Tokyo Lifer

50 Years Of Chicken Ramen

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 10:12:34 GMT

Instant gratification: Children chow down on Chicken Ramen at an event marking the 50th anniversary of the launch of the instant noodle snack in the Umeda district in Osaka on Monday.

Nisshin marks Chicken Ramen's first 50 years
Japan Times

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20080826a2.html

Nisshin Food Products Co. celebrated Monday the 50th anniversary of the market debut of Chicken Ramen, the world's first instant noodles.

The company began a three-day event in Osaka, the birthplace of instant noodles, during which it will show the public the production process of the Chicken Ramen that debuted Aug. 25, 1958.

Since the late Nisshin founder Momofuku Ando created instant noodles 50 years ago, the market has seen steady growth and ever-expanding product lineups.

In 1971, the company introduced Cup Noodle, featuring instant ramen in a waterproof plastic foam container that only has to be filled with hot water. In 2005, Nisshin debuted vacuum-packed instant noodles specially designed for astronaut Soichi Noguchi to eat during a mission aboard the U.S. space shuttle Discovery.

Around the 1970s, as growth in the domestic market slowed, Japanese manufacturers turned their attention overseas, mainly elsewhere in Asia. Around that time, foreign manufacturers also started making instant noodles.

In the past 50 years, the industry has grown huge, with more than 20 instant noodle manufacturers currently operating in Japan.

"We have no idea how many instant noodle makers there are in the world," a Nisshin official said.

Global consumption of instant noodles has increased in recent years, and some industry insiders even estimate it will more than double to 200 billion units by 2018.

The figure stood at about 97.9 billion units last year, which means each person on Earth consumed instant noodles 15 times a year.

By country, the largest consumer is China, followed by Indonesia, Japan and the United States. The market is growing in Russia, South America as well as in Europe.

Instant noodles have also gained status as emergency food aid for disaster-hit areas worldwide because they are easy to prepare and have a long shelf life.

Fruity Kit Kat

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 09:50:26 GMT

Kit Kat is one of the most popular cheap candies from America here and this summer we have a slew of fruity versions in kiwi, mango, pineapple and watermelon! All just 298 yen for a 24 piece bag!

Origin Bento

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 08:56:32 GMT

Origin Bento is like the McDonalds of bento shops that serve heaping, hot, fresh healthy bento and okazu throughout Japan 24 hours a day.

Aside from their seasonal bento, they also feature a full spread of salads and okazu. They usually have about 26 kinds of salads from tomato and eggplant salad to potato salad, tofu salad, okara salad and more along with a bunch of hot foods, more then like karaage, meatballs, sweet potatoes, yakisoba, onigiri, fried shrimp, rice dishes. Everything is priced the same, 150yen for 100grams so you just pile as much as you want in the containers provided, bring it up to the counter and they can ring you up along with your made-to-order bento or not.

For bento, they feature over 30 kinds of seasonal bento sets all made upon your order.

http://www.toshu.co.jp/

http://www.toshu.co.jp/origin/index.html

Postowns

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 09:10:44 GMT

Modern travellers passing through Narai

Thanks to the Shinkansen and the public transportation system, getting around in Japan is a convenient, efficient, and usually rapid affair. Despite this, sometimes I catch myself wallowing in self-pity for catching a bad connection or being stuck in a packed train. To snap myself out of it, there is always a simple solution; think of how people would have had to make the trip during the Edo Era. In the Edo Era, if a man wanted to get from Osaka to Tokyo he had to walk.

As a means to assert control over the country, the Shogunate government of the Edo Era heavily restricted the movement of its subjects. For all but the most wealthy, this resulted in journeys being taken by foot across a nationwide system of walking paths. Because these trips would usually require multiple days, "post towns" developed along the routes to provide travellers with accommodation.

Many locations in modern day Japan were first established as post towns, and this can be recognized by place names that end with "-juku"; two well known examples are Tokyo's Shinjuku and Harajuku. But neither of these places have retained much of the post town ambience that they had in the Edo Era. In fact, after the Meiji Restoration and the development of the railway system, most post towns lost their "post town ambience" as they modernized. However, there were also many that did not modernize. As the rest of the country progressed, some former post towns were left behind as relics of a bygone era.

Tsumago at Dusk

The misfortune of neglected post towns 100 years ago has become our good fortune today. In a few picturesque towns that time seems to have passed over, the post town is still alive. Or rather, to be more precise, the post towns have been revived as a tourist destintation. Of course, people aren't passing through out of necessity anymore, and their journey will probably be just a few hours, at most a weekend . But nonetheless, people are still walking through these little towns, trying to find a bit of rest and revitalization. And in fact, what better way to find refuge from the trials of modern day life than to go to a place where it seems to have not yet arrived.

Some post towns retain their original Honjin and Wakihonjin, which were the principal and secondary inns respectively. When important government officials (or perhaps the Emperor himself) would pass through a town with retinue in tow, it would be there that they would stay. The people of the town and the staff at the inn would go to great lengths to keep their guests comfortable and rested. Modern day travellers may not be greeted with quite the same pomp, but post towns will surely have either ryokan or minshuku where visitors can rest and be tended to if they wish to spend the night. I have had some very enjoyable experiences in the former post towns of Tsumago, Magome, Narai (all in the Kiso Valley), and Ouchijuku.

A Firepit in Magome

Though staying at a ryokan is almost always an extremely pleasant experience, the particular pleasure of visiting a post town is undoutedly walking about the town itself. The buildings of the main street are usually kept as they were in the Edo Era, and people sell local specialties out of their shops, sometimes the same speciality that was sold in former times. Many of the old buildings have had their interiors turned into charming little restaurants.

But simply walking up and down the streets is pleasure enough in and of itself. After spending so much of our days behind a desk or behind a wheel, there is something very calming about walking through a quiet old street. One particularly nice walk is between the two post towns of Tsumago and Magome, which has a nicely maintained trail. I suppose if you're in a post town the most natural thing to do is to walk to the next one.

The walking trail between Magome and Tsumago

Somen

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 09:20:08 GMT

Somen is my favorite summer noodles. Somen are very thin, white Japanese noodles made of wheat flour. The noodles are usually served cold and are less than 1.3 mm in diameter. The distinction between somen and the next thicker wheat noodles hiyamugi and even thicker Japanese wheat noodles udon is that somen is stretched while hiyamugi and udon are cut.

Somen are usually served cold with a light flavored dipping broth or tsuyu, and noodles are dipped into the sauce, not poured over like other foods. The sauce is usually a katsuobushi based sauce that can be flavored with Welsh onion, ginger, or myoga. In the summer time somen chilled with ice is a popular meal to help stay cool. Somen served in hot soup is usually called "nyumen," and is frequently served in the winter much like soba or udon would be.

Some restaurants offer "Nagashi Somen" (flowing noodles) in the summer. The noodles are placed in a long flume of bamboo across the length of the restaurant. The flume carries clear, ice-cold water. As the somen pass by, diners pluck them out with their chopsticks and then dip them in a container of tsuyu. Catching the noodles requires a fair amount of dexterity, but the noodles that aren't caught by the time they get to the end usually aren't eaten, so diners are pressured to catch as much as they can. A select few luxurious establishments put their somen in real streams so that diners can enjoy their meal in a beautiful garden setting. Machines have been designed to simulate this experience at home.

A very similar variety of thin wheat flour noodles are called somyeon in Korea, and are used in a dish called bibim guksu.

Ozzy On My Birthday?

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 08:39:07 GMT

Ozzy Osbourne to play one concert in Japan Oct 27
Japan Today
Sunday 24th August, 04:00 PM JST

http://www.japantoday.com/category/entertainment/view/ozzy-osbourne-to-play-one-concert-in-japan-oct-27

TOKYO — Heavy metal legend Ozzy Osbourne will perform in Japan on Oct 27 at the Nippon Budokan. It will be his first concert in Japan in seven years, according to promoters. It will be the 9th time that Osbourne, 59, will have played in Japan.

In other concert news, pop rock legend Jackson Browne, 59, will kick off his 11th tour of Japan on Nov 20. Browne will perform once in Osaka and twice in Tokyo.

Starwood Sheraton Beijing Dongcheng

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 09:49:02 GMT

Seems like Sheraton has become close to my heart as in Indonesia I always stay at the Le Meridien Jakarta Royal Club which is a designated Starwood flury and this time some of us and me are staying at the Sheraton Bandara which I mentioned previously. Anyway Sheraton is exclusive in Japan, there are no Starwood or Sheraton in Tokyo except for the recent name change of the Miyako Inn here near Shinagawa which they took over, aside from that there are only a few outside, but not in China there is over a hundred...

Starwood Hotels & Resorts has signed its 100th hotel in China. The Sheraton Beijing Dongcheng Hotel will feature 470 rooms, approximately 36,000 square feet of meeting space, 3 restaurants and bar, a health club, spa and indoor heated swimming pool. The hotel is part of the final phase of the Global Trade Center (GTC) mixed-use complex development. The complex comprises offices, retail shops, condominium, serviced apartments, and the hotel. The Sheraton Beijing Dongcheng Hotel is scheduled to open January 2011.

Located in Dongcheng District, Sheraton Beijing Dongcheng Hotel is located in the heart of Beijing transportation network near the Third Ring Road, and within close proximity to the 2008 Olympics venue, business and financial districts as well as Tiananmen Square.

In addition to the Sheraton Beijing Dongcheng Hotel, Starwood currently has two hotels under construction in Beijing: aloft Beijing Haidian and Four Points by Sheraton Beijing, Haidian; as well as 4 hotels in operation: Great Wall Sheraton Beijing, The Westin Beijing, Financial Street, The Westin Beijing, Chaoyang and St Regis Beijing.

“With strong domestic demand, an increasing affinity for global brands and international inbound travel on the rise, our opportunity in China is perhaps unsurpassed anywhere in the world,” said Simon Turner, President, Global Development for Starwood Hotels & Resorts. “What’s more, by 2020, China will generate over 100 million outbound trips a year, more than triple its current output, making it one of the largest origins of outbound travel in the world. As the Chinese travel abroad, they look for brands they know, and therefore Starwood’s development in China today, has significant implications for our hotels worldwide.”

Starwood continues to grow aggressively throughout Asia Pacific, with over 80 hotels under construction. China continues to fuel growth in the region, and more than half of Starwood’s pipeline in Asia Pacific is in Greater China, where the company expects to double its portfolio by 2011.

In addition to the 43 hotels Starwood currently operates in China, Starwood has 57 new properties scheduled to open. These include 22 Sheratons, 12 Four Points by Sheratons, eight Westins, five W hotels, four St Regis, three Le Meridien hotels, two aloft hotels and one Luxury Collection hotel.

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=3415

Japan Road

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 09:00:26 GMT

Tokugawa Ieyasu designated the Nakasendo, or “central mountain road,” one of Japan’s five official highways in 1602. On this route stretching from Kyoto to Edo (now Tokyo) were 69 post towns. Three of these best preserved villages — Narai, Tsumago and Magome — are located along the Kiso River valley, making for a beautiful hike through history.

Narai, at the foot of the challenging Torii-toge pass, was known as “the town of 1,000 inns,” though in reality there were fewer. One was designated for use by the “daimyo” (feudal lord), another for lower-ranked officials, and others for ordinary travelers. It’s still possible to stay at several of the original inns.

From Narai railway station, the town’s historic main street extends for about 1 kilometer, lined on both sides by two-story dark timber buildings. Some have display windows and open doors, through which lacquerware and other handicrafts are visible. Others have thin latticework covering the windows. Signs advertise handmade soba noodles. In between the buildings, narrow lanes lead off to temples and shrines, and the structures seem to almost reach out towards each other across the street. At five places, spring water is fed to covered traditional drinking fountains, which are still provided with water scoops for use by thirsty travelers, just as in centuries past. No power lines or even streetlights are present to detract from the traditional architecture. Vehicles are allowed, but the modern highway bypasses the town and traffic is light.

Our group of five booked two rooms at the 190-year-old Iseya inn, which once provided horse and porter service. The once earthen-floored entranceway of the main building is now tiled, but waxed paper umbrellas still hang inside ready for guests to borrow. We were excited to be shown upstairs to two of the four original guest rooms. The old floorboards in the corridor were warped and creaky, and our rooms had lattice-covered windows looking out onto the street. We drank tea around a lacquered table and marveled at staying in rooms where travelers had been stopping to rest for nearly 200 years.

Before dinner we strolled along the street as the day-trippers departed. A traditional cedar ball was hung over the entrance of the Sugi no Mori brewery, where we tasted sake made on the premises. As dusk descended, paper lanterns shone softly outside each building. Back at Iseya, dinner was served in the long, narrow dining room on the ground floor. Featuring mountain vegetables and freshwater fish, the dishes were full of distinct and delicious flavors. We all ate far too much.

The next morning, nourished by a substantial breakfast, we bid farewell to Iseya’s proprietor and set off to walk a section of Kiso Kaido. The route over Torii-toge pass follows a narrow, often steep footpath through dense forest. A section not far from Narai and another near the next post town, Yabuhara, are paved with stones, known as ishidatami, which must have been difficult in bad weather for Edo-era travelers in straw rope sandals. Climbing to the pass, we crossed rickety bridges over fast-flowing streams. Frogs croaked and birds called. Distant mountains were occasionally visible. The route has huts for resting and wells for drinking, and two buildings with public toilets are also maintained.

On the Yabuhara side, brass bells have been erected at three points. Walkers are encouraged to ring them to warn off any bears that may be around. Fortunately we didn’t encounter any in our three-hour walk from Narai to Yabuhara. The train back to Narai takes only six minutes.

Another section of the Kiso Road further down the valley links Tsumago and Magome. This popular walk also takes around three hours, but the trail passes through more varied landscape than that between Narai and Yabuhara. From Tsumago, with its white-walled storehouses and timber buildings, the route skirts some rice fields on the way to Oku-Tsumago. A slight detour leads to two waterfalls. The trail also passes by an old teahouse as it climbs through forest to Magome-toge pass. Then it descends through fields and small hamlets until reaching a steep, stone-paved street that winds downhill between the souvenir shops, restaurants and inns of Magome.

Neither Tsumago nor Magome allow vehicles in their main streets during the day. As in Narai, overhead wires are hidden away, and there are no convenience stores or other obvious symbols of modernity. In Tsumago, Magome and Narai, the slower pace of a bygone era beckons still along the old Kiso Road.

Japan Alps

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 07:36:39 GMT

Between Sword and Spear in the Japanese Alps
Japan Times

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fv20080822a1.html

I opened my eyes: clouds broke against the ridgeline, sending their tendrils skyward in the eastern updraft, high above the vertiginous vista that stretched away to distant, snow-touched mountains. I was taking a breather on a narrow ledge close to the pinnacle of Tsurugi-dake — Sword Peak — the most thrilling mountain in Japan's North Alps. I was not so much tired as overwhelmed by beauty and the emptiness of space below me. Further up the cliff, the elderly couple who had adopted me that morning on the trail were waiting.

Walk with the devil: Jigoku-dani (Hell Valley) steams and hisses near Murodo, Toyama Prefecture

"You a man?" grandpa gestured graphically, questioning my manhood in the most encouraging way possible. Laughing, I found my courage and the next handhold. My honorary grandparents weren't the only old timers on the trail: The North Alps, with their broad variety of routes, extensive system of mountain huts and easy bus access, drew over 250,000 hikers in 2007, young and old, beginner and expert alike.

Recreational hiking in Japan is relatively new in the nation's long history: the mountains were considered foreboding and inhospitable, the realm of mountain priests and the gods, until a pair of Englishmen, William Gowland and Walter Weston, climbed them in the late 19th century.

Gowland dubbed the region "The Japan Alps" while Weston's lectures and books introduced the region to Japanese and foreigners alike.

Murodo, Toyama Prefecture's popular northern trailhead, sits at the bottom of a broad valley dotted with small snowfields, surrounded on three sides by a high ridgeline, and has trails for every difficulty level and time span. Easygoing day-trippers often opt to do a loop around the valley basin, admiring alpine flowers, looking for raicho (ptarmigans, literally "thunderbirds") and relaxing at a hot-spring lodge, while the slightly more daring will descend into Jigoku-dani — Hell Valley. This hissing, sulfurous landscape spews noxious steam and gray, acrid water from its depths, so steer clear if you have breathing problems. And look out for ghosts, which, according to legend, may ask you for help. The religious signification is even stronger on another day-trip route up Tateyama, one of Japan's Three Holy Mountains. The crown-shaped summit with multiple peaks has been a center for shugendo, or Buddhist mountain-asceticism, since the eighth century.

Peaks ahoy: Chains and narrow paths on the ascent of Tsurugi-dake

"Tateyama is a mandala," explained Norimichi Yamada, a priest working at the shrine at the top. "The peak at the center is heaven and the valleys represent hell." The climb is not nearly so difficult, as busloads of schoolchildren and groups of pensioners routinely make it to the heavenly views of the steaming valleys below.

East of Murodo lurks Tsurugi-dake. This rocky, jagged mountain is best done on an overnight trip by souls with good insurance policies. Tsurugi doesn't resemble a sword until you approach the sheer cliffs and three peaks that thrust skyward, the trail perched between the sky and oblivion. The final ascent is called the Kani-no-Tatebai, or "Place Where You Crawl Up Like A Crab." In other words: rock-climbing minus safety gear plus a chain and a few footholds. If vertiginous adrenaline rush is your thing, Tsurugi lives up to its billing as the scariest mountain in Japan, another representation of hell opposite Tateyama.

Taking a breather before Tsurugi-dake

At the southern end of the range, Kamikochi's easy riverside walking, plush hotels and cooler temperatures lure thousands of summer guests, but it is even more famous for its fall colors. Starting in late September, a wave of red and golden leaves rolls down from Hotaka-dake and Yari-ga-take into their respective valleys, the Kara-sawa and the Yari-sawa. The Kara-sawa loop, by far the more popular in the fall, takes you up a well-maintained trail through a wide valley set ablaze by the bright birch and Japanese larch leaves, and then over Oku-Hotaka-dake (3,190 meters), the third-highest mountain in Japan, on a two-day course. The vertical ascent and descent is 1,500 meters each day, so go easy on your knees. The loop route for Yari-ga-take (3,180 meters), the peak Weston dubbed "the Matterhorn in Japan," is more exciting. The final ascent of the pinnacle is a chain-and-ladder scramble up to a 360-degree view of the range, often crowded but definitely rewarding. The second day links up with the Hotaka-dake route through the precipitous Daikiretto (Great Cleft), 300 vertical meters of clinging on for dear life. Check the weather and your gut before attempting it.

Hikers with a week free should try a full traverse of the North Alps, from Murodo to Kamikochi, because the day-tripping crowds dissipate, wildlife is more common, and some lesser-known peaks are nearly as stunning as the famous ones. Yakushi-dake sits alone in the center of the range, its gradual slopes culminating in a sharp peak silhouetted against the sky, while Goshiki-ga-hara is a broad plateau famous for wildflowers and fall colors. The extensive lodge system makes long treks easy, as food and shelter don't need to be carried, but they can be crowded during the summer vacation period and the fall foliage season.

Campers in the Kara-sawa valley in October last year

"We can't turn anyone away," said Yuuji Irino, a worker at Sugoroku Lodge, "so sometimes it's two people to a futon." The possibility of sharing a mattress with a snoring stranger makes the weight of a tent less arduous in high season; sharing the trail with the Japanese, however, is always a pleasure. On a long traverse the terse "good mornings" of the trailheads give way to genuine greetings, mid-climb commiserations, swapped lunch goodies and celebration over beer at the huts and tents each night. For the laughter shared in this impromptu mountain community, I'd brave any peak.

Murodo access: By train, take the first half of the Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine Route from Dentetsu Toyama Station (¥3,530, 2 hours). Drivers must park at the Toyama cable-car station (¥2,360). Access from the opposite side, Shinano-omachi Station on the JR Oito line, costs ¥7,030, 2:45 hours; www.alpen-route.com Kamikochi access: Kamikochi (www.kamikochi.or.jp) has buses running day and night from large urban centers. Consult Alpico bus company for overnight buses (www.sawayaka.alpico.co.jp). Drivers must park and take a bus to Kamikochi. Train access is Takayama Station to the west and Matsumoto Station to the east. Lodges cost approximately ¥8,500/5,500 with/without meals. Camping is ¥500 and water is usually free. Beers go for ¥500 a can and lunch boxes are available at several huts. Lonely Planet's "Hiking in Japan" (2001) and the Shobunsha No. 37 and No. 39 maps cover the trails mentioned here, although LP's course times are too aggressive for most hikers.

Emirates Airbus A380

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 06:53:02 GMT

I've already flown on the Singapore Airlines A380 standard which wasn't all that great except for the first class private rooms but it seems the Emirates has their own version of this big airplane now too with all the options...

Showers, bars, lounge - Emirates Airbus A380 has them all

Emirates’ new Airbus A380 has some luxurious amenities. This particular aircraft features 489 seats with 14 in first class suites, 76 in business and 399 in economy class. The airline has also ordered two other versions of the A380, one with 517 seats in a three-class configuration, and the other with 604 seats in a two class layout. The new plane has a wide range of innovations to help make journeys more comfortable and enjoyable, but the biggest surprise is definitely in the aircraft’s premium cabin - First Class.

First Class passengers will be able to relax in one of 14 private suites, with seats that convert to fully flat beds. The suites are equipped with an electrically operated door, mini bar, reading lights, work desk with built-in illuminated vanity mirror, personal electrically controlled mini-bar and room service feature.

Other features include a fold-out mechanical table, a flower vase, a literature pocket, a credenza sideboard, wardrobe, forward and aft stationary panels and screens.

To ensure passenger privacy adjoining center suites in the middle of the First Class cabin have an electrically-operated privacy divider that can be raised and lowered.

The suite is 2.08 meters long, with a seat that reclines from upright position to sleep position with a total length of 78.87 inches. The seat cushions are a comfortable 21.6 inches wide. The seat/bed is equipped with an electrically-operated leg rest, backrest, headrest, armrest, seat frame, leg rest extension and seat pan extension which enable the seat to convert to any preset position (upright, dining, or bed) or to any intermediate position between upright and flat-bed.

The innovative seats also feature a multi-mode massage system with adjustable speed and intensity, and lumbar support adjustment.

A touch screen Wireless Integrated Passenger Seat Controller allows passengers to control Emirates’ IFE (In-flight Entertainment) and seat functions. A 23-inch wide LCD screen is linked to Emirates’ ICE inflight entertainment system while a PC power outlet, dual USB port and RJU headphone jack allows passengers to create their own entertainment.

The most outstanding new feature, and something which will forever change First Class travel, is the Shower Spas. The First Class cabins on Emirates A380, in addition to all the above, also provide passengers with two fully-equipped bathrooms, complete with shower facilities. The two Shower Spas consist of a shower cubicle with water temperature / time control, vanity unit and wash basin, clothes changing area and toilet. A hairdryer and even a full length mirror have been installed. A 15.4-inch LCD monitor in each shower displays the live Airshow and tail camera output.

Other features of the bathrooms include heated flooring, leather seating, and exotic flowers to create a relaxed ambience. To ensure passengers arrive at their destination in the best possible shape, the airline provides passengers with cosmetics that include perfumes by Bvlgari and Timeless Spa shampoo, conditioner, body moisturizer shower gel and exfoliate.

The aircraft also features two bar areas, one exclusively for First Class and the other for both First and Business Class passengers.

First Class passengers have the use of a fully-stocked bar, situated at the front of the First Class cabin on the upper deck. First and Business Class passengers can use the Lounge situated at the rear of the Business Class cabin on the upper deck. In addition to a fully stocked bar containing premium branded liquers and spirits and a selection of hot and cold canapés and snacks, there are two sofas, and a 42 inch LCD screen showing the aircraft’s position and views from its external cameras.

Each cabin features a unique, advanced mood lighting system, complete with a starlit sky. This adjusts throughout a flight to reflect the time at the destination, and to help combat effects of jet lag.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/travel/view/showers-bars-lounge-emirates-airbus-a380-has-them-all

Hachinoki Sweet

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 06:50:42 GMT

Hiroshima’s best-known traditional sweets shop, Hachinoki is a must for anyone wanting to taste old-fashioned Japanese confections such as dango, anmitsu, kakigori, and more. The shop first opened in 1958, and half a century later Hachinoki's master still makes his sweet bean jam fresh every day.

The shop occupies a prime downtown corner, but is cozy and intimate inside. If you like, you can start with a simple but nurturing rice ball or bowl of noodles, or you can go straight to dessert. Dango are soft, round dumplings made from rice flour and delicately flavored with various seasonings. The mitarashi dango, basted with sweet, soy-based syrup, are especially popular here. The varied tastes and textures of anmitsu's jumble of jellies, fruits and sweet bean jam make every mouthful different, while the kakigori shaved ices are a wonderful summer treat. They even have a coffee-flavored ice.

Stop in, and leave the downtown rush behind as you linger over the tastes of an earlier time.

http://www.japan-guide.com/tss/hiroshima/h05hachinoki.html

More Soba

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 09:12:52 GMT

Soba a type of thin Japanese noodle made from buckwheat flour. It is served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or in hot broth as a noodle soup. Moreover, it is not uncommon in Japan to refer to any thin noodle as soba in contrast to udon which are thick noodles made from wheat.

In Japan, soba noodles are served in a variety of situations. They are a popular inexpensive fast food at train stations throughout Japan, they are served by exclusive and expensive specialty restaurants, and they are also made at home. Markets sell dried noodles and men-tsuyu, or instant noodle broth, to make home preparation easy.

Some establishments, especially cheaper and more casual ones, may serve both soba and udon (thick wheat noodles) as they are often served in a similar manner. However, soba is traditionally the noodle of choice for Tokyoites. This tradition originates from the Edo period when the population of Edo (Tokyo), being considerably wealthier than the rural poor, were more susceptible to beri beri due to their high consumption of white rice which is low in thiamine, and are thought to have made up for this by regularly eating thiamine-rich soba. Every neighbourhood had one or two soba establishments, many also serving sake, which functioned much like modern cafes where locals would drop by casually.

Soba is typically eaten with chopsticks, and in Japan, it is traditionally considered polite to slurp the noodles noisily. This is especially common with hot noodles, as drawing up the noodles quickly into the mouth acts to cool them down. However, quiet consumption of noodles is no longer uncommon.

Like many Japanese noodles, soba noodles are often served drained and chilled in the summer, and hot in the winter with a soy-based dashi broth. Extra toppings can be added onto both hot and cold soba. Toppings are chosen to reflect the seasons and to balance with other ingredients. Most toppings are added without much cooking, although some are deep-fried. Most of these dishes may also be prepared with udon.

Dried soba noodles, three bundles in a package

Cold Chilled soba is often served on a sieve-like bamboo tray called a zaru, sometimes garnished with bits of dried nori seaweed, with a dipping sauce known as soba tsuyu on the side. The tsuyu is made of a strong mixture of dashi, sweetened soy sauce (also called "kaeshi") and mirin. Using chopsticks, the diner picks up a small amount of soba from the tray and swirls it in the cold tsuyu before eating it. Wasabi, scallions, and grated ginger are often mixed into the tsuyu. It's said that the best way to experience the unique texture of hand-made soba noodles is to eat them cold, since letting them soak in hot broth changes their consistency.

Mori soba – Basic chilled soba noodles served on a flat basket or a plate.
Zaru soba – Mori soba topped with shredded nori seaweed.
Bukkake soba– Cold soba served with various toppings sprinkled on top, after which the broth is poured on by the diner. It may include:
- tororo – puree of yamaimo (a Japanese yam with a slimy texture)
- oroshi – grated daikon radish
- natto – sticky fermented soybeans
- okra – fresh sliced okra

Soba maki – Cold soba wrapped in nori and prepared as makizushi.

Soba noodle salad

Soba salad: Cold soba mixed in sesame dressing with vegetables. It is more of a modern and fusion cold soba dish.

Hot Soba is also often served as a noodle soup in a bowl of hot tsuyu. The hot tsuyu in this instance is thinner than that used as a dipping sauce for chilled soba. Popular garnishes are sliced scallion and shichimi togarashi (mixed chilli powder).

Kake soba – Hot soba in broth topped with thinly sliced scallion, and perhaps a slice of kamaboko (fish cake).
Kitsune soba (in Kantō) or Tanuki soba (in Kansai) – Topped with abura age (deep-fried tofu).
Tanuki soba (in Kantō) or Haikara soba (in Kansai) – Topped with tenkasu (bits of deep-fried tempura batter).
Tempura soba – Topped with tempura, usually a large shrimp.
Tsukimi soba ("moon-viewing soba") – Topped with raw egg, which poaches in the hot soup.
Tororo soba – Topped with tororo, the puree of yamaimo (a potato-like vegetable with a slimy texture).
Wakame soba – Topped with wakame seaweed

Soba is traditionally eaten on New Years Eve in most areas of Japan, a tradition which survives to this day (Toshikoshi soba.) In the Tokyo area, there is also a tradition of giving out soba to new neighbours after a house move (Hikkoshi soba), although this practice is now rare.

Izumo soba, named after Izumo, Shimane Prefecture

Izushi soba, named after Izushi, Hyōgo Prefecture

The most famous Japanese soba noodles come from Nagano. Soba from Nagano is called Shinano Soba or Shinshu soba. Ni-hachi (two-eight) soba, consists of two parts of wheat and eight of buckwheat; Juuwari (100%) soba, the finest (and usually most expensive) variety, consists entirely of buckwheat.

Sarashina soba – thin, light-colored soba, made with refined buckwheat
Inaka soba – "country soba", thick soba made with whole buckwheat

By location

Shinshu soba – named after the old name of Nagano Prefecture. Also known as Shinano soba. (Shinano=Shinshu)
Etanbetsu soba – named after the central region of Hokkaidō (Asahikawacity)
Izumo soba – named after Izumo in Shimane
Izushi soba – named after Izushi in Hyōgo
Memil guksu – Korean noodles similar to soba

By ingredients

Tororo soba or Jinenjo soba – flavored with wild yam flour
Cha soba – flavored with green tea powder
Mugi soba – flavored with mugwort
Hegi soba – flavored with seaweed
Ni-hachi soba – soba containing 20% wheat and 80% buckwheat
Towari soba or Juwari soba – 100% buckwheat soba

Soba

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 07:43:06 GMT

Buckwheat noodles (soba) are my favorite noodles in Japan throughout the year. Usually these noodles are served hot with simple toppings like a raw egg or tempura but in the summer they have all kinds of different varieties of cold soba (hiyashi soba) with delicious cold toppings too.

Soba noodles are native Japanese noodles made of buckwheat flour (soba-ko) and wheat flour (komugi-ko). They are roughly as thick as spaghetti, and prepared in various hot and cold dishes. The most basic soba dish is zaru soba in which boiled, cold soba noodles are eaten with a soya based dipping sauce (tsuyu).

Like pasta, soba noodles are available in dried form in supermarkets, but they taste best if freshly made by hand from flour and water. Soba making has also become a popular tourist attraction for domestic and international travelers. The activity is offered by many community centers and travel tour companies. Below you will find an illustrated description of the soba making process.

1st step: Mixing the flour

The first step, mixing the flour with water into a dough, is considered the most important and difficult part of making soba noodles. The correct amount of water is added step by step to the flower and mixed for several minutes until the flour becomes moist enough to be formed into a dough. The dough is then pressed until it becomes very smooth and contains no more air.

2nd step: Rolling the dough

The dough is then rolled into a thin square by repeatedly rolling it around a wooden rolling stick.

3rd step: Cutting the dough

At last, the dough is folded and cut into the noodles.

For zaru soba, the noodles are then boiled and cooled down with cold water, before served with a soya based dipping sauce (tsuyu), wasabi, nori seaweed and negi (Japanese leek). The water used to boil the noodles (soba-yu) is often added to the remaining tsuyu and drunken at the end of the meal.

Other popular soba dishes are noodle soups with various toppings, such as Kitsune Soba, Tanuki Soba and Tsukimi Soba. Despite the name, the popular dish Yakisoba is not made with soba noodles, but rather with Chinese style noodles (chukamen).

Crabs

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 07:16:02 GMT

I have turtles myself but yeah in a city as big and crowded as Tokyo is with over 12 million people living in an area the size of Manhattan with over 11 Million more people living therein, having a pet can be more of a burden than a privilege. Micro Robotic Creatures and Bandai, however, have come up with a rather technological solution. The palm-sized robotic creatures known as Hex Bugs are not much of a substitution for a dog, but each comes equipped with light and sound sensors, which means you can control their movements with a slap on the table or by clapping your hands. The crab-like bots can also sense and avoid objects that get in their way, as well as cower in the dark. Collect both the red and blue models, and take them on a walk around your living room.

www.hexbug.com

Summer Rewind

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 06:21:37 GMT

This summer vacation I went to the Beijing Olympics, stayed in many new local hotels, saw lots of summer fireworks, festivals in passing and visited Mito for the the first time but one of the greatest events here happened right on the otherside of one of the hotels I was staying at. The annual Summer Sonic music festival was held right on the oherside of the Tokyo Bay Makuhari when I was staying there last week...

Another Scorching Summer Sonic

Japan Times

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fm20080815a1.html

Held simultaneously in Tokyo (well, Chiba's Makuhari Messe and Marine Stadium) and Osaka, Summer Sonic pulled a combined 190,000 music fans for a weekend of polite debauchery under a scorching sun on Aug. 9-10.

The Tokyo leg kicked off in fine style. With 120,000 punters watching 107 acts from around the world, boredom was never going to be on the agenda, but opening the Dance Stage with lo-tech idol-pop trio Perfume got pulses racing right away. For me it was a damp squib — the girls played just four songs, instead yapping away for ages in voices so high-pitched as to be barely audible about how much they love the summer; and worse, they were clearly miming to the songs. But the thousands of fans in the packed hall didn't seem to care, won over by the immaculate choreography to such amazing tracks as "Polyrhythm" and the suspiciously named "Baby Cruising Love." The two-day party had well and truly started.

In fact, the Dance Stage had a strong hand this year, graced as it was by the dance-floor demolition of French electro- fille Yelle ; the anthemic pop of American hit-maker Santogold (who was a bundle of energy despite having lost her voice); and all-night entertainment on Saturday courtesy of eclectic Australian label Modular. The label's New Zealand signing Ladyhawke persevered through terrible sound trouble to play their groove-riding pop and walked off triumphant.

Most of the Japanese bands were herded together on the Island Stage, under a marquee near the stadium. Always a festival crowd-pleaser, HiGE unleashed a set of their raw, chart-friendly pop, an update of the grunge sound of the early 1990s. Part of their appeal is their gently odd stage persona, and here Koichi "Koteisui" Sato wandered out from behind one of the band's dual drum kits and danced Bez-like before bellowing into a megaphone. Later, GO!GO!7188 belted out their uniquely Japanese take on a rockabilly sound, erupting into a cacophonic finale before being called back onstage with a chant of "Busaiku" ("Ugly"), as is the tradition among their fans. The tent was packed despite strong competition on the other stages, proving that thoughtful and intricate music can provoke a wild response.

Santogold, The Ting Tings and GO!GO!7188 were among the bands that dazzled the crowds this year.

Over on the Sonic Stage, the British shoegazing revival was represented by Spiritualized and The Jesus and Mary Chain . The former built up a raging wall of noise during "Shine a Light," which fell suddenly to a peaceful plateau of soulful backing singers, like the storm before the calm. Troubled main-man Jason Pierce stood side-on, facing not his fans but his band mates, controlling the chaos with grace.

The Mountain Stage played host to my three festival highlights. The Sex Pistols stormed out armed with Union Jack and Japanese Imperial flags, a wickedly sharp sound and a whole lot of snot, which "singer" Johnny Rotten blew violently from his nostrils from time to time. Yes, they're fat and old now, but simple, powerful classics such as "God Save the Queen" and "Pretty Vacant" sounded as fresh and vital as they did in 1977 — and rewriting the lyrics of the fierce "Belsen Was a Gas," now renamed "Baghdad Was a Blast," showed that Rotten can still get the punters riled over politics.

In the same hall the next morning, a surprising number of fans had rolled out of bed to bounce along to the superstellar single "Great DJ" by Mancunian duo The Ting Tings . Guitar-vocalist Katie White and drummer Jules De Martino played their newish debut album "We Started Nothing" in a different order, but with some songs subtly reworked. Triggering backing tracks and looping backing vocals on the spot, while oozing stage presence, the pair proved that two members is plenty.

But outshining them all were Devo , who have influenced so many of the bands on the festival bill, from outright copyists Polysics to British high-NRG indie band Late of the Pier, who had confessed their debt to Devo in a handwritten note earlier in the day. The Ohio five-piece took to the stage in bright-yellow boiler suits to play their sloganeering '70s and '80s hits that set the blueprint for generations of new wave and postpunk bands to come. They presented undying genre classics such as "Whip it" and "Girl You Want" with a simple stage show of robotic dances and costume changes, and while much of what they do could nowadays be run off a computer, their use of battered analog synths, custom-made guitars and weird boxes covered in buttons made devolution seem a thrilling prospect.

The vast Marine Stadium played host to headliners The Prodigy and Coldplay, who officially closed Saturday and Sunday night respectively (although some other stages carried on much later). The Prodigy 's crisp beats, deep bass and acid 808 hooks worked the stadium into a lather, as tracks such as "Voodoo People" showed how forward- thinking they were in their early-'90s prime. After all, Tokyo's Boom Boom Satellites, who played the Mountain Stage the next day in front of a capacity crowd, practically owe them their whole career.

The last time I saw Coldplay , at 2005's Fuji Rock Festival, Chris Martin spread his arms wide after the first song and bellowed "Sayonara!" ("Goodbye!"), when he'd meant to say "Arigato!" ("Thank you!"). This time I thought I'd spare him such embarrassment by not going to see them. But watching their performance on a TV set backstage, it was apparent that he'd been practicing: The singer of one of the biggest British bands in the world was singing a song by the terrible J-pop boy-band SMAP. All the Japanese around me cringed. But hey, that's what happens when you have a band as unimaginatively dull as Coldplay closing a festival as exciting as Summer Sonic. Tens of thousands of fans seemed to enjoy their set, especially when Alicia Keys came out to duet on piano, but then there never was any accounting for taste.

Stale Sex In Japan

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 10:42:32 GMT

Sex is stale in the city
The party's over; time to go home
Japan Times

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ff20080815a1.html

Hmmm. This is tough. Trashing "Sex and the City" is like saying you don't own one pair of great strap-on heels or a little black dress. It's like admitting to years of celibacy. Immediately, you're seen as less than a woman (the modern definition of one anyway), one with no sense, no taste, weird and undesirable. I can already hear the gates of sisterhood crashing in my face with a resounding, hostile bang.

In my defense, it's the movie version that's troubling, not the TV series, which, as it did for every other female on the planet, brought me incredible amounts of joy, laughter and fashion tips in many a sunless winter. At one point, my girlfriends were even saying they'd rather go home and watch "Sex and the City" than waste time on a date, which contradicted the essence of the program.

But hey, so what? We waited four long years, nursing on rental DVDs, for another season or at least some sense of continuity. And now, this movie.

Alas, on the big screen, the Fabulous Four seem to lose their sheen, their verve, some significant core of their very beings. The director/writer, Michael Patrick King, wrote and produced many of the episodes for the series, but what worked for him on the living-room screen simply doesn't translate to theater size. At nearly two and a half hours, "Sex and the City" feels overly long, overcontrived and unnecessarily fussed at, like a too-made-up bride with an impossibly cumbersome gown.

Speaking of which, Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker): Every woman's best girlfriend and the guardian angel of urban sisterhood, is getting hitched. Her wedding however, doesn't sound like at her at all, or at least not the youthful, independent, sparkling woman who wowed us with her combination get-ups of street-waif vintage and high fashion, not to mention her spot-on observations about looking for love in Manhattan.

Carrie used to balk at the tastelessly inconspicuous — at parties she subconsciously channeled Jackie Onassis and let other people do the talking while she stood quietly, being cool and gorgeous. But on this occasion, she pulls out the stops. The guest list blows up from a cozy 75 to a whopping 200-plus. The venue, to be photographed by Vogue in a five-page spread, is the New York Public Library (thank God it wasn't the Museum of Sex). As for the dress, it's an affront to all that Carrie had once stood for. In 1998, when the series first started, she would have preferred to have her fingernails torn off by Nazi interrogators than wear this monstrosity that resembles a huge vat of white paint in which globs of Styrofoam have been left to drown.

The groom is that elusive Mr. Big (Chris Noth), the love of her life who, even when he was in bed with Carrie, seemed always on the verge of going out for cigarettes and never coming back. Now about to enter holy matrimony for the third time in his life, Mr. Big gets a severe case of cold feet just before the ceremony and has to be cajoled by Carrie to come on down from the tree and have a sip of champagne.

Actually, Big has been bitten by the Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) bug, though not in the way you think. Always the rigid perfectionist, Miranda can't forgive her husband Steve (David Eigenberg) for a teensy weensy one-night stand and lets slip to Big (whose name by the way, we finally found out is John) that marriage ain't no bowl of cherries. Big then feels like chucking the whole thing, as much as he feels bad for jilting Carrie, not to mention that "her 40s is the last age at which a bride can be photographed without the unintended Diane Arbus subtext."

Luckily Carrie's pals are there to console and comfort: sexpot Samantha (Kim Cattrall) flown in from Los Angeles, where she lives in sexual bliss with daytime TV star Smith (Jason Lewis); the sweetly obliging Charlotte (Kristin Davis), who lives in domestic bliss with stable husband Harry (Evan Handler) and their adopted Chinese baby; and, of course, the irrepressible Miranda.

So the Fab Four go to Mexico to get away from it all. This doesn't include raucous, nonstop discussions of sex and pubic hair and a sudden, um, burst of incontinence on the part of Charlotte, rather there are interminable phone calls back and forth between the ladies and their respective men folk, plus a grand-scale profusion of designer garb, some really hideous handbag paraphernalia and so many Manolo heels that even Imelda Marcos would have found them too much.

True, Zen aesthetics had never applied to "Sex and the City" but the excessive, pile-it-on credo of the movie wears on the nerves like a bad hair-do. The TV series had always been about the celebration of womanhood, but it seems like the movie carries on long after the party's over.

Edogawa Cool

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 10:02:36 GMT

Good cool hunting in Edogawa
Japan Times

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fv20080815kn.html

In Tokyo, when the going gets hot, the cool go to Hawaii, or flee to mountain resorts. Others plunk down their yen for a dip in a hotel or amusement-park pool. The rest of us steam in the stupefying humidity and hope our flip-flops don't fuse to the tarmac. Surely there's some inexpensive, convenient, and not-ridiculously-crowded relief available?

Big in Japan: The 117-meter Diamonds and Flowers Ferris wheel, the second-largest in Japan.

Surfing satellite images on Google Earth, I've spotted what looks like an underwater tennis court near Nishi Kasai. I hop on the Tozai subway line to Edogawa Ward to check it out.

From the south exit of the station, I follow a gaggle of moms and toddlers toting plastic ring floats, cheered by the notion that we are headed to the same destination. We're not, I discover.

Instead, they detour into a niche park — a sandy patch of concrete dinosaurs — and abandon their floats on the benches. I've been walking for a grand total of five minutes, but in the heat, I don't want to go dripping in the wrong direction. Housewife Satoko Ito, 41, laughs when I ask her about the submerged tennis court.

"Well, where we're sitting right now used to be underwater," Ito says, referring to the fact that much of southern Edogawa is built on reclaimed land. "But you're probably talking about the Pool Garden. They drain it mid-September and use it as tennis courts."

This mystery solved, Ito, her two friends, and I shelter under a trellis of lush wisteria, watching kids pop in and out of an angry-looking Dimetrodon's concrete maw.

Edogawa claims the largest birthrate per couple in Tokyo (1.33), and Ito and her pals have moved to the ward to raise their children. Greenery, convenience, and child-raising subsidies were key motivators, they confide, but they're happy to tick off the area's other highlights.

Wet and wild: Edogawa's mostly shadeless Pool Garden

There's a free bus from Nishi Kasai to Gyosen, home of the Shizen Zoo (also free) with its petting, fishing, and animal-ogling opportunities. The local sports center (¥200 for adults, ¥50 elementary and junior-high students) features a trampoline in addition to courts and an indoor heated pool. There's also an "oasis" en route to the Pool Garden that the moms agree is their favorite hangout.

To find this oasis, I have two choices: a broiling thoroughfare or a shady path with parallel dog-run and pungent back-street eau de pooch. I choose the latter — it won't kill me — and happen upon Sports no Mori (Forest of Sports). It's a silly name, but I feel as though I have stepped into an idyllic play of light and water in the air, a pointillist painting. Sprays of mist catch dots of sunlight, fountains are filled with leaping children and their translucent plastic floats, and parents stand around as though transfixed by the beauty of summer. The jabu-jabu (splash park) is grand, but today's heat nudges it toward a human shabu-shabu (hot pot), so I move on.

Veering on a gentle curve left, I smell the Pool Garden long before I see it. Following the chlorinated airstream, I cough up ¥500 at the entrance (less for kids), and find that "garden" is a bit of a misnomer. A fringe of trees provides swimmers with a minor buffer from the rest of the world, but that's it. The facilities are clean, with lockers, a restaurant, parking, shaded rest areas, and five pools, named Jabu-Jabu, Jump-in, Jumbo, Slider (with two slides) and Flow, which is a circular current pool. I can see the tennis baselines under the bigger pools; after Sept. 3, they'll be high and dry.

Though I am tempted to grab a cold one at the poolside, I have another destination — Kasai Rinkai Park — on my list of alternatives to Hawaii. From the pool, I venture south under a merciless midday sky the color of a clamshel

A child lies inside a concrete dinosaur in a niche park

At the water gate controlling the level of the Shin Sakon River, remarkably pretty for a city river, I find Ryosuke Sada, age 14, and Keisuke Sedo, age 12, manhandling a red rubber boat.

"That Pool Garden is boring," explains Keisuke. "Yeah," chimes in the more diplomatic Ryosuke, "Summer is all about boats."

The young sailors are not certain whether they're allowed to launch right here on the river, but they're thinking about it. A last-ditch option would be the marina 10 minutes to the west.

I leave them to their navigational woes and return to my own, plodding my way past a truck terminal, the Lotte golf practice range, and the shuttered Kasai Central Wholesale Market. This is one of the grimmest stretches I've ever walked in Tokyo. It's not a back-street, per se, but it's also definitely not for the gregarious, unless you're a worm. There are literally hundreds of desiccated worms on this street.

"They squirm around here after it rains, and it's squishy going," remarks a passing cyclist.

A local troupe of hula dancers at the Seaside Hotel in Kasai Rinkai Park

I'm giddy by the time I reach the highway bridge to Kasai Rinkai Seaside Park. The 117-meter Diamonds and Flowers Ferris wheel looms up, the second-largest in Japan. In the pavilion below, perhaps inspired by the Ferris wheel's romantic name, couples ignore the ambient heat and stoke their own.

Paths to the left weave past ponds brackish and fresh, part of the Bird Park sanctuary, today a bit like duck soup. A quick circuit delivers me to the air-conditioned glass dome of Sea Life Park. The entrance fee (¥700 adults; kids under 12 free) has me humming "I Loves You Porgy" at the Atlantic Ocean display, but it's hard to beat the drama of feeding time at the tuna tank — mad chaos!

The daylight hours are waning, so I jog the Mizube Cruising Line dock (boats depart here for Odaiba and Ryogoku) over to the man-made islands Higashi Nagisa and Nishi Nagisa, which cup Tokyo Bay like a bikini top.

Higashi Nagisa is a bird preserve, but the beach at Nishi Nagisa is open to the public, and families wade and splash in the shallows. Full-on swimming is forbidden because, according to lifeguard Tatsuya Shinohara, "The bay bottom is very soft, and there are dangerous gullies."

While that's a bit disappointing, I meet a professional-looking pod of shutterbugs, members of the Kodak Photo Club, all dogging the perfect sunset shot. They generously share tips on the best angles to capture a twilight shot of the Ferris Wheel, which I try out later.

Homeward bound, I'm astonished to hear Hawaiian music coming from the Seaside Hotel, a charming and inexpensive establishment right inside the park. Leilani, a local troupe of hula dancers, performs at Seaside's terrace restaurant Saturday nights at 5:30 and 7:00, through Sept. 6. I can't see the ocean from here, but the breeze is slightly salty and the sunset lovely. With a glass or two and the right company, it's pretty nice. It's Hawaii Lite.

Shangri-La Named Favorite Business Hotel In Southeast Asia

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 09:23:04 GMT

I like Le Meridien but then again I never stayed at a Shangri-La, we have no Shangri-La in Japan but it must be great?

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts named 'Favorite Business Hotel Chain in Southeast Asia' Asia Pacific’s leading luxury hotel group, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, was named “Favorite Business Hotel Chain in Southeast Asia” in the second annual Alpha South East Asia Business Travel Poll. Shangri-La Hotel, Jakarta; Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok and Makati Shangri-La, Manila were named “Favorite Business Hotel” in their respective cities.

The readers’ poll was conducted from February to June 2008, with poll results published in the July/August issue.

Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, Asia Pacific’s leading luxury hotel group, currently owns and/or manages 55 hotels under the deluxe Shangri-La and mid-market Traders brands, with a rooms inventory of over 28,000. The group has over 50 projects under development in Austria, Canada, mainland China, France, India, Japan, Macau, Maldives, Philippines, Qatar, Seychelles, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States.

http://www.shangri-la.com/

Japanese Noodles Hit Russia

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 08:28:35 GMT

Russians love Japan. In fact the latest Sumo Yokozuna is from Russia, I have many Russian co-workers at my job and always see many Russian residents and tourist all over here! I guess it's because Russia is so close to Japan. Japanese food has always been popular there but Japanese noodles are getting very popular too now...

Muscovites go wild over noodles / Fast-food udon restaurant breaks mold, attracts 600 Russians a day
The Daily Yomiuri + AP

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20080816TDY17001.htm

MOSCOW -- Move over sushi, the humble noodle has taken Moscow by storm as Muscovites slurp hundreds of bowls of udon every day at a restaurant that opened just over a year ago.

UDONyaSAN, an udon restaurant that opened in the Russian capital in July last year, serves about 600 customers a day.

The restaurant is the brainchild of Masahiro Ikemitsu of Awa, Tokushima Prefecture, who originally thought of opening a restaurant in Okinawa Prefecture until he was told that the "world's a big place."

Now customers line up in front of Ikemitsu's restaurant ordering "Ebiten [prawn tempura] udon" or "Wakame [seaweed] udon." A bowl of udon sells for between 600 yen and 800 yen.

Because of the restaurant's success, Muscovites view udon, like sushi, as integral part of Japanese cuisine.

"We have only a few Japanese patrons. About 95 percent of our customers are Russian," the 42-year-old Ikemitsu said.

While most Moscow-based Japanese restaurants target high-end customers, Ikemitsu broke the mold by introducing a fast-food establishment.

He plans to set up six more restaurants by November under a franchise system.

The restaurant serves handmade udon noodles using flour imported from Japan. The temperature of the udon soup is lower than normal to meet the tastes of Russians, who apparently dislike very hot food.

However, the flavor is no different from that served in Japan.

Many people were initially disappointed that the restaurant did not serve sushi.

Despite an article that ran in a local English-language newspaper saying it was the "first Japanese restaurant that doesn't serve sushi," the restaurant gained recognition among local people after taking second place in a competition among eateries that opened in Russia in 2007.

In January, the restaurant was invited to participate in an international competition as a Russian representative.

Having worked in the food service industry in Japan, Ikemitsu wanted to become independent by age 40.

Though he had never imagined starting a business in Russia, he began considering the possibility of working overseas after the president of the firm where he previously worked said, "You know, the world's a big place."

His first visit to Moscow was as a salaried worker to conduct research on the food service industry in Russia.

At the time, the company he worked for planned to expand its business overseas.

"Moscow is the largest city in Europe in terms of population," Ikemitsu said. "People here have a very good image of Japan, so I thought anything Japanese, even if it wasn't sushi, had a chance of success.

Due to his hectic schedule, he is only able to make infrequent trips home.

"The other day, I watched 'Bizan,' a film set in Tokushima, on the Internet, and it made me very nostalgic about my hometown," Ikemitsu said.