I hear that Western country leaders have declared no-mask policy and gathered popularities. As I have wrote previously, Japan have no regulation for wearing face masks. We are only “recommended” or “requested” to put on masks indoors or wh…

Today is “Boy’s Festival Day” and we eat kashiwa-mochi, a rice cake wrapped in an oak leaf on this day. Kashiwa-mochi. The green one contains sweet azuki paste and yellow one contains sweet miso paste. These oak leaves can’t be eaten. In J…

Now, “Bento” has become an international term that means box lunch. Thanks to the self-isolation due to the pandemic, we can eat international bento at home. curry bento In Japan various kinds of bento are available at every shops, such as…

As cherry blossoms start blooming, the Japanese become restless. Some people travel Japan from south to north following the best of cherry blossoms. Arakura-Yama, famous for the viewing of Mt.Fuji and cherry blossoms, which has not unfortu…

Spring has come and cherry blossoms are blooming again! Once a flower comes out, the cherries will bloom in a week! The Japanese eat cherry flowers. That does not mean we pick it out and nibble it while taking a walk under cherry trees. As…

We have various types of noodles in Japan, such as soba, udon, somen (very thin white noodle), ramen (Chinese noodle) and so on. A traditional soba restaurant in Tokyo. Soba is made from buckwheat and brown to white colored thin noodle, wh…

We have Boy’s Day and Girl’s Day from ancient times in Japan. The Girl’s Day, also called Doll’s Festival or Momo-no-Sekku, peach blossom’s festival, is on March 3rd. A complete set of Hina dolls can be seen only in the department store. W…

A taiyaki is a fish-shaped Japanese cake. Traditionally it is sold at small shops or street stalls to be eaten just after it is baked. Usually azuki bean paste is wrapped with pancake-like dough baked on an iron plate. The azuki bean paste…

The wind is chilly, however, the sunlight has become stronger recently. February 3rd is Setsubun, which literally means”the day which divide two seasons”. The next day, Feb. 4th, is supposed to be the first day of spring on the traditional…

Traditionally in Japan, the New Year's days last for seven days.During this period, the Shimekazari and Kadomatsu are decorated and Osechi dishes are (supposed to be) eaten. Now, we eat osechi dishes and zohni soup only for (less than) thr…

A tenugui is a thin Japanese hand towel made from cotton, according to Wikipedia. A tenugui shop in Tokyo In the past it was daily used as a wiper. It also has been used to cover people’s heads like a cap to prevent heatstroke as well as s…

Autumn has come and we can see many kinds of fruits in stores and shops. A Japanese proverb says when persimmon fruits become ripe, doctors become pale. It is because persimmons are rich in vitamin c, which prevents us from getting cold an…

Today, we can enjoy various pasta dishes in Japan, not to mention spaghetti bolognese, spaghetti alle vongole, pomodoro, carbonara….you name it. We also have spaghetti menus unique to Japan, such as spaghetti with spicy cod roe (mentaiko),…

Ice cream soda When I was four to five years old, I couldn’t fell asleep until midnight and got out of bed to go to the living room. There, my mom and dad amusing themselves over a glass of some green liquid. It was soda water which was ea…

Many kinds of iced tea and coffee are available over the world today. In Japan we have had tea served cool traditionally. When I was a kid and there were no plastic bottled or canned drinks, cooled barley tea was made in almost all the hou…

It used to be said that houses in Japan are made of woods and paper. For the national stadium of Tokyo 2020 olympics, woods from every prefectures in Japan are used. Now, the half of them are made of concrete, while my house consists mainl…

We had heavy and persistent rainfall over two weeks. Even if it stopped, it has been very humid and uncomfortable. I have been reluctant to go out, not only because of the virus spreading but because of this weather. That is why I am writi…

About twenty years ago, an elderly woman gave me three pieces of a plant leaf. I placed them into the soil and one of them took root. Before long another leaf grew out from the edge of the first leaf. In such a manner it grew larger and la…

Ever since the pandemic has began, I have had Chinese dishes more often than before. Cold Chinese noodle. Usually we go to Chinese restaurants as a group. On a round turning table various kinds of dishes are served one after the other. My …

The rainy season is approaching. This season is essential for the growth of rice and other plants. In the past it used to rain moderately and persistently with occasional sunny spell, until it ends with occasional thunder and heavy rain. H…

An-mitsu is a Japanese dessert, which made of small cubes of agar jelly, boiled peas (=mame), variety of fruits pieces and azuki bean paste (=an), and poured sugar syrup (=mitsu) before eat. Mitsu-mame is almost the same as an-mitsu except…

We are now under the “declaration of emergency” due to the corona virus. Thanks to the virus, we have seen wide variety of takeout dishes recently. The other day, I tried a curry dish made by a French restaurant. It was tasty Yet, I wonde…

Strawberries are now available any and everywhere in the world. Among others, Japanese ones are sweeter, juicier, and larger. Japanese strawberry. Now, the strawberry is in season and we can have tasty strawberries at reasonable prices. At…

Now, the cherry Blossoms are at their best. The flowering season is becoming earlier year by year. When I was a student they flowered in early April. As the financial year as well as school year starts in April in Japan, we used to welcome…

14th February is St.Valentine’s Day. I don’t know how Western people celebrate it, however, in Japan it is the time for everyone to become chocolate mania. For every reader, from Auntie Mee, with love. Some people give chocolate to their t…

When I was young I lived with my parents and my father’s parents, that is my grandparents. My grandfather was a fishmonger and owned a shop at Tsukiji central market. He bought a tuna from fishermen as a whole, cut it into chunks and sold …

A quarter-century ago, I went to Oxford, Britain to learn English while staying at a British home. The school assigned me to a home of an elderly woman. For two weeks she offered me a bed room with a bathroom as well as served me with brea…

Furo-shiki is a piece of square cloth made of cotton, silk, or polyester fiber. Furo means bath in Japanese and it is originally for wrap up clothes you have removed at a public bath house. Now, we use furoshiki in many ways, such as a bag…

The Japanese celebrate Christmas as Western people do, but put more importance on New Year’s days. Usually (but not this year), families and relatives get together and eat “osechi” and “zouni”, the New Year’s dishes. Each ingredients have …

Last week hot water supplying system of my house got out of order. The repairer said it was due to the aged machine and several days were required for the replacement. During that period I went to a public bath house for the first time in …