About food in Japan

Draw Mickey Mouse with FURIKAKE(ふりかけ, rice seasoning)

Following the last two posts featuring food related topics at Tokyo Disneyland, first about Restaurant Hokusai  and the second post, souvenir of Japan available at Tokyo Disneyland, this post features an interesting product we found at Tokyo Disneyland.

It is FURIKAKE (ふりかけ), as you may know from our previous post, it is seasoning specialized in Japanese style cooked rice.

This Furikake will be the best to place on rice in your lunch box. It will be fun to prepare and to show it to your friends.

 

Well, the package is like this.

We found at a souvenir shop in Tokyo Disneyland.

 

 

Normally Furikake is sold solely with single or assorted flavors

but this package is not so simple.

Sticks in three different colors of furikake powder and

Mickey face template sheets included.

 

 

Let's make a cute lunch box now.

 

Following the instruction,

a template is placed on a lunch box with cooked rice

 and put the yellow (egg flavor) furikake within the space of template.

 

 

As the second step, with the second template sheet  

two other colors are added one for head, ears, eyes and nose of Mickey Mouse

the one in pink is used only for his smiling mouth.

 

 

 

Then remove the sheet and find Mickey face you drew!!

Blurred !?!?

Never mind!! A pack includes three sets of Mickey Mouse drawing.

So you can try three times and will do it better next time!

The product introduced above, Mickey Mouse furikake, is available at souvenir shops at Tokyo Disneyland.

 

Related post: Furikake (ふりかけ), to make your rice more tasty!

http://aboutfoodinjapan.weblogs.jp/blog/2012/06/furikake-to-make-your-rice-more-tasty.html

Souvenir of Japan found at Tokyo Disneyland

Following our last post introducing a nice Japanese restaurant at Tokyo Disneyland, today we show you some products for souvenir of Japan that can be found at Tokyo Disneyland.

The American theme-park offers some cute and unique products exclusively available at Tokyo Disney Resort including two most popular leisure parks in Japan, "Tokyo Disneyland" and "Tokyo Disney Sea".

 

Firstly don't miss a chance to drop by a shop called Chiba Tradings Arts and Crafts at Tokyo Disneyland.

It is located in Adventureland not far from Jungle Cruise attraction, selling Japan and Chiba prefecture(where the park is situated)'s traditional craft products.

 

 

 

Rice bowl and other pottery wares by local producers WITH Mickey pattern.

 

If you are interested in...

a few of real arts and crafts are available.

They are decoration for traditional festivals. 

 

Even at other souvenir shops scattered across the park, you will find some clues of Japan, not only products with Disney characters. Here are some examples of food and food related products we found. 

 

Chop sticks

 

 

Instant Ramen, the small size ramen can be made in your soup cup

 

Rice crackers in Mickey shape

 

 

Kaki-no-tane (柿の種, traditional spicy rice crackers)

coated with berry or white chocolate

Outer it is sweet but inside it's hot!

The faintly spicy snack is in the cute pink package!! 

 

AND...

This is not strongly associated with Japan though,

one of the most popular souvenir among locals.

Chocolate crunch!! (cookie crashed and coated with chocolate)

 

We selected strawberry flavor this time.

 

More and more souvenir of Japan can be found at Tokyo Disney Resort. Not only enjoy riding Big Thunder Mountain roller coaster and watching Disney character shows, also visit some shops in the parks sometimes and find your favourite Mickey & Japan stuff!

 

On our next post, we will also focus on one of unique Japanese food products got at Tokyo Disneyland!!

 

Tokyo Disneyland official site: 

 http://www.tokyodisneyresort.co.jp/en/index.html

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

food 

 

chiba trading

 

Japanese tea salon - Toraya Akasaka flagship store(虎屋赤坂本店), Tokyo

As same with meal, Japanese sweets or confectionery is also unique and based on long tradition. We have introduced Japanese sweets and places to enjoy the delicacies time by time. For example: We showed beautiful small cakes in Japanese traditional style at "Wagashi (和菓子） - Shimizu (清水） in Kagurazaka" and reported traditional sweets making experience in Kanazawa, Hokuriku region on "Japanese Sweets making experience – Kanazawa (金沢)." As recommendable Japanese tea salon or cafe, we mentioned about a modern but sophisticated "Japanese Tea Salon - Higashiya, Ginza Tokyo" and a typical traditional style cafe "Takemura (竹むら), Japanese traditional sweets cafe".

A place to have Japanese traditional sweets is called in some different ways such as "Kanmi-dokoro (甘味処, sweets place)", "Saryo (茶寮, tea house)", "Sabo (茶房, tea place)", "Wa Cafe (和カフェ, Japanese style cafe)" etc. Some are very traditional and newers are modern and look like Western style cafe from outside. That might confuse you to know what it is. Anyway the best way will be to look at menu what they provide (many have menu with photos) and to look around space and what other people have. Whatever it is called, if many people are there and look happy with the place and sweets, you will also have a good experience. In central Tokyo, in general, comfortable tea rooms are likely to be busy with ladies on afternoon even on weekday.   

Toraya Akasaka flagship store (虎屋 赤坂本店) is also one of our recommendable tea salons to feel fine Japanese atmosphere. Toraya (虎屋) is an established sweets maker born in Kyoto over five hundreds years ago. In the past we posted two articles of units under Toraya chain brand,"Toraya Cafe, Roppongi (トラヤカフェ, 六本木)" and "Breakfast at Toraya Cafe Aoyama." They are newer and modern shops by the traditional sweets house. Now we come back to the original where traditional Japanese sweets are served.

Toraya Akasaka flagship store is located along Aoyama Street. It takes about 5-minute-walk from Akasaka Mitsuke (赤坂見附) station and not far from Hotel New Otani and TBS broadcasting center. As per Toraya's official site, the sweets producer has a factory just next to Akasaka Imperial Palace, in prime location close to the flagship store. Toraya's products have been provided on the Imperial family of Japan even since Edo period, when the family was based in Kyoto.

If you leant Hiragana (Japanese letters), you might wonder the logo expressing as "やらと" (Ya Ra To) opposite of "Toraya (とらや)." It implies the house exists since Edo period when people wrote letters from left to right, not in the modern way as same with Western world right to left. Yes, Toraya has used the logo for hundreds of years.

 

Toraya boutique is on the ground floor of the flagship store and the tea salon (Toraya Saryo, 虎屋茶寮) is on the underground floor. The building and interior are modern and clean. The tea salon is peacefully calm with graceful guests and staff as if it was on a tea ceremony.

 

Toraya tea salon offers some set menu including a piece of traditional sweets such as Yokan (羊羹, beans cake) or Nama-gashi (生菓子, fresh cake), the house's major product and green tea.

 

 

 

 

This is a set of Seasonal Yokan, the most-known Toraya's product

and Matcha (powdered green tea often sereved at a tea ceremony).

 

Seasonal Yokan at that time, the end of February is

"Kobai (紅梅, red Japanese plum)"

It's a way in which we appreicate the beauty of each season, through food and sweets.

 

The bowl of Matcha is with pictures of smiley Hina Dolls (ひな人形)

which are symbols of Girls' Festival (Hina-Matsuri, ひな祭り) on 3rd March.

Obviously the bowl is used only for limited period. 

Toraya changes even bowls by season.

The hospitality comes from the spirit of tea ceremony.

 

 Toraya Saryo (虎屋茶寮) tea salon has also units at Ginza Chuo main street, Imperial Hotel Tokyo, Isetan Department in Shinjuku. We guess the flagship store in Akasaka provides the most peceful environment and sublime atomosphere among them.

 

Name: Toraya Akasaka Honten (虎屋赤坂本店), Toraya Saryo (虎屋茶寮)

Address: 4-9-22, Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo

Toraya Saryo Official site: http://www.toraya-group.co.jp/shops/sho04.html 

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Castle Town Odawara (小田原)

Odawara (小田原) is a castle town in Kanagawa prefecture, situating between Tokyo or Yokohama and Hakone Hot spring resort (箱根温泉地). It takes only 35 minutes by Shinkansen or about 70 minutes journey even by JR local express trains (Tokaido Line) from Tokyo. It must be the most closest castle town from Tokyo, apart from Edo castle or Imperial Palace in central Tokyo.

 

Odawara Castle is 10 mintes walk from Odawara train station, following the town's main street to the castle gate. 

 

Top floors of Odawara Castle is accessible as exhibition halls and observation deck. So going through to the castle garden, climbing up to the top!!

 

At the garden surrounding Odawara Castle, on February, you will find plum (Ume, 梅) blossoms which is one of the most popular tourist attractions of Odawara Castle for local people. The weather is still cold on the month but it is a sign of coming Spring.  

Enjoying the nature plants and looking at the castle from different sides, don't give up going up to the castle top!! 

 

We also found monkeies at the castle park just before the castle main tower... 

 

 

 

 

It will be a good half-day exercise to climb up to the castle top and walk around the castel park.

 

The reward of climing up exercise is

the VIEW from the TOP of Odawara Castel

 

 Odawara town, Pacific Ocean and mountains

You will find Odawara town's unique location

in narrow area between Ocean and mountains.

It was strategically choosen by former Samurai governors.

 

The exhibition halls inside the castle main tower is also recommendable to spend around 20- 30minutes to watch the interesting collections from Edo period. Cultural works, folk objects at the exhibition will tell you tradition and life of Japanese in Edo era. 

After enjoying the beautiful shape of historical castle, let's find FOOD or Sweets in Odawara.

Japanese traditional sweets have been often cultivated by local governors as a part of rich local culture.

Here we introduce two most interesting sweets souvenir in Odawara.

 

Firstly from the souvenir shop on the top floor of Odawara Castle,

Buke Yokan (武家ようかん, Samurai family sweet beans cake)

  

Each different family emblem with name of Samurai

is attached to each box of Yokan.

As it has tens choices of Samurai name and emblems,

even if you don't know each of them,

it must be fun to look around the variaties of emblems and colors.

 

Next our finding is from a small local sweet boutique, called Fugetsudo (風月堂).

It is less than 5 minutes walk from Odawara Castle and along one of the town's main street.

Fugetsudo is a popular name for Japanese traditional sweet shops. You could find a shop with same name in other towns. The most famous one is in Kobe and sells "Gaufre" cookies. Each of them is different and not a chain affiliate. Just for your information.

 

 

 

Castle Monaka(城下町もなか, Joka machi monaka)

by Fugetsudo Odawara

Amazing small piece of Monaka (sweet beans cake with shells)

in shape of CASTLE!!!

It's a great Japanese art work,

which you can bring back to your country.

(have to keep in a box, so as not to be broken though)

 

It will be an interesting full-day excursion to go out from Tokyo by Shinkansen or local JR train and to walk around Odawara Castle as well as the old town surrounding the castle, discovering traditional products like above.

 

Odawara Castle  

Nearest station: Odawara (JR and Odakyu lines)

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Shop name: Fugetsudo Odawara (風月堂)

Address: 1-10-20 Honcho, Odawara-city, Kanagawa

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Origami x Sushi

One day we were very excited with a product sold at a major stationery shop, ITOYA, in Haneda International airport. That is not edible but related to the most famous Japanese food, SUSHI.

 

Origami (Japanese traditional folding paper toy) set for SUSHI

We had no way but to buy and bring it to our home. 

Opening the Origami pack, we found several different types of origami papers and an intruction guide in Japanese for each different origami.

 

    

 

Can you imagine? this paper will become a piece of TUNA!!

 

Seeing many straight and diagonal lines drawn on Origami papers, we felt it difficult to make Sushi pieces by our own hands. But it was not right. It was not so hard as we imagined. 

 

 

Finally we made several pieces of SUSHI with Origami!!!

  
Look yummy?!

We wish so...

 

Origami Sushi set is available at a branch of ITOYA (a stationery store) in International flight terminal, Haneda International Airport and at its flagship store in Ginza.

 

Shop name: ITOYA (Haneda Airport)

Location: 4th floor Edo Market,  International flight terminal of Haneda Airport

Website: http://www.haneda-airport.jp/inter/en/premises/tenant/5200100012600000/index.html

 

Shop name: ITOYA (Main store, temporary location)

Address: 3-7-1 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo (just behind Matsuya Department store)

*Until 2015, the flagship store has been under renovation and it is currently operated in temporary location.

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Chopsticks with gold foil at New year party, Hakuza Nihonbashi

 At the beginning of a new year with full of happiness, we introduce a product that must be matched with such feeling.

New year is the biggest traditional event for Japanese. We celebrate a new year arrived with family and relatives in general and we wish a happy year by visiting a shrine and share cups of sake etc. We have some icons of New Year, such as traditional decorations, rice cake, new year post cart etc.

If we say in color, "gold" is a color often used for celebration of New Year. It may be same at some other countries. The most gorgeous color is often placed on celebration items.

 

We found an interesting product with gold and also related to food.

Called "Pakkin Bashi" (ぱっきん箸)

 Pakkin Bashi is a pair of chopstick produced by Hakuza (箔座), a gilder from the origin of gold leaf, Kanazawa (金沢), Hokuriku region.  

From the package of paper cover with stlipe lines in red, we are not able to find how Pakkin Bashi is different from others. 

The unique feature of Pakkin Bashi can be seen on a moment when we split apart a pair of the chopsticks. 

It's a very short time and

was too difficult to express it with a photo actually...

 

When the chopsticks were splitted,

small pieces of gold foil came down from the chopsticks.

We saw the remain sticked on a stick end.

 

These pieces of gold foil are "edible", no harm. Gold foil is traditionally used to decorate food and sake (Japanese alcohol) for celebratory feast. By gilders' sophisticated technique, thin and tiny pieces are put on food or drink, additing brilliant flavor. 

In same way, Pakkin Bashi brings us a joyful moment by splitted apart the chopsticks and decorating food before us with gold foil come down.

It's very delicate presentation with tiny pieces.

 

As for the name, "Pakkin Bashi" does sound strange? You may wonder how it comes from.

"Pakkin" implies the sound made when we split apart a pair of chopsticks. And it also comes from a word "gold leaf" in Japanese, "hakukin (箔金)". Bashi is same with hashi (箸, chopsticks). We could not imagine such elegante moment of using the chopsticks from the name with amusing sound. 

Pakkin Bashi is available at Hakuza boutique Nihonbashi, Tokyo as well as Hakuza flagship boutique and craft studio in Kanazawa. 

It will be good to celebrate your special moment with Japanese traditional gold foil decoration on food. 

 

Hakuza official website: http://www.hakuza.co.jp/english

Hakuza Nihonbashi, Tokyo

Address: Coredo Muromachi 1st floor, 2-2-1 Nihonbashimuromachi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 

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Hakuza Honten (flagship store), Kanazawa 

Address: 1-30-4 Moriyama, Kanazawa-city, Ishikawa prefecture 

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Japanese Tea Salon - Higashiya, Ginza Tokyo

At Ginza, the best known luxury shopping district in Japan, it is not easy even for locals to find a cozy place for tea break during exciting shopping hours.

Higashiya, locating on the north part or 1-chome of Ginza, is one of such options, very sophisticated oasis. The "Japanese Tea Salon", as it calls itself, is on the second floor of POLA Ginza building, a property by the established Japanese cosmetic company.

Like the cosmetic brand on the ground floor, the space of Higashiya tea salon looks both peaceful and beautiful with arts placed on the wall, modern lighting and warm wooden tables and chairs. It is also quiet and people enjoy their own "tea ceremony" without any kind of noisy disturbance.

 

It offers fantastic selection of Japanese tea in term of the number of options and quality of listed products as well as Japanese traditional sweets. Otherwise choose the tea set at just over Yen 1000. Then you will have small pieces of seasonal Japanese sweets and again seasonal recommendable tea.

 

 

Don't forget bringing a book or someting to read instead of your moile phone to talk with someone. That is what is the best way to spend time and fully to enjoy at Higashiya, Japanese Tea Salon, we believe.

     

 

Lastly, we also recommend that you "pay a visit to the toilet" without fail.

It is the best and the most comfortable toilet that I have ever seen in Japan and in the world. I visited ladies' room only of course. Sorry for gentlemen, as we do not know how it is for you. 

We would not tell you how it is great so you can enjoy finding it.

Cafe name: Higashiya Ginza

Address: 2nd floor POLA Ginza, 1-7-7 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo

Website: http://www.higashiya.com 

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Furikake (ふりかけ), to make your rice more tasty!

As you know already, cooked white rice is principale food of Japanese. In traditional Japanese diet, rice and miso soup is a regular combination of Japanese meal whether it is for breakfast or dinner.

Also as you may know, Japanese rice is very sticky compared with other species of rice in other parts of the world and the taste of cooked rice is subtle and plain.

So in many cases, we put something on rice to have them together. Then, in Japan, we can find many kinds of food products that are assumed to be taken with cooked plain rice. For example, raw egg (we want to talk about it some days), "tsukemono" (漬物) pickles, "nori" (海苔, dried seaweed) and "kimchi" (キムチ, Korean hot pepper pickles) joined in our choices from around 10 years ago.

Furikake (ふりかけ) is one of the major line ups along with ones mentioned above. Furikake is a kind of mixed seasoning specially made for rice. There are hundreds (or more) of recepi for furikake in Japan but typical ones are likely to consist of dried fish or seafood such as salmon, cod roe (tarako), bonito, seaweed, egg, sesame. Typically they are all dried and cut into very small pieces like powder that makes us failed to imagine what are the ingredients. Furikake has good harmony of salty savory flavours as a whole and it makes the best match with hot plain rice.

Takaing many different kinds of food ingredients without having big volume is one of the qualifications of furikake. Because of that, it is also recommended to children from nutritional view point.

Furikake is often used also for box lunch. The easiness of preparing and variation of colors, such as yellow, brown or green pieces all together, help with changing your lunch box more pleasant in term of taste as well as looking. Rice mixed with furikake is also good for "onigiri" rice balls.

In addition, because furikake is dried and has long shelf-life, it will be one of good souvenir of Japanese food to bring back to your country. You will find selections of furikake at supermarkets and a few choices at convenience stores. 

Here we have two samples from a traditional Furikake producer, Tanaka Foods (田中食品) with over a century history in Hiroshima.

Ryoko no tomo (旅行の友, "a friend of journey")  

As mentioned, furikake is the best suit for lunch box and is easy to bring arund.

So the owner put such name on the rice seasoning,

also naming after her wife called "Tomo".

 

This package must be very attractive for some of you.

a small portion of furikake (one pack for a bowl of rice) in a small Hello Kitty bag

The pack has each different picture of Kitty. 

How fun it is if we bring one of them with lunch box,

even just for having lunc at a school class room...

 

Tanaka Foods official site: http://tanaka-foods.co.jp

Related post in the past: Tsukemono(漬物, Japanese pickles)

http://aboutfoodinjapan.weblogs.jp/blog/2008/11/tsukemono-japan.html

Grilled tea (ほうじ茶) parfait at Morinoen, Ningyocho (人形町)

Ningyocho (人形町), literally meaning "dolls town", is an interesting district for a stroll in east Tokyo. The name reportedly comes from the history of the town where a few of Japanese traditional puppet theaters had been there or where a lot of puppeteers lived there in Edo period. Nowaday one of major theaters for Kabuki and other plays, Meijiza (明治座), stands on the town. 

Apart from Meijiza, many small shops, bars, restaurants and studio of Japanese traditional craftwork can be found in the district. Many of them have been loved and supported by local clients for long years. In the heart of Tokyo, Ningyocho reminds us a good old day of Japan, while walking and shopping around at the town. It exist in a town of 10 minutes drive from Tokyo station where tens of Shinkansen bullet trains run in and out. 

Morinoen (森乃園) is one of such small but great shops. The tea shop with a century long history is specialized in Hojicha (焙じ茶), Japanese grilled tea. If you walk down the main street of Ningyocho on weekday afternoon, you may sense the roasting tea aroma. The scent comes from the second floor of Morinoen making grilled tea. The brown tea has excellent flavor and joy different from fresh green tea. It gives you a calm peaceful moment.

It will be a good idea to get a pack of Hojicha, Japanese grilled tea at Morinoen for souvenir. What can't miss at Morinoen is not only the tea leaf.

On the second floor, the tea shop offers a cozy tea salon, next to the studio making tea grilled. The small space is filled by local guests and staff are running around to serve them.

The list of attractive Japanese sweets from ice cream parfait, anmitsu (beans paste and syrup), sweet bean soup to dumplings, will make you be in trouble to select just one or two from them. So let's take the one very unique to the tea store.

This is it, Hojicha ice cream parfait

Ice cream, jelly and cream, all of Hojicha flavor

as well as small pieces of cake, dumplings

fill a tall glass.

 

That is another way to enjoy the grilled tea introduced by the tea shop master.

Why not try it?

 

Tea store and cafe name: Morinoen 森乃園

Official website: http://morinoen.jp/

Address: 2-4-9 NIhonbashi-Ningyocho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 

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Kit Zutto Project by Kit Kat Japan

Kit Kat is one of the most popular chocolate confectionaries in Japan as same with other parts of the world. Kit Kat Japan launched new project for the earthquake and tsunami relief called "Kit Zutto Project" (in Japanese, "kitto zutto" means "will be forever") this month, after a year from the disaster. 

Kit Kat Japan created a new package specialized for the project and Yen20 per pack sold will be donated to "Sanriku Railway" company whose three-coach-long train service facilities got seriously damaged by the earthquake and tsunami, while the train has been appreciated as essential transportation service by people living in the area. As a part of the relief project, Kit Kat Japan also opened a Facebook page where you can post supporting message to the small local railway company as well as people on the Northeast coast of Japan.

In addition to the charitable activity, what is interesting for Kit Kat funs is the flavors in the chocolate pack. The Kit Kat package "World Variety" especially made for the disaster relief project includes three different flavor; "Japan", "Australia" and "United Kingdom".

Did you know that? Kit Kat are sold around the world but the company Nestle has changed the flavor slightly country by country.

As per the explanation on Kit Kat "World Variety" package, compared with Japanese version...

UK style, which is the origin of the sweets, has flavor like burnt sugar or milk and almond paste is used as hidden taste,

Australian style has creamy vanilla flavor.

 

I tried these flavor pieces and recognized the differences as described.

Personally I prefer the Japanese version the most and as the second UK's bitter taste.

It will be interesting to compare the taste of Kit Kat in different countries and exchange opinions among friends. Which one do you like the most?

Not only "World Variety" package, Kit kat Japan offers many different flavors by places and by periods, such as Matcha (green tea), sweet potato etc. Try to find each local version Kit Kat at souvenir shops, supermarkets or convenience stores across Japan, while you are traveling. 

Only a point of disappointing you maybe is that the Kit Kat disaster relief pack is sold only in Japan. Even if you do not have a chance to visit Japan soon, at least you will be able to participate in the relief project by posting your message on the Facebook page.

 

Kit Zutto Project English version Facebook site: http://www.facebook.com/kitkat.japan?sk=app_182534635192608

Sanriku Railway Story Youtube video made for the relief project