A nice green tea for your hungover

I have a terrible headache now.
Maybe I drunk too much yesterday.

This pain reminds me of a legend at the Kamakura period.
According to the legend, the last regent of Kamakura shogunate, Hojo Takatoki was suffering for terrible headache which came from hungover.
One day, Eisai, the founder of Rinzai sect of Japanese Buddhism served a cup of green tea for Takatoki.
The tea eased the headache of Takatoki.
In addition, Eisai dedicated "Kissa yojo-ki"a book about green tea to Takatoki.

From this legend, we can learn that the green tea was drunk as also a medicine not only a refreshment at that times.
A custom of drinking tea seems to be introduced at the Nara period to Japan.
Only noblemen and monks had enjoyed the custom long time, but since the Edo period, even common people came to drink green tea.
Green tea works for both refreshment and easing headache in your hungover.

I want to drink a green tea now, but I can't find any of them around me.
I hope I have a nice monk like Eisai who serves a tasty drink tea every morning for me.

You can enjoy the local food Kishimen at the platform in Nagoya station

I went to Nagoya, the capital of Aichi prefecture to meet a friend who lives in Nagoya.
We met at the Nagoya station.
It is a big station and also Shinkansen (the bullet train) stops there.
It was noon, and we were hungry.
The friend suggested me to eat Kishimen at the small restaurant which was located at the platform of the bullet train.

Kishimen is famous as an local food in Aichi.
It is a kind of noodles, and it is made in flat strips.
We see it as like an udon, but it's unique shape makes the taste quite different to ordinary udon.
The friend told me there are less Kishimen restaurants in Nagoya nowadays, besides Kishimen in those restaurants are a bit expensive as first food.

We bought an entrance ticket to the platform of the bullet train for 140 yen, and entered to the platform.
The friend explained Kishimen which served by the restaurant is very good in the history of Kishimen.
Also he said the Kishimen is cheaper than other foods in restaurants around Nagoya station even though we have to pay entrance ticket to eat the Kishimen.
The name of the restaurant is Sumiyoshi.
I guess the name come from the great Sumiyoshi shrine in Osaka.
Anyways, before entering the restaurant, we needed to buy food ticket from vending machine outside of the restaurant.
I bought a ticket for "Kakiage tamago-iri Kishimen (Kishimen with a raw egg and a mixed tempura of vegetables and sea food)" for 570 yen.
It was recommended by my friend.
My friend bought a ticket for "Nagoya Kochin Kishimen (Kishimen with the local chicken in Aichi)" for 870 yen.
We entered the restaurant.
There was a very limited space inside.
Also there were no stools.
Usually such type of small noodle restaurants at platform of train station serve noodles as a stand-up meal.
In the restaurant, customers faced to a counter and were slurping their Kishimen in hurry.
They were passengers of the bullet train or customers like us, who entered the platform for only the Kishimen.
We put our tickets on the counter and waited a bit.
Soon a worker inside the counter set our Kishimen front of us.

The Kishimen was beautiful.
In a bowl, there were that flat shaped noodles, a raw egg, a pile of minced green onions and a big Kakiage in soup.
Over them sliced dried bonitos were sprinkled.
Me and my friend ate our meal in hurry.
For there was only a limited space for customer, we had to finish our meal quick.
Even though that, the Kishimen was very nice as my friend told me, and I enjoyed a lot.

If you have a chance to get off the bullet train at Nagoya station, don't forget the nice small Kishimen restaurant at the platform.

Kokyuu choco (The chocolate which breathes) in Osaka

Kokyuu choco is a famous chacolate brand in Osaka.
A discount candy distributor Marushige provides the chocolate at their shops or online.
They claim the Kokyuu choco is so fresh as "it breathes" and it have been popular among people in Kitashinchi, the stylish town in Osaka.
"Kokyuu" means breath or to breathe.
Almond and mascarpone cheese is used for the chocolate, and it covered by cocoa powder.
I have tasted the chocolate once or twice, and it was quite tasty.

By they way, today I had a terrible experience for the chocolate.
I have a plan to visit a friend who lives in other prefecture, so I thought the Kokyuu choco will be a souvenir for him.
Kokyuu choco is sold only in Osaka, so sometimes people buy it as souvenir.
I went to a local Marushige shop.
I searched inside the shop, but their weren't any Kokyuu choko products.
I asked a worker in the shop about the chocolate.
"Excuse me, do you sell Kokyuu choco?"
She stared at me.
She looked a bit surprised.
"No, we don't."
I was a bit confused.
"But..."
"Marushige-san sells Kokyuu choco, don't they? It isn't Marushige shop."
I was shocked.
I have thought the shop was Marushige for long time, but it wasn't.
Long time ago Marushige shop was located same place.
However they moved away, then the other candy shop started their business at the place.
I haven't noticed the fact, because their interior were almost similar.
Anyways, I apologized to the worker and went away without Kokyuu choco.
I was ashamed so much.

If you want to buy Kokyuu choco products, please go to Marushige shop, not other candy shops.

A breakfast at the place everyone knows

This morning I went to a local McDonald's restaurant to buy my breakfast.
Recently I have been working at night shift, and I was hungry after the work.
I bought a breakfast set of avocado muffin.
I bought it to take out.
An avocado muffin, a hash browns and a large coke costed me 510 yen.
I guess it is not very cheap, but when you are very hungry and other restaurants haven't opened yet, you will be thankful that you can buy the meal at an early morning.
I enjoyed the meal.

In Japan, it is a bit difficult to find restaurants or cafes which open from early morning.
If you are in countryside, it is more difficult.
In contrast, McDonald's restaurants are open from 6:00 am or 5:00 am.
Some of them are open in 24 hours.
Besides, in most of the restaurants "Asa Mac (a breakfast menu)" is served from 6:00 am to 10:30 am.
If you want a breakfast or a little break with a cup of coffee at an early morning in Japan, try MacDonald's restaurants.

Cup noodles in a hurry

I need to go out in a half hour for job tonight.
I don't much time to eat, so I eat a cup noodle instead of a proper meal.

Cup noodles are kind of instant noodles which are sold in a paper cup.
Maybe you already have known them better.
The cup noodles are not very good meal for your health, but if we are in a hurry, they are so convenient.
Also for a budget travel, they will help you.
Sometimes I take some of them with me in travel, get some hot water in a destination and eat them.
I can't eat them as our every meal in travel, but I often feel they are helpful.
Moreover, there are always brand-new type of cup noodles in supermarkets or shops, so it is kind of fun to find and try these new type of noodles.

If you have a chance to visit Japan, I suggest you to search local cup noodles here.
You will find a one which can be a souvenir for yourself.

Tamagoyaki aka Akashiyaki in Akashi city, the noble twin of Takoyaki

Akashi city, Hyogo, is a famous place for seafood such as sea bream, conger and octopus.
Also there is a nice food which is famous among people in Kansai region.
It is Tamagoyaki aka Akashiyaki.
Akashiyaki is a small ball shaped dumpling.
The food is called tamagoyaki by local people in Akashi, but generally tamagoyaki means Japanese omelette in Japan, so in outside of Akashi, it is called Akashiyaki to distinguish.

Akashiyaki was one of origin of Takoyaki in Osaka, thus they look almost similar.
But there are differences between Akashiyaki and Takoyaki.
For both foods octopus is used as a topping, however in contrast to Takoyaki which has various toppings such as green onion or dried bonito shavings, Akashiyaki has only octopus.
It doesn't have another toppings except octopus.
Moreover, the quantity of eggs in the dough of Akashiyaki is more than Takoyaki has.
The most big difference is, we don't put any sauce on Akashiyaki as we do for Takoyaki.
We eat Akashiyaki with dipping it in a special soup.

The egg flavor in the dough is stronger than Takoyaki, using a soup instead of a sauce, so Akashiyaki has very different taste to Takoyaki.
If you have known the taste of Takoyaki before you eat Akashiyaki, you will have strange feeling when you eat Akashiyaki.
Both Akashiyaki and Takoyaki are different but tasty foods.
However in my opinion, I thought Akashiyaki is a bit more refined, because we need chopsticks to eat the food and we need some manner to dip the dumpling into a soup.
It is not similar to eat Takoyaki.
I am sure you will have new experience with Akashiyaki.

The refreshing tea from a southern country, Chiran green tea

Kagoshima prefecture is a largest production area of green tea in Japan next to Shizuoka.
Above all, Chiran is a representative place for green tea in Kagoshima.
Chiran, Minamikyushu city is located in a southern part of the Satsuma peninsula.

According to legend, Heike no ochiudo (fugitive of Taira clan, whose clan was ruined by Minamoto clan in war) came to Chiran and started to cultivation of green tea at the Kamakura period.
Full-scale cultivation of green tea was started since the beginning of the Meiji period in Chiran.

Today, you can drink Chiran tea or buy the tea leaves everywhere in Kagoshima.
Local restaurants or tea stores serve the tea for you.
Even you can buy Chiran tea in plastic bottle from vending machine on the street.
Chiran tea is aromatic and smooth to drink, so you will like it.

You can enjoy Chiran tea without to go to Chiran, but Chiran has a beautiful view of large tea field, so if you see the view, maybe you will be able to enjoy the tea more.

For when you are a bit hungry, The small Tokyo Ramen instant noodles

The "Tokyo Ramen" is a brand name of small size instant noodles.
Tokyo Ramen company provides the brand (a funny thing is, the company is located in Tochighi prefecture even though they have Tokyo on their name).
You can find the products in supermarkets or some groceries in all over Japan.

The noodles are small, and have a right size for a mug.
If you are a bit hungry, the products are convenient for a light snack.
Each Tokyo Ramen are sold in a set which consists of 4 noodles.
A set costs about 100 yen.
Currently they have 5 types of the noodles.
They are chicken, salty shrimp tonkotsu, kimchi, curry and garlic seasonings.

I often eat the noodles as a night snack.
When I eat the noodles, most of time I use 2 noodles at one time.
I like to mix the curry noodle and the garlic noodle.
It is a bit insufficient for a lunch, but enough for a midnight snack.

I won't recommend you to eat the cheap foods like the noodles everyday in your stay in Japan.
However if you like to do a budget travel through Japan, using the noodles may save your expense.

Getanha, a local traditional sweet in Kagoshima

There is a traditonal sweet named "getanha" in Kagoshima.
Getanha (Kagoshima dialect for "geta no ha") means a support part of geta (traditional wooden clogs).
The form of the sweet looks like a getanha, so it was named getanha.
The sweet getanha is a sort of cake and it is covered by brown sugar.
It has a bit crunchy texture in the surface of it for brown sugar.
But the inside was soft and easy to chew.
Getanha is very sweet food, however if you stay in very hot summer of Kagoshima, you must feel the sweetness is so desirable.
Hot weather makes us want more sugar.
That's why we can find very sweet foods in hot places like Kagosima.

Brown sugar is a special product in Kagoshima prefecture.
So Kagoshima has some local foods made of the brown sugar.
Getanha is one of them.
You can buy the sweet everywhere in Kagoshima with inexpensive price.
I enjoyed it with a green tea which also made in Kagoshima.
I recommend you to taste both getanha and green tea in Kagoshima.
I am sure you will love both of them.

The unique Chinese style temple and Buddhist cuisine, Manpuku-ji

The Manpuku-ji temple in Uji, Kyoto, is the head temple of Japanese Buddhism Oubaku sect.
The temple built in 1661 at the Edo period.
Oubaku sect is not so old as a Japanese Buddhist Zen sect.
However it has unique temples for it's Chinese style of architecture.
The buildings in the precincts of Manpuku-ji look like ones from Chinese temple.

Oubaku sect was founded by the Chinese monk Ingen.
Ingen came to Nagasaki with his disciples for the invitation by monks in Nagasaki, and later he moved to Settsu province (the part of current Osaka).
At first he had a plan to go back China after 3 years, however his followers in Japan asked him to stay longer.
Besides that, Tokugawa shogunate apportioned him a land in Uji, and also Manpuku-ji was built for Ingen.
Finally Ingen abandoned the first plan and decided to stay in Japan forever.
At Manpuku-ji they had called their sect Rinzai first, however they changed the name Oubaku later.
"Oubaku" came from the mountain in China where Ingen had had his first "Manpuku-ji" temple before.

Ingen was respected by many people, and even former Emperor, Tokugawa shogun, high ranking governors and noblemen became believers of him.
Intellectuals in Japan gathered to meet him.
Ingen gave them Zen teachings and new knowledge which China culture had.

As an example, according to legend Ingen brought a sort of bean with him to Japan.
The bean is called "Ingen-mame (the bean of Ingen)".
Even today you can see Ingen-mame in super markets or vegetable stores in Japan.

In addition, we can have a Fucha-ryori (Chinese Style vegetarian gourmet) in Manpuku-ji and restaurants around the temple.
It is a sort of Shojin-ryori (Buddhist cuisine which served in Japanese Buddhism temples), but it has unique Chinese style.
It's origin was the Buddhist cuisine in China which Ingen introduced to Japan.
Manpuku-ji have served it to entertain people by tasty and novel vegetarian foods.
Still we can have it around the temple today.
However if you want to Fucha-ryori in a complete meal, usually you need a reservation to the temple or other restaurants.
Please keep it in your mind.

Kakioko, the okonomiyaki with oysters in the Hinase style

Kakioko is a sort of okonomiyaki (a Japanese pancake with various ingredients) served in Hinase town in Bizen city, Okayama.
The word kakioko is an abbreviation of "Kaki (oyster) okonomiyaki".
As the name suggests, oysters are used as toppings.

Hinase town is located by the coast of Seto Inland Sea.
Fishery is the main industry there, and also they cultivate oysters.
At the okonomiyaki restaurants, local oysters are used abundantly for the okonomiyaki.
Usually, oysters are a bit expensive in Japan.
However at Hinase, they provide local oysters, so we can eat the kakioko with fresh oysters in cheaper price.

How to make Kakioko (okonomiyaki Hinase style) is different from both the Osaka style and the Hiroshima style.
In Osaka, people mix ingredients with dough and baked them together, later put pork meat on them.
Then they turn it over and bake other side.
In Hiroshima, dough and ingredients aren't mixed before people bake them.
As baking them, the dough and the ingredients such as cabbage, egg, noodles and pork meat are piled up one by one.

For kakioko, dough and cabbage are mixed and baked together.
Besides them, many of oysters are baked alone,
After the dough is baked, they put oysters and other ingredients on the dough, then pour another dough on top of them.
Finally they turn it over and bake other side.

Kakioko is served in the season of oysters (usually October to March), so you better visit Hinase the season if you want to enjoy fresh oysters.

Once I have happened to visit Hinase June or July.
But fortunately there was a Kakioko restaurant which had kept frozen oysters during the out of season, and they served kakioko even in summer.
The oysters were kept frozen so they were not seasonal, but I enjoyed them anyway.
If you don't care they are seasonal or kept frozen, you can visit Hinase anytime to eat kakioko.

The traditional dairy product from the ancient Japan, So

Today we often drink milk or eat dairy products such as cheese or butter.
But for ordinary people, the custom of eating dairy products is quite new.
We only started to eating them since Meiji period under the influence of the western culture.
However if we focus on noblemen, they had eaten some dairy products at the Asuka period already.

"So" was one of the traditional dairy products which eaten in the ancient Japan.
So was made of milk.
How to make So is to boil milk gently in a pan for many hours with stirring it frequently.
Then eventually, a solid substance remains on the pan.
It is So.
Despite no seasoning, So has nice milky aroma and slightly sweet taste.

At between the Asuka to Heian period, So was paid to Emperors and high ranked noblemen from dairy farmers as a tax.
Milk and dairy products were precious at that times, and the noblemen treated So as an effective medicine for their health.
Ordinary people couldn't enjoy such precious dairy products in those times.

In contrast, we can drink milk and eat dairy products now.
Moreover, we can try So, too.
Nowadays some dairy farmers in Nara prefecture make So and sell it.
We can buy it at their shops in Nara or at an online shopping site managed by one of them.

If you have a spare time, how about making So by yourself?
It takes an awfully long time to make it, but probably it is worth to try.
When you will make it, please notice me how it's taste was like.

Henpongan, it may be a traditional medicine...or something very tasty

Have you heard the word "henpongan" in Japanese?
Henpongan is a traditional medicine which invented in the Edo period.
It is made of miso marinated beef.
Hanaki Denemon, a samurai in the Hikone domain invented it with the knowledge from a Chinese book "Honzou Koumoku (the Compendium of Materia Medica)".

The Hikone domain was located in the north part of Oumi province (Oumi was the same area as current Shiga prefecture).
In the Edo period, generally both slaughter and eating cattle was inhibited by the Tokugawa shogunate under the influence of Buddhism.
However only Hikone domain had the right to kill cattle to take their skin for making leather goods.
After they took the skin from cattle, beef remained.
So as the name of medicine henpongan, they could use the beef and people could eat the medicine.

Also Ii family, the daimyo of Hikone domain, had sent henpongan to other daimyo in all over Japan as a gift.
Henpongan from Hikone domain was a very popular gift among daimyo.
Even some people say "Sakuradamongai no Hen (the Sakuradamon incident in 1860, the assassination of Ii Naosuke, daimyo of Hikone and tairou, the chief minister in Tokugawa shogunate)" was caused by henpongan.

Once Ii Naosuke have refused to send henpongan to Tokugawa Nariaki, daimyo of the Mito domain and father of last shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu.
Tokugawa Nariaki was a henpongan lover and had asked Ii family it many times before.
However Ii Naosuke refused to send henpongan to him.
After that, samurais from Mito domain attacked and assassinated him in front of the Sakuradamon gate.

Actually, Ii Naosuke and Tokugawa Nariaki had some troubles in politics besides that henpongan business, so we can't conclude henpongan was a reason of the assassination.
But there are a proverb in Japan, "Kuimono no urami wa osoroshii (a grudges about foods is very frightening)".
How do you think about it?

Nowadays henpongan is sold just as "gyuniku misoduke (miso marinated beef)" in Hikone or other cities in Shiga prefecture.
They use a brand beef Oumi gyu for it, so henpongan must be tasty even today.
So if we are asked henpongan by someone, maybe we better send them it quickly before our assassination will happen.

Katayaki from Iga town may chip your teeth, it is a quite solid food

Iga city, Mie prefecture, is famous place for legends of Ninjas.
Moreover, in Iga, there is a very solid traditional food.
It is called Katayaki.
Katayaki is a sort of cookie.
It has a circular shape and tastes a little sweet.
Usually sesame seeds and blue seaweed powder are on it.

It is baked on a hot plate.
Katayaki craftspeople use a lever and weight to press the dough of katayaki on the hot plate.
They take a long time to press and bake the dough.
This procedure makes katayaki very solid.

According to legend, the prototype of katayaki was a portable ration for ninjas.
Sometimes ninjas had to hide somewhere for a long time, so they carried the potable ration with them.
That was origin of katayaki.

Now, katayaki is sold with a small wooden hammer.
For it's hardness, you can't bite the whole of it off with your teeth.
That's why they sell katayaki with the hammer.
You need to break that into pieces by the hammer and mouth the small pieces one by one.
Then, the pieces will melt slowly on your tongue.

In times of ninjas, there weren't such hammer.
How did they eat the solid food?
In my imagination, probabry ninjas used hilt of their katana (a samurai sword) or shuriken (a throwing knife used by ninjas and some samurais) to crash their original of katayaki.
I guess they had a hard time not to make any sounds when they ate their katayaki in their hiding place.

You can buy katayaki at the souvenir shops in Iga city.
In case you worry about your teeth to bite katayaki, they sell the softer one than original kaytayaki, too.
In addition, there are various flavored katayaki nowadays.
Take care not to chip your teeth with katayaki, and enjoy to eat it.

Oden with Shizuoka style, Shizooka oden

Oden is one of popular dishes in Japan.
People eat it in their home, izakaya or at oden stand.
Also convenience stores sell oden in winter.

As a oden we cook ingredients with broth.
"Oden dane (ingredients for oden)" have variations depending each region but there are common ones.
They are boiled eggs, meats of sinew, atsuage (deep fried thick tofu), konnyaku (paste made from devil's tongue), daikon (a sort of radish), chikuwa (a fish paste cooked in a tube shape like bamboo), and kombu seaweed (also we use it for making broth).
We mostly eat it with mustard paste.

In addition, Oden in each regions have their specialty.
This time, I like to tell you about famous "Shizooka oden", the style of oden in Shizuoka prefecture.

For Shizooka oden (Shizooka comes from Shizuoka with Shizuoka dialect), chicken or beef meat is used for broth.
All ingredients are skewered with bamboo skewer.
Special ingredient of Shizooka oden is "kuro hanpen (a pounded fish cake with black color)".
The black color comes from meat of sardine or mackerel.
Shizuoka prefecture faces to the Pacific Ocean, so kuro hanpen or other ingredients of seafood are abundant in the oden.
Finally we add dried fish powder or green dried seaweed on the oden and eat it.

In Shizuoka city there is famous Shizooka oden spot "Shizuoka oden yokochou (Shizuoka oden street)".
Oden izakayas line along the street, and each izakaya are filled with local customers or tourists at night.
Also you can eat Shizooka oden in small local oden restaurants or even candy shops for children.
In summer, children in Shizuoka enjoy eating the oden with kakigouri (shaved ice with various syrup on it) or ice cream.

Besides there, you can find Shizooka oden in many places in Shizuoka prefecture.
How about a trip to Shizuoka for searching Shizooka oden?

The special local food in Osaka city

Each areas of Japan have their local foods.

As former "tenka no daidokoro (the kitchen of the nation)", Osaka is famous for such local foods.

Maybe you have heard about takoyaki or okonomiyaki

In case you don't know them, takoyaki is dumpling that filled diced octopus, green onion and other ingredients.

We eat takoyaki with spreading a sauce and mayonnaise on it.

Okonomiyaki is a sort of pancake.

We use many ingredients for okonomiyaki, and various types of okonomiyaki exist.

Basically we use cabbages, eggs, green onions and some meat (pork is typical) for them. 

Sometime squids or other sea foods are used as ingredients.

We eat okonomiyaki with spreadeing a sauce and mayonnaise on it (again!).

Osaka people quite like sauces and mayonnaise.

You can easily find restaurants of both takoyaki and okonomiyaki in Osaka.

Let me introduce you one more special local food.

In some downtown of Osaka city, we can see the small restaurants serve "horumon udon (a udon noodles with organ meats from beef or pork)". 

The food is not so famous, but there are particular fans of them (including me).

In the first time I ate the food, I haven't been to used to that organs meats so I felt a bit anxiety.

But as soon as I tasted that horumon udon, I came to like it.

The meats were tender and juicy, and the soy sauce based soup was delicious.

In addition, the food was cheap, it only costed 300 yen!

If you don't like any type of organ meats, I won't recommend the food to you.

Maybe you can't enjoy that.

But if you have a interest to new local food, it is worth to try.

Kombu is indispensable for traditional foods of Osaka

"Kombu" is an edible seaweed.

In Osaka, kombu is used for many traditional foods.
Mostly we use it to make stock.
It is used for udon noodles, nimono (stewed foods), soups or other various traditional foods.
Furthermore, We eat kombu as a ingredient.
Also "troro kombu (or oboro kombu)", tangle flakes made of kombu, is used for rice balls or udon.
Even there is a candy made of kombu.

In Osaka, Japanese people have started daily using of kombu since the Edo period.
"Kitamaebune", the ship on "Nishimawari kouro (the shipping route between Osaka and Hokkaido)" brought kombu to people in Osaka.
Kitamaebune came and went on the route through the Seto inland sea and Kammon straits.
Before the route developed by merchant Kawamura Zuiken in Edo period, people in Osaka hardly got kombu, so kombu was precious.

Since kitamaebune stared to come, kombu have rooted deeply into Osaka's food tradition.
Thanks to Kawamura Zuiken, we can enjoy the nice traditional foods nowadays.
I would appreciate him.

The book town, Jimbocho

Tokyo has a lot of attractive towns inside of it.
I like them, especially Jimbocho town, Chiyoda city.

Jimbocho is famous among the book lovers as a book town.

Since meiji era, there have been many universities and colleges around Jimbocho.
Therefore a large number of publishing companies, book stores and second hand book stores opened at the town.
If you need the books about particular subjects, I suggest you to visit various specialized second book stores in the town.
Surely you will get the books you have wanted to read.

Besides the bookstores, Jimbocho is also famous for many curry rice restaurants.
Perhaps you will have the question "why are there so many curry restaurants here?".
I am not sure about that, but while book lovers are searching books in book shops, it seems they happen to be hungry for a curry rice.
Maybe restaurant owners noticed our desire for curry then they started business on purpose?
If they did, I want to thank them for serving nice curry rices for us.
I have been to the town several times, and delicious curry rices were always made me happy!

If you like both books and curry rices, Jimbocho will be a paradise for you.

The ramen served in early morning

Ramen is one of popular Japanese foods.
Usually people eat it for lunch or supper, sometime for a late night snack.
However, at the restaurants of particular area, you can eat ramen in morning time.
The ramen is called "asa ramen (the morning ramen)" or  just "asara (an abbreviation of asa ramen)".

The famous place for asa ramen is Fujieda city, Sizuoka prefecture.
Ramen lover people in the city come to the ramen restaurants that open in the early morning.
They eat it as a breakfast.

I have once visited the ramen restaurant in Fujieda, and I saw a lot of customers inside.
I tried a bowl of asa ramen.
It was a shoyu (soy sauce based) ramen, and less salty and oily than ordinary shoyu ramen.
I thought it was surely suitable for breakfast.

Kitakata city, Fukushima prefecture is also famous for both ordinary ramen and asa ramen.
Moreover, nowadays restaurants serving asa ramen is increasing besides Fujieda and Kitakata.
Someday you can enjoy a bowl of asa ramen at restaurants in your own city.

Ramen as breakfast, how do you think about it?

Eat Curry Rice on weekends

Most of Japanese people like "curry rice (steamed rice with hot curry sauce and ingredients)".

There are various kinds of curry rice.

However standard curry rice consists of meat of chicken or pork, potato, onion and carrot.

We can eat curry rice at many kinds of restaurants.

The nice restaurants serving western gourmets serve curry rice, cheap restaurants in downtown serve curry rice, beef bowl shops which serve cheap foods also serve curry rice...etc.

In addition, of course, curry rice shops are exist.

They focus on serving only curry rice, so we can expect nice quality to their curry rice.

That type of shops are especially popular among business people and college or high school students.

Therefore we can see many curry rice shops at business districts or students' quarters.

Also we cook curry rice at home.

How to cook the food is simple.

We cut each ingredients to pieces and simmer them and add some curry roux or curry powder.

As a dinner curry rice is eaten everyday, however some people prefer eat that particularly in weekends.

In old custom of the Japanese navy, curry rice is eaten in Saturday.

On board, seamen expect curry rice as a symbol of weekends.

To sum up, some people likely obey the navy's tradition.

It is funny, isn't it?

By the way, I cook curry rice often on weekends.

I am easily influenced by interesting custom!