With my apologies to David Letterman, here are my first five items (#10 to #6) of my top ten reasons why I like Japan. I guess you could also title this the top ten reasons to travel to Japan.  Read more on “Top 10 Reasons Why I Like Japan (#10 to #6)” »

Instant Ramen Museum

According to a poll taken in the year 2000, the Japanese believe their best invention of the 20th century was instant noodles (the second best was the Walkman). In 2010, it is estimated approximately 95 billion servings of instant noodles were eaten worldwide. It all started in the sleepy town of Ikeda located in northern Osaka. In 1958 Momofuku Ando of Nissin Foods, introduced the first instant noodle dish known as “Chicken Ramen”. In 1971, he introduced the even more popular “Cup of Noodles”, an instant ramen dish prepared by adding boiling water to a polystyrene cup to cook the noodles and other ingredients.  Read more on “Instant Ramen Museum” »

Fushimi Inari Shrine

Its picture can be found in many travel brochures, and it has even appeared in movies such as Memoirs of a Geisha. And even though it is only a short 5 minute train ride from the always busy Kyoto Train station, few people make the journey to Fushimi Inari Shrine. Often thought of as the headquarters of the more than 20,000 Inari Shrines located throughout Japan, this shrine can provide a quiet respite to a busy itinerary.

In Shinto, the indigenous religion of Japan, Inari is the goddess of cereal, or in other words, rice. So as you might guess, both the goddess and the shrines are very important. It is said the very name Inari, is derived from the words Ine, meaning rice, and Naru meaning to grow. Read more on “Fushimi Inari Shrine” »

 We all know the Japanese are “very polite.” In Japan being polite goes beyond just saying excuse me or thank you. In Japanese, the word is “teinei.” Teinei goes beyond the English word “polite” because it applies to far more than just people and their actions. Additional meanings of the Japanese word “teinei” include courteous, careful, care, kind and conscientious. For example, in Japanese, you can treat a fragile item “politely” meaning “gently” or “with care.” And a birthday present should be wrapped “politely.” Read more on “Politeness in Japan Goes Beyond Words” »

Gekkeikan Sake Brewery

Sake making began about two thousand years ago when rice planting was introduced to Japan. Fushimi is one of the biggest sake producing areas in Japan. When Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the lord of Osaka Castle, built Fushimi Casle in the late sixteenth century, the sake industry in the surrounding city of Fushimi flourished. Many sake breweries including Gekkeikan started brewing sake here during the Edo Period. Today there are about 20 sake breweries in Fushimi. When you walk around Fushimi the fragrant smell of sake floats on the wind. Read more on “Sake Brewing in Fushimi, Kyoto” »

Herring Roe and Black Beans

Osechi Ryori, (New Year’s dishes) are specially prepared to be eaten during the first three days of January. They are cooked and  preserved for three days so that housewives don’t have to cook during that period. The yellow in the grey dish is herring roe representing fertility. Bean in Japanese is ‘mame’ which has the same sound of ‘working hard’. So the black beans in the yellow dish reflect our wish to stay healthy and to work hard. Each of the dishes has some auspicious meaning which reflects people’s wishes such as longevity, prosperity and fertility.  Read more on “New Years Dishes” »