Challenge the gluttony of the Soba!

Do you know the “Wanko-soba”?

The “Wanko-soba” is one of the soba coming to Iwate (Hanamaki city, Morioka city).

The soba that is dipped into hot soup is put into the wooden bowl of the visitor by the mouthful size.

After eating it, a waitperson continues putting the soba in the wooden bowl in sequence until a visitor becomes full and puts a wooden bowl upside down

This is the basic style of “Wanko soba”.

The spices are prepared; such as a leek and laver, the dried bonito, besides, a tuna and grated yam, and others are various by a shop.

There are some opinions of the origin of the “Wanko soba”.

One of the opinions is to provide soba only by a mouthful in a wooden bowl of the lacquerware with mountain seafood to a feudal lord fearfully for trial approximately 400 years ago.

He said “it is delicious” and substituted the soba many times..

Not only “Wanko soba” is eaten in a shop, but also there is the “Wanko-soba championship”, too, and gluttonous participants compete to eat the “Wanko-soba”.

When you visit to Japan and have a chance to participate, please try how many cups you can eat!

Monopoly for Japan

As you know, Monopoly is one of the board game that was born in the United States of America in the early 20th century and has a lover in the world.

The monopoly is sold in each country.

In Japan, Hanayama Toy (existing Hanayama) released a monopoly for the first time in 1965.

And now, Tommy (existing TAKARA TOMY) sells it.

The normal Japanese edition monopoly is the thing which just translated the place name of the original Atlantic City version into Japanese, but there is also the monopoly of the local version as well as it.

For example, “Monopoly Japan” has the place name of “Ginza” or “Umeda” and the place name of “Young Monopoly” is “Akasaka” or “Shinjuku”.

Furthermore, Odaiba, Roppongi hills, Akita, Oosaka, Yokohama Aizu versions, and others have been released.

The newest Monopoly for Japanese version features the theme of Japanese industrial arts and is "the Japanese industrial arts version Monopoly" that included a work and the history, charm abundantly.

It is pleasant to try various kinds of Monopoly.

Do you know the school meal?

At most public elementary schools and junior high schools of Japan, lunch is given as the school meal by each school called as “Kyuushoku”.

As for the school meal, it is said to be an opening for children of the needy family in a private “Chuuai” elementary school of Tsuruokamachi, Yamagata (existing Tsuruoka-shi) in 1889 to have provided the meals such as a rice ball, the grilled fish and others.

After the war, the school meal is given for the purpose of the supplementation of the children.

The school meal seemed to be stopped by aggravation of the food situation, but the school meal was restarted to supply from 1950s.

And then, the educational role of the school meal is accepted by the mental and physical healthy development of children and is carried out as part of an instructional activity and plays a role as   teaching materials of the meal education.

Currently, rice-meals, an unfamiliar menu, or agricultural and livestock products produced in the area is introduced to know the importance of the agriculture for a school meal.

I just heard that there is the restaurant which could experience a school meal in Tokyo.

It may be interesting to visit if you try to eat the school meal in Japan.

May is the season of the azalea

From April through May, an azalea blooms in Japan.

It is very beautiful and it can be found anywhere in Japan.

As one of the beautiful and famous spot of azalea in Kanto, there is the park called "Tsutsujigaoka park” in Tatebayashi-shi, Gunma.

There is the gregariousness of the azalea where it is said Japan’s most or World’s most by researcher.

In the neighborhood of park whole area, moutain azalea grew wild from old times.

Approximately 10,000 azaleas are planted in the park now and it was appointed in the natural beauty spot of the country on December 28, 1934.

In addition, there is a temple known as a temple of the thing lucky tea pot called “Morinn-ji” in this Tatebayashi-shi.

The figure of the raccoon dog which walks on a tightrope by appearing a face, hands and feet from the teakettle is known widely.

There are many figures of the raccoon dog in the temple.

It is a good area for spring short trip.

Takoyaki of Osaka is extreme popularity!

Do you know the “Takoyaki”?

The takoyaki is a food that an octopus is put in wheat flour dough and it is baked in a sphere approximately 3-5cm in diameter and it is the Osaka origin.

The takoyaki seems to be considered by Mr. Tomekichi Endo of Nishinari-ku "Aizuya".

Mr. Endo had made other related food that beef of soy sauce taste is put as meat firing and changed to put from beef to an octopus and a chicken egg in 1935 and he named it “Takoyaki”..

A sauce for pork cutler was developed in 1949 and then, it has been used for a

"Takoyaki” and “Okonomiyaki”.

However, there have been shops to sell “Takoyaki” that are used for the soy sauce and the source of soup stock in Osaka yet.

At the mid-1960s, the sale with the stand begins in the Kanto district and is developed nationwide in Japan now.

It is extreme popularity for people who came from the foreign countries visiting Osaka now.

Smile Ball

Have you ever heard “Smile Ball” in Japan?

The onion "smile ball" which did not exit of the tears which HOUSE FOODS developed was released.

A tear-free onion (the onion which is not one of tears) is the onion which was provided by controlling the genetic expression of enzyme to prepare the lacrymator of the onion into.

The development of the new onion started on the 1990s.

Study teams of HOUSE FOODS announced a production result and the results of research as the crops in March, 2015 and the sale of onions begins.

Because there are fundamentally few sharp taste ingredients (ingredient causing tears), the onion has characteristic such as tear-free and few smell, and it is not necessary to expose to the water when cutting..

The sale was started in the end of October, 2015, too.

The concept is "It wants to be the onion which can create new how to eat and cook with a customer and that all customers become the smile by not shedding tears."

I want to try cutting and eating this onion.

Tokyo Hot Spring in Ohtemachi!

The news that a hot spring sprang out in Otemachi of the right in the middle of Tokyo became the topic and the news was very surprised.

To find the hot spring, the latest excavator was used for Otemachi hot spring digging construction, and, in space of 8m times 25m for digging, approximately 1,500m depth was dug.

And then, the source of the hot spring was found for about three months.

In case of the hot spring of Tokyo, there seemed to be black and the amber source of the hot spring, and the black source appeared from the relatively shallow place, and a plant

Long time passes, and the thing which corroded became the black source.

And the amber source seems to appear when it is dug deeply, and it is said that seawater shut in underground is matured and become the fossil seawater as amber.

Because a digging technology progressed in the Otemachi hot spring, the amber source seemed to spring out by digging deeply.

A hot spring may become able to enjoy willingly from now on in the center of Tokyo.

Do you know “Kamameshi” ?

“Kamameshi” is the boiled pot rice (pot meal) that adds seasonings such as soy sauce, the sweet sake to rice and puts ingredients such as a shiitake, the chicken on the top and is the boiled rice dish which is cooked with a pot for the one.

This is not served to a rice bowl from a pot, and it is given as a pot by a dining table.

It is said that “kamameshi Haru” at Asakusa in Tokyo developed a pot for one and “Kamameshi” based on the dish which offered distribution of boiled rice carried out after the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923 at Ueno to a visitor.

“Kamameshi” is got close to as a station lunch and the station lunch at Yokokawa station of Shinetsu Line is very famous “Kamameshi”.

How to make “Kamameshi”; 1. To put polished rice and an ingredient in a pot. 2. To add soy sauce, liquor, sweet sake, kombu to water and fix the taste. 3. To cook it until soup stock boils over a high heat (around five minutes). 4. To make a low temperature. 5. If moisture disappears, to close a cover completely and steam it for approximately 15 minutes from ten minutes. 6. The completion.

The rice which is cooked with a pot for “Kamameshi” is very delicious.

An entrance ceremony and initiation ceremony in Japan

It is the season of parting and the encounter in spring.

In Japan, an entrance ceremony and the initiation ceremony are held at the beginning of April that is an opening of the year (the fiscal year) .

Therefore it is said to be the season of the encounter that is new in April and is a parting season in March when a graduation ceremony is held.

The entrance ceremony means to be allowed entering the school and to celebrate the entrance.

Teachers and persons in charge of school prepare to meet new students in each school and celebrate the entrance to school of the new students.

The 1900s begins, and it seems to be after that entrance ceremonies spread.

In addition, an initiation ceremony for new employee is held in many companies in April.

In April, a new pupil with new school satchel or new uniform, and new employee with new suit shine  shiningly with new hope.

How many new friends can they have?