Thick chewy noodles served in soy sauce based dashi broth, this simple Udon Noodle Soup is called Kake Udon in Tokyo and Su Udon in Osaka. READ: Udon ...
Ingredients for the chocolate cake: 330 g flour 60 g cocoa 15 g baking powder 5 medium eggs 4 egg yolks a pinch of salt 16 g vanilla sugar 270 g sugar ...
Introduction: The Perfect Fusion of Sweetness and Flavor Tarta de Galleta y Chocolate Blanco is a delicate delicacy that delights lovers of sweet tr ...
??? ?????Nihonmachi Dining Mall, Sukhumvit 26, BangkokBangkok\'s Sukhumvit 26 district has one of the Thai capital\'s most well-known oases of Japanes ...
In land size, Osaka is, together with Kagawa, the smallest prefecture in Japan. Lying at Osaka Bay, the Yodo and Yamato Rivers flow through the prefec ...
In a literary sense, the Taisho period (1912-1926) is a rich time in which seven of the ten best modern fiction writers from the canon were active (So ...
We continue our survey of the Japanese Novel with Part Two - 1905-1912.(Part One is here.)In Part One we saw an early-Meiji-period Japan that was so b ...
In comparison to the giant sake centers of Nada and Fushimi, the other areas in the Kansai are mere dwarfs. That does not mean you won\'t find excelle ...
Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 26Ogura-yamamine no momoji-hakokoro arabaima hitotabi nomiyuki matanamu??????????????????????????If the maple leaveson the peak o ...
Mt Miwa, a beautiful conical mountain (467m / 1532ft) north of the city of Sakurai, at the eastern edge of the Yamato basin in Nara Prefecture, is an ...
Kyoto Prefecture is in volume the second sake producing prefecture in Japan (71,286kl or 16.0% - figures 2015) - after Hyogo (28.5%) and before Niigat ...
The Yasaka Shrine on the eastern edge of Kyoto plays an important role in the cultural life of the old capital, now and in the past. In July it organi ...
The largest sake producing area in the whole of Japan can be found in Hyogo Prefecture, at the seaside of Nishinomiya and in the eastern part of Kobe. ...
Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 25na ni shi owabaOsakayama nosanekazurahito ni shiraredekuru yoshi mo gana ????????????????????????????If its name is true,"come ...
This is where one begins. On this mountaintop, at the holiest spot of this sprawling complex of temples, in the shadow of these towering cedars, one ...
This small memoir, that ends on a tone of disillusion, is one of the best accounts of a Westerner coming to terms with Zen and meditation. The Empty M ...
One of the reasons I decided to study Chinese (a decision that shocked both my parents and my teachers at the Grammar School in the small town where I ...
Science and education are the pillars of a modern country. This is demonstrated clearly by the development of Japan since the late 19th century. Two s ...
Pythagoras calls three the perfect number, expressive of ?beginning, middle, and end,? and he therefore makes it the symbol of the divine. The Japanes ...
January 7 is the day of the Nanakusa or Seven Herb Festival. This day, many Japanese eat rice gruel (kayu) that contains the seven medicinal herbs of ...
The Sumida River circuit of the Seven Deities of Good Fortune in Tokyo is the very first of this type of New Year pilgrimages: it was devised in 1804 ...
The First Calligraphy in the New Year is called "Kakizome" or "Kissho-hajime" and it is one of many "firsts," as we have hatsugama (the first tea cere ...
In Japan, "Shichifukujin" are the seven gods (kami) who are said to bring wealth and long life. The group of these seven lucky gods consists of Ebisu, ...
2017 is the Year of the Rooster (toridoshi) in Japan (also translated as cock or chicken; the term denotes general barnyard fowl), the tenth year in t ...
The small temples of Kyoto are very interesting when you happen to stumble upon them, but usually they are not places to seek out on purpose. Meyami J ...
As I wrote in my ?revious post about the seasonal events of December, the last month of the year is the season that traditionally the story of the For ...
Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 24kono tabi wanusa mo toriaezuTamukeyamamomiji no nishikikami no mani mani???????????????????????????on my present journeyI could ...
Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 23tsuki mirebachiji ni mono kosokanashikerewaga mi hitotsu noaki ni wa aranedo   ????????????????????????????when I vie ...
Years ago when I started making promotion for sake, the main "enemy" was the wrong image of the brew caused by the piping hot sake served in all too m ...
Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 22fuku kara niaki no kusaki noshiorurebamube yama kaze oarashi to iuran    ????????????????????????????as soon as it ...
Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 21ima komu toihishi bakari ninagatsuki noariake no tsuki womachi-idetsuru kana???????????????????????????just because you said� ...
Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 20wabinurebaima hata onajiNaniwa narumi o tsukushite moawamu to zo omou????????????????????????????In dire distress, our reput ...
Ozu Yasujiro (1903-1963) has been called the "most Japanese" of Japan\'s film directors, but I believe such a designation can only lead to a misunders ...
Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 19Naniwagatamijikaki ashi nofushi no ma moawade kono yo osugushiteyo to ya????????????????????????????Are you telling meto go thr ...
Ikkyuji is one those ever rarer Kyoto temples that is still quiet and unspoiled by mass tourism. It is situated in southern Kyoto, at the border with ...
Mizoguchi Kenji (1898-1956), was with Ozu Yasujiro and Kurosawa Akira one of the three greatest Japanese directors of all time. For some obscure reaso ...
Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 18Suminoe nokishi ni yoru namiyoru sae yayume no kayoijihito me yokuramu?????????????????????????Are you so afraid of people\'s e ...
It may come as a surprise to hear that my present hometown Kobe is a popular tourist destination (more than 22 million annual visitors incl. day tripp ...
Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 17chihayaburukamiyo mo kikazuTatsutagawakarakurenai nimizu kuguru to wa??????????????????????????Not even heard ofin the legendar ...
Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 16tachiwakareInaba no yama nomine ni ourumatsu to shi kikabaima kaerikomu????????????????????????????Even if I depart nowand leav ...
Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 15kimi ga tameharu no no ni idetewakana tsumuwaga koromode niyuki wa furitsutsu??????????????????????????For your sakeI went into ...
Where can you find the best hanami spots in Kyoto"Here are my five favorite cherry blossom locations:[The canal in Okazaki Park]1. Okazaki Park, Ke ...
Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 14Michinoku noshinobu mojizuritare yue nimidare someishiware naranaku ni???????????????????????????That my love has become confus ...
Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 13Tsukuba ne nomine yori otsuruMinanogawakoi zo tsumoritefuchi to narinuru Like the River Minafalling down from the peakof Mo ...
Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 12amatsukazekumo no kayoijifukitoji yootome no sugatashibashi todomemu O winds from on high,blow shutthat path through the clo ...
One of the most "famous" legends from Kobe ("famous" within quotation marks as almost nobody today has heard of it), is the tragic story of Unai, the ...
Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 11wata no harayaso shima kaketekogi-idenu tohito ni wa tsugeyoama no tsuribune???????????????????????????That I have rowed outove ...
Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 10koreyo konoyuku mo kaeru mowakaretsutsushiru mo shiranu moAusaka no Seki??????????????????????????This is that placewhere peopl ...
March (sangatsu) is also called Yayoi, meaning "plants grow luxuriantly." Plum blossoms are in full bloom and so are yellow rape flowers. Green plants ...
Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art by Shizuo TsujiMy rating: 5 of 5 starsShizuo Tsuji (1933-93) was the founder of the Tsuji Culinary Institute in Osaka, ...
Shinto Shrines: A Guide to the Sacred Sites of Japan\'s Ancient Religion by Joseph CaliMy rating: 5 of 5 starsAn excellent guide to the most interesti ...
Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 9hana no iro wautsurinikeri naitazura niwaga mi yo ni furunagame seshi ma ni??????????????????????????????As the color of the che ...
Besides the Yukishibori Honjozo Namagenshu, Daishichi has one more seasonal sake for the winter season: Yukishibori Honjozo Nigorizake. Yukishibori ...
Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 8waga iho wamiyako no tatsumishika zo sumuyo wo Ujiyama tohito wa iunari??????????????????????????Although I live contentedly ...
Seasonal sakes are popular in Japan and one of the seasonal drinks from the Daishichi Sake Brewery for the first months of the year is Yukishibori Hon ...
Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 7ama no harafurisakemirebaKasuga naruMikasa no yama niideshi tsuki ka mo?????????????????????????When I gaze into the distanceacr ...
Niigata Prefecture is one of the most well-known sake prefectures in Japan, front runner of the jizake boom of the 1980s and famous for its "tanrei ka ...
Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 4Tago no ura niuchi-idete mirebashirotae noFuji no takane niyuki wa furitsutsu????????????????????????????As I come outon the sea ...
Here are some characteristic trends of the years 2005-2009:Â - An overproduction of films, a sort of cinematic bubble (of course also thanks to digi ...
Nagano Prefecture is landlocked and mountainous - nine of the twelve highest mountains of Japan can be found here. On the south side of the prefecture ...
Toyama Prefecture boasts magnificent nature in the heart of Japan. It is in the first place well-known for the Tateyama mountain range and the Kurobe� ...
Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 6kasasagi nowataseru hashi nioku shimo noshiroki wo mirebayo zo fukenikeru???????????????????????????When I see the whitenessof t ...
In 1868, at the beginning of the Meiji period, a complete transformation of Japanese society started, but that was not immediately true for literat ...
Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 1aki no ta nokariho no iho notoma wo aramiwaga koromode watsuyu ni nuretsutsu??????????????????????????Because of the rough thatc ...
Matsuo Taisha (also called Matsuonoo Taisha) is one of the oldest shrines of Kyoto. It now is in the first place the tutelary shrine of sake brewers, ...
Here are three more updates in the series of sake by region: Chiba, Saitama and Kanagawa. ...
January (Ichigatsu) is the month that the new year starts in the solar or Gregorian calendar, although technically it is still winter. In fact, Dai ...
2016 is the Year of the Monkey (sarudoshi) in Japan, the ninth year in the cycle of 12 signs from the Japanese (and originally Chinese) zodiac.["See n ...
Two posts in the Sake by Region series which is under revision, have been updated and expanded and are available at: Ibaraki and Tokyo. ...
In 1949, the Dutch Sinologue and diplomat Robert van Gulik translated an 18th century, anonymous Chinese crime novel under the title Celebrated Cases ...
Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 3ashibiki noyamadori no wo noshidari-wo nonaga-nagashi yo wohitori kamo nemu?????????????????????????????Must I sleep alonethroug ...
The ancient name for February (Nigatsu) is Kisaragi, meaning "to wear more clothes due to the cold." As it also is the month of plum blossoms which ar ...
Although Yamanashi Prefecture has the image of being Japan\'s wine country, with its fresh water and cold winter climate, conditions for sake brewing ...
Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 2haru sugitenatsu kinikerashishirotae nokoromo hosutefuama no kaguyama???????????????????????Spring has gone away, andsummer come ...
Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 5okuyama nimomiji fumiwakenaku shika nokoe kiku toki zoaki wa kanashiki???????????????????????When I hear the voiceof the crying ...
Although there exist several interesting, individual breweries here, the Kanto area generally speaking is not a major sake producing area. This despit ...
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The Hyakunin Isshu (One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each) is Japan\'s most popular and widely known poetry collection, containing one hundred ...
Two new updates in the sake by region series have appeared on my site: Tochigi and Gunma, both in the Kanto area. ...
On of the best places to enjoy the sight of wild monkeys in Japan in this Year of the Monkey is Jigokudani Onsen in Nagano Prefecture.How to get here: ...
Although the annual production of Japanese films scales new heights (408 in 2010, rising to 615 in 2014), unfortunately the quality of Japanese cinema ...
