Let me talk about Japan :)

I was born and raised in Japan, but now I live in the US. After living here, I realized that Japan is a unique country :) So I started to want to relearn about my home country, Japan. And also, writing this blog is also my study of English.

What is the pink powder in Japanese food?

 

Mysterious pink powder

When you eat Sushi rolls or Chirashi Sushi, do you find pink powder in it?
When I made sushi rolls with my friend in U.S., she asked me, "What is this pink powder?"
This powder is such a familiar ingredient in Japanese life that it is difficult to explain now.

Traditional Sushi rolls

Chirashi Sushi

It is "Sakura Denbu"!

This pink powder is called "Sakura denbu”.
There is no English name for this ingredient because it is unique to Japan.
It is used in Japanese cuisine to add color to express cherry blossoms and spring.
It is sold at all grocery stores in Japan, and is one of the ingredients that are always available in the home.

Sakura Denbu

What's it made of?

The main ingredient is white fish such as cod.
The reason for its pink color is food coloring.
It is made by heating broken up white fish with red wine, sugar, salt, and sake.
It tastes sweet when eaten because of the larger amount of sugar.
In Japan, many people buy ready-made one instead of making it themselves, but it is actually very easy to make!

 

Don't be afraid to try it :)

It takes courage to try food you have never seen before.
For example, natto (fermented soybeans) is certainly a taste that some people may not like. However, sakura-denbu is "just sweet," so if you have any doubts, I highly recommend you give it a try !

I found it on Amazon.

Incidentally, we also found a powder called "sakura powder," which is different from sakura denbu and is used to flavor cherry blossoms.

 

 

 

15 Things on the Mind of a Japanese Living in the U.S.

my discovery in US

It has been nine months since I moved from Tokyo to the Washington, D.C. area.I am living with my two young children, accompanying my husband on his job transfer.
The U.S. is a GREAT country! I love both America and Japan.
I love living here. But living in the U.S., I sometimes feel the differences from Japan, and my daily life is filled with new discoveries.

Today, I would like to introduce a few things that are on my mind as a newly immigrated Japanese.

 



1. surprised when a person I don't know speaks to me on the street

"It's a beautiful day!" "I like your jacket!"
I am surprised when strangers talk to me on the street, but such conversation makes me feel cheerful.
In Japan, we do not have a culture of conversing with strangers on the street.
So, when I am approached by a person, I first think to myself, "Who are you talking to? Is it me? "
I was often too surprised and could not respond clearly.
But I got used to it after about a month. 

 

2. not being able to answer "How Are You?"

In Japan, there is no convenient greeting equal to "How Are You?". In school English, the typical response is "I'm fine thank you, and you? I don't think this response is practical.
 I think there are many Japanese who have thought to themselves, "What I learned in school is wrong!"

 

3. impressed by their kindness to children

People in the U.S. are really kind to young children. In Japan, we are thoroughly taught "not to bother others", so when we take young children out with us, we are very careful about what people around us think of us, and we feel very small in our shoulders.
It is a small thing, but just knowing that there are many people to support me at opening the door when I am pushing a stroller, makes me very happy.

 

4. too fast English conversation

Although I have studied English in Japan, I find that the English materials I was using were made "for Japanese" and easy to use. The speed of English conversation in the real world is so fast that it is difficult to understand even a phone appointment at the hospital or a chat with a friend. This was a big problem for me in the early days of my immigration.

 

5. look for fragrance-free products

Japanese people love fragrance-free products, and I am no exception. Detergent, diapers, wet wipes...we look for fragrance-free products in all kinds of household goods. However, we seem to have our noses sharpened too much, and we notice that even American fragrance-free products contain a trace of "fragrance" in them. We exchange information with our Japanese friends about "true fragrance-free" products that contain less fragrance.

6. find my favorite seasonings

Soy sauce, miso, potato starch, bread flour, mayonnaise.... We look for ingredients that we were accustomed to in Japan and secure our own routes to obtain them. America is truly an amazing country, and you can get anything if you look for it.

 

7. failing in vegetable selection

Vegetables are unique to each country. However, in rare cases, a vegetable may look exactly like a Japanese vegetable on the outside, but when you cut it open, you will find that the inside is completely different.
Take sweet potatoes, for example. When you cut them up, you find that their color and water content are completely different from those of sweet potatoes in Japan!
I learned that there is another product called "Japanese sweet potato".

sweet potato

Japanese sweet potato

8. excellent home appliances

I have heard that Japanese electrical appliances are excellent, and I think that is true. But also, American appliances are really powerful, and I love them! A huge oven that can bake anything, a large capacity dryer that dries quickly, and a dishwasher is also large. Since coming to America, housework has become extremely streamlined.

9. bangs disappear

When a woman's appearance is described as "Japanese-ish," the cause seems to be her bangs. Living in the U.S., I notice that women in other countries do not have bangs very often. When I was in Japan, I used to order my bangs cut this way and that to make my face look as small as possible, but before I knew it, I had lost my obsession with bangs.

Japanese singer Nogizaka46. This kind of hairstyle is popular among Japanese girls

10. failure in ordering at restaurants

In Japan, my hobby was exploring restaurants. In Japan, many Japanese restaurants have pictures on their menu lists, so I think that in Japan, I often ordered food by looking at the pictures without reading the menu names carefully.
In the U.S., menu lists often do not have pictures, so you often end up with dishes that are completely different from what you had imagined. Does this happen to other people in the U.S., too?

Sample of menulist in Japan

Sample of menulist in U.S.

11. fear of guns

In Japan, the possession of guns is prohibited, so when I see news about guns or see people with guns on their waists, I get really scared. You may laugh at me, but I am actually afraid of riding the subway as well.

 

12. finding a hair salon is difficult

Apparently, the dark, stiff hair of Asians requires a special cutting method, and cutting it the same way as people of other races do not work. Therefore, you will have to find a hair salon that specializes in Japanese haircuts and have it cut. It is a little expensive.

 

13. I miss my job

I came to the U.S. with my children to accompany my husband on his job transfer. I have temporarily taken a leave of absence from my own job, and my husband's company pays for our living expenses in the US. This type of overseas transfer is common among Japanese companies, and there are many other Japanese mothers who live abroad without working.
Some people may ask, "Why don't Japanese women work?" ,but the truth is that sometimes Japanese moms miss their jobs in their hearts.

 

14. start cooking your own Japanese food

When Japanese food is hard to come by, they finally start making it themselves. Purely Japanese style sushi, norimaki, New Year's dishes, natto ・・・・. Many of my friends have become better cooks the longer they have been in the U.S.

 

15. want to improve my English

We use English every day, so we want to improve as soon as possible. However, I don't get good at it right away. I studied in Japan, and I have studied every day since I came to the U.S. Why?
Because the word order of grammar is opposite between Japanese and English, I can't be able to instantly assemble the words that come to my mind into sentences.
If you give me a little time, I can create the correct word order, but when the tempo of the conversation is fast, I cannot keep up with the sentence construction.

How to make reservations at Fruit Parlor Takano in Shinjuku

Tokyo

What is a fruit parlor?

In Japan, there is a genre of fruit-based desserts, cakes, smoothies, etc., which are called fruit parlors.
And these parlors make their desserts using fruits carefully selected and imported from all over Japan and sometimes from overseas.
In the United States, I have found stores specializing in yogurt parfaits and smoothies, but I have yet to see anything like the fruit parlors in Japan.
Since fruit is so delicious in the U.S., it would be great if we could have a fruit parlor like the ones in Japan.....

I highly recommend a visit to a fruit parlor in Japan, where you can taste all the fruits of the season at once!

Course menu on March,2023. Setoka and Kumamoto strawberries ￥5,500

Long-established Fruit Parlor "Takano"

Takano was originally engaged in the sale of fine fruit and has numerous stores throughout Japan.
This has now opened a fruit parlor, with stores in Shinjuku(main store,Takashimaya), Ikebukuro(Tobu), Yokohama(Yokohama Takashimaya,Keikyu Kamio-oka), and Nagoya(Takashimaya).
List of stores is here.
In this article, I will introduce Shinjuku Takano Location(main store), which I have actually visited.

 

What to eat?

1.Classic fruit parfait

If you really can't decide what you want to eat, we recommend the classic fruit parfait.
You can enjoy 12 kinds of fruits at once.

Classic Fruit Parfait ￥1,650
2.Seasonal Parfait

In addition to these, there are also seasonal parfaits that use seasonal fruits. For example, strawberries in the spring.

Strawberry Parfait on Jan-Apr,2023. ￥1,980
3.Pudding a la mode

Personally, I also recommend Pudding a la mode, a dessert that originated in Japan. It is a custard pudding and fruit platter, and seems to have been developed to serve to U.S. military officers in Yokohama during the GHQ seizure after the Pacific War.

Pudding a la mode ￥1,320
4.sandwiches

Yet another non-negotiable is the fruit sandwiches! This sandwich consists of fresh cream and lots of fruit sandwiched between soft bread.
The trick to keep eating this much sweet food is to alternate it with salty food.
We recommend that you ask for a roast beef sandwich along with the sweet one, and alternate between the two.

Fruit sandwiches ￥1,320

Roast beef sandwich ￥1,650

How to make reservations at the Takano Fruit Parlor

16 Steps to Online Reservations

Takano Fruit Parlor offers reservations for courses and fruit buffets.
Although the site is in Japanese, you can make reservations in 16 steps (!).
If you want to order a single parfait, you cannot make a reservation, so you must go directly to the store. There may be a line, so it is safer to enter the store as soon as it opens.

  1. Click on the upper right part of the official homepage
  2. Select a store. Tabs from top to bottom: Shinjuku Main Store, Shinjuku Fruit Tiara (fruit buffet), Shinjuku Takashimaya, Ikebukuro, Keikyu Kamioooka, Kawagoe.



  3. Agree to the store's request.
  4. Number of persons (enter adults and children separately)
  5. Booking date and time



  6. Select a course

    Available courses will be displayed according to the date and time you wish to make a reservation


  7. Proceed to select number of people and date/time



  8. Date Selection
  9. Number of persons (enter adults and children separately)
  10. Time Selection
  11. Proceed to Customer Information Entry



  12. Custmor information (Last name,First name,phone number,email)



  13. Questions from the store（All are optional.）
  14. Agree to the privacy policy
  15. Confirmation of Reservations



  16. Confirm your reservation (press the ⑯ button to finalize your reservation)

Fruit buffet with afternoon tea!

Fruit Tiara, attached to Fruit Parlor Takano, offers an all-you-can-eat fruit plan.
This is really, really nice!
Afternoon tea is served with a theme based on seasonal fruit and includes all-you-can-drink coffee or tea.
In addition to the afternoon tea, there is a choice of three different seasonal fruits, and the artisans will cut the washed fruits for you. You can keep changing forever!

I went in June 2022.

A lot of cutting fruits!



 

 

Matcha Parfait in Tokyo!

Tokyo

 

You are in Tokyo on a business trip and have only a little free time...
Let me introduce ”Tsujiri” to you.
The popular matcha green tea sweets shop in Kyoto has a branch in Tokyo.
Please enjoy a little taste of Kyoto while you are in Tokyo:)

My favorite Matcha shop :)

What is "Tsujiri"?

Tsujiri is a matcha specialty store operated by ”Gion Tsujiri”, a long-established shop in Kyoto with a history that stretches back 800 years.
The main store in Gion has a long line of customers during the cherry blossom and autumn foliage seasons.
Reservations cannot be made for the Tokyo store.
Due to the popularity of the store, you may have to wait in line at the store.

As shown here, light meals such as tea soba noodles are available, but the main products are sweets.
Once inside the store, you will find menus written in both English and Chinese, and a larger number of products.

Where can I eat?

1.Tokyo station

If you are short on time, Tokyo Station is the place to go.
There is a store in the 10th floor of Daimaru Tokyo, a department store located at the Yaesu exit of Tokyo Station.


★Tsujiri（10F on Daimaru Tokyo)

2.Tokyo Skytree

If you are going to the Sky Tree, Tsujiri is also located in Tokyo Solamachi, which is attached to the Sky Tree.
It too uses the same matcha green tea and ice cream, so the taste is undoubtedly delicious, but the menu is very different as it is mainly take-out.
If you are in need of a matcha parfait and are torn between Tokyo Station and Skytree, Tokyo Station has the better menu.


★Gion Tsujiri (6F on Tokyo skytree)

By the way, while I am recommending the Tokyo Daimaru branch for this article on matcha parfait, the Skytree is one of the most recommended places to visit in Japan. I'll write about that in another article some other time!

One of the best place in Tokyo!

Tsujiri three icecream ￥860


What to eat?

1.Special Matcha Tsujiri Parfait

The signature item is the "Special Matcha Tsujiri Parfait". I lived in Kyoto about 10 years ago, and it has remained the most popular since then.

Special Matcha Tsujiri Parfait ￥1,595
2.Special hojicha parfait

In addition to this, the "Special hojicha parfait" is also popular.

Special hojicha parfait ￥1,595

 
Matcha and hojicha are made from the same tea leaves, but matcha is ground early in the process using a stone mortar and leaves a bitter taste, while hojicha is roasted thoroughly.
Both are very tasty, with the bitterness of the tea matching the sweetness of the ice cream or sponge cake.

 

3.Zenzai

If you are a Japanophile and like red beans, there is also zenzai, etc.
The black ingredient in the picture is "sweetened red bean paste".

The white ingredient is rice cakes, and the green drink is a truly traditional "macha".
Other desserts, such as parfaits, are created using this matcha.

Tsujiri Zenzai ￥1,408

I hope this information reaches you, busy person that you are!

The parfaits here are really delicious, so I hope this information reaches those who have given up sightseeing in Japan because of their busy schedules. And may you enter the restaurant smoothly and without lines!

Beautiful treat of Japan,"Fukiyose"

Japanese treat Tokyo

 

Special TOKYO treat for you

If you ever have the opportunity to visit Tokyo ...　

Business trip? vacation? Welcome to Japan!

I am writing this article to let you know about the wonderful treat that Japan has to offer.

 

Beautiful "Fukiyose"

Pics of Fukiyose :)

The name of this colorful cracker is "Fukiyose“. The brown part is cookies and the colorful part is sugar candy. The cookies are small, about 0.5 inches each, and can be eaten without getting bored.

They are made by a long-established confectionery called Kikunoya in Ginza, so I used to buy these souvenirs whenever I went to the countryside in Japan, and everyone was always happy to see them!

You can find a brief explanation in English at the official website here.

 

Where can I buy it?

There are three places where you can buy "Fukiyose". Ginza, Tokyo Station, and Shibuya.

 

They are all beautiful, but the meaning behind each candy is different. Buy the one you like. When I lived in Japan, I used to give my parents "special selections" as gifts.

  • Special selection 

  • A product with an emphasis on Japaneseness, including a Japanese motif such as Mt.Fuji.

  • Medium size

    • 1.3lbs

    • 8.9inch*8.9inch*2.2inch

    • 4,104 yen (tax included)

  • Small size:

    • 0.8lbs

    • 7.2inch*7.2inch*2.2inch

    • 3,024 yen (tax included)

Pics of Special selection(small)

  • Kotohogu

    • A product with a celebratory meaning. The motifs are based on things that are considered lucky in Japan, such as red Fuji, sea bream, and pine, bamboo, and plum blossoms. It is used to celebrate life milestones, reward hard work, or express gratitude.
    • 0.4lbs
    • 6.3inch*6.3inch*4.2inch
    • 2,808 yen (tax included)

 

  • Blue and red round cans

    • The most basic product.

    • 0.4lbs

    • 6.3inch*6.3inch*4.2inch

    • 1,296 yen (tax included))

Pics of Blue cans :)



  • Seasonal products

    • Special products sold four times a year. For example, spring is "Cherry Blossom ".

    • 0.4lbs
    • 6.3inch*6.3inch*4.2inch
    • 2,484 yen (tax included)

      Pics of Spring products "cherry blossoms"

What if I am going outside of Tokyo?

You can also order online from the hotel where you will be staying.
Unfortunately, there have been cases of resale at higher prices on unofficial Internet sites, which has become a problem.

And the official online sales site is not accessible from outside of Japan, so you will need to order after entering Japan. However, since many sites are out of stock due to popularity, it is up to luck whether you can buy online or not.

I want some too!

Even after coming to the U.S., I often think back to "Fukiyose".

If you come across this treat in Japan, I strongly recommend you to buy it!!!

They won't disappoint you, both in beauty and taste :)