Chikuwa is the most simple food. Chikuwa found when an emperor wife’s in a tour to
In
Chikuwa made from surimi fish, salt, sugar, starch flour, and white part of egg, and mixed. The dough molded in bamboo or metal mold and steamed.
Chikuwa is one of Japanese favorite food, and almost all over
You can eat chikuwa uncooked, but it also have good taste if fried or cooked with broth or dressing.
kamaboko 
New year is the time when Japanese hope next year better then last year. New year identically with party and gathering. To celebrate new year, they make special food for new year.
In December, Japanese make mochi – made from rice flour. There are steamed mochi, baked mochi, fried mochi, mochi soup, etc
.
mochi
In the middle of December, Japanese do “bounenka”, a ritual which they go to gathering and have meal together and drink to forget all bad things during last year.
In December 31st, Japanese eat soba –
soba
At night before 00.00, they gather in front of big box and pray. This ritual – in the past – was throw a coin inside the box. Some of them also go to Fujisan (
After praying, they gather with their family and eat “Osechi ryori”, there is a food which is difficult to spoiled even kept days without warming. Now, Osechi ryori already sell in store with price about ¥10.000.
osechi ryori
Osechi ryori which served in box (jubako) has three until five kind of foods. Some of them are kuromame (sweet black soybean), date maki (sweet roll omelette egg), kurikinton (potato and sweet beans), tazukuri (dry sardines teriyaki), kobu maki (rolled konbu with fish), and kinpira gobo. These foods are decorated beautifully and sweet tastes. Why? Because Japanese have belief that if they eat beautiful and sweet foods, they life next year will be better than last year.
To introduce yourself in Japanese, this is an example :
Hajimemashite はじめまして
Namae wa Yuki desu 名前はユキです
19 sai desu １９歳です
Yoroshiku onegai shimasu よろしくお願いします
It means :
Hi (but hajimemashite just used in introduce)
My name is Yuki
19 years old
I beg your help
Hajimemashite not only used in front of the introduction, but also used in the end of introduction.
Example.
Yuki desu
Hajimemashite.
In socialization, namae wa usually not used anymore, they only say their name.
If you won’t to say your age, it’s okay.
Some of them, if they introduce themselves, say his/her age, status (already married or not), their blood type, and what enterprise/business they came from (this is because they are very proud of their business/enterprise and pride to be inside)
Must remember point is keep polite in attitude and words / grammar you used, because it’s very important for first meeting with Japanese.
In this post, I’ll introduce things that usually in bedroom in Japanese. If there’s a thing I don’t write, you can write it in comment box.
Absorbed from English, ‘door’. Nowadays, Japanese often say door with ‘doa’
Means ‘window’.
Means ‘bookcase’. Japanese often use it to keep their books. According to the age, they keep science books, encyclopedia, comics, magazines, and other favorite books.
Means ‘bed’. Absorbed from English too, ‘bed’. Because in Japanese language, they don’t have consonant, so all consonant in the end or middle of the word added vocal letter.
Means ‘blanket’.
Means ‘pillow’.
Means ‘clothes cupboard’.
Means ‘fan’. Nowadays they usually use air conditioner to make the air cooler.
Means ‘watch’.
Means ‘house phone’ and ‘cellphone’.
Means ‘computer’. Pasokon was absorbed from ‘personal computer’, and they make it short to be ‘pasokon’. And konpyuta was absorbed from English ‘computer’.
Means ‘air conditioner’. They make it short to be ‘eakon’, or they often say it ‘reibo’, means ‘cooler machine’. They often turn it on in summer when the weather is hot.
Means ‘warmer machine’. In Japanese house, they have these two machines, danbo and reibo. Danbo will turn on in winter to make them keep warm.
Means ‘television’. To make it short, they often say it ‘terebi’
Absorbed from English ‘radio’.
Means ‘mirror’.
Means ‘rubbish box’.
109 (Ichi-maru-kyū) is a department store in Shibuya, Tokyo.The store is operated by the Tokyu Malls Development (TMD), a company under the Tokyu Group.
Shibuya 109 located across the street from Shibuya station, Dogenzaka district of Tokyo's Shibuya Ward, what used to be called Koibumi Yokocho (Love letter lane), the center of fashion for young women in Japan, which opened in April 1979.
This building, which has variety of trendy clothing outlets, has succeeded by targeting women age 15 to 20, and have many new brands stuffs here. The main customer base of Shibuya 109 is girls in their teens who are fans of the popular all-girls group “Morning Musume”. Many popular foreign singers and actresses come here when they are in
The architect was Minoru Takeyama. Tokyu, the building's operator, designed the building as a "Fashion Community" containing small retail stores targeting the early-30s female consumer.
The name of the building, 109, is taken from the Japanese characters to (meaning 10) and kyu (9) as in Tokyu. The interior of the building is designed to move shoppers in a loop on each floor from the elevators past various shops. A movie theater was originally planned for the top floor, but the fire department would not grant approval due to emergency-evacuation routes not meeting appropriate standards. Although originally targed at women in their 30s, the building later became more known as a mecca for young women from the gyaru subculture
When it first opened for business, this fashion center aimed at a wide range of customers, from young people to the middle-aged and elderly. Following the collapse of the bubble economy in early 1990s, sales dropped off sharply. In 1995, Shibuya 109 reinvented itself by deciding to cease targeting men and to draw young women instead. The strategy paid off, and Shibuya 109 posted record sales of ¥23.5 billion ($213 million at ¥110 to the dollar) in 2003.
Because this fashion center has been attracting customers from all over
Miso, purportedly, was food sent by god. Miso was kind of soup.
Miso was soybean pasta from 10 months fermentation. Fermentation process using salt and koji. Koji made from mixed flour, leaves, and soybean. Because of long-rage fermentation, the taste was very salty.
According to the taste, shape, color, and aroma, miso has 3 categories. There are dark miso or brownish red, yellow, and white.
Dark miso (shinshu miso) made as soup topping in autumn and winter. This kind of miso cooked with radish or carrot.
White miso (shiro miso) often consumed in summer as hiyashi vinegar topping.
Yellow miso has sweet taste and can be consumed anytime.
Beside as soup topping, miso also ate with fish, meat, vegetables, uncooked food, ramen, etc.
Miso was delicious and healthy, because miso has so much nutrition. Two spoons of miso has 71 mg of calorie, 4.00 mg protein, 2.00 mg fat, 9.00 mg carbohydrate, 23.00 mg calcium, 1.25 mg zinc. That’s why, Japanese love miso and they believe miso was sent by god as present.
The word “Okonomiyaki” came from ‘okonomi’ means ‘according appetite’, and ‘yaki’ means ‘bake’. According to those means, okonomiyaki was a food which people can choose the topping according to his/her appetite.
Purportedly, Okonomiyaki was made by sailors because they wanted to ate pizza like he ever ate in
In Meiji Era, Funoyaki developed to Dondonyaki (added nori/seaweed, sausage, fish, and sauce). Dondonyaki have a form like omelette and rolled with chopsticks.
In Showa Era, Dondonyaki developed to Kyabetsukyaki because it used uster sauce. Okonomiyaki was final form of Kyabetsuyaki.
Okonomiyaki made from special wheat flour because baking powder, salt, and dashi was already inside. The flour diluted with water, add slices of cabbage, egg, cockle shells, shrimp, and squid or meat. In order to make dough soft, added yamaimo (kind of potato) and baked in flat wok.
According to the way in making okonomiyaki, there are two kinds of okonomiyaki.
First, okonomiyaki ala Kansai, added slices of cabbage inside the dough
Second, okonomiyaki ala
Both of them have very thick and sticky sauce.
The difference between both kinds of okonomiyaki is the sauce Okonomiyaki ala Kansai has mayonnaise inside the sauce, and okonomiyaki ala
Nowadays, okonomiyaki already served in restaurants with various toppings. Some of toppings are red ginger, yakisoba noodle, tenkasu, corn, green onion, dried bonito flakes, beans, etc. Because of that, okonomiyaki was one of
