Kaiseki is an elegant, stylised and ritualised multi-course set meal served in ryokan and restaurants in Japan. The highly trained chefs present the food in such a way as to embellish but not detract from the natural beauty and freshness of the ingredients. There is always a seasonal element to the meal and the local … Continue reading Eating in Japan- Kaiseki
Yoki-san is my dog. His real name is Loki, but everyone calls him Yoki-san. He is a 7 year old Moodle, black and white, and super cute. He likes to be carried like a baby. He is tucked into bed each night. If we pay attention to anyone else, like the magpies who live in … Continue reading Yoki-san ヨキさん
Eating anywhere in Japan is a treat. Eating in an Izakaya is the best treat, in my opinion. Izakaya are sometimes compared to pubs in the West, but I think of them more as bars with amazing snacks. Similar to tapas bars. They are casual, fun and often rowdy. Izakaya translates to stay and drink. … Continue reading Eating in Japan- Izakaya
Okonomiyaki translates roughly to "as you like it" but more literally as "your preference grilled". Some people think of okonomiyaki as a Japanese pancake. There are similarities. However, in my opinion, okonomiyaki is so much more delicious as you can chose what to put in and it is savoury. It is a great recipe when … Continue reading Okonomiyaki お好み焼き
When we can travel again, which hopefully will be in the not too distant future, I look forward to eating. Eating is one of my favourite aspects of travelling. Eating in Japan is something for which I yearn desperately. I miss Japan and its delicious food, viscerally. We have many really amazing Japanese restaurants in … Continue reading Eating in Japan-Konbini
I love trains. I particularly love Japanese trains. Shinkansen, or bullet trains, are my favourite. Travelling on shinkansen is like flying. You have allocated seats with fold down tables and you can buy drinks and snacks from an onboard trolley. One of the most wonderful parts about travelling on shinkansen is ekiben. Ekiben is a … Continue reading Eating in Japan-Ekiben
Eating in Japan is one of my favourite things to do. Wherever you eat the food is good. Even in the convenience stores. In fact, convenience store onigiri and arabiki sausage on a stick are some of the things I yearn for when I think about Japan. Something I worked out quite quickly on our … Continue reading Eating in Japan- Depato Food Floors
As of 8pm last night Melbourne entered its 6th lockdown. We only emerged from number 5 eight days prior. My lockdown fatigue is oppressive. It is being made infinitely more difficult by a number of factors. Foremost, the Tokyo Olympics. We started seeing the preparations for the Olympics in Japan from 2018. The very cute … Continue reading Tokyo Olympics and Lockdown Fatigue
Three three nine times is the literal translation of sansankudo. An integral part of a Shinto wedding ceremony involving drinking sake. As you can imagine, Super Sake Boy and I were quite enamoured with the concept of building this ancient ritual into our own wedding ceremony. Trying very hard not to culturally appropriate, I have … Continue reading Sansankudo 三三九度
"Our need will be the real creator" Plato Monday night is sake night at our house. (Well, some other nights may be sake nights, too...) However, Monday night is Taste with the Toji night. Some of you may remember me writing about Taste with the Toji sessions last year, when our gorgeous friend the Sake … Continue reading The Mothers of Invention
