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Aomori Cracker Stew & Apples Senbei jiru
Home-Style Stew with Crackers  Famous Aomori Apples
The Apple Capital of Japan
The first thing that springs to mind for many Japanese when they think of Aomori is the region's apples, which are widely acclaimed for their quality and flavor. The prefecture takes great pride in being the producer of around half of all of Japan's apples. There are a number of varieties, including Fuji, JonaGold, Tsugaru, Ourin, Mutsu, and Kogyoku, all of which are distinct in terms of acidity, sweetness, juiciness, aroma, size, coloring, and firmness.  Aomori Apple Orchard
Of course they taste best when eaten straight off the tree, but you can also take advantage of the unique characteristics of each one by preparing them in different ways. For example, the Kogyoku variety is good for making such treats as apple pie or baked apples, because the flesh does not break apart or become mushy when cooked. Fuji apples are best for salads, sauces, or desserts since they are sweet and have crisp, nicely colored flesh. Mutsu apples have just the right amount of acidity and firmness to go well with meat dishes and make a great jam.
Located at the northern tip of Japan's main island of Honshu, Aomori Prefecture, which has a population of 1.44 million, is a fertile land rich in natural beauty and encompassing verdant forests and the Hakkoda mountain range. The region is known for Shirakami-Sanchi, a mountainous, unspoiled expanse of virgin forest containing some of the world's largest tracts of beech trees that has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as the Aomori Nebuta Festival, a fire festival that is famous throughout Japan. With shores touching the Sea of Japan, the Pacific Ocean, and the Tsugaru Strait, in addition to an inland sea bordered by two peninsulas, the prefecture boasts a wealth of marine resources. Thanks to its climate of four distinct seasons, fruits and vegetables from the region are also delicious. The farming, fishing, and mountain communities of Aomori are a treasure trove of traditional recipes and cooking methods using local ingredients. Schoolboy Service You've probably heard about the many "maid cafes" in which girls and even some boys dress like maids role playing such manga, now there is a big "blove" or boy love gay manga comic boom here. Strangely enough, the majority of the fans for these boy love manga are young girls? Guess young Japanese girls like seeing manga with boys in love? Of course there are also men who enjoy this sort of thing too...
Waiters Yuta Asami, Makoto Aoba, Ritsuki Sunomiya and Yui Saginomiya (L-R), dressed as schoolboys and a schoolteacher, work at the Edelstein Cafe in Tokyo, January 29, 2008. At Edelstein Boarding School, the schoolboys wear lip-gloss, the teacher has a penchant for homoerotic comic books and there is only one subject: how to serve visitors. Welcome to Tokyo's first schoolboy cafe, the latest in a flurry of eateries in Japan where customers and waiters role play themes from manga.
2008/2/27 OCThe OC is probably one of the most popular rental DVD here now aside from 24 and Lost and one of the stars from the OC is in Tokyo too... I have night and daydreams about this show now that it has made its impact on Tokyo really everyone thinks it is the next 90210 which was the biggest TV hit here ever... now it's OC.
Black Enka Makes Big Debut American 'enka' singer has big debut
Kyodo News
February 27, 2008
Jero, quite likely Japan's first black American "enka" (ballad) singer, is set to enter the singles chart at No. 4 based on sales figures compiled by Oricon Co. to be released Monday. Such a showing would mark the highest-ever chart entry among debut singles released by enka singers. Jero, whose real name is Jerome White, Jr., came to Japan in 2003 to become a singer after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh. He is drawing popularity by singing the ballads dressed in hip-hop clothes. Born in Pittsburgh, the 26-year-old made his debut earlier this year, releasing the single "Umiyuki" ("Marine Snow"). Nanokado Hadaka MairiMainichi Daily News Video
 Nanokado Hadaka Mairi is a New Year festival held annually at Enzo-ji Temple in Aizu, Fukushima Prefecture. Men clad only in loincloths participate in the traditional festival, wishing for the attainment of their cherished desires, safety of their families and success in business.
 MomoVisitors enjoy peach flower viewing in a plastic greenhouse in Fuefuki, Yamanashi Prefecture. The greenhouse named "Hausu Toen" (peach party house), which maintains warm temperatures around 25 degrees Celsius, is popular for its deep pink peach flowers that are the earliest to bloom in Japan. The flower viewing event continues until the middle of March. Admission is 500 yen for junior high school students and older. YokohamaYokohama, about 30 minutes south of Tokyo, is a port city with an international flavor. It is also home to Japan's Largest Chinatown.
 With a population of over three million people, Yokohama is Japan's second largest city. It is located less than 30 minutes south of Tokyo by train, and is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture. Towards the end of the Edo Period (1603-1867), during which Japan isolated herself from the rest of the world, Western nations forced the country to open its ports to foreign trade. In 1859, Yokohama's port became one of the first ports to be openend, and Yokohama quickly grew from a small fishing village into one of Japan's major cities. Until today, the Yamate residential area retains a Western touch and houses many foreign residents, while Yokohama's Chinatown is one of the world's largest.
Yokohama's Minato Mirai district.
Yokohama Bay Bridge. Over the nearly 150 years since Yokohama's port first opened to the outside world in 1859, a distinctive local culture has taken root in the city. Home to more than 3.6 million people, Yokohama today is a city that is so open to outsiders that locals say anyone can call themselves a Hamakko (Yokohama native) if they reside in the city for three days. Entrepreneurs and intellectuals from all over Japan and cultural influences from overseas have flowed into Yokohama since it was first opened as a gateway to the outside world, a process that made the city the cosmopolitan place it is today. As a base for international trade and cultural exchange, Yokohama has also absorbed a wide array of culinary influences, giving the city's food culture a distinctly international flavor.
Chinatown.
A big Chinese bun. Japan's Largest Chinatown The most prominent symbol of Yokohama's international food culture is its Chinatown. Although Kobe and Nagasaki also have significant Chinatowns, the scale of those districts pales in comparison to the Chinatown in Yokohama. The Chinese people who came to Japan when the port first opened laid the foundations for the area. In the early days these pioneering merchants used to mediate business between the Japanese locals and Westerners using written notes, but soon their business acumen enabled them to develop their own unique community, creating the Chinatown that continues to this day.
Dim sum offer variety in small portions. About 240 Chinese restaurants jostle for customers in Yokohama's Chinatown, and the district welcomes roughly 20 million visitors every year. Cantonese cuisine comprises about 40% of the restaurants, with Shanghai, Beijing, and Sichuan fare also figuring prominently. In addition to multi-course meals, various dim sum treats are also popular. One easy way to enjoy Chinatown is to try one of the big Chuka-man (steamed buns containing pork and other savory fillings) served piping hot at Chinatown storefronts while strolling down the district's vibrant streets.
Doria
Spaghetti Napolitana Japanese-Style Western Food When Yokohama's port opened to the outside world, local farmers began cultivating cabbages, tomatoes, and onions and raising livestock to feed the population of Westerners residing in the city's foreign settlement. The presence of these new ingredients, coupled with influence from the residents themselves, made Yokohama one of the cradles for the emergence of yoshoku, or Japanese-style Western dishes. Several standard yoshoku dishes that are now popular throughout Japan originated in Yokohama. One, known as doria, features a bed of rice covered with cream-simmered shrimp and gratin sauce and then baked in an oven. Doria was conceived at Yokohama's Hotel New Grand (established in 1927) by the hotel's first master chef, Swiss chef Saly Weil. Another yoshoku dish that is now familiar to diners nationwide, spaghetti Napolitana, was created at the same hotel soon after the end of World War II. Spaghetti Napolitana features sautéed ham, garlic, onions, and mushrooms and cooked spaghetti mixed into a tomato sauce. The dish is finished with a sprinkling of finely grated parmesan cheese and parsley. As for desserts, ice cream was introduced to Japan through Yokohama. The frozen treat was first manufactured and sold in Japan by a Yokohama ice shop in 1869.
PACIFICO Yokohama In recent years, Yokohama has hosted events promoting French, Indian, and other cuisines, suggesting that the city's voracious appetite for foods from around the world is very much alive and well. 2008/2/23 Japanese Space Internet  Japanese women at an internet cafe in Tokyo. Japan has launched a satellite aimed at providing high-speed Internet access across Asia. (AFP)
Japan launches high-speed Internet satellite
AFP/Yahoo! News
February 23, 2008
TOKYO (AFP) - Japan Saturday launched a satellite aimed at providing high-speed Internet access across Asia, after a one-week delay. The experimental satellite is looking at how to ensure broadband-speed services across Asia, even when terrestrial infrastructure goes down. The Kizuna launched at 17:55 pm (0855 GMT) from the Space Centre on the small island of Tanegashima off the southern tip of Kyushu Island, southern Japan. "The rocket launch went smoothly," a spokeswoman for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency in Tokyo said. Preparations before the launch Saturday included fully loading liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen tanks and checking the radio frequency system between the launch vehicle and ground stations, the agency said. The launch comes after the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said last week it had discovered a problem with the gas jet thruster for its launch rocket. Japan, like developing Asian powers China and India, has been stepping up its space operations and has set a goal of sending an astronaut to the moon by 2010. Bjork TokyoJapanese Fruit Why is Japanese fruit so delicious?
 -Windows Media Player
-Real Player
2008/2/22 Ferrari Japan Ferrari Asia Pacific Region President and CEO Marco Mattiacci delivers a speech during a news conference in Tokyo. Ferrari announced plans to rev up its sales efforts in Japan, targeting the country's growing pool of big spenders despite an uncertain economic outlook.
Ferrari steps up efforts to woo Japan's big spenders
AFP
February 22, 2008
TOKYO (AFP) - Italian sports car maker Ferrari announced plans Friday to rev up its sales efforts in Japan, targeting the country's growing pool of big spenders despite an uncertain economic outlook. Ferrari will set up its first fully owned subsidiary in Japan from April to strengthen its presence in Asia's largest economy, dismissing suggestions that the Japanese market was being overshadowed by the boom in China. "The Japanese market is still going for a long time to represent the largest market in Asia," said Ferrari's Asian chief Marco Mattiacci. "This is a market that has almost 1.2 million high net worth individuals -- one of the highest concentrations of wealth in the world -- so there's plenty of opportunity. The key factor is to keep being exclusive," he said. The automaker said details of its investment and the size of its operations were still being thrashed out. It will leave the retail side to its existing Japanese partner for now. Ferrari has faced tough competition in Japan in recent years, with its imports declining from 621 cars in 2000 to 380 in 2006, according to figures from the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association. But Mattiacci said 2007 had been an "incredibly successful" year in Japan with sales up about 35 percent. The group also sees lucrative opportunities in other areas, such as the service side.
"We believe the luxury super-premium segment -- despite (the weakness of) the rest of the car segment in Japan -- is growing," he said. Japan's overall automotive market is in decline due to weak consumer spending, a shrinking population and signs that many young Japanese are no longer interested in buying cars. But the country remains a cash cow for luxury goods makers, including auto manufacturers, with the number of Japanese millionaires on the rise. Spring PenisMainichi Daily News Video
 Phallic fun for all the family -- the Kanamara Matsuri (or Steel Erection Festival) takes place on the first Sunday of April.
Black EnkaAmerican 'B-boy' sings the soul of Japan
Mainichi Daily News
February 22, 2008
Jero Enka, traditional Japanese ballads, are songs that inspire the soul of not only the Japanese but a B-boy. Jero, apparently the first black enka singer in Japan, performed his smash hit debut single "Umiyuki" at a HMV store in Tokyo's Shibuya-ku on Wednesday. Born in Pittsburgh in the United States, the 26-year-old singer was brought up listening to enka from a young age inspired by his Japanese grandmother. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh in 2003, he moved to Japan to become an enka singer. Only two months later, Jero did well in NHK's amateur singing contest, showed successful results at local karaoke contests around the nation, and was scouted by a record label. Fluent in everyday Japanese, which he had learned in high school and college, Jero developed his vocal skills for enka during a two-year voice training period. Jero, who appeared in a red hip-hop outfit at Wednesday's event, also displayed a "dance version" performance of his hit enka song. "I don't think I would look great in a kimono. I hope more young people will like enka after listening to my song," he said. He also showed his gratitude to his grandmother, who died three years ago. "I will never forget my grandmother who always supported me. I think she is watching over me somewhere now." The record company has shipped about 83,000 copies of the single, which is an extraordinary number for a new enka singer. Tokyo Best Kept Secrets: Koraku Garden HotelSeems there are a lot of surprises in Tokyo, even after living here for nearly a decade now, there's always something new to be found. As you know, I love staying in hotels and have stayed at practically every hotel in Tokyo or so I thought? Seems there are even more hotels in this city than I ever imagined! Today, I stumbled upon a magnificent little secret oasis of a hotel nestled in the Korakuen Gardens next to the Tokyo Dome in the heart of the bustling Chiyoda District in Central Tokyo.
 I never knew this hotel existed and I've been to the Tokyo Dome and surrounding areas countless times before. I found out about it after stumbling on the Japan-China Friendship Center Website today. The hotel is part of this center which overlooks the splendid Korakuen Gardens, almost feels like it's not Tokyo in this bounty of greenery with meticulously carved-out Japanese gardens and landscape.
 Koishikawa Korakuen is one of Tokyo's oldest and most beautiful Japanese landscape gardens. It was built by close relatives of the Tokugawa Shogun in the early Edo Period. Like most traditional Japanese gardens, Koishikawa Korakuen attempts to reproduce famous landscapes from China and Japan in miniature, using a pond, stones, plants and a man made hill. Koishikawa Korakuen is attractive during all seasons of the year, but particularly so in the second half of November, when the trees turn colors, during the plum festival in late February and when the beautiful weeping cherry tree near the garden's entrance is in full bloom. Admission to Koishikawa Korakuen costs 300 Yen. It is open everyday, except during a short period around New Year. Koishikawa Korakuen is a 5-10 minute walk from Iidabashi Station (various JR and subway lines), a 10 minute walk from Korakuen Station on the Marunouchi, Mita and Nanboku Subway Lines or a 1 minute walk from Kasuga Station on the Oedo Subway Line. 2008/2/16 City Of Light Huis Ten Bosch is the world's only "City of Light," in which the entire "city" is illuminated all year but especially during the Chinese New Year, many special events such as grand fireworks will be held.
More Bad News JAL JAL crew put passengers' meals in bathroom
Kyodo News
February 16, 2008
The crew of a Japan Airlines plane put a cart containing snacks for passengers in a bathroom due to lack of space during takeoff and landing in a flight earlier this month from South Korea to Japan, officials of the airline and the transport ministry said Saturday. Officials of the airline and the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry said they do not see any safety problems in the incident. But a JAL official said the crew lacked consideration for the customers when they put their meals in the bathroom, even though the packages were sealed.
JAL stores snack tray in plane toilet
Mainichi Daily News
February 16, 2008
Embarrassed Japan Airlines has apologized after flight crew members secretly stored a cart filled with snacks for passengers inside an airplane toilet. JAL insists there were no hygiene problems involved with the snacks served on Flight 958 from Pusan in South Korea to Narita on Feb. 6, and admits crew didn't inform the pilot until after it had landed at its destination. "All the snacks we handed out had double lids, so there were no hygiene problems involved, but we're sorry for not showing enough consideration for passengers," a JAL spokesman said. "We want to make sure that crewmembers report things like this to the captains without delay." JAL said Flight 958 took off from Pusan with a snack tray that had not been removed from an earlier flight as it should have been. Crew members had nowhere to store the tray, which needed to be made immobile for safety reasons, so they decided to shove it into the toilet. They later took out the cart and handed out the snacks to passengers. Crew members only told the pilot what had happened after the plane had arrived at Narita. Japan To Korea Undersea Railroad Tunnel Rail tunnel to South Korea
Kyodo News
February 16, 2008
Senior lawmakers from the ruling and opposition camps said Friday they will form a bipartisan group possibly next month to push for construction of an undersea railroad tunnel between Japan and South Korea, inviting all Diet members to join. The envisaged 128-km tunnel would be part of a roughly 230-km railway linking Karatsu, Saga Prefecture, and Busan through Japan's Iki and Tsushima islands, said the lawmakers gathering for an organizing committee meeting. If realized, the tunnel would help link Tokyo and London by rail, they said. The group will start by lobbying the Japanese and South Korean governments to earmark budgets to study the idea's feasibility, according to the lawmakers. The organizing committee comprises senior members of all main political parties but the Japanese Communist Party, including former Defense Agency Director General Seishiro Eto of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama, and former New Komeito leader Takenori Kanzaki. Eto told reporters after the meeting: "This is a dream-inspiring project. We'd like to promote it as a symbol of peace-building." 2008/2/15 Taiko BoomFunny but just recently I've been getting an affinity for Taiko and looks like it's booming...
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