Japanese Sick Food

The good ole soul food you eat when you are sick

In America it has always been soup for me, as well as a large majority of the population. I am also pretty certain that that same population will also agree that it is most often Chicken Noodle soup, though I mean any should do just fine.
Well in Japan it is kind of similar. By that, I mean that they have their very own Chicken Noodle type of sick food sick food.
Not too long ago I was sick and had bronchitis and in the process of being cared for I was made a very warm, gently tangy type of udon soup. It was actually the end of August, so you can imagine how odd it might seem eating hot soup then; however I have come to learn that a good number of Japanese people believe that heat is the best way to beat a sickness. They will often wear warmer clothes and long sleeves to help expedite the healing process. I have known heat to help overcome things like fevers via the process of elevating body temperature to burn the bacteria out of you, but perhaps, as they seem to believe, it works for non-fever illnesses as well.
Back to the soup. It turns out later, with another of my Japanese friends, the tables were turned and I was the well one taking care of them. Interestingly they too requested udon as a get well food. They instructed me to put a fair amount of ginger and spices in it, saying that both are good for patients needing to get better. It also included the large green onions and chicken as well. Therefore it WAS in fact chicken noodle soup, only with a n Asian twist.
As a secondary get-well food, once the broth of the udon  contains no noodles (but it can still have green onions or meat), it can then be reused to make a rice porridge called okayu. I have never been a big fan of this stuff. Pretty much you just add rice to the mix and heat it up a bit. Two dishes in one, it is a really simple mix for making a sick person better, if only in the feels.

A Pain of a パン

Pan is taken from the French  Portuguese word for bread, pao. It is commonly thought to be taken from the French word pain(NOT to be pronounced like the English word, 'pain'), which is actually takes influence from the Portuguese word. But you see, Japan learned of this delicious sort of food directly from the Portuguese themselves. The Portuguese are the original influence that opened up Japan for international exporting, and also for western influence. Not to be mistaken for the 'black ships' which brought about the end of the Edo period and opened up Japan, the Portuguese landed in Nagasaki in the 15th and 16th centuries and got a modest, but growing trade scene going. They introduced things like Christianity, medicine, and technology, and of course, bread to Japan, all of which took to different sorts of followings. But of course after some time, Japan became a shut in again and persecuted the Christians and closed its borders. However, in Japan you will find many other things that French and English and Portuguese words that have been Japanified, and this is a popular one. Japan seems to have a small habit of taking the foreign words for things for which they have no word, and adopting them into their own culture; in the process, giving the word a bit of a Japanese embellishment, hence things like ramune versus 'lemonade', or toreina for 'trainers' (meaning sweats).

Bread is possibly THE most important snack food in Japan. Especially in Kyoto. There are boulangeries and patisseries everywhere. But more effectively, bread can be found at the 7-11's and convenience stores, which I might add are way more true to their name and actually convenient, than in America. There is a whole series and selection of bread. Sugary, savory, green tea flavored, creamy, rolls, croissants. Just so much bread.


But the bread that is probably most worth a mention, and is something that can perhaps only be found in Japan. It is called メロンパン or melon bread. This bread is typically round is shape with a criss-crossing of markings across the top and is on the slightly large side as far as dollar breads go in Japan. Sometimes it is covered in sugar, and others it has a greenish dried icing look to it, and other still it is filled with custard or cream. I am not so sure about the melon flavoring...perhaps there is a slight hint to it; but lets be serious you would be eating this bread not for its melonyness, but for the most delicious sugar rush you can get for a dollar at a convenience store while still maintaining your dignity.

Another popular and very traditional styled bread is あんパン or anpan. Anpan is red bean bread. Yeah beans. You might be a little turned off from this bread at the moment, but they are sweet. Yeah, I couldn't really imagine sweet beans either before I came here. I kept imagining throwing brown sugar into some beenie weenies. I bet you might be thinking that too. And that face you are making right now? Probably close to the one I made. But it is actually very sweet, and not all that weird, or bean-ie tasting. This bread is bread and normal looking on the outside, with the red bean sweetness on the inside.

It became such a popular sensation, that they named a cartooned super hero after the bread. In the Japanese anime, Anpanman, the hero has the head of an anpan. Which when damaged, or say, eaten, gets baked anew. The anime became so popular it has been on air for more than 3 decades!

If Life gives you Lemons

make ramune!


Interesting story about that. Ramune actually comes from the word 'lemonade'. Except clearly that is a more than difficult word for the average Japanese person to say, lemonade, it would turn into something more like 'remoneido'. Shorten that word a bit and make it sound a bit better and thus the word ramune was born.

Ramune clearly tastes nothing like the lemonade you might make at home, but if you compare it to something like Sprite, you will have a closer comparison. Personally I find even that comparison to be still off, but it does have that ever so slightly carbonated, fizzy texture to its taste. Ramune is a sweeter beverage, with a slightly different flavor I can't exactly pinpoint, but definitely not quite a Sprite or 7-Up kind of taste. Since its beginnings, Ramune has branched out into many different variations and flavors and is no longer just a 'lemonade,' though that is the tried and true flavor and still always found on the shelf, unless of course it is sold out.

One of the aspects about ramune that makes it more unique to foreigners is its unique bottle design. You see it has a marble blocking the liquid upon purchase. You have to push the marble down into the bottle effectively trapping it there, inside the bottle, in order to be able to drink the liquid inside. Even then the marble sometimes prevents a bit of a challenge for the inexperienced Ramune drinker, but of course, that is part of the fun of it. This marble is then something you can never retrieve that marble. It is permanently stuck in there. Or at least until you smash the bottle open.

Ramune is largely a summer drink. And is mostly geared towards kids. I don't see many adults drinking it (none at all actually) and I rarely see it being sold outside of summer. Throughout the rest of the year they stick with their brown and green teas.

Japan Fashion: Autumn-wear 2012

90's grunge where seems to be in full swing this autumn with all of the flannels and plaids that nearly every store is selling in prediction for this years most popular fall wear.

You would think it weird, because I certainly do, but they are even shipping USED AMERICAN flannels into Japan and selling them for 26.00USD per. Incredible is it not? These shirts get an entire second life. Also their second life in Japan might just be worth more than their first in America. And for those of you who might ask as to the validity of this statement. Just check out stores like WEGO in Japan and look at the brand names of the shirts. Faded Glory? Yeah, definitely American. Target brand? I think that one must be extremely old, because I don't recall that they even make Target brand clothing anymore.
And what's more? They are mostly, if not all, men's. Or well boy's at least, since Japanese ladies can be very slim and can easily fit into the boys clothing section of stores. They all have the buttons on the wrong sides and everything.

If flannel isn't your thing and you are more of a skirts and blouses kind of gal, then the more popular fall accessory to have is the tattoo tights. Appear like you have tattoos without any real commitment. Trust me this first time I saw these I about fell over. Well, because first of all I saw them on a Japanese lady and second of all I thought they actually were tattoos. And if you know anything about tattoos in Japan, then you would know that showing them off all over your legs like that is pretty taboo. Man was I wrong. I simply had to exit the coffee shop I was inhabiting and walk across the street to see the tattoo tights displayed in all their illuminated glory.
Personally, I am not a fan of this fashion. I find it a bit geared toward the younger-and-perhaps-grew-up-with-too-much-sugar generation. I feel like it kind of resembles a Alice in Wonderland meets Kyary Pamyu Pamyu in style. Because like all things, when something first works well in a simple fashion, it soon goes overboard with graphics and colors.

Your other nouveau fashion accessory, that I was told is a borrowed act from Korea, are the hats with ears. OK, I know you are thinking that either I am too into the animal-human culture in Japan or that Japan itself is too into it. Or possibly you might want to tell me that this is nothing new. But it is! It is not those beanies or toboggans with ears flapping around on the sides. This is like a bowler with ears on it. I have even seen people wearing it. You know like outside. In public.

Lastly I have the say boots. Boots seem to be everywhere this fall. I don't know if they are making a special push for it this year or what, but the fashion-true high heel has been moved to the backs of the stores with the boots up front and in the windows. Who knows if their marketing skill will actually work in the next few weeks when it really begins to cool down.

Meter Maids in Japan

A few of my friends in Japan have coined a cute little nick name for these guys, Green Goblins. This in large part comes from them always wearing green, and also of course never really being a pleasant site to see.

These are the people who ticket your bikes and cars and are always prepared to tow them (or impound them). 

In many places, you are allowed to park your car for a maximum of 30 minutes before they come and tow or boot it(if you are not allowed to park there or there is a no bicycles sign, they can ticket or possibly tow your immediately...upon spotting you). This is a rough 30 minutes, because you see, the 30 minutes starts from when they catch you. Traditionally, they would come by with chalk and would make an outlining of your car on the pavement, or possibly just its wheels, with perhaps a time stamp as well (also in chalk). In 30 minutes time when they return to check on your car, if it has moved then they don't need to worry, but if it hasn't, that is when it get a ticket or a boot. 

Now an easy way to over come this would be to make sure every 30 minutes or so you move your car around. But that can also be just too much of a hassle for people. 

This chalk method also works for people and bikes as well. Yeah. People. I was told that they will outline people speaking at like a public square (who have not previously organized with the park or area to be able to speak there at an allotted time). For example, if a politician was to be speaking at a certain venue at a certain time, I am certain it would be most acceptable; however lower politicians and activists will do demonstrations at parks and they have a 30 minute time allowance before they too get 'towed'. 

This chalk method might be a bit dated as they seem to have little electronic gadgets now where you can probably just plug the information in, though these gadgets could be purely for ticketing as opposed to timing vehicles. Or perhaps the chalk method is more meant for a scenario where a person who was not the original tagger to be able to determine how long a vehicle has been parked in a certain location. Or maybe they just don't trouble themselves with chalking cars any more since they are rarely parked in locations where chalk would be necessary for long (really it is just that people never drive them since public transportation is so fantastic here). They are more concerned with bicycles and motorbikes, though that could just be because I live in a larger city, where there is a great number of bicycles and their riders.

So what happens if you car gets a boot or your bike get impounded? Well you have to either call the organization to get the boot removed and pay the fine, or go and retrieve your bike (and also pay the money). Apparently it is a pain in the butt if your bike get impounded because you have to walk to the impound on foot and it is never near any sort of station. You could also take a taxi to got get it as well, but depending on the location and the nearest taxi services, that could be quite expensive. I was told in a joking manner that the walk is supposed to be a sort of penance for your misdeed and also to make you reconsider doing it again (as you wouldn't want to walk there again). In addition to where ever it would be that you have to pick up your bike, you would then have to ride it all the way back to your place, which could again be quite far if the impound is on the outskirts of the city. 

But what if you get there just in time? As in they are writing the ticket and you arrive?

I was actually able to witness this event just this weekend. Quite unlike the United States, if you arrive there and make it clear that it is you car, they will just walk away and there is no penalty. No ticket. No boot. Nothing. The man I saw this weekend just went up and unlocked his door and opened it. No words were said at all. These meter maids just packed up their little instruments and walked away. The man then went back inside the store once their backs were turned and they were far enough away. Hah!
To the left is them ticketing the car and, if you can see it, in the one on the right there is a man in the car now and the meter maids have dispersed. Here you can see the no parking sign, so this person does not have a 30 minute window, he just gets a ticket if caught.