overwhelmed by the menu… so I plucked up my courage and asked in Japanese if he (the worker) could recommend 4 different sakes from Ehime prefecture, since I really do not know enough about the subtle differences of sake to decide. Luckily, he understood my dilemma, and I got the feeling this was actually quite normal for Japanese to ask for his recommendations, so he chose 2 sweet and 2 dry for us. I was relieved, as I wanted to try some, but again… the menu had probably over 50 different choices with not much description that I could properly understand (other than the very basic types and alcohol percentages). I would definitely recommend visiting this shop if you find yourself in Ehime, and try some of the local alcohol.

It was still fairly early, so we decided to go ahead and visit the castle since there was rain in the forecast for the following day (and good thing we did!). To get to the castle, you can walk up a steep trail or for 1020 yen round trip + castle tower entrance fee (entrance by itself is 510 yen), you can take either a chair lift or a ropeway car. My husband wanted to take the chair lift since it would be more exciting. The chair lift is continuous, so there is essentially no wait time to get on (the seats are individual, so no riding in twosies), while the ropeway leaves every 10 minutes, and has room for probably a dozen or so people in the cabin. The chair lift has no restraints, you just sit in the chair and hold on… I felt a little nervous, but it was fun and the view wonderful. At the top, you still have to hike a bit up to the castle no matter which mode of transport you chose.

The castle and grounds were really nice; the views on top of the tower were quite good. The tower was pretty interesting, lots of historical information. You must remove you shoes to enter the castle tower, and you can opt to wear rubber slippers. The stairs inside are very steep and narrow, just as a fair warning in case this might pose a problem. I almost slipped a few times.

After the castle, of course I need another snack so my husband and I split an iyokan 伊予柑(type of local orange citrus) soft serve by the chair lift/ropeway (which is CHEAPER than the one by the castle, only a few meters away!). It was delicious! I highly recommend trying this if you visit in warmer weather.

At this point, we head back to the room clean up and get ready for the next exciting adventure: the festival! To be continued in Part 3!

Again, a very small sampling of photos, for more visit: https://imgur.com/a/03dUy

Culture, Japanese foods, Travel: Japan

Matsuyama 松山, part 1: Dogo Onsen 道後温泉

During the recent holiday weekend, we visited Matsuyama 松山 in Ehime Prefecture 愛媛県 on Shikoku 四国. While this may not be a “must-see” for most people taking a visit to Japan, it was certainly a lovely place… I am now wishing I had more time and could have seen more of Shikoku. Another trip maybe…

Matsuyama is known for 2 things: it is the setting of the famous Japanese novel “Botchan,” by Natsume Souseki, a tale of a head-strong Tokyoite named Botchan sent to the rural Matsuyama town on Shikoku Island to teach middle school math, set in the Meiji era. It was also recently turned into a J-drama movie starring one of the Arashi members, and is really entertaining! The second thing is the Dogo Onsen, not only famous due to Botchan, but also said to have been 1 of the onsen that inspired the backdrop for Ghibli’s Spirited Away animated film.

Anyway, on to the trip!

First thing to know, there is no train from the Matsuyama airport, you will need to take a bus downtown (which is actually a very short ride, 310 yen to the JR station, or 410 yen to the city station, I think it must have been less than half an hour). Exit the airport, and there will be a ticket machine to buy tickets, then just get on the bus. Easy. Depending on the number in your party, it is not unreasonable to simply take a taxi (fare ~2000yen when we took it on the return trip from our hotel to the airport!).

We got off at the JR station, but realized too late that the tram that goes to our hotel a) runs only 2x per hour, and b) actually runs in a loop which is somewhat reverse and inconvenient. Anyway, at the JR station you can buy 1 day or 2 day passes for the Iyotetsu trams (**PASMO and SUICA do not work… sigh). For a some extra fee, these can include more trains, the Botchan train ride, and Matsuyama castle entrance. For what it is worth… I do not think these passes are worth it, at least it ended up not be for us. The “city” is actually really walkable (or even bike-able), and the trams not so convenient. It turned out to be cheaper for us not to use the day passes, since we sort of enjoy walking most places anyway. Just something to think about.

Anyway, we end up walking to our hotel (next to the castle park area) from the station since it is not a very long walk anyway. We checked into the hotel, admired our “castle view,” which was a bit like, oh yeah, I can see a cute little castle at the top of that hill over there… and headed out to enjoy the evening views. We headed towards Okaido station shopping area, admired some food stuffs in the department store and surrounding shopping arcade. At sunset we took the ferris wheel on top of the department store. FYI: If you show your PASSPORT this is free! We did not do our research… and had to pay the fare. sigh. BRING YOUR PASSPORT for the free ride!  Well, it was a nice view, not spectacular but a cute way to wind down a day.

Afterwards, it was time to head towards Dogo Onsen 道後温泉, one of the onsen that is said to have inspired Spirited Away (Japanese title: 千と千尋の神隠し)! I came at night in order to get the night shots of the onsen all lit up and romantic (bathing would happen the next day). A warning: if you really, really want to bathe at Dogo onsen at night, just be aware it might be crowded… nighttime is the most popular time to visit (for very good reason, it is stunning!). We opted just for pictures at night (I dislike crowds overall). So we enjoyed the public foot bath, the strolling the small shops in the area, trying out the famous botchan dango, and taking pictures for the first evening. Really, Dogo Onsen is just fantastic at night; the atmosphere really is amazing, people wandering around in yukata with bath baskets, leisurely heading towards the bath… I was quite jealous now that we had not opted to stay in the immediate area (but the prices were literally 3x that of where we were staying… alas!). We also tried the Dogo Beer Brewery… it was okay… but honestly 600yen per beer was a bit much. The beer was so-so (I thought the Madonna beer was best), and if you were not eating a meal there, you could only do “take-out” which meant drinking the beer in a plastic cup in front of the building. So lessons learned: stay as close to Dogo Onsen as possible in one of the minor onsen hotels (assuming price is not unreasonable) and do not feel pressured into trying Dogo Beer, as it is not that great (not terrible, just, Asahi is better and cheaper).

The next day, we decide to hit up Dogo Onsen for the actual bath around 8ish after taking breakfast at our hotel. This so happened to be a PERFECT time for visiting… not too crowded so enjoying the bath was amazing! We arrived, took a shoe locker, and bought our tickets. Now, there are many levels of tickets, most are for a total of merely 1 hour in the bath… there is the basic, no frills, no nothing just entrance fee for just a few hundred yen. Then you can start looking at the Tama-no-yu bath with senbei (rice cracker)/tea snack on the second floor lounge for a bit more, and then the high rollers of Tama-no-yu bath plus private changing room and botchan dango/tea snack at a whopping 1500yen, but you get 80 minutes in the bath. Well, in coming here, I am going for the whole experience, so I insist to my husband we get the highest tier. Now, I will not kid around, knowing Japanese is a huge advantage here. I am unsure how you could get around here comfortable not knowing it. I am sure it is possible, but I imagine rather difficult.

So we get our tickets, and they direct us to the 3rd floor. On the 3rd floor, we are received by a mama-san, who gives us bath towels, yukata with the special crane design, and shows us to our private 2-person tatami changing room. She explains we have the room for 80 minutes, and can use both the second floor Tama-no-yu bath, as well as the public 1st floor bath. When we are finished and ready for tea, to ring the buzzer on the table. So we change quickly, admire the view from our third floor room, and head down towards bath areas. We are entranced by the beautiful interior of the whole complex, with winding halls, narrow stairs, beautiful rooms with small details, cheerful bathhouse workers… seriously, something out of a Ghibli film.

I enter the 2nd floor baths, and as it turns out, I am the only one using it at this time. It was wonderful, even if a bit simple. Even so, images of Botchan (a Japanese novel set in Matsuyama) and Spirited Away surround me. Perhaps I have a good imagination. After a good soak, I finish up, eager to scope out the rest of the complex, as well.

I looked around at the second tier lounge, just to see what I upgraded from. This floor was also quite lovely; while it was a mixed, open floor plan (changing rooms for the bath segregated), you could enjoy senbei and tea while wearing yukata with the basic design with a nice view from the balcony. I think a majority of visitors choose this option.

From here, I wandered down to the first floor public bath. It was larger and obviously more lively (less private), but that is also a good thing. I like variety. There are no amenities down here, so you need to bring your own towels, robes, soap, shampoo/conditioner (the more upper level bath comes with these), just remember if you choose this option!

Afterwards I went back to our 3rd floor room where my husband was waiting. We buzzed for tea, and moments later it arrived~ green tea and botchan dango. Botchan dango has 3 flavors: red bean, matcha, and local citrus (although very light citrus flavor). Finally our 80 minutes have passed and it is time to leave. My husband liked that we had a room together and he was not just changing with ojiisans, even if our baths were separate.

Before we headed down the stairs, the mama-san showed us the Botchan room. It is all in Japanese, but I could get the basic idea. On the second floor, we were then given a small tour of the imperial baths (where the emperor bathes on his visits). They explained that the 2nd floor mens bath is where the bodyguards bathed; my husband was amused and now brags he bathed where the imperial bodyguards bathe. Anyway, it is an interesting little area.

Feeling refreshed, we look for the next item on the itinerary; the onsen shrine and the Dogo Park area. These are not particularly spectacular, but enjoyable nonetheless. We get tickets for the Botchan train; it is so cute. We also watch the “gizmo” clock, as on the hour, it plays music and little Botchan characters come out and move around.

Here is a “sample” of pictures:

Click to continue to Part II!

Additional images from Matsuyama (not organized or labeled yet…): https://imgur.com/a/03dUy

 

 

 

Restaurants, Shops

Kinjo bakery: 金城ベーカリー

Buffets in Japan are often called “viking” バイキング (baikingu). Tabehoudai 食べ放題 means “all you can eat.”

Kinjo bakery in Shuri has a savory and sweet bread buffet, during morning and lunch/cafe times. It is really pretty good, and the price is not too bad either, especially if you bring your appetite (adults are 648 yen in the morning and 810 yen at lunch, cheaper for kids). You can stay for 2 hours, and there is self-serve coffee, tea, and juice. But it is total carb and sugar overload!

I only stayed for probably 45 minutes, just to get out of my office during lunch break, and nibbled on some breads, but even if I did not take full advantage I was happy with the price and everything was tasty (though I definitely had 800 yen worth of bread and tea). There were so many choices, and the staff kept bringing out more stuff. Next time I will need to bring my laptop and some study stuff, and use up my 2 hours. There were some small groups of people eating, as well as a few one individuals like myself, also students looking for a good bargain. I should have taken more pictures, the selection was overwhelming!

address: 沖縄県那覇市首里赤平町2-51-3

Cute panda face bread


 

Cooking, Japanese sweets, Local Foods

Okinawa Sweets: 沖縄のお菓子

沖縄 is Okinawa, and お菓子 okashi means “sweets.”

I have posted many times on sweets found in Okinawa and Japan, but this is an interesting little paper I picked up at the COOP grocery store (the one with the apple logo, not the JA’s ACoop) that described a few of the most popular and easy to make at home. I will try to adjust these recipes with more “accurate” measurements and add some personal pictures, since knowing the “right proportion of water and mochi flour to make mochi cake” is not necessarily well-known to most English speakers, as well as the fact that most people do not have easy access to the pre-mixed ingredients you can buy in local grocery stores.

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First up, we have sata andagi サーターアンダギー. These are like fried donuts. Sata andagi were used for celebrations like weddings and babies being born.

6-8 eggs (in Okinawa, eggs are a bit smaller than American versions, so 6 medium-large or 8 small-medium eggs)
brown sugar, 700 grams
flour, 1 kg
baking soda, 15 grams
vinegar, 2 tbsp
oil for frying

Mix eggs and sugar, than mix in flour, baking soda, and vinegar. Making spoonfuls of dough, drop into frying oil (deep fry) at 150-160 C, rotating until golden brown.

Next up is chinpin チンピン and popo ポーポー. These are very similar; they are fried crepe-like pancakes using flour and eggs, rolled up. These were traditionally made on the 5th month 4th day of the lunar year, a day known as yukkanuhi ユッカヌヒー (to pray for good luck in fishing and maritime activities, a celebration day with traditional haarii boat races), and the 5th day, known as gungwachigunichi グングヮチグニチ (this day is known as Boy’s Day, or Children’s Day, in the Japanese calendar). On Henza-jima, popo is also traditional on the 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month.

Popo:
80 g brown sugar
100 g flour
1 c of water (some people will also replace part of the regular water with carbonated water to increase the number of bubbles in the pancake!)
1/2 tsp baking powder
small amount of veg oil for frying
small amount of andansu (Okinawa pork miso)

Make a thin pancake with flour and water, grilled in a fry pan with a bit of oil. Add a bit of andansu (Okinawa miso) to the middle and roll up. Traditionally, the sugar would be omitted from the pancake and added to the andansu filling instead, so that the pancake would be white. Some people would even just add white sugar to the pancake batter instead of brown sugar to the pancake to keep it white. These days, as tastes have changed, I notice most people add sugar to the pancakes which tend to give them a brown appearance similar to chinpin. Also, depending on your tastes, you could use milk instead of water in the batter. One place I bought popo actually replaced the andansu completely with a brown sugar mochi instead; so, anyway to each their own.

Chinpin: mix flour, brown sugar, egg whites, and water (again, often carbonated water in hopes for more bubbles in the pancake). Make a thin pancake and grill in fry pan, you should see many small bubbly holes on the surface. Roll up and serve. No filling in this one! *Note: many people refer to chinpin as brown sugar popo 黒糖ぽーぽー, and sometimes even just popo. Technically they are different, but it seems many people do not distinguish between the two.

Also, for those of you living in Okinawa, it is quite easy to find “chinpin” mix  in the local grocery stores as well.

Agarasaa アガラサー (also romanized as “agarasa”) is a steamed sponge cake, similar to castella. This was also made for special occasions. It has a mochi-mochi texture (chewy) and is very enjoyable. Many grocery stores will sell the mix for this, so all you need to do is add water and using a steamer basket, add batter into small aluminum tins and steam over high for ~10 minutes. (I will post a “from scratch” recipe later). Traditionally it is made with brown sugar, though you will see other “flavors,” and it would probably be steamed in sannin サンニン/月桃 (shell ginger leaves). Most people at home do not bother with the sannin leaves these days, and likely most grocery stores selling these prepackaged do not either.

Kuzu muchi クズムチ, also called kuji muchi クジムチ, is a type of mochi made with a sweet potato starch (imokuzu):

芋くず imokuzu, 1.5 cups
water, 6 cups
sugar, 200 grams

Mix imokuzu with 3 cups of water, and dissolve sugar in remaining 3 cups of water; mix together. Heat mixture for 3 minutes on 600 watts in microwave range and remix, 5-6 times. Pour into containers, sprinkle with kinako and let chill until gelled/solidified (it won’t get firm per se, but should hold together).

Last is fuchagi フチャギ, which I wrote about in another post. The recipe is very simple, mix 1 1/4 cups of water and 300 g of mochiko (mochi flour), form into rectangular shapes, steam for 15 minutes, and cover immediately with softened/boiled azuki beans.

Interested in more Okinawa sweets? Check out these posts on sweets that are special to Okinawa:

Muuchii: ムーチー (part 1)

Muuchii ムーチー: Folklore and Recipe (part 2)

Okinawa mochi, pt.3: Nantou ナントゥー餅

Machikaji: まちかじ (松風)

Kippan: きっぱん （橘餅）

Tougatsuke: 冬瓜漬

Sangwachi gwashi: 三月菓子

Kunpen: くんぺん

Chiirunkou: ちいるんこう (鶏卵糕)

Ryukyu Traditional Sweets

Okinawa Zenzai: 沖縄ぜんざい

Japanese sweets, Restaurants

Miyabi Chaya Nakamoto: みやび茶屋仲元

茶屋 chaya: tea house

Miyabi Teahouse Nakamoto みやび茶屋仲元 is a small tea house located in Okinawa city, off a back alley from Rt. 330 past the Rycom mall. You might not realize it exists, unless you recognize the hiragana for dorayaki どらやき on a purple flag in the alley and then think to follow it down an even more narrow alley to a parking lot leading to what appears to be an unmarked house except for the Okinawa City Omotenashi (おもてなし “hospitality”) flag outside the door.

Anyhow, it is a teahouse, leave your shoes at the door and enter the tatami room; during lunch they have some light meals, and during tea time you can order tea, coffee, ohagi, dorayaki, hot zenzai, and Okinawa ice zenzai. My quest in coming here was mainly to try the ohagi おはぎ.

Ohagi is named for the autumn flower, hagi (bush clover). In spring, this same dessert is called botamochi ぼたもち which is named after the spring flower, botan (peony). It is most commonly eaten during the Autumn and Spring Equinoxes.

Ohagi is sweet mochi rice with an azuki bean paste around the outside, although there are variations. This place had kinako (roasted soy flour) outside with anko (red azuki bean paste) inside, sesame outside with anko inside, as well as the typical anko outside and anko inside kinds. My husband and I ordered an ohagi set and a dorayaki set to share between us, so we ended up with 1 of each type, plus 2 dorayaki, and 2 matchas. What a nice experience. The owners were surprised to see Americans (at least by themselves and not accompanied by Japanese), and asked us how we found out about it and where we were from, etc. I explained about the Okinawa cafe book I purchased awhile back from the bookstore. The menu is in Japanese, but it seemed like the wife spoke some English, so I would not worry about trying this place out if you have trouble with Japanese language.

 

address:〒904-0032沖縄県沖縄市諸見里3-22-15

open 11-6 Wed-Sat (closed Sun, Mon, and Tues)

 

Culture, Holidays

Okinawa Lion Dance: 獅子舞

獅子舞 shishimai is “Lion Dance.”

This obviously has roots in Chinese culture. The shishi dog-lions are similar to shisa dog guardians; they are meant to protect or ward from evil, and to bring prosperity. Okinawa lion-dogs have hairy bodies, unlike the mainland, and lacquered heads made from the wood of Diego trees. Each region is a bit different in style, as well as dancing.

Shishimai are popular during traditional celebratory events, such as the New Year and Harvest festival (豊年祭 hounen-matsuri, around juugoya). Ryukuan lion dance is bit different from the Chinese style; less acrobatic, and usually larger or bulkier. There is a “handler” that sort of leads them around as they perform.

This is a terrible picture… hopefully I can get some better ones this year. This is the style of shishi lion in my village; he has a green lacquer face and and brown dreads.

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Cooking, Culture, Holidays, Local Foods

8th Lunar month in Okinawa: ハチグヮチ (八月)

ハチグヮチ hachi-gwachi in Okinawan language (八月 hachigatsu in Japanese) means 8th month. This refers to the 8th month in the lunar calendar, so more around September time frame than August. Several days throughout the lunar year there are umachi ウマチー days (Okinawan for festival day, or matsuri まつり in Japanese), in which special traditional observances are held. The 7th and 8th lunar months are particularly busy, first with Obon and then with Autumn Equinox week.

Besides Juugoya, or juuguyaa in Okinawan (Tsukimi 月見 moon-viewing), on the 15th of the 8th lunar month, there are some other traditional days in the Ryukuan calendar.

On 8/8 (double numbers are always considered lucky), is the celebration of Okinawa longevity called Toukachi (tokachi, tookachi) トーカチ. This is similar to 米寿 beiju celebration (88th birthday year) on mainland Japan. Those who turned 88 in the current lunar new year are celebrated; these days, it is now a small family affair with traditional foods (pork of course, some fried foods, kelp knots, and such), a bamboo decoration called toukaki 斗掻 (とうかき) in Japanese and tokachi トーカチ in Okinawan (hence, the name of the day), and perhaps a ceremonial bingata kimono in the Ryukyuan style. The mall displayed the longevity celebration parade car.

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Another one of these special days is on 8/10, called Kashichi カチシー; this day is to pray for health offering to the buddhist altar (butsudan) and the family fire-god (Hinukan).

Kashichi カシチー is called 強飯 kowameshi in Japanese. Kashichi is glutinous rice mixed with red beans and is offered at the butsudan (altar) and the hinukan. See the recipe below.

A Shibasashi シバサシ (柴差し) is attached to the pillars of a house from the 9th to the 11th days of the 8th lunar month (most calendars mark it officially as the 10th); it is pampas grass (susuki ススキ) and mulberry branches bundled into an amulet, then placed at the four corners of the house and/or the gate (also the well, the barn, and any food storage buildings traditionally) in order to ward off evil, specifically majimun マジムン which are Okinawan ogres/demons/evil spirits. The amulet is made into a shape called サン san, like a sangwa サングァー.

Around this time are also 豊年祭 hounen-matsuri, or harvest festivals, in English. During these, you will see tug-of-war (Tsunahiki) and lion dances (shishimai), among other traditional songs and dance. Many of these will occur on the 15th day (same as juugoya), though in my surrounding neighborhoods they wait until the Friday or Saturday after juugoya.

Kowameshi (kashichi) 強飯 (カシチー) recipe: This is mochi rice (mixed with regular non-glutinous rice) with red beans. It translates to “strong rice” because made with mochi-gome もち米 (glutinous rice, which is a firmer mouth-feel). Traditionally, this type of rice was only used for special occasions.

Ingredients:

red beans (azuki beans), 1 1/4 cup
Glutinous rice (mochi rice), 260 g
Non-glutinous rice (such as koshihikari, or some other short grain rice), 75 g
salt, 1 teaspoon
leftover boiled water of red beans, ~360mL

Wash beans, put in pot over stove with 1.5 cups of water (add more water if needed). Once it is boiled and soft, strain in a colander, keeping the boiled water for later.
Wash the rice for 30 minutes before the cooking. I use a rice cooker.
In a pot, add boiled bean water , mix with salt, rice, and cooked red beans. Pretty simple to prepare. 

Culture

Autumn Equinox: 秋分

Shuubun 秋分 is the Autumn Equinox (likewise shunbun 春分 is Spring Equinox) and is a Public Holiday in Japan.

秋のお彼岸 aki-no-ohigan means the week of Autumn Equinox; only the actual day of Shuubun is a holiday, but some older traditions celebrate during the entire week (3 days before plus 3 days after). It is a time for “harvest festivals.” While in the rest of Japan it may be more typical to visit graves, in Okinawa it is usually just observed at home at the butsudan (buddhist altar) and the hinukan, but it is possible that you may still see a number of people out visiting and cleaning graves during this time.

Fuchagi, a type of Okinawa mochi, is a popular food and altar offering during this time.

Here in Okinawa, the weather may start to cool a bit, but for the most part the weather here is still fairly warm, compared with mainland Japan.

The SanA grocery store has been advertising for pre-orders of party platters for Shuubun 秋分の日 (秋彼岸 akihigan, or 秋のお彼岸 aki no ohigan, Autumn equinox week). There are various foods served during this time, pretty similar to what you see in other traditional Okinawa gatherings (pork, kamaboko, etc).

In mainland Japan, a traditional food is ohagi おはぎ, a glutinous rice ball covered in sweet red bean paste; some also have goma ごま (sesame seeds) or kinako きな粉 (toasted soy flour) coating them. They are meant to represent an bush clover (called “hagi” in Japanese, a symbol of Autumn) and are used as offerings to the ancestors (yes, another time of year to pay respects to ancestors, deceased family members).

Ohigan literally means “the other shore,” meaning the other side of the river which divides the living from the deceased in the afterlife according to Buddhist tradition.

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Holidays

Respect for the Aged Day: 敬老の日

敬老の日 Keirou-no-hi means Respect for the Aged Day in Japan. It is another public holiday. It is held the third Monday of September every year.

Usually people will buy presents for the aging parents or grandparents, and department stores and grocery stores will have up special sections for popular gifts for the elderly. Some families may take the elders out to a special lunch or dinner. On the local news, many older people will be featured.

Overall, it is not a particularly important or historical holiday, but just a small way to show respect for the elderly and remember the efforts they put into raising us.

Culture, Local Foods

Hinukan, fire god: ヒヌカン (火の神)

ヒヌカン (also seen as ヒーヌカン) Hinukan is the Okinawan word, would be hinokami 火の神 Japanese. 火 is the kanji for “fire” and 神 is the kanji for “god.”

Traditional Ryukyuan cultural believed that a fire god lives in the cooking stove (hearth) of every house or kitchen, to protect a house and its family from evil spirits.

In traditional kitchens, a small altar is set up and maintained by the oldest woman in the household, sometimes on a shelf, a window sill or in a corner. This is a tradition which is dying out, but some still continue today (I was first told of this by an older woman I teach English conversation to, as she has one in her kitchen). The ceramic censer (incense burner) is put in the kitchen along with a plant, salt, water, awamori or sake, and rice in different containers.

It is the oldest woman’s duty to report the events of family life to the hinukan and pray for family happiness and good health. Everyday, the hinukan is given a glass of water in the morning and cleaned regularly. Also, on the 1st and 15th of every month according to the lunar calendar, there is a small ritual to give the hinukan awamori, rice, and burn incense in prayer. During the Spring and Autumn equinoctial week, some additional offerings are usually included. The SanA grocery store already has an advertisement out for pre-orders of party platters for Shuubun 秋分の日 (秋彼岸 akihigan, or 秋のお彼岸 aki no ohigan, Autumn equinox week).

The idea of a hinukan hearth god amuses me, and reminds me of Calcifer in Howl’s Moving Castle. Somehow it seems very cute.

Below is a picture of the set-up explanation that I saw at the SanA grocery store.

 

Local Foods, Shops

Famous “No” Manjuu in Shuri: のー饅頭

The の “no” character is short for “noshi” のし or 熨斗,  which is a ceremonial origami fold used to express good wishes or good fortune, usually attached to gifts. It is seen at any kind of celebration like a wedding, new baby, New Years, housewarming… people give gifts or money envelopes with this decoration on it. 

ぎぼまんじゅう Gibo Manjuu in Shuri sells special manjuu まんじゅう (steamed buns) with the no character painted in red, known as no-manjuu のー饅頭. The manjuu are only 150yen and come out piping hot, enormous and packed with subtly sweet red bean paste. They are wrapped in sannin サンニン (also known as gettou 月桃 in Japanese or shell ginger in English) leaves, so you have the slight fragrance reminiscent of Ryukyu sweets. It is delicious and absolutely filling. It is highly recommended to visit and try these manjuu!

Although the shop is currently located at Kubagawa in the Shuri area, it was originally by the Seikou temple in Gibo (another area of Shuri), so the name is Gibo Manjuu since the business is over a century old. The number of manjuu sold each day is limited, so be sure to go early!

address: 〒903-0807 沖縄県那覇市首里久場川町２丁目１０９

 

Cooking, Japanese foods

Igisu tofu: イギス豆腐

イギス豆腐 Igisu Tofu is known as the local diet of people living in the islands of the Seto Inland Sea and it is also said to be the food of longevity. This version of the dish comes from 向島 Mukoujima, located in Hiroshima. This one more recipe from the Island Mama’s homemade cooking news article (part 1 is here).

Igisu is a kind of red seaweed that grows on reefs along the shoreline. It is harvested and dried. To make this “tofu” it is then mixed with soy bean powder (or rice bran depending on the recipe) and liquid, then pressed into a mold and chilled to solidify.

Igisu tofu イギス豆腐 recipe: most of the recipes I was able to find from Mukoujima called to mix with rice bran, however some from Ehime called to mix with soy bean powder instead of rice bran; if you decide to do this, you mix 100 g of soybean powder with 7 c of liquid and no straining bag is needed, just add the soybean powder directly to the liquid, otherwise the directions are basically the same.

Igisu, dried, 30g
rice bran, 40g
vinegar, 1 tbsp
soup stock (dashi + water), 6 c.
salt, to taste
mirin, 1 tbsp

**Sauce for topping:
mustard powder, 3 g
white miso, 3 tbsp
sugar, 3 tbsp
mirin, 2 tbsp

Wash the igisu well repeatedly until the water is clean. Put the rice bran in the cloth bag over a bowl; to make the juice of rice bran, strain the soup stock through the bag with the rice bran, gently massaging. Add the rice bran juice and igisu to a pot. Turn on heat and add the vinegar. Over low heat, boil, cook until igisu dissolves. Strain in a colander (if needed), put back in the pot, adjust the seasoning with salt and mirin. Put into mold, and chill to solidify.

Sauce: Put the mustard in a bowl and mix with hot water. Then mix with miso, sugar, mirin. Serve over the igisu tofu.

Other regions that make igisu tofu also add in small shrimp, edamame, black sesame seeds, shredded carrot to the “tofu” while cooking. I prefer the simplicity, but sometimes it might be nice to spice it up a bit.

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Cooking, Japanese foods, Local Foods

Mochikibi Onigiri: もちきびおにぎり

More of Island mama’s home-cooking (part 1). This time another recipe from one of the islands in Okinawa prefecture, Tonaki-jima 渡名喜島.

Mochikibi もちきび: millet.

Onigiri おにぎり: rice ball.

So mochikibi onigiri is rice ball with millet mixed in; it is very healthy! This recipe is from Tonaki-jima, off the coast of Okinawa main island, but it is seen everywhere (and perhaps some places on the mainland of Japan!). Mochikibi is one of the specialty products from Tonaki-jima.

Recipe? Well… I mean, it is just onigiri! There really are not any tricks to this recipe. What you need:

-rice (white, but you could use other types)
-mochikibi, 1.5 tbsp
-a little salt (to taste)

Wash rice, add to rice cooker with mochikibi and add required amount of water for you rice cooker (note: if you are Hawaiian, you just do the first knuckle test for adding water). Cook according to rice cooker. Mix in a little salt, make sure the mochikibi is evenly distributed in the rice, let cool for a bit, and form your onigiri. Finished. Usually this is served a bit chilled or room temperature, perfect for bento or quick snacks.

 

Culture, Experiences, Local Events, Local Foods

Small Town Tug-of-War in Okinawa

Every year in my neighborhood after Obon, near the village office a Tug-of-war 綱引き (tsunahiki) is held. The idea is similar to the larger Tug-of-Wars held in Naha, Itoman, and Yonabaru, except on an obviously much smaller scale. The name of the event in this town is called Marujina マールジナ.

The village starts makes the two ends of the rope, and sets up a small area with free shave ice and drinks (including beer). Around 6 pm, everyone starts to assemble, and eisa music plays on the loudspeakers (which no joke, are definitely left over sound equipment from the 60s, crackly speakers and all). We were lucky this year with no rain– the previous 2 years festivities were cut short due to rain.

We dressed in jinbei 甚平, although almost no one except the very small children dress up for this event, because I feel that I might as well enjoy it properly. So wearing my jinbei, I grabbed a tenugui (towel), uchiwa (fan), and a beer, and walked down the street to the event. Of course, being foreigners we stick out, and wearing jinbei even more so, but that’s okay, probably people see the effort to appreciate local culture/traditions and feel more comfortable talking us. Of course the minute we arrive, shave ice and drinks are thrust upon us (not that I minded). Kids were frolicking about, getting excited, while the adults were catching up on chatting. Throughout the festival we spoke to a few of our neighbors who are always a bit interested in the foreign couple living in this rural area (all of our neighbors are Japanese/Okinawan… the only few other foreigners in the village live a few neighborhoods down from us or up the hill by the university).

Around 6:30 the Gaaee ガーエー starts. Gaaee means something like “winner’s triumphant shout.” Basically it entails guys carry a large, heavy bamboo pole decorated with flags and flowers and other decorations, called hatagashira 旗頭. Hatagashira are an example of the traditional Okinawan culture. They are symbols created to represent a the success of a village. Supposedly, during the pole competition, the gods land on the top of the hatagashira and assist in the tugging of the rope during the tug-of-war. Some of the guys grabbed my husband and helped him try; my husband commented how incredibly top-heavy it is and that it definitely takes more skill than you might imagine.

In our village we have the adults gaaee, as well as a children’s gaaee. The children are given much smaller hatagashira, and are assisted by adults. The children’s symbols are a sunflower and a hibiscus. It is sort of cute, like they are in training for later when they are older.

Sometime around 7 or so, the rope was set up and the procession of uniting the two ends began. Once the ropes were close enough, fires were lit, the pin was inserted, and of course, the tugging began! After the first round, the gaaee started back up again for awhile until round 2 for the children. Many of the adults helped the children during their round (the rope is so heavy!). After this round, again, the gaaee finished off the ceremony. Some adults stuck around, as they were having karaoke in the community center, but since we had work in the morning (and plus no one wants to hear me sing) we headed off home.

It was a particularly exciting and energetic event this year, probably since it is the first time in awhile we had good weather for this event! Besides the pictures, there is a video link here of the Tug of War and here for a preview of Gaaee.

 

Culture, Local Foods

Summer Eisa on Miyagi-jima

宮城島 Miyagi-jima is a small island connected by bridge to the Okinawa main island via Henza-jima.

This year is the second annual summer eisa matsuri, called たかはなり島あしび Takahanari Shima Ashibi.

高離り島 (たかはなり島) refers to Miyagi-jima. あしび means “to play” in Okinawa language (coming from the Japanese, 遊ぶ asobu). So basically, the name of the festival is like “come play on Miyagi island!”

At 3 pm, eisa groups start to perform along the roads in 3 areas of the island. There is a main parking area at the old (abandoned) elementary school for the festival. FYI, this is NOT actually in google maps… so actually pay attention to the address given… unlike myself, who figured, I will just follow the signs, how hard can it be, it is a tiny island, right?? Well, luckily when you get close, the signs had a pouch with printed out maps, directions, locations, schedules and the whole bit, otherwise I would have stayed lost (despite this being a tiny island). Luckily, we were not the only lost souls, other Japanese/Okinawans were also getting these maps and looking confused. Anyway, it was easy once we figured the approximate location in the car navi system.

Anyway… so back to the street performances. These were simply along residential, narrow streets of the island, from 3-5pm. People emerged from houses and cars to watch and listen to the eisa performers. During this time, my husband (over 6 feet tall, a giant by Japanese standards) and myself (although of average US height, still towers over most Japanese women) decidedly stood out as the only foreigners in the small crowd. It was a bit hot, but at least there was some small breeze off the ocean making it a bit more tolerable. We arrived a bit late (nearly 4pm, due to the maps issue), which was probably a good thing considering the Okinawan heat. In spite of seeing many eisa performances since arriving nearly 3 years ago, I am still fairly fascinated by it and all of the variations you see around the island.

Around 5pm, the main stage area of the festival grounds was getting started, and tents with food, drinks, and local products encircled the field. This festival was unlike many of the other more “popular” summer matsuri, as here it was almost entirely LOCAL business and products! Wow, so nice– too often with the larger matsuri, big companies come in and sell food/drink (with bigger crowds, the mom&pop places have a hard time competing), and they are rather subpar. Today, it was different and amazing.

The famous ougon-imo (黄金芋, orange sweet potato similar to annou-imo and “American” orange sweet potatoes) from the neighboring island made an appearance, as well as many other small businesses. Ika (squid) caught from the surrounding waters and mozuku (seaweed special to Okinawa) was also prominent among food sellers. We had squid karaage (fried squid rings), beniimo dango (fried purple sweet potato mochi), baked ougon-imo, sata andagi (Okinawa doughnut) flavored with dragonfruit, ohagi (sweet sticky rice balls, these were flavored with ougon-imo), and chicken wrapped in fried shredded ougon-imo (um… picture like a chicken nugget but if instead of breading you replaced that with sweet potato hashbrowns). Everything we tried was delicious, my husband gave it his highest rating. He was initially a bit reluctant to be dragged to this small festival, as it was about a 45-minute car ride north of our house. I guess I drag him to a lot of summer matsuri…

As we were eating, the main stage shows played. There was eisa, local dancing, sanshin, chondora (eisa clowns), fan dance, and more. It was really quite nice, especially once the sun sunk down beneath the horizon and it cooled down a bit.

I guess it was a bit obvious the lack of foreign guests (besides us, 2 american guys with their Okinawan wives). We were approached by a writer for one of the travel websites, as she had noticed us watching the street eisa earlier. She spoke to me in Japanese, mixed with a little English, and I explained my situation in Okinawa, and how I had found out about this matsuri (online, from an event website in Japanese). She lamented the lack of English resources for finding these types of events, and I agreed, as I find these local events extremely interesting and a great chance to learn more about tradition and culture of the islands. She took our picture and gave me a card; she was a sweet person. Later she emailed a link to the article she wrote and our picture with caption was published on the travel website.

Evenings like this type of summer festival are special, and gives a chance to glimpse how life really is in Okinawa. At these events you can see the real Okinawa, not the tourist view.

 

Culture, Local Foods

Okinawa chopsticks: Umeshi 沖縄赤黄箸 「うめーし」

沖縄赤黄箸: 沖縄 is Okinawa, 赤 aka is “red,” 黄 ki is “yellow,” and 箸 hashi is chopsticks. So this means Okinawa red-yellow colored traditional chopsticks.

Chopsticks are know as hashi 箸 in Japanese, but in Okinawa they are called umeshi うめーし (you may also see the romanization as ume-shi or umeeshi due to the long “eh” sound). These chopsticks came to Okinawa during the Ryukyu Kingdom era, with origins from China. They are made from bamboo.

The red part of the umeshi is to represent the sun, and is painted in lacquer, used as a handgrip. It helps prevent them from slipping in your hand.

The yellow part of the umeshi is to represent the moon, and is dyed/colored by rubbing it with turmeric (known as ukon ウコン in Japanese, ucchin うっちん in Okinawan), which is traditionally believed have antibacterial or sterilizing properties. Though these days, companies just move to more commercial dyes or paints.

Some theory also says the red can represent passion, protective amulet/ward, or human blood, while the yellow represents the sun.

These umeshi are still found in local restaurants and shokudo, but are becoming less common as people move towards the disposable hashi. I recently received 2 pairs as a gift; my initial thought was a bit, hmm, odd choice in hashi (sort of plain, no fancy pattern like you often see with Japanese hashi) but then I realized the tradition and culture behind these umeshi and was very grateful to receive such a kind gesture and gift with special meaning. Now I admit these have become my favorite pair.

Apparently, if you go back a long time ago, umeshi were originally called “nmeshi” んめーし. The 御 is pronounced ん “n”, and combined with 箸 pronounced めーし “meshi” makes んめーし “nmeshi.” But these days it is known better as umeshi.

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Culture, Local Foods

Fuchagi: フチャギ (more Okinawa mochi!)

フチャギ (or ふちゃぎ) fuchagi is a special Okinawa mochi; it is rice cake covered in azuki beans (小豆). This is a little different than muuchii. As I mentioned in other posts, beans are believed to ward off evil or demons. One of the main times of year to eat fuchagi is during Mid-Autumn Festival, around Autumn equinox and Tsukimi moon-viewing (occurs on the 15th of the 8th lunar month). They are also put on the altar and hinukan as an offering to give thanks for the current good harvest and to pray for future good harvests.

I was told the story behind the origin of fuchagi thanks to one of my older students. It is a kind of ghost story, really, but it has a happy ending.

Story of the origins of Fuchagi:

One day a man was kidnapped by a demon called a Majimun マジムン (a type of Ryukuan devil/monster) and entrapped in the tomb of an Aji 按司 (a type Ryukuan samurai, or feudal lord, high ranking person), located in a deserted area. He could not move and he could carely speak; only his hand could fit through a small opening to the outside of the tomb. He would cry for help in a husky voice, “Help me, help me…” but he received no replies.

After a few days, one night 2 men were walking near the tomb to take shelter from the rain. Suddenly, they noticed a hand emerge from the hole! They were terrified as they saw the human hand coming from the tomb, but they heard a husky voice pleading for help. The prisoner in the tomb told them his name and the village he was from, so the 2 men rescued him from the tomb, then bringing him back to his village via horseback.

However, 49 days had already passed since the man’s disappearance, so his family and the village held a funeral (one of the traditional number of days to hold a type of Buddhist funeral service), even without a body. Everyone was so surprised to see him approach as they were holding his funeral, but shed tears of joy at his return. The plain mochi used in the funeral was changed to celebratory mochi by adding beans to the surface (beans are used in celebrations and for warding off evil). Everyone ate the mochi covered in beans, and from then forward, fuchagi mochi is eaten to protect against evil every August 15th according to the lunar calendar.

Don’t live in Okinawa but want to make it at home? Here is the recipe at the bottom of this blog post (just scroll down); you can find all the ingredients pretty easily, but depending on where you live you may need to find an Asian market if these are not common in your regular grocery stores.

 

 

Japanese foods

Baumkuchen: バウムクーヘン

バウムクーヘン: baumkuchen

Baumkuchen is German. But for whatever reason, in Japan it is wildly popular. You can find it pretty much everywhere, from specialty shops to grocery stores, to omiyage shops to conbini. This is one of the things that has surprised me living in Japan and I have started to consider baumkuchen more of a Japanese thing than an actual German thing. I have probably eaten dozens of the single-serving snack baumkuchen since living here.

Baumkuchen means “tree cake” since the cute round shape shows rings similar to tree trunks. The taste is pretty typical of a cake with packed thin layers, and often you can find different added flavors (chocolate, orange, etc). I have real idea why this snack/dessert is so popular here, but my guess is because the labor to make it  is rather intensive, or time-consuming, and Japanese people have a deep appreciation for the skill and dedication to making such a creation. Respect for the hard-working spirit/attitude is very much a thing here, so I get the impression that this little cake is sort of a symbol of that.

My sensei has leftovers from Obon, so he brought some in for us.

 

Local Foods

Spicy Okinawa: 辛い

辛い！karai means “spicy!”

Japan is not really known for spicy stuff. I think most Japanese dislike spicy food for the most part. So if you love spicy foods, you need to look for some ways to kick it up a notch. I will introduce some pastes, sauces, etc that will add some spice to your life while in Okinawa. Everything is available at local grocery stores and markets.

コーレーグース koregusu: the quintessential Okinawa condiment, hot chili awamori. Read more here. All Okinawa shokudo will have this on one of the tables.

練り唐辛子 neri tougarashi: neri means “paste,” while tougarashi is chili pepper. This paste is really quite hot, sort of the paste equivalent of koregusu. The only ingredients are chili peppers, awamori, salt, and vinegar. A little goes a long way.

柚子胡椒 yuzu koshou: yuzu is a citrus, koshou is pepper. This is a green-yellow colored paste made of chili peppers, yuzu, and salt that is somewhat fermented. Not too spicy, but still packs a punch.

七味唐辛子: shichimi tougarashi, or just shichimi, is 7 spice powder. It is spicy-savory, and usully contains some combination of: red chili pepper, sansho (Japanese pepper), orange peel, black/white sesame, hemp seed, ginger, nori, shiso, and poppy seeds. It is really common to find this at most restaurants.

ラー油 ra-yu: this is spicy chili oil. 油 yu means “oil.” This is usually a chili-infused sesame oil. 食べるラー油 taberu ra-yu (literally “chili oil for eating”) is actually supposed to be reduced spiciness; it often will include bits of fried garlic or onion in it to add extra flavor. I saw ads recently for “ladies ra-yu” which is very little spiciness (more fried onions but no garlic so you won’t have stinky breath, maintaining you lovely lady image). Lol.

 

 

 

Japanese sweets, Shops

Mizu manjuu: 水まんじゅう

水まんじゅう mizu manjuu literally translates to “water dumpling.” Sometimes they are also called “kuzu manjuu” くずまんじゅう.

Mizu manjuu are a popular summer time treat because they are served chilled. The outside is made from kuzu starch (arrowroot 葛) which gives it the translucent effect. The inside filling which you can see through the outer layer is either azuki paste or a fruit-jelly paste with white bean. The taste is so refreshing, perfect to balance the hot summer days. And the outer appearance is so cute and delicate.

The ones in my first picture are matcha 抹茶 and raspberry ラズベリー. The second picture is shikwasa シークワーサー flavor. The third picture is a really creamy and tangy sour cream flavor, no bean paste used.

In Okinawa, you can find these at Shirobara confectionary (白バラ洋菓子) which has a few locations throughout Okinawan main island. Just copy and paste into Google Maps to find the closest to you. I have also seen a few at SanA grocery store during summer.

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