The Best Pancake in Kyoto

When I was in Kyoto this past summer I was determined to try the famous Japanese fluffy pancakes. I would always see videos of these interesting pancakes, and the people eating them always seem to enjoy them. I took a spontaneous afternoon in search of the best fluffy pancakes I could find in Kyoto.

Being a Picky Eater in Japan

This is a topic that gets very popular when talking about going to any country that's different from what you're so used to. Food is one of the greatest things we enjoy in life (at least I do), and when you throw yourself into a new environment that is not your own the biggest question you have for yourself is"how will I survive?" (a.k.a "what will I eat?"). In regards to traveling to Japan and living in America, it may seem like a necessary concern. What will you be able to eat in Japan? They seem to like their food raw and fresh, like just jumped out the water "fresh."

I'm here to reassure you that you will be just fine in Japan when it comes to food. There is something for everyone.

Go Eat Coco Ichibanya

I've talked about fast food chains in Japan that people should go try. Well, Coco Ichibanya deserves its own spotlight because it's that good! It's considered fast food in Japan even though it tastes like real food (America, you know what I'm talking about) and you sit down to eat it. It's a fast, cheap option for a meal that tastes delicious.

Eating at Gion Gyuzen

This is a restaurant recommendation if you ever go to Kyoto, Japan. When many people think of eating out in Japan, they usually think of sushi or ramen. There's more to Japan than sushi or ramen, and it would be a shame if you didn't get to experience that. I'm going to introduce a restaurant called Gion Gyuzen, an all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu and sukiyaki restaurant.

Best Kobe Beef Experience

I am not a steak person at all. If my family was ever cooking steak I would either choose hamburgers or pizza instead. I never liked the texture of steak. But somethings that I've always heard was that Kobe beef melts in your mouth. So I decided to try it out for myself.

Stories From Japan- Those are not Onion Rings?!?!

For those of you who don't follow my blog, I participated in a short-term study abroad program. It was a lot of fun exploring Japan but I couldn't forget about my studies. I was taking two classes at a college in Japan. In order to "graduate" from the program you couldn't have anything lower than a C and you couldn't miss more than two days of class. I thankfully had no problems with these conditions. I missed only one day of class due to being terribly sick and I got a B in both of my classes. I remember on a few papers I wrote for class the teacher wrote, "You could do better." She was probably right, but I was in Japan. I was fine with earning a B.

Fast Food Places to Try in Japan

When you travel to Japan you probably plan on eating more traditional, notable foods that are distinct to the country. Why would you spend money on a plane ticket to Japan just to eat food you can get in your own country? Well, that's because Japan does things differently with their food. Their own cuisine and culture influences other foods they've taken from other countries. So, is it worth visiting well-known fast food chains while in Japan? Yes, and I'll tell you why!

McDonald's

Probably one of the most well-known fast food chains around the world. McDonald's in Japan is an experience in itself. Not only does the quality of McDonald's food seems better in Japan, but they have menu items that are not common in other countries. On the Japan menu, they have teriyaki burgers which is always a nice option if you want a different kind of hamburger. And they also have a menu item called Shaka Shaka Chicken which is a thin fried chicken breast that comes in a paper pouch. You can order it with any of the available seasonings put pour into the bag and shake the chicken to coat it with the selected seasoning. Not only do they have different permanent items but McDonald's Japan has great seasonal items such as items available during cherry blossom season in the spring. So check out a McDonald's when you get to Japan, it's an experience.

Mos Burger

I said fast food chains, but I said nothing about American chains only. Mos Burger is a Japanese chain that sells typically items such as burgers, fries, nuggets, hot dogs, and onion rings. Of course it's not going to be just any regular hamburger. There are different kinds of hamburgers due to the use of Japanese ingredients. Mos Burger has a teriyaki burger, a spicy miso burger, and a katsu burger. These are just a few of their burgers on their menu that are distinct to Japan. If you ever get the chance to go to Mos Burger I suggest trying their onion rings. They have some of the best onion rings I've ever tasted. Here is my order at Mos Burger: A teriyaki burger with an order of onion rings and a melon soda. I get this all the time. It's so delicious!

KFC

The fast food chain for all chicken lovers. KFC is extremely popular in Japan. The chicken dishes are very good, with the chicken being very tasty and juicy (nothing is worse than dry chicken). But the reason for KFC's popularity in Japan is due to its Christmas dinners. On Christmas Eve it is customary to stand in a long line to get a chicken meal for Christmas. A long time ago, Japan didn't celebrate Christmas. It was two foreigners in Japan who were looking for a Christmas turkey substitute. Their best option was KFC chicken. This tradition spread across Japan as the holiday was beginning to be celebrated. Now Christmas is highly marketed in Japan with KFC as the face of Christmas.

Coco Ichibanya

This is another Japanese fast food chain that I highly recommend trying. Coco Ichibanya is a Japanese curry house. Japanese curry is a thick curry over rice. Coco Ichibanya has many different kinds of curry to try from the typical pork or chicken katsu to other kinds such as cheese curry and sausage curry. Not only do they have many curry options but another option to consider is the level of heat. You can get medium curry which has no level of spice. The scale of spiciness is from 1-10. Curry starts to get pretty spicy at level 3, but is still enjoyable. Level 5 or 6 will start to make you sweat. Level 10, well, it'll make you cry and probably go to the bathroom. You would be getting level 10 curry on a dare or something because you will not be able to taste the curry due to how spicy it is. Coco Ichibanya is available in the U.S., with chains in Hawaii and California.

I hope you'll try these fast food chains in Japan. It's a different experience than what you're probably used to. These are my favorite ones, so you'll definitely find something you'll like.

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TokyoTreat Review

This is by far the best snack/candy subscription box I've come across. It's going to be hard to get any better then TokyoTreat. I would usually give you the good, the bad, and whatever else I have to say about this box but there's really only good to TokyoTreat. I'm reviewing TokyoTreat with having experienced two months worth of boxes, the April and May box. I write these reviews solely to help people decide on what they should spend their money on, and if you need to spend your money on a monthly subscription box full of Japanese snacks then this is a box well worth it.

Let's get started!

I fully enjoyed these boxes from TokyoTreat. As you may or may not know, I've already done a review on the popular, well-known Japan Crate. In review, it was an okay box but I felt it wasn't worth the money. The snacks and candies were not thought out well enough in my opinion. TokyoTreat fixes all of this and has brought new light into snack boxes for me. The candies and snacks in TokyoTreat are more thought out for the consumers and are realistic snacks people eat in Japan. It's well diverse in its types of candies and snacks, from chips to dyi kits to flavored candies. There will always be something for everyone.

Now, like all snack subscription boxes there are sizes. TokyoTreat has small, regular, and premium. Just like when I tried Japan Crate, I bought the premium box for TokyoTreat. It is well worth it. You get all the snacks from the small and regular boxes plus all the candy included from the premium box. The premium box also contains a drink, a special merchandise of some kind, and a dyi kit. For $35.00 and free shipping that's a pretty good deal. If you're not game for spending $35.00 a month, I totally understand. The small boxes are $15.00 and the regular are $25.00. With these boxes you can only get a few snacks and a regular gets the dyi kit. No drink and special item for these two boxes. I suggested this before but it could be a good idea to share with a friend. You could both split the cost of the box and share all the snacks. Whatever can't be shared can get claimed by a good game of rock-paper-scissors.

The snacks!!! I am in love with these snacks TokyoTreat chooses. The snacks are ones that are popular in Japan and taste delicious. In the April box, my favorite snacks were the custard flavor Koala's March from Lotte and the yakisoba flavored Baby Star snack. For May, there were a ton of green tea flavored snacks. There was no way to go wrong with these. In addition to the green tea snacks, for those who may not be green tea fans, there were other great snacks in the May box such as Raspberry Kit Kats and the different flavored Umaibou snacks. The drinks were great too! April had the Sakura Pepsi which tasted like bubblegum cola and May had Green Tea Soda. The two were okay tasting but I was more thrilled about getting that experience of trying these drinks without having to be in Japan.

And for all of you who are into the "weird Japan" related snacks, they even cater to you. Unlike like other boxes it's not filled with only the "weird Japan" snacks. TokyoTreat supplies that one snack that would be very adventurous to none Japanese residents. In April they supplied dried nori (seaweed) and wasabi crisps and in May they had spicy cod snacks. I say "weird Japan" because that's what a lot of people think of these flavors, but in reality these flavors are normal over in Japan.

So overall, I loved this Japanese snack subscription box, TokyoTreat. I've kept the monthly subscription that I signed up for. My husband and I look forward in seeing what will come to us. And as a bonus, the pamphlet that comes in the box is really nice too, showing the descriptions of all the snacks and even has little Japanese folklore stories inside. Like I said before, you really can't go wrong with TokyoTreat!

I hope you enjoyed this review. I think it's pretty helpful for those who are looking for the perfect snack subscription box. Follow me on all my social media for more Japan related things! Thanks again!

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What to Buy at the Asian Market

A few posts ago I wrote about Japanese Markets in America. It got a ton of attention and was received well with all of you. If you haven't seen it yet, here it is: http://japantherapyneworleans.blogspot.com/2015/11/japanese-market-in-america.html.

After this post I got a few messages about what to buy at these Japanese Asian Markets. My first thought was you can just buy whatever it is that you like, but then I realized that the people who asked were people unfamiliar with Japanese food and never went to an Asian Market before. Now, I'm here to give you my personal shopping list when I go to the Asian Market. Keep in mind that I am not the cook in the household, my husband is. So a lot of my stuff are snacks and easy fixes.

Here we go!

Snacks and Candy

So I'm going to be generalizing this one. There are so many snacks and candies to choose from and they're all really good. You really can't go wrong with any of them. In the picture is Pocky and Pretz. Pretty much anything made by Glico and Meiji will be delicious. My favorite Japanese candy is Apollo Chocolate. It's a mix of chocolate and strawberry flavor. 

Swiss Roll Cakes

These cakes are so good! I love them. I remember finding them in Japan when I studied abroad so when I found them here in America I was ecstatic. These little cakes are great in the mornings with a cup of milk. They come in various flavors but my favorites are the creme and strawberry flavor.

(If you couldn't tell already, I love strawberry flavor).

Dorayaki

This is for those who are more adventurous. Dorayaki are traditional Japanese snacks. It's a pastry with red bean paste inside. Think of it as red bean paste in between two small pancakes. If you're into traditional sweets and are okay with red bean paste then you should like these.

Ramen

I know many of you are familiar with cup noodle or other variations of it that is referred to as ramen, but this is a better quality of ramen. Think of it as a ramen kit. In this bag you get broth and noodles, everything else you'll have to buy separately. My husband buys these when we want to have a ramen night for dinner. This packet serves both of us. We love the Tonkotsu flavor which is pork. We add in pork tenderloin, green onion, bamboo shoots, and bean sprouts. It taste great. I hope you give this a try because it definitely beats those cup ramen brands.

Drinks

Another one I'm generalizing for is drinks. You really can't go wrong here either because they're all great drinks. I personally love the melon soda the best. Ramune is always fun to have on occasion though. There will always be green tea available if you are a green tea fan and not into the carbonated drinks. And then there's Calpis (Calpico). I'm still not sure of this drink. It has a milky texture and kind of like a yogurt flavor. I don't think it's something I would buy for myself but I'd drink it if someone bought it for me.

Mochi Ice Cream

Mochi Ice Cream is amazing! They come in many flavors and are a great bedtime snack. Everyone should already know what ice cream is but for those of you who may not know what mochi is it's like a gummy rice. It's really good, but if you don't like gummy texture you might want to try this with caution. My personal favorites are the strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate chip flavors. Other flavors are coffee, mango, red bean, and chocolate.

Rice

Now I'm getting more into the cooking aspect of shopping. This is the brand of rice we like to buy. It's called Nishiki. It's really good. We use this rice when we have teriyaki burgers, curry, or gyudon (beef bowl) for dinner. We cook the rice with our Japanese rice cooker that we also bought from our local Asian market. This rice is like candy, that's how good it is.

Curry

There are many brands for curry but we buy the Golden Curry brand ( you can get this brand at a grocery store). It's great and easy to make. Curry is a fast and easy dinner in Japan. It is one of the most common dinners to make. When in Japan, I like to go to Kokoichi but this does the job when I'm not in Japan. Here's the YouTube video by Japan vlogger Micaela, that my husband uses, on how to make curry.

Miso Soup

I love a really good miso soup. I'm still kind of on the search for a really good one. So far I can only get really good ones at two local restaurants. There are two kinds of miso: red and white. I prefer the taste of the white miso over the red because the white isn't as fishy tasting, if that makes sense. The brands in the picture are pretty good though. Some brands may require you to buy your own seaweed and tofu so check the bag.

And that's what I buy when I go to a Japanese Asian Market. I hope this helps in your ventures at your local Asian market. Like I said, I'm not the cook in the house so there weren't many cooking related items on this list. If you could tell, I'm more of a snacking kind of person. Let me know what you like to buy from the market or what you think I should try.

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How to Make Japanese Potato Salad

Japanese Potato Salad

Looking for a side dish to make for a party or would just like to learn how to cook Japanese food? I'm releasing my recipe for Japanese potato salad! I had potato salad a lot when I was in Japan and always miss it. I would get it mostly at convenience stores or in bento boxes. Now I can have it whenever I want, and so can you! This is super easy.

Total cooking and preparation time: about 2 hours

Servings: about 15 to 20 people (depending on portion size)

Ingredients

-5 lb sack of potatoes (~13 potatoes)

            *Don't not use red potatoes. The consistency and taste will differ.

-1 cucumber

-3 oz bag of baby carrots

-1 white onion

-30 fl oz jar of mayonnaise

-salt

-pepper

-chicken flavor granules 

Directions 

-Wash off all the potatoes in warm water.

-Steam potatoes until a fork can stick into it without getting stuck.

-While potatoes are steaming, peal the cucumber’s skin.

-Cut the cucumber in half, long ways.

-Scoop out the seeded middle of the cucumber halves with a spoon.

-Cut the cucumber halves into ¼ inch crescent moons, and then cut those crescent moons in half.

-Chop up half of the onion into small pieces.

-Once the potatoes are done steaming, place less than half the bag of baby carrots into the pot or steamer to steam (this will take less time than the potatoes).

-Peel potatoes and place them into a big mixing bowl.

-Cut up potatoes into cubes with a big, sharp chef knife.

-Once carrots are done steaming, cut them into ½ centimeter circles.

-Pour the whole jar of mayonnaise into the mixing bowl and fold the potatoes into the mayo with a big mixing spoon.

-Pour in the chopped cucumber, onion, and carrots into the mixing bowl and fold them into the potato/mayo mixture.

-Sprinkle 2 tsps (or to your taste) of chicken flavor granules into the mixing bowl and fold it in.

-Sprinkle salt and pepper into the mixture to your liking (I sprinkled both in twice after folding it in the first time).

-Let the potato salad sit in the frig for an hour to get cold, and then it’s ready to eat.

Made Japanese potato salad for my Japanese culture club in college.
Fed a classroom of students. And some even got seconds. It's a club favorite.

Super simple, and it's healthier than a lot of other potato salads I know. If you have any specific questions about the directions or about the recipe leave a comment below.

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Japanese Market in America

I personally love to go to Asian Markets around my hometown. We have many to choose from due to the Asian population in New Orleans. Since New Orleans is a port city it is common to encounter many different people and cultures. New Orleans is truly a "Gumbo City," a city made up of different cultures. The Asian Markets I have encountered so far have a bit a everything from different countries. The differences of the markets are who may own them. If a Chinese man owns a market it will have more Chinese products than anything else. There's another market around the city owned by a Korean family, so they sell more Korean products. My favorite Asian Market to go to is owned by a Japanese man and they sell the most Japanese products. It is truly heaven, walking into that store.

For the sake of being a blog about Japan I will be talking about what you can find at a Japanese Market in America. Now the store I'm referring to will be different from other ones around the country but they will have similarities and you should totally check them out.

Spices and Sauces

There are so many different spices and sauces to choose from. Many people don't think of spices when they think of Japanese food, but they have there own spices that are great for their food. One if the most popular Japanese spices is called Nanami Togarashi. This is a type of chili pepper that is used in a lot of Japanese cooking. As for sauces, they have every sauce you can think of. There's sauces for Okonomiyaki, Takoyaki, and Yakisoba. If it's a cooked Japanese food there is most likely a sauce for it.

Fruits and Vegetables

Japan has many fruits and vegetables that are only native to their country.  A Japanese market may have these fruits and vegetables to purchase. Japanese fruit are very interesting. An apple in America is usually small but Japanese apples are huge. Many fruits that are well known in America are either bigger in size or smaller than usual in Japan. The vegetable selection is wide with the usual carrots, cabbage, and potatoes to the Japanese vegetables such as daikon (radish), taro, renkon (lotus root), and goya (bitter melon). These types of vegetables are not common in regular grocery stores but may be food at a Japanese market. Experimenting with Japanese vegetables is a great way to introduce yourself to Japanese food as it is used in many Japanese dishes.

Drinks and Snacks

One of the most popular reasons to go to a Japanese market is for the various flavored drinks and snacks. There are obviously different brands of green tea and other teas such as Jasmine tea. Famous Japanese drinks you can find at a Japanese market are Ramune, Calpis, and Pocari Sweat. There are also Japanese beers and sake to choose from for persons of age. The snacks are the best part of the market. This is the section that gets me the most excited. There's so many different kinds of snacks such as chips, candy, and ice cream. The popular candies are Pocky, Milkita, Hi-Chew, and Koala March. These candies come in popular flavors such as strawberry, chocolate, and green tea. Lately, there have been special flavors out such as chocolate banana and cookies n' cream. Chips are another great snack to purchase. A popular chip snack is Pretz, biscuit sticks that come in various flavors you would find in chips. And then there's the ice cream section. It's so beautiful, all the ice cream that's available. There's mochi ice cream in almost any flavor you can think of, frozen taiyaki, cream puffs, and Japanese ice cream sandwiches.

Tableware and Trinkets

If you're looking for some really nice Japanese tea sets or bowls then you need to visit a Japanese market. Not only is it reasonably priced but there are really nice quality ones along with the more cheaper kinds. Ever wanted a ramen bowl and a soup spoon you always see at Japanese restaurants? Well you can find all of that at the Japanese market. There's also some bento cutters to shape vegetables and nori (seaweed). Need a cool set of chopsticks? They got that. Want to learn oragami? They have paper for that. You can get a bunch of cool stuff at a Japanese market.

I hope this helps many of you venture off to an Asian market. It can be intimidating at first but once you go into the store you'll feel right at home when you see all the items available. Happy shopping!

If you liked this you should check out some of my other posts. I talk about various topics related to Japan such as anime, culture, food, and lifestyle. Enjoy!

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A Taste of Japan: Disney's Epcot

There are many circumstances that can keep people from travel such as health conditions, fear of flying, and just not having the finances. I still find these circumstances sad for those who really want to experience Japan but can't make it over there. It can be hard traveling to other countries, and I understand. That's why I'd like to help those in America (where I'm from). You'd be surprised at how many places in America have areas that resemble Japan. These places obviously aren't going to be exactly like Japan, but it'll give people a good taste of what Japan may be like.

I plan to talk about Disney World's Epcot located in Orlando, Florida in this segment of "A Taste of Japan." Disney World is a great family or friend vacation for all ages. There's literally something for everyone to enjoy. There are several parks to explore, but I'll be talking about Epcot. I will eventually do more blog posts like this as I have the finances and time to travel to places that resemble Japan. So expect this to be a long running series on my blog.

Let's get started! Epcot is a park in Disney World that let's you travel around the world with its World Showcase. As you circle the park you'll arrive in countries such as South Korea, Mexico, China, Ireland, France, Germany, and, of course, Japan. I've been to Epcot three times already and it's always my most look forward to moments when I'm in Disney World. Epcot Japan resembles the real Japan in many ways that can come to many as a surprise. When you first transition from leaving America to entering Japan you can hear taiko drums in the distance, welcoming you to Japan. In the lake that is in the middle of the park, there's a torii, or gate, that is sitting in the water just like you can find in Japan. Once you enter that Japan section of Epcot the scenery changes drastically from the previous America section. The buildings are designed like traditional Japanese architecture. These buildings house shops, an exhibit, and restaurants. Towards the back corner, a Japanese garden and a pond can be seen. There's a pathway you can follow to stroll through the small garden area, leading to a small restaurant and the shopping area.

In the middle of the Japan section of Epcot.

The pond in the small Japanese garden. Those are some big koi fish.

There are two dinning restaurants to enjoy Japanese food like sushi and tempura. Then there is a casual restaurant, perfect for lunch, that serves items such as curry, garlic shrimp, and chicken teriyaki. The last time I went to the casual restaurant they had okonomiyaki (cabbage pancakes) on the menu that was delicious, but I guess it was too foreign to visitors so they exchanged that item for curry. I got the chicken katsu curry for lunch. It tasted just like the ones I got in real Japan. The workers were super friendly. They had no problem starting a conversation with my husband and I about his Kokoichiban (a curry house franchise in Japan) t-shirt. We enjoyed the small talk and got to know the workers a bit. Every worker, even in the other countries of Epcot, had a name tag on that would give where they were from. So the cashier at the casual restaurant was from Tokyo, Japan. I loved looking at all the name tags to see where the Japanese workers were from.

The exhibit room, featuring Kawaii Culture.

The next thing I saw was the exhibit. These exhibits are long-term, about 4 to 5 years. In 2012, the exhibit was about Japanese folklore. I really loved that one because they had a life size statue of a tengu (crow/man) that was so cool. This year they had an exhibit on Japan's kawaii (cute) culture. The room had glass cases filled with cute plushies, accessories, and other little trinkets. As you look at the exhibit you can hear Kyary Pamyu Pamyu playing in the background. It's a fun little exhibit that always introduces an interesting part of Japanese culture.

One of the glass cases explaining how cute culture can be present at work and for play..

Once you exit the exhibit there's an entrance to the Mitsukoshi department store. The store is nicely organized, sectioning off parts of the store for different things. There was a section for sake, snacks and candy, food, kitchen, kimono, hobbies, clothing, beauty products, stationary, Miyazaki items, Japanese learning books, Pokemon, Hello Kitty, and anime.  All of these great things in one store. It was hard not to buy everything in sight. My very first time in the store I went crazy, buying a purse, stickers, Pokemon plushies, a kimono, and candy. This time I only bought mochi candy and an umbrella.

The hobby section of the Mitsukoshi department store.

So as you can see Epcot Japan is in the comfort of American soil but lets you experience tiny parts of Japan. You'll get to eat real Japanese food, learn about Japanese traditions, and learn about the Japanese culture. All of this without the worry of speaking Japanese, yet if you'd like you can practice your Japanese with the workers and they'll be thrilled to talk with you. Not only will going to Disney's Epcot be a vacation, but an opportunity to learn about Japan in a relaxed setting. I won't be fully immersed into the culture. You will get little taste of Japan from Disney's Epcot, but enough to understand the country better.

I hope you enjoyed this blog post. I'm looking forward to doing more like this in the future. Thank you for reading and giving me support. I have so much fun writing about Japan and sharing it with everyone.

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Japanese Food You Should Try

I'm going to mention Japanese food that's good, bad, and even weird that I think you should try. Japanese food is so unique and different from any other kind of food. It's worth trying even if you may not like it or it doesn't look appealing to you. There are tons of Japanese foods I'm proud to say I've tried, even if they weren't good to me.

Let's start with the good!

Teriyaki Burger

One of my favorite things to eat in Japan. My favorite places to get a teriyaki burger at is Mos Burger (a Japanese fast food chain) and McDonald's. They are sweet and delicious.

Ramen

Ramen can be described as a noodle soup. It's most common broth flavors are pork and chicken. This dish is especially good on a cold night. This soup can be slurped for two reasons. The first is that when you slurp the noodles you are cooling them off as they go into your mouth. The second reason is to show you are enjoying the ramen.

Okonomiyaki

This picture shows the raw ingredients that is in okonomiyaki. It contains cabbage, egg, and pork (in this version it's pork but it can be replaced by shrimp or squid). This food is very famous and can be obtained easily in Osaka, Japan, the food capital of Japan. I have nicknamed it "cabbage pancakes."

Now for the bad, sadly.

Squid

I'm not a big squid fan. I don't like the rubber texture it has. You can grill it, fry it, dry it out, or eat it raw. I've tried the fried squid before in Japan and wasn't a big fan of it. I've tried squid once and that's good enough for me.

Takoyaki

Looks good right? I thought so too, at first. I've seen this dish in anime and dramas. I always imagined it like a crab cake, soft texture in the middle. When I finally got the chance to taste it in Osaka I was surprised. I took a bite to find that there's a piece of the octopus inside the fried batter, not soft like a crab cake at all. I was disturbed by how difficult it was to chew. It wasn't pleasant.

Finally, the weird!

Udon

Udon is another noodle soup but it's different in one way from Ramen. Udon is a thicker noodle that has a slimy consistency. I felt like I was eating worms. I wasn't a big fan of the texture of this noodle, so I kind of avoid udon when possible. It's just a weird food.

There's definitely more food to talk about but these are the ones I brought up for now. I hope you all get to try these one day. I have no regrets with any of these foods because it's all about the experience.

Until next time!

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So You Think You Like Sushi

Put down those elaborate rolls you call sushi. There are no Chocolate City Rolls or Firefighter Rolls in Japan. And don't you dare think about asking for a side of spicy mayonnaise or eel sauce.

Let me teach you about real sushi you'll be seeing in Japan.

For starters, what you see at Japanese restaurants in America are called rolls. Those rolls are elaborate, with fillings ranging from cream cheese to cooked fish and can be topped off with sliced mango or sliced pineapple. These are not considered sushi by definition. Sorry to crush your fantasy about eating this kind of stuff in Japan, but better to hear it sooner than later. The closest thing to a roll in Japan is raw fish in the middle rolled up in rice and wrapped on the outside with seaweed.

Sushi by definition is a slice of raw fish over rice.

Ta-da! Not impressed? It wouldn't surprise me. It doesn't sound like much, does it? But in Japan that's all that's really needed to appreciate the food. The slice of fish that's on the rice will be the freshest fish you've ever tasted in your life. The reason for the fish being so fresh is because in Japan they only keep fish out in stores for about two days. To add to the dedication of the freshness, there's a fish market in Tokyo, Japan called Tsukiji Fish Market. The market opens at 3am and the auctions for the fish begin at about 5:30 am and end at 7am. These sushi chefs wake up at these incredible hours every day to obtain fresh fish for their customers. If you have to have some kind of sauce on your sushi in Japan there will be soy sauce at the table to use.

Is raw fish not your thing? Me neither. Not to worry though. They have "sushi" for us too. There's one called tamago sushi where there's cooked egg over rice wrapped in a seaweed strip. Another one that's my absolute favorite is tempera shrimp sushi where there's a piece of tempera shrimp over rice wrapped in a seaweed strip.

The cheapest and most convenient place to eat sushi at in Japan is at conveyor belt sushi. It's exactly how is sounds. Sushi goes around on a conveyor belt and you choose whatever looks good to you. At the end of your meal a waitress will come to your table to count your plates to tally up how much you owe for your meal.

I hope you got to learn something from this. Please don't be scared to try any of these things. It's always worth trying just to say you've tried it. That applies to all foods in Japan.

Until next time! See ya!

Oh yeah! I got an Instagram! If you'd like, follow me for some more Japan pictures and for my daily life stuff.
https://instagram.com/japantherapy/

If You Like New Orleans, You'll Like Japan

New Orleans and Japan have a lot more in common than you may think. I know it's hard to believe since the biggest difference is language, but trust me.

Anyway, let's get to it! Here are the similarities of New Orleans and Japan.

Drinking Life

When I say drinking, I mean alcohol. In New Orleans we have a street dedicated to drinking called Bourbon Street, located in the French Quarter. We have a lot of people who like to go out and get really drunk, like drunk enough to where they can't walk straight and can't think about what they're saying, and then you have the ones who like to go drink socially. New Orleans is definitely a culture of drinking, not that it's always a bad thing down here because I like the social aspect of it, I'm just not a fan of the kind of drinking that's done on an extreme level.

Japan is kind of like New Orleans in that aspect. Drinking in Japan is very social. In Japan friends are always going out to bars to catch up and have a good time. If you're not drinking with your friends you're drinking with your co-workers after work. It's actually looked down upon if you don't go drink with your co-workers. This is the time for all the workers to be at the same rank. There's no such thing as a boss when you go out drinking in Japan. Everyone is equal. It can be very relaxing but plan to stay out late on a weekday if you go drink with your co-workers. Don't forget to "Kanpai!" (Kanpai means cheers).

A friend of mine drinking at Mardi Gras.

Haunted Attractions and Folklore

New Orleans is big on haunted places and the supernatural. We use these as tourists attraction when visitors come down. One of our biggest attraction for tourists and locals is the Myrtle's Plantation, outside of the New Orleans area. You can make a reservation and stay the night to experience a real haunting. Then there's voodoo which is like a supernatural connection to spirits. Watch Princess and the Frog for more details on voodoo. It's nothing you want to mess with.

Japan has it's own horrors just like New Orleans. Have you ever seen the movie The Ring? It's a scary movie about a dead spirit girl rising from a well shown on a video tape and pops out of the TV. Scary stuff. Well, this is a real thing in Japan. It's called Okiku's Well and it's said that a maid was killed by being thrown into the well because she didn't accept a samurai's offer to be his lover. Now the place is haunted and they say you can hear her scream. You can find this well at the Himeji Castle. The Japanese even have a ton of folklore. My favorite is Kuchisake-onna. I'll stop there because I can do a whole other post on Japanese folklore later.

Festivals

An excuse to party is something New Orleans and Japan shares. Festivals are mostly organized to appreciate or celebrate something. In the New Orleans area we have a Strawberry Festival, Oyster Festival, French Quarter Festival, and of course Mardi Gras. These festivals are huge and bring in a lot of people. Japan can relate to this. They have festivals all over the country for all kinds of things. There's a snow festival in Sapporo, Sanja Matsuri in Tokyo to celebrate a shrine, Gion Festival in Kyoto to celebrate a shrine, and Awa Odori, a dance festival. These matsuri or festivals bring in many people and have a tin of attraction for the public. If you ever go to Japan you should go to at least one festival just for the experience.

At Meiji Shrine in Tokyo.

Unique Food

This goes for both New Orleans and Japan. You WILL NOT taste anything similar to their foods. Yes, they both have foods that everyone has access to but they also have their own unique foods that can be really hard to replicate. When it comes to New Orleans it's all about the boiled BBQ shrimp, charbroiled oysters, red beans, jambalaya, and gumbo. All of these are a must if you come down to New Orleans. The uniqueness of these dishes really add up to the way we season our food down here.

Japan has a unique taste of their own. If you want to experience the food life of Japan the foods you need to try are okonomiyaki (cabbage pancakes), takoyaki (octopus ball), sushi (simply raw fish over rice), teriyaki burger, yakiniku (Japanese BBQ), shabu shabu (cooked meat) and ramen. All these Japanese foods are uniquely Japanese and are very hard to replicate yourself and even from restaurants. To taste the real thing, you have to go to Japan.

Cooking Okonomiyaki in Osaka.

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