Monthly Archive August 2013

ByFirst Admin
Aug 29, 2013

Summer Camping in Nagano, Shiga, and Gifu Prefectures

camping_japanYou might not think it, but there are opportunities for hiking, climbing and camping around Nagoya. In fact, near by Nagano, Shiga, and Gifu Prefectures offer some of the best opportunities in Japan. Camping areas in Japan tend to be a bit more formal than just hiking off the side of the road and setting up your tent, OK, a lot more formal.

They are generally private areas set up as campgrounds, kind of like a KOA in the US, though generally with fewer amenities. The cost is negligible, but you tend to be closer to your neighbors than you might be used to in the great out doors. That being said, they are clean, comparably comfortable, and safe. If you are interested in checking out a campground why not try one of these?

Campsites in Nagano-ken, Shiga-ken, and Gifu-ken

Togakushi Camp

〒381-4101
3694 Togakushi, Nagano-shi, Nagano-ken
TEL: 026-254-3581
Togakushi Camp Homepage

Hananoko Auto Camp

〒509-9231
589-17 Ueno, Nakatugawa-shi, Gifu-ken
TEL:0573-75-3250
Hananoko Auto Camp Homepage

Makino Sunny Beach

〒520-1814
2010-1 Chinai, Makino-cho,Takashima-shi, Shiga-ken
TEL:0740-27-0325
Makino Sunny Beach Homepage

Miyajima Camp Site

〒508-0351
8581-1 Tsukechi-cho, Nakatsugawa-shi, Gifu-ken
TEL:0573-82-4737
Miyajima Camp Site Homepage

N.A.O Akinokougen

〒501-5304
5434 Ayutate, Takasu-cho, Gunjyo-shi, Gifu-ken
TEL:0575-72-6758
N.A.O Akinokougen Homepage

ByRay Proper
Aug 24, 2013

Hangover Helpers in Japan

The day of drinking

Ukon no chikara

The land of the rising sun seems a little slow on the rising part most days.  From drinks after work to goodbye parties, New Years, forget the old year, hanami, fall colors, karaoke, birthdays, deaths… ugh… I am getting hungover just thinking about it all.  In Japan, there always seems to be a good reason to drink, and drink they do.  If you over-indulge, here are some methods of getting on with your day with as little unpleasantness as possible.

To start with, there is Ukon No Chikara, pictured above. This is the quintessential anti-hangover remedy, religiously purchased by proffesional drinkers (host and hostess club workers, bar owners, etc) and non-professional alike as if some kind of ritual of protection before they embark on yet another pilgrimage into drunken debauchery.

Ukon is Japanese for turmeric, which reportedly will detoxify your liver  and gives the beverage that distinctive orange coloring and odd but not unpleasant flavor. “Drink this before you go out drinking, and wake up feeling fine” is the mantra, but you can definitely out drink Ukon’s ability to save your morning. I warn you not to try this product after you have already been drinking, it tends to end in orange vomit. Gross, but true.  If you drink an Ukon no Chikara you should also drink as much water as possible before retiring for the evening, and perhaps take an aspirin. A warning here, You should never take acetaminophen products like Excedrin or Tylenol after drinking.  These products are hard on your liver, and your liver is already very unhappy. Avoiding liver failure is good policy.

Day after drinking

Hangover Helper

Its too late for ukon, you forgot to drink water before bed, you were out of aspirin, and that last 8% Chu hai tall boy was plain and simply a bad idea.  On top of that, you have to be to work in 30 minutes, and you need to get yourself together quick. What to do?

Here is the plan. Get yourself up and out of the house by any means required. Avoid the temptation to drink coffee if possible. You are already dehydrated, and coffee is a diuretic. Miso soup and rice is a classic hangover breakfast in Japan, as is okayu or rice porridge. Bananas are a great way to replace the potassium your binge has cost you. Simple is good.

Get yourself to a convenience store and you will find a variety of tonics to get you back on your feet. Tried and tested by an army of salary men, these products rock. There are many products, and in Japan products get introduced and retired regularly, but these were available in the convenience store at the time of writing; so that is what you get.

The names are not really that important, I think if you need to remember something, just remember 二日酔い、(hutsukayoi) which means hangover.

Find a clerk who looks like a college guy, drag him over to the energy drink cooler and repeat that word. If you’re lucky, he will help you out. I asked around the office here, and the Japanese staff returned mixed results. It seems like Kabakawa A (small bottle green cap) is probably the most popular, while the sorumakku (tall, green and orange label) is the one I used to use. Here is a new one;  hutukayoi nomisugiru (gold label), and it seemed to work pretty well.

From the energy drink cooler head straight to the sports drinks. Pick yourself up a bottle of Pocari Sweat, Aquarius, or other sports drinks. If they have them, why not throw a banana into the mix? An interesting Japanese remedy is pickled plums, or umeboshi. They contain pyric acid, which I hear settles your stomach and helps your well abused liver.

Chug the energy drink and dump the bottle right there in the store. Wolf down the banana and eat the plum on the way to work, and then sip on your sports drink. Spread it out over an hour for maximum absorption. After that, water is your friend.

I hope that helps, and I am including some interesting links on the topic. Check it out.

What is a Hangover? Stuff You Should Know Podcast

Home Hangover Remedies: How Stuff Works

Best cure for a hangover yet?  Stop drinking so much!

 

Photo: flickr.com “Asahi Beer” by Dave (CC BY-SA 2.0) -Modified

ByRay Proper
Aug 21, 2013

Non Hoi Park – Toyohashi Zoo and Botanical Garden

toyohashi_zoo_gardenNon Hoi Park, or the Toyohashi Comprehensive Zoo and Botanical Garden is a garden, natural history museum, and amusement park a couple of hours from Nagoya in Toyohashi City.   It makes for a great day trip.  “NON-HOI” is something like “Hey” “Hey, hey” or “Hey That” in the local  Higashi-Mikawa dialect of Japanese.  I am not sure how the park got such a nickname, but it is interesting none the less.

 

Toyohashi Sogo Doshokubutsuen 豊橋総合動植物園

1-238 Oiwacho, Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture 441-3147, Japan 05 32-41-2185

Website


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ByFirst Admin
Aug 13, 2013

Japanese Food Shopping 101

japanese_food_sauceOne thing about coming to a country where the main language is not English, you’re either tied to the food that you can read or recognize, or you have to learn to read a certain amount of packaging to avoid sugaring your coffee with baking soda!

For instance, did you know the kanji for “use by date” (消費期限) which is used for perishable food like meat and packaged lunches, is different from the one that is better translated as “best before” (賞味期限) used for canned or frozen goods which last a longer time without deterioration? However, both share the last two kanji, 期限 meaning limit, and so this is one that you should absolutely be looking for when you buy your food.

But how does this help you when you just want to buy cooking oil but you come home with mirin (rice wine)? Here are some common supermarket brain-teasers and how to solve them – print out the relevant kanji or write them on word cards for handy reference as you are shopping.  If you are feeling modern, you could also use your smart-phone to take pictures of the products or kanji you want to remember for later use.

Pork (豚) & Beef (牛)

This is a common quandary, especially when much of the minced meat you see at the supermarket is a mix of both. However, if you can read the labels, you’ll see that the percentage of each is clearly labeled. This has come into question lately in the news, but it was just an isolated incident and it has focused the authorities back on strict quality checks, so you can pretty much believe what you read.

  1. pork 豚 buta
  2. beef 牛 gyuu

Salt (塩) & Sugar (砂糖)

These are kanji that you will see often, on the backs of products where they list the ingredients (原料). The most common ingredient is listed first, so you can tell whether something will be salty or sweet from the main ingredient listed on the back of any snack package. Sometimes you will not see the whole word for sugar, but other sugars will be used. In this case the second kanji (糖) will be used somewhere.

  1. salt 塩 shio
  2. sugar 砂糖 satou

Corn Flour (片栗粉) and Icing Sugar (粉砂糖)

The kanji for powder (粉) is used in both these products, the powder sugar and the corn flour. In fact, all flour has this kanji in it somewhere – for example regular flour for making cakes is メリケン粉 (Meriken-ko – it originally meant “American flour”) and rye flour is ライ麦粉. You’ll notice that the second two kanji of the icing sugar just mean “sugar”, and then the powder kanji makes it icing sugar. Other forms of powder include curry powder (カレー粉) and talcum powder (滑石粉)

  1. corn flour 片栗粉 katakuriko
  2. icing sugar 粉砂糖 konazatou

All Those Sauces!

A trip to the sauce section is either a great adventure or a big headache, depending on whether you’re an optimist or a pessimist, or whether or not you have children in tow!

  1. Soy Sauce 醤油  shoyu
  2. low salt 低塩 tei-en
  3. reduced salt 減塩 gen-en
  4. oyster sauce オイスターソース oistah sousu
  5. Worcester sauce ウスターソース ustah sousu
  6. steak sauce ステーキソース sutehki sousu
  7. Okonomiyaki Sauce お好みソース okonomi sousu
  8. Yakisoba Sauce 焼きそばソース yakisoba sousu
  9. Yakiniku Dipping Sauce 焼き肉のたれ yakiniku no tare
  10. Sukiyaki Dipping Sauce すき焼きのたれ sukiyaki no tare

mirin (みりん) & cooking oil (油)

You will find these in slightly different sections of the supermarket, so look around you. Do you see soy sauce and other sauces also lined up? You’re probably holding mirin, sweet rice wine used in Japanese cooking. By the way, you can buy 100% mirin, or mirin taste (みりん風味) so if you’re looking for the pure stuff, avoid those last two kanji.

If you’re in the cooking oil section, not only will you see the vegetable oil but you’ll also see olive oil and all the other types of cooking oil with their attractive labels (many in English) on the shelf. The above kanji might be used in conjunction with other kanji, such as 食用油 (cooking oil), or サラダ油 (salad oil), or if you’re looking for something healthier, look for the kanji 健康 (healthy).

  1. mirin みりん mirin
  2. oil 油   abura

Tales of Tuna and Sea Chicken

Is Sea Chicken (シーチキン) really the Japanese word for tuna? Well no, not really. What you see in the supermarket as “Sea Chicken” is actually a brand name of Hagoromo Foods and is really a tinned tuna (まぐろ) or bonito (かつお) mix. It’s either canned in oil (油漬け) or in water (水煮) which is more often referred to as having no oil (オイル無添加) or as being “ingredients just as they are” (素材をそのまま), or as having 1/3 of the calories (look for the 1/3 on the tin).

  1. tuna まぐろ マグロ 鮪  maguro
  2. bonito かつお カツオ 鰹 katsuo
  3. in oil 油漬け  aburazuke
  4. no oil オイル無添加 oil mutenka

One of the most successful expatriate shoppers I ever met, carried little word cards from the 100 yen shop wherever she went. She started with the basics for the words, and every time she found a product she liked she took cuttings from the labels to make more cards as she went along. With a little help from her Japanese friends, she was able to refine the cuttings from the labels specific to her own dietary and taste needs (low salt, gluten-free etc), and her vocabulary just kept growing and growing.  Again, this could be done with a smartphone as well!

When she was unable to find what she wanted, she always had something to show the staff in the shop.

Milk, Milk, Milk

There is a nifty little website by TetraPak about Japanese milk, but it doesn’t tell you how to pick which kind of milk you like best. Of course it’s just a matter of buy and try, but there are a few words that will help you on your way if you’re looking for certain qualities in your milk. For a start, the Japanese word for milk is gyuunyuu (牛乳) and so when you are seeing something called “Miruku” (ミルク) it may or may not be real milk. If something is 100% milk, it will always be labeled 牛乳, and anything else is most likely labeled with 乳製品 (milk product) or 乳飲料 (milk-drink).

Next, you will want to look at fat content. A regular Japanese brand of milk is about 3.6% fat, so you will see this number somewhere on the carton (if only in the details section on the back). A really creamy version might be for example 4.4%, and then a low fat version might be something like 1.8%. Low fat milk is most often labeled like this: 低脂肪牛乳. You can also find milk fortified with extra calcium (カルシウム) and iron (鉄).

  • milk 牛乳 gyuunyuu
  • low-fat   低脂肪 teishibo
  • no-fat   無脂肪 mushibo
  • soy milk   豆乳 tounyuu
  • milk product 乳製品 nyuu-seihin
  • milk-drink 乳飲料 nyuu-inryo
  • calcium カルシウム  karushiumu
  • iron 鉄 tetsu

Here is a link to an article on “Surviving in Japan” that is absolutely fantastic.  We recommend you take a look for some really great information posted there.

The Ultimate Guide to Reading Food Labels in Japan

 

ByRay Proper
Aug 13, 2013

Disaster or Emergency Messaging: 171 System in Japan

171-emergency-messageTo cope with communications difficulties in the event of an earthquake or other disaster, authorities have designed a message bank where you can leave a message, or access messages left for you to help confirm the location and safety of effected people.

NTT made a Disaster Message Dial 171 Service to be utilized from NTT public phones in such circumstances.  This touch tone system offers only Japanese guidance, but this guide should help you use it.

Here are some simple instructions on how to utilize the 171 service

– 171 System in Japan PDF for printing –

To Leave a Message 171+1+ (052) XXX-XXXX

  1. Dial 171
  2. 2.    Press 1, then the pound sign (1#)
  3. Dial your own number, or another number where you would like to leave a message, in full (NOT cellular phone or IP phone)
  4. Press 1, then the pound sign  (1#)
  5. Leave a message after the beep
  6. Press 9, then the pound sign  (9#) to listen to your recorded message
  7. Press 8, then the pound sign to re-record
  8. Hang up

To Listen to Messages (up to 10) 171+1+ (052) XXX-XXXX

  1. Dial 171
  2. Press 2, then the pound sign
  3. Press 2 and then dial your own number starting with the area code to hear messages left for you

>-OR-

  1. Press 2 and then dial the number starting with the area code of the person you are trying to contact
  2. Press 1, then the pound sign to listen to the message (1#)
  3. Press 8, then the pound sign to repeat (8#)
  4. Press 9, then the pound sign to hear the next message (9#)
  5. Press 3, then the pound sign to record additional messages (3#)
  6. Hang up

Please note:

  • Recording time is limited to 30 seconds
  •  Can be accessed using regular (landline) or public (NTT) telephones, not cellular or internet (ip) phones
  • Not accessible from overseas.
  • For more information see the NTT Website for your region

http://www.ntt-east.co.jp/en/saigai/voice171/index.html

http://www.ntt-west.co.jp/dengon/web171/english/

ByRay Proper
Aug 06, 2013

Mundo Latino – South American Food in Tokyo

brazilian_groceryIf you are searching for food from Brazil, or other South American countries, you may find what you seek at Mundo Latino.  Since 2001 the shop has sold mainly food in a prime location for South American food near the Consulate General of the Republic of Peru and Brazil in Tokyo.

Besides food you will find a wide variety of goods and media packed into the small shops dense shelves.  Brazilian coffee,  cachaça, tortillas, chorizo, beans, soft drinks, and sundries are plentiful and reasonably priced.

Mundo Latino – South American Grocery

  • 1-12-12 Higashigotanda, Shinagawa, Tokyo 141-0022, Japan
  • Near Gotanda Station
  • 03-6408-0748
  • Free Dial 0088 22 0080

Mundo Latino Map


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