jStyle issue14 2016

issue 14 │ 2016 FREE

OMOTENASHI – The spirit of Japanese hospitality The latest go-to place – HOKURIKU Awesome, but little-known ski resorts The Japanese food boom – RAMEN The peak Japanese beverage experience – SAKE

Explore the unique and alluring cultural richness that is

JAPAN

CONTENTS

issue 14 │ 2016 │ FREE EDITORIAL

04 Prologue

Kazuya Baba

EDITOR IN CHIEF

DEPUTY EDITOR IN CHIEF

Yoshiko Arakawa

EDITORS

OMOTENASHI

Haruka Osoegawa, Marie Sekiwa, Tadasu Harada TRANSLATORS & WRITERS

06 So just what is OMOTENASHI? 08 Experience of OMOTENASHI 10 OMOTENASHI and the five senses 15 AMEZAIKU, gift of happiness 16 Experience OMOTENASHI

Charlene Lim, Christopher Hall,

10

Dennis Bott, Heather Glass, Margaret Price, Miona Ikeda, Shunichi Ikeda, Chiyo Kamino, Tetsuo Nakahara DESIGN ART DIRECTOR & DESIGNER

15

TRAVEL SHINJUKU

21

TRAVEL - SKI

TOHOKU

34

Bewitching area of intense cold

NAGANO

40

The joys of a huge, popular resort little-known outside Japan

29

44

48

TRAVEL - AIRLINE

50 54

TRAVEL - TIPS Travelling in Japan Travel tips

70 74 76 78 80

EDITORIAL DESIGN

Ike Ikeguchi Kazuya Baba

Rose Shen

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jStyle Vol.14 │ 3

WELCOME

EDITORIAL PROLOGUE TO JSTYLE MAGAZINE Words: Kazuya Baba Translation: Heather Glass

4 │ jStyle Vol.14

Japan never ceases to fascinate. By no means a large country, it is as if it were made up of many different nations, with many and diverse cultures and customs existing side by side. For example, the two major cities that epitomise Japan, Tokyo and Osaka, are a case in point.

There is such a difference in type, that there is a question mark over whether Tokyo people and Osaka people can really be described in the same breath as Japanese. They talk differently - even using different words - and their food and even their temperaments are very different.

Japan is divided into 47 areas, known as prefectures. Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Hokkaido are examples.

And very surprisingly, each area has its own different culture. For example, just stepping across the border into a neighbouring prefecture raises the possibility of different food and different customs, which is what makes Japan so fascinating and interesting.

Much of this difference has to do with Japanese history. Within Japan, the narrow archipelago is further divided into smaller areas, all of which have a history of territorial battles.

There were even times in history when relocating to a neighbouring prefecture was very difficult. So it is this history that has given rise to the existence of tiny regional cultures. For that reason, and depending on the parts of Japan you visit, your impressions of the country may be very different.

Traditionally, international visitors to Japan have primarily travelled from the modern cities typical of those anywhere in the world, such as Tokyo and Osaka, to Nara and Kyoto where Japan’s ancient traditions still exist, and to the ski areas of Hokkaido and Nagano. In recent years also, an area

that has attracted attention is the place we are featuring in this edition of jStyle, Hokuriku. It is on the Japan Sea side of the country, opposite the Pacific side where Tokyo, the gateway to Japan, and other more familiar places are located, and so has not attracted a lot of attention.

With the opening of the Hokuriku area to Japan’s pride, its high-speed shinkansen railway, circumstances have changed significantly. To date not very well known to those outside Japan, Hokuriku is suddenly in the spotlight. We would like your first discovery of just how appealing the area is to be through the pages of this magazine.

To skiing, and a ski destination attracting attention recently is the Tohoku area. Located in the mid-point between the popular destinations of Hokkaido and Nagano, Tohoku is known as a region of very deep snow.

We have also featured the attractions of Tohoku. Please do use the magazine as a reference when making plans for your next ski holiday.

And the centrepiece of this, our 14th edition of jStyle, is our omotenashi feature. Omotenashi is a word that describes the kind and hospitable treatment and services afforded a guest, and is considered a very Japanese concept. The expression and the culture it describes were introduced to the world by the Japanese announcer at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics invitation event. In this edition we look at omotenashi from many different angles. We hope that knowing about this aspect of the Japanese psyche will make your visit to Japan that much more enjoyable.

It is a pleasure to be able to bring this up-to-the-minute edition of jStyle to you again this year. We trust you enjoy reading it.

FEATURE

OMOTENASHI Readers are no doubt aware that in 2020 Tokyo will host the summer Olympics and the 16th Paralympics. A range of initiatives are being taken in Japan to prepare to welcome guests from all around the world.

At the same time, the word of omotenashi, which is used to express Japan's own unique brand of hospitality now draws attention from Japanese people.

Traditionally the Japanese have extolled a tranquil demeanour, in which it is natural to be grateful every day, to love one’s home town, to be friends with neighbours in a spirit of mutual assistance, to be respectful of the elderly,

to demonstrate love and affection for children, and to live each day politely. It is not necessary that a person’s way of life or their daily doings be ostentatious; the true worth and joy of living are given expression in the ability to grow together by relating to those around with sincerity and sensitivity.

This spirit of mutual help of course extends also to travellers, but for visitors from outside Japan, there are some aspects that no doubt invoke curiousity.

In this edition of jStyle we explore the nature of Japanese omotenashi and the experiences it may enhance.

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OMOTENASHI

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SO JUST WHAT IS OMOTENASHI? Words: Yoshiko Arakawa, Translation: Heather Glass

If you look up the word omotenashi in the dictionary, you will find these definitions.

1. treatment of a guest, reception 2. delicacies served to a guest, hospitality 3. behaviour toward people and things, attitude 4. treatment of things, or arrangements, management 5. physical demeanour, carriage Omotenashi derives from a combination of the words for ‘hold’ (motte) and ‘accomplish’ (nasu). Traditionally, at its core were personal behaviour - expressed as carriage or demeanour - accommodation of another - evident in attitude or behaviour, arrangements and management - and adornment - apparent in usage of things, or treatment. To these has been added the element of serving delicacies to another, rounding out the total concept of omotenashi.

Omotenashi is characterised by selfless action that does not seek return; it is behaviour that is not two-faced. The custom of tipping, for example, never used to exist in Japan.

From before the days when service became business, the spirit of omotenashi flourished as something founded in the spirit of rendering service. It was seen in hosting someone in the beauty and discipline of the tea ceremony, or in pilgrimage, as epitomised by those who engage in the ascetic practice of traversing the spiritual spaces of the 88 Buddhist temples of Shikoku.

By its nature, omotenashi is definitely not extravagant. If anything, its virtue is in hospitality that is fitted to size, and more than anything, is heartfelt. The aesthetic that supports it, of necessity, does not require magnificence, but a wabi sabi beauty that incorporates within it the iridescence and changing of the

seasons, comfortable space that may be confined and plain, but in which there is communion, and an incomplete beauty that is nevertheless suggestive of completeness.

Examples are a perfectly groomed garden shown at its best by the scattering of fallen leaves, or an umbrella left quietly beside an entrance by a host for their guest.

Imperceptible as such actions may seem, they are guided by an aesthetic that communicates caring. To notice these ministrations, it is appropriate for both host and the recipient of omotenashi to prepare a degree of latitude in their souls, and above all else to hold purity and innocence in their hearts.

The culture of omotenashi was created from a blending of the uniquely Japanese attention to detail, with tradition and culture from a long history within which there have been many changes, but at its core is the desire to bestow care and consideration on another.

Hidden within omotenashi is an ideology; the ancient Japanese belief that no matter the brevity of an encounter, it is an isolated moment in time that will never be repeated.

This concept has been honoured and preserved into the modern day in sayings such as ichi go ichi e (one occasion, one encounter), and sode fureau mo tashou no en (even the brushing of sleeves is karma).

It may be that this honouring of the moment in which people come together as something rare and strangely precious that happens just once in a lifetime, the desire to make that encounter a wonderful, unparalleled experience, and holding in affection that ideology and conduct, together constitute the Japanese philosophy that is at the root of the spirit of omotenashi.

jStyle Vol.14 │ 7

OMOTENASHI

Lived in Japan for

EXPERIENCE OF OMOTENASHI Omotenashi spirit is deeply connected to Japanese mentality, values and culture, but sometimes the Japanese social norm may seem unusual in the eyes of visitors from outside Japan. So we asked five Australians to share their Japanese experiences and discoveries. We asked them three questions.

What is Japanese hospitality? What impressed them the most?

Where do they recommend to go to enjoy Japanese hospitality?

Join us as we dig deep into omotenashi.

2

DANIEL

years

COURTESY OF A TAXI DRIVER When I hear the word “hospitality”, I remember the taxi driver I met at the very beginning of my life in Tokyo back in 2011. Upon arrival at Narita Airport, I had to go to the other terminal to transfer. So I took a taxi, and asked the driver to go to Terminal #1. However, he mistook it for Terminal #2; maybe it was because of a language barrier, I guess. When the car arrived at the wrong terminal, I noticed the misunderstanding and explained to him that I needed to go to Terminal #1, not #2.

When he realised what had just happened, he stopped the fare meter and sent me to the right terminal without charging for the additional ten minutes. I was very impressed by his attitude.

In any other countries, you can’t expect such politeness from taxi drivers.

LITTLE THINGS MADE A BIG DIFFERENCE

Lived in Japan for

8

JAMES 8 │ jStyle Vol.14

years

To me the biggest omotenashi experience I had in Japan was at a traditional Japanese ryokan inn in Kusatsu, where the staff and owners really made sure the stay was a pleasant vacation. There wasn’t one large thing they did that made it go over the top, but rather the combination of tens of smaller things that made the entire experience great. From turning

your shoes around for you in the genkan entrance to bringing out your futon bedding while you were having dinner and the ‘welcome home’ feeling you got after coming back from a stroll in the shopping district.

They really strive for the entire package experience to be perfect, and that’s what makes the quality of service in Japan better than the rest of the world.

BILL HOSPITALITY IS A WORK ETHIC OF JAPAN

Lived in Japan for

8

years

Japan is a very hospitable country where I always feel welcomed. I think hospitality is a part of Japanese culture. As I started working with Japanese people, I began to understand the Japanese work ethic. They have high morals and strong loyalties to their jobs, regardless of their positions. For example, I recall the moment when I was at a register in a supermarket. The cashier tried so

Lived in Japan for

8

years

NASHRAH

hard to scan all the groceries as quickly as possible, since there was a long queue behind me. I appreciated her, but I thought if it had been a supermarket in Australia, she would have been more relaxed. Japanese politeness and persistence for perfection sometimes may look too serious to Australian eyes, but it is actually their way to express their gratitude for your visit.

MY SPECTACULAR TIME IN JAPAN During my eight years stay in Tokyo, I realised how obedient, polite and hard working the people in Japan are. I attended shogakko, or primary school, where they taught me a lot of things, but the most important of all was how to be obedient and stay calm in difficult situations. That really helped me when the major earthquake hit Japan on March 11, 2011. Amongst the places I visited, I definitely recommend the Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima, the Kinkakuji Golden Temple in Kyoto and the Sky Tree in Tokyo.

For children like we were, Disney Resort is not be missed. Japan is a beautiful and peaceful country and people are very kind and courteous to both adults and kids. The places I had visited, the food I had tasted, or the seasons I had experienced in Japan - I will cherish every memory.

PHILLIP

Visited Japan in August 2015

TRY SMALL RESTAURANTS, ENJOY COMMUNICATIONS! Every time I am in Japan, I am always so delighted by the quality and service at the smaller restaurants. The staff of my favourite restaurant, Kushiya, in Tokyo, treat me and their customers like family. They welcome you with a boisterous “Irrashaimase!” upon entering, and the ojichan who is the master chef, while cooking was always keen to chat with travellers. Sometimes the obachan, who is the hostess would be giving me some omake, or little extras, just to make sure I was eating healthily. At the end of the night, they both wish you a good night and safe travels from out the front of their restaurant and are eager to see you again soon. When you are in Japan, don’t hesitate to go into the smaller, family run restaurants, order the omakase chef’s special and you never know, you might just meet your new extended family, like I did.

jStyle Vol.14 │ 9

OMOTENASHI JAPANESE GARDENS AND OMOTENASHI

OMOTENASHI AND THE FIVE SENSES Words: Yoshiko Arakawa, Translation: Heather Glass

In this feature we introduce you to the many different ways in which omotenashi style hospitality is extended and the things in which it is given form, to appeal to the senses through the eyes, ears and palate of a guest. We trust we will help you to savour the best of Japan’s omotenashi culture, by alerting you to watch out for, listen out for and hone your sensitivity to these almost imperceptible ministrations.

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Among several traditional cultural forms, the sensitivity and feelings of the Japanese are skilfully expressed visually, and wonderfully presented to guests, in the world of the Japanese garden.

There is no single form of Japanese garden, but a variety of styles and types according to era. Large-scale gardens emerged in the Heian period, using lakes, trees and stones to achieve the palacestyle characteristic of the architecture of the era, while towards the end of the Heian period, the jodo style of garden emerged to express gokuraku jodo, or the Buddhist paradise, and is best represented by Byodoin Temple in Kyoto. In the samurai era karesansui dry landscape gardens were made in the style typified by the stone garden of Ryoanji Temple.

Each are Japanese gardens in different styles, but there is a common principle in their creation. The positioning of

rocks, trees and water is not simply for beauty, but expresses the Japanese spiritual world. Ryoanji Temple typifies the karesansui style. The garden is an extremely simple space, with a scattering of 15 stones across a surface of plain white gravel in a narrow area only 25 metres wide and ten metres deep, but it unmistakably preserves its historical context, when Zen Buddhism was at its zenith. Where there is no water or lake, nor even trees, the spiritual world of the Japanese and their sense of the cosmos is skilfully expressed by the clever use of stones as the gardener’s material.

Expressed through the magical positioning of rocks, there are mountains and water flowing where in reality there can be none.

The subtle, profound and tranquil perspective on the world expressed in the Zen garden never fails to captivate the hearts of people from across and beyond Japan, even today. The technique used is called mitate, or likening something to something else by drawing a metaphorical

SIGHT

comparison. It draws on the imagination of the recipient by expressing something that is not actually there, and in creating such a garden, what is therefore top of mind in planning every element is that viewer is moved by what they see.

The garden uses a total of 15 stones, but a unique feature of its design is that no matter the angle from which it is viewed, there is always one stone that is hidden and cannot be seen. In the Orient, the number 15 is a number that expresses perfection.

In other words, the design of the garden is expressing a state of imperfection and therefore holds within it a hidden message.

The viewer is being invited to take the opportunity to look deep within themselves and seek out that within that is lacking.

By seeming to draw an extension line to the imagination of the viewer, the creation of a Japanese garden is therefore indivisible from the principle of omotenashi, which is founded in a unique aesthetic and the perspective of the spectator’s feelings. The visiting guest is quietly hosted therein.

SOUND

©TONY CLARKE

SOUND AND OMOTENASHI Historically the Japanese have come up with many ingenious ways to remain cool in summer. They have devised fans, bamboo blinds, the sprinkling of water – and wind chimes.

The wind chime, or furin, provides both a visual and an auditory means of creating a sense of coolness, and has been beloved of many for hundreds of years as a poetic evocation of summer.

When the cool, clear tinkling of the furin echoes through the air and reaches the ears of a guest, it tells them that a breeze has passed through. In this way, Japanese have of old created a pleasant atmosphere by transforming breeze to aural colour.

Furin comes in many materials and timbres. There is the delicate tone of

the tinkling Edo furin made of glass; the solid design and reverberating ding of the resonant Nanbu iron furin; the charcoal furin that promises cleaner air and the relaxing effect of negative ions; the ceramic furin with its characteristic dry, yet comforting sound; the high-pitched, but still serene timbre of the brass furin that seeps into the body; the bamboo furin that evokes the ethnic sound of the gamelan or the xylophone – once begun, the list just keeps growing.

When the wind catches the strip of paper hanging from any of them and they sound freely with an irregular rhythm, the effect on the ear of the listener is an indescribable sense of relaxation. As the ears are cooled by the fluctuating, irregular, naturally generated rhythms, at a certain point the soul becomes calmer, and both mind and body are present and refreshed.

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OMOTENASHI

TOUCH OSHIBORI AND OMOTENASHI

There is a traditional custom in Japan of serving guests with a refreshing hand towel, known as an oshibori.

The practice dates back to the Heian period, in the 8th to 12TH centuries. A reference to oshibori in Japan’s oldest existing chronicle, the Kojiki, describes the custom of court nobles providing a moist cloth to guests invited to their home. By the Muromachi period in the 14th century, that had changed to a cotton towel, and it became the practice to place a wooden tub containing water and a hand towel for travellers at the entrance of taverns.

Guests would drench the hand towel and wipe their hands and feet clean. Travel at the time was on foot, and footwear was

12 │ jStyle Vol.14

in the style seen in the samurai movies; straw sandals, so feet would get very dirty.

Before entering a room, travellers would soak the hand towel provided in water, wring it out and wipe their feet clean.

Cleaning the body also relieved the spirit.

The action of wringing out the towel, or shiboru, is the source of the word oshibori.

After the passage of much time, during the postwar rebuilding of Japan, food outlets flourished and renting out oshibori emerged as a business. With subsequent development in the catering industry, systems of mass production came into being. In this way the oshibori, the first thing given to a customer as soon as they enter a restaurant in Japan, may be used with impunity, in the confidence that the oshibori is clean. In a rigorous system of

managed reuse, only products that have been thoroughly washed, disinfected and inspected are shipped.

Before being given, in the hot summer the oshibori is completely chilled, while in the cold winter it is heated. Placed gently on the hand, the hot oshibori sends a blush of warmth to the skin and warms the heart, or cold, the thrill of cool quietens the heart.

The custom of oshibori has transformed over time, but exists in the present as an embodiment of the Japanese spirit of omotenashi. If you actually see oshibori in a Japanese restaurant, direct your thoughts to its history, take the oshibori given to you, wipe your hands, take a deep breath and feel yourself purified. * Not every Japanese restaurant will provide oshibori.

TEA CEREMONY AND OMOTENASHI Just as in the West where guests are hosted with a cup of tea, in Japan there has been a culture of entertaining guests by enjoying green tea together. It was during the Kamakura period – from the 12th to the 14th century – that the custom of tea drinking as a tasteful pastime spread across Japan. Over time, and with the advent of the Muromachi period – from the 14th to the 16th century – the custom of chanoyu, or tea ceremony, emerged, in which a guest would be invited to enjoy whisked powdered tea, or matcha, and objects imported from China, or karamono, would be used as utensils and to decorate the zashiki drawing room. The famous tea master, Sen-no-rikyu, perfected the way of tea over 400 years ago in the Azuchi Momoyama period. The traditional culture of tea became an integral part of Japanese life and it has continued to bring spiritual richness and pleasure ever since.

The matcha used in tea ceremony is a type of green tea and is made by powdering the leaves of the tea plant. The carefully grown matcha is diligently whisked to a froth by the host in the tea ceremony room and while slightly bitter, it becomes a drink with a depth of flavour, in which umami and sweetness sit well together. Before drinking tea, guests at tea ceremonies are first served traditional sweets to enhance the flavour of the matcha.

After that, they enjoy the same drink, sometimes passing the tea bowl to share. The practice of everyone drinking a little matcha from a single bowl brings the guests in the

room together in communion. Taking small sips and so tasting a little at a time means the aftertaste lingers long in the mouth, and tasting the rounded flavour of the tea as it gradually infuses the mouth is a delicate pleasure to be thoroughly enjoyed.

There are different schools of tea ceremony and the way in which each school makes tea is different. However, what we can say is that what is common to all schools of tea is that any host who entertains with matcha has a firm desire to do so competently and to have their guests enjoy the taste of the tea they imbibe. The true pleasure of the tea ceremony is that as a host hosts their guest and the guest drinks the tea with thanks, the communion between them deepens. In addition, when delicious green tea is tasted as part of a tea ceremony in a tea room, it is not just the sense of taste, but all of the five senses that are fully engaged. Completion is reached in awareness of the total experience,

which incorporates being in concert with the seasons and time of year, the beauty of the host’s deportment and the modesty of their words, guests being considerate of each other and the taste and preference of the host apparent in their choice of utensils.

If you have the chance to take part in a tea ceremony, please embrace the experience of the coming together that this fleeting moment in time provides. Watching the flowing beauty of the carriage of the tea ceremony will, strangely, cause you to forget the passage of time. The feel of the tatami reed mats beneath the soles of your feet, the aroma of the tea, the heat conducted to your palms, the flavours and the encounters with others; the true pleasure of the tea ceremony is in fully tasting each of the moments described in the principle of ichi go ichi e (one occasion, one encounter). Please do have a drink of tea; it will transport you to a place of ease that is anything but humdrum.

TASTE jStyle Vol.14 │ 13

OMOTENASHI

SMELL

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FRAGRANCE AND OMOTENASHI The Kannon (Kwan Yin) Sutra mentions fragrance, highlighting the way in which scents have from ancient times had a position of importance in religious and cultural activities.

Beautiful scents and sounds were said to lead to paradise. Aromas that guide one to a state other than the everyday, perhaps play a part in linking the human sense of smell to spirituality.

Today we have the culture of scent – which, it may be said, holds special significance in Japan – of which the most typical expression of this form of sensual enjoyment is incense.

The aroma of incense is the very essence of a harmonious world. There are spicy ingredients, pungent to the nose, such as sandalwood, frankincense, the camphor-like borneol and cinnamon. There are woody scents that calm

the emotions, and there are fragrances that provide a strong sense of refreshment. Each emits its own unique ‘note’. For that reason, if mixed in the wrong way, scents may war with each other, resulting in a disagreeable smell.

Historically, however, Japan has succeeded in cleverly combining several singular incense ingredients to create a harmoniously aromatic world of scent. In these invisible aromas we can sense the important place of harmony in the Japanese psyche. The history of incense blending is long, dating back to a time when the nobles of the Heian period – from the 8th to the 12th century – themselves mixed incense, and we are advised to this day that those scent blends were born of a transcendent aesthetic sensibility.

Fragrances were not smelt with the nose, but were put together in the brain; they were a product of creativity. The sensibility and aesthetic awareness cultivated in Japan evolved and was protected, simply because Japanese people lived in harmony with nature, learned from the providence of nature and experienced nature in their souls, and because in their hearts was the spirit of wa, loosely translated as ‘harmony’.

Incense has also been widely used in Japan in the hosting of guests. Putting out the flame on the tip of a stick of incense by fanning it with an open palm means the vapours are stabilised to just the proper degree and from the incense rises a white smoke that visually draws the observer in. Lighting some incense and placing it on a table imparts to guests in that space an exalted, tranquil moment in time. Guests on the receiving end of this aspect of omotenashi could dreamily gaze on the trembling smoke, or close their eyes, forget everything and relax, to become one with the fragrance.

The average person in their daily lives is busy, experiences unease and finds it difficult to relax.

In Japan, therefore, particularly when visited by a guest the host will seek to restore serenity by lighting incense and encouraging the visitor to gradually relax and be at ease. It is as if the host asks the smoke to extend a hand to the guest to guide them into a sacred space.

AMEZAIKU, GIFT OF HAPPINESS The spirit of omotenashi, found in the heart of an amezaiku craftsman Words: Tetsuo Nakahara

Traditional Japanese candy art or amezaiku became popular during the Edo period (1603 – 1867). In a subculture of the streets, candy merchants made candy into animal shapes and sold them to customers. And today, the tradition lives on.

Shinri Tezuka, owner of Ameshin, has been making amezaiku for six years. Self-taught, he has developed a unique style of crafting the candy sculptures. He opened an exhibition space and studio in Asakusa in 2013, and recently opened a new shop in Soramachi, a commercial complex next to Tokyo Skytree in July, 2015.

To make a five cm-long piece of candy art, the main process has to be done in 4 minutes while the candy is soft enough to shape. He uses a candy ball made of sugar, water and starch to start. The temperature of the candy is 80 degrees Celsius.

He shapes it as if having a conversation with the candy. He stretches the ball with his fingers, and uses tweezers and scissors to fashion the desired shape and features before the material gets hard. His candy sculptures are so

clever and beautifully detailed they seem way too good to eat. After four minutes of sculpting the candy, he adds the finishing touches and then colours them by hand.

Tezuka says he loves the immediacy of this craft. “I like performing right in front of customers so that I can get immediate feedback.”

The motifs he uses for his candy craft are mainly animals and other creatures that are traditionally symbols of good luck in Japan, such as goldfish, rabbits and cranes.

“Amezaiku is Japan’s original, so tend to concentrate on animals that have long been auspicious symbols for the Japanese,” said Tezuka. “And many people enjoy seeing the good old traditions of Japan reflected in amezaiku.”

Each of his creations is a one-off with a slightly different face or shape. Customers have the added enjoyment of choosing a piece that really speaks to them. This is the fun part of handcraft according to Tezuka.

Besides workshops at his studio in Asakusa, Tezuka has also offered exhibitions and workshops internationally.

He held a workshop in New York in May, 2015 and made a big success.

“People in New York didn’t expect that we make the sculpture of candy by hand in such a short time,” said Tezuka. “And they were surprised to see this is actually made out of candy.”

Tezuka currently has five apprentices to pass his skill of candy art to the next generation. At Soramachi shop, Tezuka and students have demonstrations that customer can actually see how they make amezaiku.

“We can’t send our candy art abroad because it is so fragile,” said Tezuka. So, I hope overseas visitors will come and see our amezaiku here. It's a Japanese original, and in the spirit of omotenashi, we would love to show them what we do.

AMESHIN STUDIO IN ASAKUSA Address: 1F 1-4-3 Imado, Taito-ku, Tokyo Open: 11 am-6 pm, closed on Thursdays.

AMESHIN SHOP IN SORAMACHI Address: 4F, Tokyo Skytree Town Soramachi, 1-1-2 Oshiage, Sumida-ku, Tokyo Open: Daily, 10 am-9 pm Web: www.ame-shin.com

jStyle Vol.14 │ 15

OMOTENASHI

TEMPURA ENDO YASAKA Tempura is an authentic Japanese dish of deep-fried vegetables and seafood that calls for very delicate cooking skills. The expert chefs at Endo Yasaka are all from Kyoto, and take pride in serving seasonal ingredients and catering to customers from all around the world.

EXPERIENCE OMOTENASHI

Address: 566 Komatsu-cho, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto Tel: 81-75-551-1488 Web: www.gion-endo.com/english

Words: Chiyo Kamino

The spirit of omotenashi, or Japanese hospitality, may be found in every aspect of Japanese customer service. Here are some examples of places where you can feel the essence of omotenashi.

Keio Plaza Hotel is not just a place to stay, but also a cultural experience. Check out the koto harp performance, or the art exhibition in the lobby, or sing along with karaoke in the bar overlooking the breathtaking night view of Shinjuku.

KEIO PLAZA HOTEL

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Address: 2-2-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjukuku, Tokyo Tel: 81-3-3344-0111 Web: www.keioplaza.com

HAKONE FUKUZUMI-RO Japanese style inns, or ryokan, are synonymous with omotenashi. Unwind in a classic hot spring and explore historical architecture on beautiful Hakone mountain.

Address: 74 Tounosawa, Hakone-machi, Kanagawa Tel: 81-460-85-5301 Web: www.fukuzumi-ro.com/eng/index. html

FUKUJUEN KYOTO FLAGSHIP STORE

SHINSAIBASHI-SUJI SHOPPING CENTRE

KEIO DEPARTMENT STORE, SHINJUKU

Tea ceremony is the epitome of Japanese hospitality. Enjoy green tea in a variety of ways in the modern building of the Fukujuen Kyoto Flagship Store. There is a café, a restaurant, a shop, a traditional tea room, and a workshop and gallery multiple venues in which to savour the elegance of the ancient city.

Historically, Osaka is well-known as a city of merchants, and their spirit is deeply ingrained in the mind of the typical Osaka citizen. Along the 580 meters of the Shinsaibashi-suji arcade there are 180 shops, and in every one are shop attendants who will welcome you with a cheeky grin, or at least a cheerful greeting!

From sake to Hello Kitty bags, Keio Department Store offers a full range of quality goods. To find the perfect souvenir, just ask the Keio information staff. For tax returns and free Wi-Fi, visit the Foreign Customer Counter on the 2nd floor.

Address: Shijo-Tominokoji, Shimogyoku, Kyoto Tel: 81-75-221-2920 Web: www.fukujuen-kyotohonten.com

Address: 2-2-22 Shinsaibashisuji, Chuo-ku, Osaka Tel: 81-6-6211-1114 Web: www.shinsaibashi.or.jp/lang/en

Address: 1-1-4 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Tel: 81-3-3342-2111 Web: info.keionet.com

EBISUYA Need a cab? Don’t take a taxi, catch a rickshaw instead! The Japanese word jinrikisha is the origin of the English word, “rickshaw”, which evidences the long history of this man-powered form of transportation. All drivers are very friendly and inthe-know, so sit back and enjoy the ride!

Address: 2-3-1 Asakusa, Taito-ku, Tokyo (In front of Kaminarimon) Tel: 81-3-3847-4443 Web: ebisuya.com/en

AQUA MINI Take a cruise through Osaka city in an open-topped boat. The urban design looks very different from the river than from the streets, and the boatmen know all the picture-perfect spots. Listen for directions as your skipper points out where to capture the best photo opportunities.

Address: 2 Osakajo, Chuo-ku, Osaka Tel: 81-570-035551 Web: suijo-bus.jp/language/english

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SEIKO ASTRON GPS SOLAR DUAL-TIME In 2015 Seiko, the makers of the world’s first GPS Solar watch the Astron, announce the worldwide release of their latest model equipped with dual time display.

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Since the release of the revolutionary Quartz Astron watch in 1969, Seiko have constantly been at the forefront of watch technology and a pioneer in developing innovative products. In 2012, the world was introduced to the ground breaking Astron GPS solar series and in 2015, the evolution continues with their latest model, the 3rd generation series equipped with Dual-Time functionality.

THE EVOLUTION CONTINUES

GPS SOLAR SYSTEM

DUAL TIME FUNCTIONALITY

TRAVEL THE WORLD IN STYLE AND COMFORT

GUIGIARO DESIGN – ITALIAN FLAIR

Based on atomic clock accuracy, the GPS Solar System calibre offers the ultimate time keeping precision. The solar charging technology ensures that battery changes are not required and the seamless adjustment to the world’s 40 time zones through the smart sensor offers the utmost accuracy and ease of use. The unique link ring antenna guarantees consistent worldwide signal strength and users can also enjoy witnessing the watch’s ability to connect to different satellites via its multifunction display.

Designed specifically for the global traveller and those crossing multiple time zones, the watch is now equipped with world-class dual time display functionality. With the press of a button, users can simultaneously display the current time based on any of the world’s 40 time zones they are in along with their home time zone by utilising the sub-dial at the all-new 6 o’clock position. The watch also continues to offer the many benefits of the Perpetual Calendar function, a key feature since the very first Astron release in 2012.

The Dual-Time calibre is offered in a collection of eight main designs, all of which are distinctively and recognisably Astron. As with every Astron watch, the dials are clean, clear and easy to read. The cases are polished by hand, using Seiko’s unique Zaratsu technique, to be distortion-free, so that there is sharpness in every light reflection. The wide range of dial colours is made possible by Seiko’s mastery of energy management in watchmaking. These unique dials are the product of engineering excellence; Seiko’s own specially designed GPS module is so energy efficient that many different colours are possible.

The bracelets are composed of individually designed links and are therefore tapered perfectly to the wrist for maximum comfort, however and wherever you may travel. There are five designs in titanium cases and three in steel.

Limited to just 5,000 watches, the 2nd generation 8X series once again features the unique design ascetics of Italian maestro Giorgetto Giugiaro in collaboration with his world renowned team. Brimming with Italian flair much like a concept car, the avant-garde architecture includes Arabic numerals, stripe patterns on the dial face and a special tyre wheel motif on the back of the watch. Strap options include a titanium band with white ceramics along with an all-natural interchangeable crocodile leather band that features red lining and beautiful 3 colour Italian inspired stitching.

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FEATURE

© KANAZAWA CITY/© JNTO

TRAVEL 20 │ jStyle Vol.14

In this edition of jStyle we again visit the ski spots so popular with tourists from abroad and take a close look at Shinjuku, which is in Tokyo city, but depending on where you go will show you many different faces. We also feature Ishikawa Prefecture, which is enjoying lots of attention since being opened up by the

Hokuriku Shinkansen bullet train line.

From traditional national icons to hidden treasures that beckon the adventurous traveler, jStyle will take you on a journey through an array of destinations ideal for any travellers. And don’t forget to take a look at our travel tips and useful advice on how to use public transport.

©TONY CLARKE

Shinjuku TR AVEL

KAGURA ZAKA KABUKICHO ● Nishi-Shinjuku GOLDEN OMOIDE GAI YOKOCHO ● Shinjuku ISETAN

● MInami-Shinjuku

SHINJUKU GYOEN

ShinjukuAdventure

Day & Night Words: Tetsuo Nakahara

Shinjuku, located west of Tokyo, is known as the world’s busiest train station and is recognised as such in the Guiness Book of Records. More than two million people use Shinjuku Station to commute every day.

Shinjuku is divided into three areas. The west area of Shinjuku is a business district full of skyscrapers. The south area has a variety of shopping complexes, including the huge 14-storey Takashimaya Times Square shopping mall. And the east area is an amazing entertainment district full of restaurants, bars and clubs for an exciting night life.

Shinjuku offers not only bustling urban areas, but also historical temples and beautiful parks. It is a place that can satisfy all the expectations of Tokyo of any visitor to Japan.

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TRAVEL Shinjuku

KINOKUNIYA BOOK STORE

©YASUFUMI NISHI©JNTO

©YASUFUMI NISHI©JNTO

Kinokuniya book store in Takashimaya Times Square, located a five-minute walk from the south exit of JR Shinjuku Station, has the biggest foreign book selection in Tokyo. The 6th floor is especially for foreign publications, where you can find wide range of books, magazine and Japanese comics translated into English.

Daydream in Shinjuku

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SHINJUKU GYOEN If you want to find a little peace in downtown Shinjuku, Shinjuku Gyoen is the place to be on a sunny day.

Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden located in the south of Shinjuku covers 58.7 hectares. From the end of March to April, the garden is a very popular cherry blossom viewing spot with more than 1,500 cherry blossom trees in the garden. It has three areas, including a Japanese traditional garden area, formal French and English landscape where you can take a walk. Shinjuku Gyoen is loved by locals and tourists as an oasis in the big city.

ISETAN Isetan department store was established in 1886, making it the oldest department store in Shinjuku. It has three buildings with a huge selection of international and domestic brands.

Isetan is known as an icon in Shinjuku for lovers of shopping.

KAGURAZAKA Kagurazaka, which literally means “sacred music slope”, is an ideal area to discover a traditional Japanese atmosphere in Shinjuku. The area used to be Japan’s premier pleasure district before World War II, with many geisha houses.

Even now the area is redolent of old Japan with traditional houses and temples. There are also great restaurants and many interesting shops.

Nightlife

KABUKICHO

in Shinjuku

©Yasufumi Nishi©JNTO

Kabukicho is the area that never goes to sleep.

The neon lights and the crowds of people are the icons of the night life here. The area covers over 3,000 entertainment facilities, including restaurants, izakaya pubs, karaoke bars, movie theatres and night clubs, making it the largest entertainment district in Japan.

GOLDEN GAI

METROPOLITAN The Tokyo Metropolitan Government building has been a landmark of west Shinjuku since it was built in 1990. The building has two towers and is 243 metres tall. Both towers have free observation decks on the 45th floor where visitors can enjoy breathtaking panoramic views. On a clear day, you can see the beautiful Mt Fuji. But the highlight here is the night view. The north observation deck is open till 10:30 pm, and is a popular spot for viewing the spectacular Tokyo city lights.

©Yasufumi Nishi©JNTO

©TONY CLARKE

Golden Gai is an area with more than 200 small bars in six narrow alleys. Most bars here are only big enough to seat five to eight customers. The area used to be a site of prostitution in the 50s.

Now, it has survived as a place where you can experience a unique Japanese bar culture.

OMOIDE YOKOCHO Omoide Yokocho, literally “memory lane”, is a street area packed with small Japanese-style pubs. The area is not designed for tourists, so visitors can see what locals eat and drink in normal Tokyo life. It’s a good place to mingle with locals and share a glass or two in a nostalgic atmosphere.

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Up Above The City Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo Only a five-minute walk from Shinjuku station, Keio Plaza Hotel offers everything travellers need, plus superb views of the centre of the district.

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According to Guinness World Records, Shinjuku is the busiest station in the world.

Located on 11 lines, it is the hub of Tokyo’s railway system. Keio Plaza Hotel is located just 700 metres away, which means busy traveller guests can maximize their day; sightseeing, shopping, dining, or pub crawling. The two skyscraper towers of the hotel offer superb views from the guest rooms as seen in the photo above, and the hotel’s

pride - authentic Japanese guest experiences. Indulge in fine Japanese cuisine, relax in a cozy sake bar, and enjoy seasonal exhibitions... Let these experiences lead you into a dream, right up above the heart of Tokyo.

KEIO PLAZA HOTEL TOKYO 2-2-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo Tel: 81-3-3344- 0111 Web: www.keioplaza.com

Feel the Heart of Japan In the Heart of Tokyo

Food

Japanese Art

Even if your schedule is tight, you should never miss a chance to try the Japanese food on offer in Keio Plaza Hotel: sushi, tempura, teppanyaki, a traditional kaiseki course meal, or soba noodles.

More than 20 restaurants and bars offer gourmet options, not only from Japan, but also from France, Italy, China and Korea, and there is also buffet dining. Bar Amanogawa is a perfect place for connoisseurs of sake, and Karaoke47 is waiting with its great night view to welcome singers.

Something that will delight you at first sight of the hotel are the ever-changing decorations and presentations in the lobby.

Tsurushi-bina, lovely stuffed pendant ornaments celebrating Girl’s Festival in March, is an annual Keio Plaza Hotel specialty.

Free exhibitions featuring an introduction to authentic Japanese arts and culture, such as Arita porcelain, or paintings of Mt Fuji, are also held monthly.

Location

Location-wise, Shinjuku is the best place to stay to maximize your Tokyo experience. It is very accessible to all major sightseeing spots and popular neighbourhoods, including Roppongi, Shibuya and Ginza.

Shinjuku’s main shopping area is just a 15-minute walk, and the famous Kabukicho entertainment district only 20 minutes away on foot. A complimentary shuttle bus to and from Tokyo Disney Resort runs three times a day.

Culture

In contrast to its modern architecture, Keio Plaza Hotel will entertain you with traditional cultural experiences.

Do not miss the rare opportunity to try on formal kimono and have your photo taken in the shrine, which is usually only available for wedding ceremonies.

Or relax to the sound of the traditional koto harp, performed regularly in the lobby.

If you are a pop culture princess, book a Hello Kitty room and jump into the world of all things kawaii!

Support

Keio Plaza Hotel is well prepared to cater to busy traveller requests, with a full range of facilities and services, including a beauty salon, business centre, clinic, convenience store, gift shop, gym, nursery, spa, and swimming pool (summer only) are all on offer. With typical warm hearted Japanese hospitality, hotel front staff are ready and willing to help plan your ongoing trip and to arrange local tours for you.

jStyle Vol.14 │ 25

TRAVEL Hokuriku

Higashi Chayagai ©JNTO

Rediscovering

Hokuriku Words: Haruka Osoegawa Translation: Heather Glass

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The Hokuriku Shinkansen bullet train began operating in March 2015. Japan’s Hokuriku region incorporates the three prefectures of Ishikawa, Toyama and Fukui. The many tourist destinations dotted throughout the area include traditional Japanese locations, hot springs and beautiful castle towns. This article focuses on Kanazawa, the gateway to Hokuriku, with tips about tourist spots you may want to visit.

Yuki-no-otani Snow Corridor

The Nagano Shinkansen that formerly operated between Tokyo and Nagano was extended from Nagano to Kanazawa and was reborn as the Hokuriku Shinkansen on 14 March.

With the launch of the Hokuriku Shinkansen, an overland journey to Kanazawa that once took close to four hours can now be completed - at top speed - in two hours and 28 minutes.

During the Edo period – from the beginning of the 17th to the 19th century – Kanazawa boasted the highest rice stipend of the 300 feudal domains, making it the wealthiest domain within the country. The city was a castle town, governed by the Maeda family, who were the rulers of the Kaga clan and whose stipend is spoken of as ‘Hyakumangoku (one million koku) of Kaga’. At the city’s centre is Kenrokuen Garden, one of the three most famous gardens in Japan, facing which is Kanazawa Castle Park and the ruins of the feudal Maeda castle. A massive structure, Kanazawa Castle enjoys popularity as the epitome of the majesty of the Hyakumangoku of Kaga.

West of Korinbo, the busy shopping district, are the cobbled roads and earthen walls of the Nagamachi Buke Yashiki, or samurai residence district, which features the former homes of the Kaga clan’s retainers. The eastern street of chaya teahouses northeast of the castle, fairly close to the Asanogawa River, was born in 1820.

The traditional town houses lining the streets are unique for their latticed bay windows on the ground floor, and the plumb of their upper floors, which is high enough to accommodate Japanese-style zashiki drawing rooms, where guests sit on the floor.

In the present day there is a growing number of tea shops, galleries and modern bars that all preserve the teahouse architecture.

Kanazawa is not the only area of interest. Ishikawa Prefecture’s neighbouring prefecture, Toyama, also has many attractions. KurobeUnazukionsen Station, newly built for the Hokuriku Shinkansen, is the gateway to the Kurobe and Unazuki onsen hot springs area with its famously prolific springs that flow from the Northern Alps.

The prefecture is also known for the Tateyama-Kurobe Alpen Route, which is a mountainous tourist route passing through the Northern Alps, comprising peak after peak reaching 3,000 metres above sea level and visited by tourists from at home and abroad. The Tateyama-Kurobe Alpen Route is the mountain traffic route linking Tateyama Station in Toyama Prefecture and Ougizawa Station in Nagano Prefecture.

The route is famous for the ‘snow corridor’ that appears when snow walls of around 20 metres in height form along both sides of the road.

Each year from mid April to late June there is a ‘snow walk’, when it is possible to experience the Yukino-otani Snow Corridor. The walls of snow soaring on both sides are amazing as it shows the power of mother nature. The walk is an opportunity to get up close and personal with the wonders of nature at its mightiest.

HOKURIKU SHINKANSEN OPENS Hokuriku just got closer!

Train journey to Hokuriku cut by two hours Echigo Tokyo Station approx. Yuzawa Station 1h15min

Echigo Kanazawa Yuzawa Station Station approx.

3h

What used to take four and a half hours by train

by Hokuriku Shinkansen, at top speed, takes 2 hours 28 min!

INTRODUCING NEW ROLLING STOCK – WHAT’S GOOD ABOUT THE W7 CARRIAGE The comfortable interior space features a strong sense of both design and functionality. The ordinary carriages incorporate a lattice design that is classically wa in taste. The green cars are elegant, and the gran class has reclining leather seats and in-built electric functionality.

The train fit out is the latest, incorporating barrier free universal design elements, equipment designed for comfort, such as power points in all seats, attention to energy conservation, with LED in-carriage lights, and beefed up security, with surveillance cameras covering the aisles.

Now there are more options for what used to be quicker by air!

JAL 6 return flights/day ANA 6 return flights/day 12 return flights/day 24 return Hokuriku Shinkansen journeys/day

ITOIGAWA KUROBE UNAZUKIONSEN SHINTAKAOKA

TOYAMA KANAZAWA UEDA

JOETSUMYOKO IIYAMA

NAGANO

ANNAKAHARA TAKASAKI

SAKUDAIRA KARUIZAWA

HONJOWASEDA

KUMAGAYA OMIYA UENO

TOKYO

Hokuriku Shinkansen PHOTO: W7 SERIES & WEST JAPAN RAILWAY COMPANY

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TRAVEL Hokuriku

Touring Kanazawa

Recommended Tourist Route

Kanazawa retains the atmosphere of a castle town and boasts a collection of topical tourist spots of international interest. Here we describe the recommended tourist route for the major tourist experiences you should try at least once if you come to Kanazawa, including strolling the streets, shopping, and good food. You can get around Kanazawa efficiently in a day. All you need is about five hours.

START

KANAZAWA STATION

HIGASHI CHAYAGAI DISTRICT

2

One of Kanazawa’s three chaya districts, with their charming tea houses, the streets are lined with buildings housing vendors of gold leaf and traditional sweets, souvenir shops selling cute Kanazawa ornaments, and classy cafés. Don’t miss Shima, the only tea house structure in Japan to be designated a nationally Important Cultural Property. Built in 1820, the tea house has been immaculately preserved in its original form. As it was built to house the general arts of singing, music and dancing, it is unique for the fact that its upper storey guest rooms have no cupboards or dividing walls.

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When you alight at Kanazawa Station you will be greeted by the Motenashi Dome, completed in 2005 from feature glass. Hop on a bus and head for our first destination, Higashi Chayagai District.

3 SHIMA Address: 1-13-21 Higashiyama, Kanazawa-shi

KENROKUEN GARDEN

Kenrokuen is one of Japan’s three most famous gardens. It is a chisen kaiyu, ‘strolling pond’, style garden typical of the Edo period and has its origins as the clan residence constructed in the outer blocks of Kanazawa Castle by the Kaga clan. Its charm transforms with the seasons, offering different views with the changing seasons. A must see is the Kotoji stone lantern for which the garden is known. After a leisurely stroll around the garden, enjoy a snack at one of the tea shops lining the exit.

Address: 1-4 Kenroku-machi, Kanazawa-shi

4

KANAZAWA CASTLE PARK

The huge park was created around the restored ruins of Kanazawa Castle, which was the stronghold of the Million Koku of Kaga, dating from when Maeda Toshiie moved into the castle in the Edo period. The symbol of Kanazawa Castle, the famous Ishikawamon Gate, is designated a nationally Important Cultural Property. In spring the park is also very popular as a famous spot for cherry blossom viewing.

The circuit or shuttle bus from Ohmicho Markets to Kanazawa Station takes about five minutes. Pop into the souvenir stores at Kanazawa Station to buy famous local sweets, seafood products, or gold leaf craft items.

You can savour the delights of Kanazawa in just one day.

Address: 1-1 Marunouchi, Kanazawa-shi

KANAZAWA 21ST CENTURY MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART

5

The concept of the Kanazawa 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, which is a gallery that has many fans around Japan, was for it to be open to the town and in essence a ‘parklike art gallery’. Leandro Erlich’s Swimming Pool is one popular spot in which a boundary created by the surface of a pool becomes a natural source of interaction.

6

FINISH OHMICHO MARKETS

For our final stop we go to the Ohmicho Markets, which are popular with tourists. This is the kitchen of the people of Kanazawa, where shoppers can buy fresh seafood products and Kaga vegetables. Across the 2.8 hectare site there are 170 or so shops, including stores selling fresh food and commercial goods, and food and beverage outlets. Shop and taste test as you are surrounded by in a swirl of energetic cries of ‘It’s fresh!’, or ‘It’s cheap!’, and being on the coast of the Japan Sea, do not go past the seafood. Sushi eaten at the markets is unforgettable.

Address: 50 Kami Ohmicho, Kanazawashi

Address: 1-2-1 Hirosaka, Kanazawa-shi

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TRAVEL Hokuriku

Experience

ENJOY THE FLAVOURS AND CULTURE OF ISHIKAWA IN TOKYO

The Traditional Culture of Ishikawa Prefecture WAJIMANURI LACQUER WARE

GOLD LEAF Gold leaf is gold that has been pounded to thin and extend it. Around 99 per cent of the gold leaf produced in Japan is made in Kanazawa, where historically it has been used to decorate lacquer ware and in screens and Buddhist altars. At tourist spots in the city it is also possible to consume drinks and soft ice cream or sushi topped with gold leaf.

Wajimanuri lacquer ware is a traditional craft form produced in Wajima City in Ishikawa Prefecture, and in 1975 was designated a National Traditional Craft Product.

Wajimanuri lacquer ware is distinctly characterised by its elegant, yet solid and substantial texture. A thick wooden base is reinforced by being wrapped with fabric soaked in a mixture of kiurushi, or raw lacquer sap, and komenori rice glue, and robustness is achieved by thick application of multiple undercoats of kiurushi and komenori mixed with calcined diatomaceous earth.

The Ishikawa Hyakumangoku Story and Edo Headquarters, an ‘antenna’ store showcasing the diversity of Ishikawa’s attractions, opened in October 2014 in Ginza in Tokyo. It is a comprehensive public relations hub in Japan’s capital city featuring the history, traditional culture, tourism and food of Ishikawa Prefecture.

The store has three floors and offers over 1,900 varieties of product, including local sake, Kaga vegetables and other foodstuffs, Wajimanuri, and cosmetics incorporating gold leaf. It also has counters with information about relocating to the region and tourist information, and eating spaces offering Noto beef steak don on rice, and gold leaf infused coffee.

ISHIKAWA HYAKUMANGOKU STORY AND EDO HEADQUARTERS Address: TH Ginza Building, 2-2-18 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo

KAGA YUZEN Kanazawa has its own unique style of kimono, the Kaga Yuzen. It is characterised by what are known as the five colours of Kaga, which are five sedate colours – crimson, indigo, chrome yellow, dark green and royal purple – used in detailed depictions of fine patterns incorporating birds, flowers and other natural scenes, as in nihonga, Japan’s own unique painting style.

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Japan's most beautiful Samurai garden

Kanazawa Station

Samurai Residence District

Experience traditional arts and crafts

Kenrokuen Garden

Explore

Ishikawa, Japan

Tourism ISHIKAWA Official Travel Guide Ishikawa tourist information site

hot-ishikawa

Sapporo

Sapporo-Komatsu (1 h 35 min) by Air

Niseko Nagano

Nagano-Kanazawa (1 h 6 min) by bullet train

Ishikawa

Kanazawa Komatsu

Tokyo

Kanazawa-Tokyo (2 h 28 min)

by Bullet train

Hakuba

(PhotoďźšW7 series @ WEST JAPAN RAILWAY COMPANY)

TRAVEL Tohoku

jStyle Special Selection

It’s About Time I Went to

Awesome Japanese Ski Probably the most popular ski area in Japan for skiers and snowboarders from other countries is Niseko in Hokkaido. International skiers have also now begun venturing into Nagano and other popular areas in pursuit of additional appealing spots, and Niseko, Nagano and recently areas in Niigata are gaining in popularity. In this feature we will introduce to you some new areas that are attracting a following.

Words: Kazuya Baba Translation: Heather Glass

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Believe it or not, there are over 500 ski resorts in Japan!

Resorts HOKKAIDO

The Powder Belt

TOHOKU

Hakkoda Appi Zao Onsen ISHIK AWA KYOTO OSAK A HIROSHIMA

TOKYO

NAGANO

Shiga Kogen

Do you know how many ski resorts there are in Japan? Believe it or not, there are over 500. Each has its own identifying features, incorporating huge resorts where skiers can enjoy powder snow to their heart’s content, to ski resorts embracing huge ski parks where skiers can enjoy mogul and extreme forms of ski-ing.

There are many ski resorts that have become known to international visitors, starting with Niseko, which is a gathering point for many skiers and snowboarders from around the world, and extending to ski resorts in Nagano Prefecture. Nevertheless, there are still many appealing ski destinations in Japan of which those outside Japan know nothing. In this feature we will focus on spots buried deep in Japan that enjoy popularity with Japanese ski fans, but are as yet unknown to visitors from abroad.

Broadly, we will introduce you to three areas. We start with ski resorts in the Tohoku area, which in terms of potential is definitely not outdone by Hokkaido or Nagano-Niigata. We will take a close look at Okushiga Kogen, which is enjoying particular popularity among the ski resorts in the already popular Shiga Kogen in Nagano Prefecture. We will also focus on the ‘powder belt’ in Hokkaido’s central region, which is drawing attention as the spot for powder snow, the likes of which are rarely seen anywhere in the world.

TOHOKU AREA: ZAO ONSEN, APPI KOGEN, HAKKODA An area on a par with Hokkaido and Nagano-Niigata, if probably having the potential to surpass them, is Tohoku.

Tohoku is located at the northernmost point of Japan’s central island of Honshu, and in winter, is a region of heavy snows.

There are many ski resorts in the area, but let’s look at the appeal the area offers by focusing on three ski resorts that are actively welcoming international skiers and snowboarders.

NAGANO AREA: SHIGA KOGEN Known to be a popular area on a par with Hakuba and Nozawa Onsen, Shiga Kogen in Nagano Prefecture boasts Japan’s largest gelande ski run. There are many ski resorts on the extensive slopes inside Shiga Kogen, but most are connected to each other and skiers can come and go between them. We will take a close look at Okushiga Kogen, which is located the furthest back of several resorts and is particularly popular with skiers.

HOKKAIDO AREA: POWDER BELT Mention Hokkaido and the strongest association that comes to mind is Niseko, but the area about which there is growing awareness that it is the up and coming spot in Hokkaido to enjoy Japan’s best powder snow, is the area dubbed the ‘powder belt’, located in the centre of Hokkaido. There are several ski resorts there, including Asahidake, Kurodake and Furano, which all boast very satisfying powder snow.

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TRAVEL Tohoku

Tohoku

jStyle Special Selection

Bewitching Area of Intense Cold

The northern belt of the main island of the Japan archipelago, between Hokkaido and Tokyo, is called the Tohoku region, and because it sits at a high latitude, it is known as a cold climate area, with cool summers and very cold winters. The area is broadly divided into six prefectures, and its northernmost edge is called Aomori Prefecture, where aomori means bluegreen forests, which is just what the region has. To its south and west, starting from the north, there are Akita Prefecture and Yamagata Prefecture, and to the south and east are Iwate Prefecture, Miyagi Prefecture and Fukushima Prefecture.

In the exact centre of the Tohoku region there is a long range of mountains running north-south, which is also why the region has a dense tract of ski resorts.

The people of the Tohoku region have a propensity to work together and help each other in life, probably because of the harsh environment in a region of intense cold, and so they give the impression that they are overflowing with more human kindness than the usual.

Japan is known for its abundance of seafood products, but a particular feature of Tohoku is its delicious seafood. It is an area that is filled to overflowing with opportunities to enjoy food; there is ample opportunity to enjoy a wide variety of delicacies, from both sea and mountain.

We will choose a few areas from among those in the Tohoku region and tell you all about the attractions they have to offer.

SNOW MONSTERS IN ONE OF JAPAN’S TOP HOT SPRINGS The first popular ski area in Tohoku that comes to mind for Japanese people is probably Zao in Yamagata Prefecture.

Outside Japan, many have heard of the scenery in which there are rows of hundreds of frost covered trees, known as “snow monsters”, and skiing in that magnificent setting is very appealing.

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Zao is said to be 1900 years old and has been known historically as a hot springs town.

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There are also hot springs boasting bountiful hot water, and in the non-skiing world, Zao is known as a resort.

Compared to ski areas in Hokkaido and Nagano-Niigata, awareness of the area outside Japan is still low, but it is 360 kilometres north of Tokyo and for Australians, access is actually easy.

Using the new route from Sydney to Haneda, there are direct transfers to flights to Yamagata.

The Zao ski area opened in 1925, making it one of the oldest in Japan.

It has 37 ropeway lifts and is also considered top class in Japan for its big gelände ski run, in which the longest ski distance is ten kilometres. The frostcovered trees symbolic of Zao are so unusual that they are known around the

world as only to be seen in this part of the Tohoku region, and skiing through the rows of ice crystal-covered trees is an experience available nowhere else.

There are lots of experiences available nowhere else, including the famous Yokokura Wall course, a steep, 38-degree slope that is well worth taking on.

Zao is said to be 1900 years old and has been known historically as a hot springs town. In a nation covered in hot springs, the history of the area is rivalled by few and the area features in mythology and legend. The quality of the hot water and its efficacy are well known, and from ancient times it has been known as ‘the children’s hot springs’, where children are taken to ensure healthy growth. The waters also have a disinfectant effect, and are said to be effective in treating skin conditions. The centre of Zao Onsen has three communal baths that are open from 6:00 in the morning to 10:00 at night.

There are at least one hundred places of accommodation in the town and there are restaurants, izakaya pubs and shops, which means after ski time can be gainfully spent. There is also a night bus that runs to the entertainment district in Yamagata City, getting passengers there in 30 or 40 minutes and making it possible to get away from the ski area for evening

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TRAVEL Tohoku

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Aomori farming land is also known as the cradle of art in the paddies.

meals and activities. Popular activities to which people flock are backlit frost-covered trees and evening snow sled tours among the trees.

Skiing in Japan is all about getting the most joy out of ski areas typical of the country, alleviating tiredness in historical hot springs and partaking of sake and food in hot spring towns.

AOMORI – THE PREFECTURE IN DEEPEST NORTHERNMOST HONSHU Japanese food is the focus of the world’s attention since being designated an international Intangible Cultural Asset

by UNESCO, but what many people first think of when they think of Japanese food is probably sushi and sashimi. The sushi culture is well established and the most popular ingredient in sushi and sashimi is the epitome of the cuisine, tuna. Do you have any idea where the most delicious tuna is caught? In fact it is off the northernmost part of the Tohoku region, Aomori Prefecture. The prefecture is in a unique position, sandwiched between the Pacific to the east and the Japan Sea to the west, so that where the ocean currents from both converge, a fishing zone is created off Aomori Prefecture which produces possibly the most delicious fish in the world. The tuna caught there at a

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place called Ohma, are in both name and reality the best in the world, and at Tsukiji, the world’s largest fish market in Tokyo, Ohma tuna is traded at very high prices and wholesaled to exclusive sushi restaurants.

Hokkaido is known for delicious seafood, but Tohoku is not to be outdone in the seafood stakes. Hachinohe is a nationally recognisable port in Aomori’s southeast and the catches of squid and mackerel there are said to be the largest in Japan.

Aomori, with all of it attractions, also has lots of ski areas, one of which, Hakkoda, has been working hard to attract international tourists and has for the last few years grown in popularity as a result. The frost-covered trees of the area are massive and said to be bigger than those of Zao. The dynamic course, which starts from the mountaintop station of the ropeway, maximises the natural topography and is basically an uncompacted off-piste. For those skiers wanting to enjoy powder in a natural environment, it is highly recommended. There are not a lot of lifts, but the course length is seven kilometres, and as a ski area that lets skiers ski between trees and enjoy the magnificence of nature to the full, it is revered by many ski fans. Another reason for its popularity is that it is pos-

FAMILY FRIENDLY HOTEL AND BIG GELÄNDE

sible to ski for almost six months, from December to May. A little off topic, but Aomori also has lots of places to see outside the ski season. The Tohoku region has a lot of rice growing areas and farming is generally prolific, but Aomori farming land is also known as the cradle of art in the paddies.

Art in the paddies involves likening a rice paddy to a canvas and planting different coloured rice plants to create massive pictures and characters. The practice is now prevalent across Japan, but it had its origins in 1993 in the village of Inakadate in the Minamitsugaru district of Aomori,

when the village initiated the event in rice paddies behind the village council buildings as a village invigoration event.

In summer in Aomori there is the famous Nebuta Festival, in which over-sized papier mâché nebuta dolls are placed on carriages and pulled in procession. The dolls depict scenes from Japanese kabuki theatre and mythology, and are very popular with international tourists with an interest in Japanese culture. There are many attractions throughout the region outside the ski season, so to spice up your ski trip, make sure you go to a visitor centre and search them out.

There is in fact another major ski area in Tohoku known to have the biggest gelände ski run. The Appi Kogen ski area has a reputation for convenience. It comprises a large resort hotel at the base of a ski run and is surrounded by several hotel-style accommodation facilities. The area has 21 courses with a total length of 45.1 kilometres, which alone would make it notable, but it is also highly regarded for the fact that in pursuit of good quality snow, the courses have been laid out on the northern slope of the mountain. The result is premium quality ‘aspirin snow’.

Appi resort life has lots to offer besides skiing. There are major facilities associated with the hotel; the ubiquitous big onsen hot springs, and happily, a full range of other facilities including a heated pool, an athletics gym and squash courts. The hotel also houses many restaurants and bars, so there are lots of opportunities for fun after skiing.

Appi Kogen ski area is in Iwate Prefecture, which is adjacent to and south of Aomori Prefecture. As a region of intense dairy production, when the ski

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TRAVEL Tohoku

season finishes it begins to show another face. For example, at the Koiwai Farm Makibaen Park, a farm-based tourist facility, there are sheep dog trials and sheep shows, the opportunity to enjoy horse riding, archery and horse-drawn wagon rides, and tours of operating cow sheds and a milking factory. The farm building, which has a silo-shaped observatory, also houses a restaurant and kiosk. Flavours for visitor enjoyment include the famous Mongolian barbecue and fresh milk. There is also no shortage of things to see in the area, with many famous sites steeped in ancient Japanese tradition, including temples such as Chuson-ji Temple, famous for its Konjikido golden hall, and Motsu-ji Temple, known for its beautiful gardens.

Another very interesting food tradition in Iwate Prefecture is wanko soba noodles. First up, a small amount of soba noodles sufficient for a single mouthful is placed in a bowl, owan, which the

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guest consumes. The minute the bowl is empty, a server adds another single mouthful. As each mouthful is consumed the server adds another to the bowl, so that unless the guest puts a lid on the bowl or gives some other indication they have had enough, they can just keep on eating soba. As people often have fun

competing to see how many bowls they can eat, wanko soba has a reputation as being something to be eaten in large quantities, but it is a rustic dish that the guest was originally meant to enjoy slowly, savouring the flavour, until replete. You should give it a try.

We turn now to three areas that we have selected from the Tohoku region which are up and coming new ski destinations. All have very good quality snow, are large and will definitely satisfy ski fans from outside Japan.

There are many ski areas other than these in the Tohoku region. We look forward to introducing you to those on another occasion.

While we have bundled the ski areas in the Tohoku region into one, each offers significant differences in food, climate and natural features unique to that destination.

Take the time to look at aspects of Tohoku other than skiing. You will undoubtedly find a fascinating depth to the region.

Zao

ACCESS INFORMATION

From Narita or Haneda Airport, head to Tokyo station and transfer to the Yamagata bullet train for the 2 hour 40 minute journey to Yamagata station. After alighting, board the Zao Onsen bus for the short 40 minute ride to the resort.

Japan Airlines (JAL) also flies from Haneda Airport to the local Yamagata Airport in approximately 50 minutes. A local shared van service can be reserved for the 1 hour transfer to the resort.

The resort of snow, superb hot springs and magnificent moutains

TOHOKU’S EASILY ACCESSIBLE SKI HEAVEN Located in the Tohoku region of Japan between Tokyo and Hokkaido’s famous Niseko ski area lies the magnificent Zao Onsen ski resort. At just 360 kilometres north of Tokyo, those arriving at Haneda Airport from Sydney can take a Yamagata bound shinkansen (bullet train) to the local Yamagata station making access extremely convenient.

JAPAN’S LEADING LARGE SCALE SKI RESORT With a rich history dating back to 1925, Zao Onsen boasts 26 runs – the longest at over 10 kilometres in length - accessed by 37 lifts and ropeways to firmly place it at the pinnacle of ski resorts in Japan.

SKI AMONGST THE ICE MONSTERS Zao Onsen is the only place in Japan and the world where you can enjoy skiing through the Juhyo, or ‘Ice Monsters’, the frost covered trees that are unique to the area. The best time to enjoy the beauty of the Ice Monsters is from the end of December until the start of March.

http://www.zao-spa. or.jp/english/index.html

ENJOY GREAT NIGHT LIFE IN TOWN AFTER A DAY ON THE SLOPES

Sapporo

Niseko

The hot spring resort area, with a long history from 1900 onwards, currently offers over 100 accommodation options complemented by a variety of restaurants and pubs. For those wanting even more excitement, Yamagata city is easily accessible via a 40 minute bus ride with a return late night service also planned. Other evening activities include night skiingIzumo Hiroshima and enjoying the illuminated Ice Monsters by snowcat.

Hakata Hiroshima Airport

(Fukuoka)

Fukuoka Airport

Nagasaki Kyushu Shinkansen Line

Naha Airport

Kagoshima

Aomori Akita

Shin Yatsushiro

Morioka

ZAO

Shinjo Yamagata Niigata

Nagano Itami Airport

Takamatsu Tokushima Kochi

Beppu Kumamoto

Kobe

Sendai

TOKYO

Kyoto Yokohama Nagoya Chubu Airport

Nara Osaka

Narita International Airport

Nanki-Shirahama Airport Matsuyama Airport

Naha

Hakodate

Kagoshima Airport

Kansai International Airport

Karuizawa

Takayama

Haneda Airport

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TRAVEL Shiga Kogen

Shiga Kogen

jStyle Special Selection

in Nagano

The Joys of a Huge, Popular Resort Little-known Outside Japan

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In this skiing feature we have sought to introduce spots that are not well known to ski fans outside Japan, but that have lots of potential and that we tip will grow in popularity. Shiga Kogen is an internationally recognised ski destination, so would not seem to actually fit our brief, but with 19 ski areas boasting 52 gondola lifts, it is the largest in Japan. It is so big it is said it would take a week to ski all its courses, which means it has no shortage of spots little known outside Japan.

The first ski area we would like to tell you about is Yokoteyama-Shibutoge. At its highest point the area is 2,305 metres above sea level, it boasts the best quality snow in Japan, and is famous as the country’s most elevated ski area equipped with a normal lift. The negative is that access is only by car or bus, as the area is quite independent from and unconnected to any other, so that even among people familiar with Shiga Kogen, many do not know about it. But it is just a short shuttle

bus ride, so it is well worth giving it a try.

The ski area we really want to tell you about is Okushiga Kogen. It is linked to other areas so is absolutely easy to get to, but as it is located right at the very back of the extensive Shiga Kogen area very few take the trouble to go there. But Okushiga Kogen offers an unspoiled natural environment exceeding any other area, and is counted among Japan’s best powder snow areas. Snow-bearing winds from the Japan Sea drop their moisture as they pass over the mountains, bringing superlative powder snow. The ski courses are varied, with side country and tree courses to enjoy, and if you want to head deep into back country, it is possible to hire guides who are well versed in the area.

Hotel Villa Ichinose, Shigakogen ★We locate at center of “Ichinose Village”, and “Ichinose Tanne-NoMori ski area” is just behind us. ★We have Chinese & Japanese restaurant and convenience shop “Yamazaki Shop”. ★There is fire place and sofa at our lobby. Free Wi-Fi access. ★Japanese tatami room, spa shared public bathroom.

7149 HIRAO, YAMANOUCHI-MACHI, SHIMOTAKAI-GUN, NAGANO, 381-0401 JAPAN Tel:81-269-34-2704 e-mail:info@villa101.biz URL:http://www.villa101.biz

to wa l k u t es r d A r ea n i m 1- 3 boa S n ow Ski / 7966VILL

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TRAVEL Shiga Kogen

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In winter the popular Snow Monkey area is just a 30-minute shuttle bus ride away.

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The Sugiyama Ski & Snowsports School in Okushiga Kogen has many instructors fluent in other languages, and lessons are very high quality. The school is a distinguished institution with several nationally accredited instructors from Austria in Europe, the home of skiing.

One reason why excellent personnel are attracted to the school is the presence of the school’s representative, Susumu Sugiyama. He is a former Japanese alpen ski Olympian and is a legend in Japan. His son, the principal, Kiminobu Sugiyama, is also a highly reputable instructor, nationally accredited in Austria. The Sugiyama Ski & Snowsports School has developed its own method of instruction, based on

the world-leading skiing method developed in Austria, the cradle of alpen skiing.

If you are keen to learn ski techniques, go knock on their door.

If you are going to concentrate your stay in the extensive Shiga Kogen area on Okushiga Kogen, the ideal place to stay is the Okushiga Kogen Hotel, which is directly connected to the ski area and has a lift station right in front of the lounge. It is a warm, classic hotel, featuring a design of wood-grain walls and with a popular bar with a very big fireplace. The staff are internationally diverse and friendly. The entire hotel is Wi-Fi enabled, and the restaurant serves not only Japanese food, but a variety of other cuisines, including French. There is after-ski fun in the izakaya Japanese pub at night. In Japanese spring, a terrace café in the style of a yurt is to open on the top of Okushiga Mountain.

Good powder snow is available at Okushiga Kogen from December to early March, but snow remains for a long time, so skiing is possible into May and spring.

You could avoid the busiest part of the ski season to focus on touring in other

areas and still build skiing into your travel itinerary. Outside the ski season, summer on the plateau is very comfortable, with a variety of activities available, including golf, tennis, cycling and fishing. From September to October the mountains turn red and gold with autumn leaves, and in every direction from your hotel window there is beautiful scenery. We urge you to take yourself to Okushiga, a spot in Shiga Kogen attracting particular attention.

Shiga Kogen is also close to the hot springs area of Shibu Onsen, with its cobbled streets and buildings from the late 19 th to early 20 th centuries that create a richly imbued Meiji and Taisho era atmosphere, and to Yudanaka Onsen. In winter the popular snow monkey area is just a 30-minute shuttle bus ride away.

A further attraction of the area is the ability to taste in one go all aspects of Japan’s culture of alcoholic beverages.

There are four wineries, all of which accept tours. There are also eight sake breweries, and it is possible to tour the local brewery that produces Japan’s top-selling boutique beer.

More and more people are visiting Shiga Kogen each year, but next time you go, we encourage you to venture into the areas we have talked about here. We trust this information will add substance to your ski life.

Best powder ski resort in the largest ski-area in Japan Okushiga Kogen Resorts Hotel & Ski Resorts www.okushiga-kogen.com

Shiga International Ski School Sugiyama Ski and Snowsports School International Division

www.sugiyama-ski.com 8209OKUS

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TRAVEL Powder Belt

Hokkaido Powder Belt

Magical Places Words: Chuck Olbery (Hokkaido Powder Guides)

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PHOTOS: MASAAKI KATO PHOTO: TAKAHIRO NAKANISHI

S

kiing has always dictated my life.

Personal decisions have never been made without first researching the mountains and consulting how good the turns were going to be. The first time I came to Japan was on an English teaching program where I was given three choices as to my placement. There were rumours that you were lucky to get any of your choices. A friend from a small town in New Zealand chose Tokyo, only to be posted to the smallest fishing village in Japan. My choices were made based on the merit of the skiing and luckily found myself in the mountainous region of northern Honshu.

But it wasn’t my first choice. That was actually Hokkaido. My interest in the northern island was piqued back at university and video nights with fellow members of the ski club, watching snowboarding videos of pro American snowboarders in Niseko. These guys were some of the first foreign professionals to Hokkaido to ride some of the mystical powder that the island is now famous for.

Fast forward several years and at the time

living in Tokyo. Two northern hemisphere winters had come and gone and the only snow I had seen was a brief flurry. I was a fish out of water. I had a goal of starting a ski guiding business on the northern island, and persuaded my wife that a life living the dream was better than anything we had found in Tokyo. In October of 2003, bags were packed into a small van, ferry boarded, and after a night sailing over the Sea of Japan, we were driving to the Central Hokkaido town of Furano.

At the time, there wasn’t a lot of information on the web about Central Hokkaido or Furano, at least not in English. It was better known as a summer destination and for the numerous lavender farms which are dotted around the valley. But the pieces of information regarding the mountains and skiing seemed compelling.

The Daisetsuzan National Park and its volcanoes loom large over the landscape, 2,000 meter peaks with both alpine and tree skiing, lodges with thermal hot springs nestled within, and a deep, deep snowpack. It ticked all the boxes for what you would want from a ski trip in Japan, and a guiding business.

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TRAVEL Powder Belt

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I remember sitting in one of the outdoor hot springs after a particularly good day skiing and being mesmerised by the falling snow.

It almost looked as though there were feathers falling from the sky, like a giant pillow fight had taken place above us.

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national park, I was joined by a fellow Australian whose job was to clear the roads into the hot spring lodges. A big undertaking, but not his particular task. He would sit in an idling vehicle with a heater on full blast at the bottom of the hill, book in one hand and a cell phone in the other, ready to warn the snow clearers of an approaching vehicle. Once the roads were cleared, he would set off after my ski track and we would spend the rest of the day riding the powder. And what powder it was.

I remember sitting in one of the outdoor hot springs after a particularly good day skiing and being mesmerised by the falling snow. It almost looked as though there were feathers falling

PHOTO: MASAAKI KATO

The town of Furano is serviced by the local airport of Asahikawa. For anyone who flies here, the descent into Asahikawa gives a great bird’s eye view of the mountains. On one side there is the Daisetsuzan Range which stretches 60 kilometres from north to south and 30 kilometres east to west. On the other side of the valley are the smaller mountains and the resorts of Kamui Ski Links, Furano and also Tomamu.

Furano is the centre of it all. A plaque embeded on a rock in the centre of the town states it is actually the 'geographic center of Hokkaido.'

My first season here was an exploratory one to assess the area’s potential for good skiing.

On backcountry days at the southern end of the

Body and mind in the box seat

PHOTO: MASAAKI KATO

PHOTO: HOKKAIDO POWDER GUIDES

PHOTO: MASAAKI KATO

from the sky, like a giant pillow fight had taken place above us. The flakes seemed to float as if suspended in the air forever before making a soft descent.

Asahidake is one of the magical places in the area where there is lift access to this amazing snow. I have had days there where our tracks would be covered on each run down, big deep twenty centimetre trenches gone after only 40 minutes. All but vanished, as if someone was playing tricks on us. Deep days are the days where the snow flies over your head, and those aren’t rare. One only needs to ski through the old growth spruce and see the giant blocks of snow resting on the branches to realise that this is a very high snowfall area.

Hokkaido is covered in volcanoes. There are 13 active volcanoes on the island and two of them are in the Daisetsuzan National Park, one of those being Asahidake. When the skies do finally clear and you see this volcano, it is quite breathtaking. Active enough to let you know you are standing on something live, in both sight and smell. Smoke billows from multiple vents and fissures and noxious sulphurous gases plaster parts of the snowpack in shades of green and yellow.

On the days that are too stormy in the national park, I am happy to be riding the lifts at one of the three ski fields. They definitely feel more local than resorts around Sapporo or

of course Niseko. There are days, especially mid-week where it feels you are one of only a handful riding the lifts.

The spread of the ski fields and the varying microclimates of Central Hokkaido contribute to skiing consistently good snow conditions, as long as you know which resort to go to depending on the storm directions. Five centimetres at one field could be over a foot at another. That is probably how the area acquired the name, ‘Hokkaido’s Powder Belt.’ It is an apt description.

So it has been over ten years now and we are still here. In that time we have skied a lot of powder and had many ‘days of our lives’ in powder terms. Word has spread through the internet where there is now a lot more information in English now. In this age of global warming and diminishing snowfalls, it is good to know that there is an island on this planet where it still snows and snows.

This Japanese ski season, we will launch a new powder ski operation. The package includes a week’s stay in a ski lodge and unlimited skiing in the Hokkaido powder belt. It is like heli-skiing in Canada, but with all the fun Hokkaido has to offer, because we will use a lodge at the foot of a mountain which means not only the delicious meals the lodge serves, but also a hot springs, an izakaya pub, and local restaurants. Nowhere else is offering a powder package like this one; it’s completely new. Tours will depart from January to March, almost every week. Go to the Hokkaido Powder Guide website for more information.

The Lodge stands on a site with sweeping views and ready access to all areas in the Hokkaido powder belt.

For backcountry tour and lodge bookings, go to: http://www.hokkaidopowderguides.com For more on Northern Star Lodge: http://www.northernstarlodge.info

TEL: 0167-44-2081 MOBILE: 090-3002-9087 E-mail: furano@northernstarlodge.info 8211NORT

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TRAVEL Airline

The Changing Face of Air Travel Air travel linking Japan and Australia is undergoing significant change. In August, Qantas Airways launched its first ever direct flight between Sydney and Haneda. Following in Qantas’ jet stream, All Nippon Airways (ANA) will also add on the route in December.

Words: Haruka Osoegawa Translation: Heather Glass

On August 1, Qantas began operating flights between Sydney and Haneda and between Brisbane and Narita. The Qantas SydneyNarita flight has been scrapped, leaving only Japan Airlines (JAL) flying the route.

The Sydney-Haneda route is being flown daily by a B747-400. The Brisbane-Narita route

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has an A330-300 aircraft, also flying daily.

Qantas now has two flights a day between Australia and Japan, making available a total of over 9,000 seats.

ANA, on the other hand, has restored its Australian route for the first time in 16 years, bringing to four the number of airlines operating direct flights between Australia and Japan: Qantas, JAL, ANA and Qantas’ subsidiary low cost carrier, Jetstar.

The number of Australian tourists to Japan has been growing for the last few years.

Statistics published by the Japan National Tourism Organization indicate that in 2014 the number of Australians who visited Japan grew by 23.8 per cent on the previous year, to 302,656. The ongoing Visit Japan campaign and the weak yen have coincided since the end of last April with Jetstar’s new Melbourne-Narita route, together lifting demand for travel to Japan. The growth has apparently encouraged Qantas’ readiness to embark on new routes.

The Brisbane-Narita route seeks to leverage convenient transfers to Jetstar Japan’s domestic routes. CEO of Qantas, Alan Joyce, pointed out that the Qantas Group is already operating the Jetstar route between Cairns and the Gold Coast and Japan, and stressed that the Australia-Japan routes are supporting both business and recreational travel. He expressed

Qantas’ hope that the new routes will contribute to an increase in Japanese visitors to Australia, and to boosting Queensland’s tourism industry.

In recent years there has also been a steady stream of Japanese companies into Australia. In January 2015, the JapanAustralia Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) came into effect, significantly strengthening the economic relationship between the two countries. Qantas says it expects to see growing business demand on the Sydney-Haneda route as a result.

The events appear to have encouraged Qantas and ANA to set their sights on business demand, with both introducing schedules from Haneda International Airport, near central Tokyo, that are convenient to business passengers. A feature of the new flights is their convenience for business travel and connections; the aircraft will depart either of Sydney or Haneda at night, arriving early the next morning. ANA says that it hopes its new flights will increase economic and cultural exchange between the two countries, and contribute to creating demand for travel to Japan.

The Australia-Japan route is heating up.

Perhaps we can look forward, not just to expansion into new routes, but also efforts by all airlines to differentiate themselves and attract customers with their service.

Fly JAL to Japan When you have to cross the skies on a long journey, seated in a confined space, you want your seat to be comfortable. At a time when all airlines are competing to provide fully reclined flat-bed seating in business class, JAL has opted to pay attention to economy class seating. The airline boasts economy comfort on a par with premium economy.

JAL’s business class SKY SUITE, for sleeping comfort

JAL’s SKY WIDER offers increased leg room in economy thanks to 10 centimetres more space between seats. JAL has steadily continued to expand the routes it services since introducing the SKY WIDER to its international B777-300 aircraft in January 2013 under the slogan of a “new, spacious economy”.

In June, JAL was awarded Best Economy Class Airline Seat in the 2015 World Airline Awards, by Skytrax in the UK, which reviews airlines and airports. Among the world’s airlines, JAL’s SKY WIDER seats were identified as the best. Passengers will be able to experience the “new, spacious economy” on flights between Sydney and Narita, when aircraft fitted with the SKY WIDER seats will be placed on the route departing Sydney between 26 October, 2015 and 26 March, 2016.

JAL’s economy class SKY WIDER, available on the Sydney-Narita route

JAL’s business class seats, with their focus on sleeping comfort, are also attractive. In 2013 JAL was the first Japanese airline to be awarded Best Business Class Airline Seat in the Skytrax World Airline Awards.

The airline’s JAL SKY SUITE, in which it takes much pride, adopts a seating layout that enables unobstructed access to the aisle from all seats. The length of the bed is approximately 188 centimetres, with a width of approximately 65 centimetres. The SKY SUITE is fitted with a personal screen that is the largest in its class, at 23 inches, and achieves a private space evocative of a single room.

JAL’s allowances for checked baggage are also very generous.

Economy class passengers have a free allowance of two checked bags, weighing up to 46 kilograms (23 kilograms per piece), and business and first class passengers are allowed three bags, weighing up to 96 kilograms (32 kilograms per piece).

Flying JAL’s international routes also offers multiple benefits for travel within Japan. For example, tourists to Japan flying on an airline in the oneworld alliance to which JAL belongs, may use the YOKOSO/ Visit Japan Pass to over 39 urban destinations in Japan. The pass allows bookings to be made over up to five sectors (minimum one sector) on flights operated by JAL or its affiliate, Japan Transocean Air (JTA), at discounted fares.

Fly JAL for a comfortable trip between Australia and Japan.

For more information, log on to www.jal.com.au

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TRAVEL Tips

TRAVELLING IN JAPAN You’ve got your plane tickets, your accommodation, and your itinerary. But how are you going to get around Japan?

How do you get the most out of your JR Pass, and what other options are available for longer term visitors, seasoned travellers, and the budget backpacker? While Japan is well known for its advanced transport systems, it can be daunting to navigate. Doing a bit of research and preparation before you land in Japan can save you a lot of time later.

The Japan Rail Pass is considered almost an essential by taravellers to Japan. It offers very good value for money, but only if you are travelling between cities. If you are spending the first few days of your trip in a single city like Tokyo or Osaka, consider getting a shorter term JR Pass, and only activating it when you start on the inter-city portion of your trip.

Previously, travelers would activate their JR Passes as soon as they landed at Narita Airport, so they could ride the Narita Express (N'EX) train to central Tokyo without having to splash out 3000 yen for the privilege.

But with a new option for foreign visitors called the N’EX Tokyo Direct Ticket, you can take the Narita Express train from the airport to Tokyo and other major stations for just 1500 yen.

COSMOPOLITAN TRAVEL So you are in a bustling Japanese city, and you have held off on activating your JR Pass

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for now (or you didn’t get one in the first place).

How will you get around?

The Japanese subway and metro area train networks are world famous for their punctuality, service frequency and coverage. For one-off trips, you can buy a ticket at a vending machine or over the counter. But if you anticipate making multiple trips, and you want to avoid the queues, deal with less loose change, and have greater flexibility, learn from the locals and get a prepaid IC card like a Pasmo or Suica.

IC cards are convenient because you simply tap them at the ticket gates to enter or exit the platform areas. You can also use them to pay for purchases at vending machines, convenience stores and certain restaurants.

Because the major IC cards are interoperable, you can use a Pasmo, Suica, or an Icoca card to travel on virtually all trains, subways and buses in the major cities of Japan, although they will not allow you to travel between cities.

To get an IC card, look for the relevant ticket machines or ticket counters at a railway station.

You will need to pay a deposit of 500 yen, plus an initial amount of preloaded credit between 1000 to 1500 yen or more. You can recharge your card with up to 20000 yen at ticket machines or recharging machines. At the end of your trip, you can get your 500 yen deposit back by returning your card to the ticket counter of the issuing operator.

For those who are more adventurous, City Passes may be a good option. These special one-day tickets allow unlimited travel on subways, trams, trains and buses within a single city. They are available in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Kyoto, Hokkaido, Kamakura Enoshima, and Kobe.

Another local tip: if you are on a budget, check out the discount ticket shops. Usually

GOOGLE TRANSLATE (Android/iOS)

FREE

This app lets you speak, type, or write into it, and will then translate to/ from Japanese and English -- as well as around 80 other languages. The camera function lets you take a picture, and highlight the text to translate.

GOOGLE MAPS

(Android/iOS)

located around train stations, these small hole-in-thewall operations buy tickets in bulk and resell them at a discount, and they are perfectly legitimate. If you know what you are looking for, you can save anywhere from 10 yen (for a local JR subway ticket) to 1000 yen (for a longer distance shinkansen ticket).

These discount ticket shops also offer cheap food/ drink vouchers, as well as discounted tickets to attractions like Disneyland and concerts.

RESERVING SHINKANSEN SEATS The JR Pass allows you to use the shinkansen (bullet trains), though not the ultra-fast Nozomi and Mizuho services.

An added benefit is the ability to reserve seats on the trains for free. Reserving seats requires some advance planning, but is a good idea if you have a strict schedule to stick to, are travelling during busy periods, or want to guarantee that your group can sit together. Some services like the Narita Express, or the fast Hayate/ Komachi shinkansen, require compulsory seat reservations.

To reserve your seats, find the Reservation Office at a JR station. Show them your JR Pass, then inform the staff of the number of travelers, the date you want to travel, the departure and destination stations, the carriage class (ordinary or Green), train name/ number or departure time, and whether you want a smoking or non-smoking car.

For those who are less confident in their Japanese, it’s a good idea to put this information down on paper in advance, which you can show to the staff in order to minimise the risk of a misunderstanding.

ESSENTIAL TRAVEL APPS The smartphone revolution has made it easier than ever before to access all the information we need while we are on the go, and travel is no exception.

If you have mobile internet access while you are in Japan (by renting a phone, getting a local SIM card, or via a portable hotspot), the following apps will come in really handy.

FREE

Find destinations by typing in the address, or by touching it on the map. The navigation system will show you the public transport navigation options, the train and platform changes you need to make, as well as the estimated time and cost of the trip.

JAPAN TRANSIT PLANNER (iOS)

$2.99

Enter the start and end points, and the app generates the fastest and cheapest routes via rail and air. The app can also quickly look up the cost of tickets between start and end stations, and show the timetables for almost every station in Japan.

jStyle Vol.14 │ 51

TRAVEL Tips

GETTING AROUND

Wakkanai

A quick guide to domestic flights and train travel

Asahikawa Sapporo Niseko

Kushiro

Shin Chitose Airport

Hakodate

JAPAN'S MAJOR INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS

Aomori

Aomori Airport

Akita

NARITA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Hachinohe Morioka

Travelling to and from Tokyo

Shinjo Yamagata

Sendai

Niigata Noto

Kanazawa Komatsu Airport Hiroshima Airport

Hiroshima Hakata

(Fukuoka)

Fukuoka Airport

Itami Airport

Izumo Kobe

Takamatsu Tokushima Kochi Beppu

Kumamoto

Nagasaki Kyushu Shinkansen Line

Shin Yatsushiro

Kagoshima

TRAINS

Fukushima

Echigo-Yuzawa

Narita Airport has two key rail connections operating between central Tokyo Station and the Narita Airport terminals. JR East’s Narita Express (N’EX) is the fastest option (60 min., ¥3020). The Keisei Sky Liner is the best choice for travel to Ueno (41 min., ¥2470).

Nagano Karuizawa

Hakuba Takayama Mt Fuji Gifu

TOKYO

Narita International Airport

Haneda Airport

Yokohama Nagoya Chubu Airport

Nara Osaka

Nanki-Shirahama Airport Kansai International Airport

Matsuyama Airport

Naha

Kyoto

Nagaoka

Kagoshima Airport

BUSES

Naha Airport

INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS

DOMESTIC FLIGHTS FROM TOKYO (by JAL or ANA)

THE EASY WAY TO GET TO JAPAN From

To

Day

Airlines

Arrival

To

Duration

TOKYO (Haneda)

SYDNEY

Daily

QANTAS

QF26

22:00

09:30

Shin Chitose (Hokkaido)

1 hr 35 min.

TOKYO (Haneda)

SYDNEY

Dec 11 -

ANA

NH879

22:10

09:35

TOKYO (Narita)

SYDNEY

Daily

JAL

JL771

19:35

07:20

TOKYO (Narita)

BRISBANE

Daily

QANTAS

QF62

20:55

07:00

SYDNEY

TOKYO (Haneda)

Daily

QANTAS

QF25

21:40

05:30

SYDNEY

TOKYO (Haneda)

Dec 12 -

SYDNEY

TOKYO (Narita)

Daily

JAL

JL772

09:15

17:05

BRISBANE

TOKYO (Narita)

Daily

QANTAS

QF61

11:00

19:15

ANA

Flight No. Departure

NH880

21:30

05:05

*The flight schedule is correct as of Oct. 16, 2015 and is subject to change.

■Qantas Airways: www.qantas.com.au ■ANA: www.ana.co.jp ■JAL: www.au.jal.com

52 │ jStyle Vol.14

Aomori

1 hr 15 min.

Komatsu (Ishikawa)

1 hr

Kansai (Osaka)

1 hr 15 min.

Nankishirahama (Wakayama) 1 hr 15 min.

Hiroshima

1 hr 25 min.

Matsuyama (Ehime)

1 hr 30 min.

Fukuoka

1 hr 50 min.

Kagoshima

1 hr 50 min.

Naha (Okinawa)

2 hr 40 min.

Airport Limousine buses stop at most major hotels and certain landmarks on the way to central Tokyo (75 - 125 min., ¥3100).

TAXIS Taxis can be expensive depending on your destination. Travelling to central Tokyo costs approx. ¥15000 to ¥24000 by taxi.

A few domestic flights do leave from Narita, but most domestic flights leave from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (95 min. from Narita by the Airport Limousine bus).

USING THE PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEM Japan has an extremely efficient public transportation system. Trains and buses service a large network, especially in metropolitan areas and between cities, and are clean and punctual TRAINS Most trains and train lines in Japan are owned by Japan Railways (JR). However, others are owned by a number of private companies, often sharing mutual tracks. The urban train systems comprise of shinkansen (bullet trains), limited express, express, rapid and local trains. Many are owned by separate companies, so it can be a little confusing. It’s a good idea to carry a route map (called rosenzu) with you at all times. You can pick one up from most train stations.

All individual tickets (including shinkansen, private railways and subways) can be purchased from vending machines or ticket offices. Individual ticket costs will be shown on the railway line map next to your destination station. Once you have checked the price, you can buy your ticket from one of the nearby vending machines.

Children aged six to 11 pay half price and children under six travel free. Trains owned by different companies require different fares, so prepaid integrated-circuit (IC) cards such as Pasmo and Suica, are a useful way to simplify the system (see box). Passengers tend to form queues while waiting for the next train.

ESTIMATED SHINKANSEN TRAVEL TIMES

128 TOYAMA

240

148 KANAZAWA

220

100 NAGANO

180 HACHINOHE AKITA SHINJO

130 NIIGATA

JR TOKYO STATION 110 NAGOYA

JR Kyushu Shinkansen 140

KYOTO

430 KAGOSHIMA-CHUO

160 SHIN-OSAKA

SUICA AND PASMO Suica and Pasmo are rechargeable, prepaid integratedcircuit cards that can be used for all buses and trains (except shinkansen), regardless of the operating company.

Suica or Pasmo cards can be purchased and recharged at rail vending machines and ticket counters in Tokyo. The initial cost consists of a small refundable deposit plus an initial loading of ¥1500 (for Suica) or between ¥500 and ¥9500 (for Pasmo).

200 SHIN-AOMORI

JR Shinkansen (minutes from Tokyo)

When riding the train, touch the card to the card reader when you pass through the station’s ticket barrier. The applicable fare will be automatically deducted at the ticket gate at your destination.

When riding the bus, touch the card to the reader when you board. If you are required to pay when alighting, make sure you touch your card to the reader when you get on and again when you get off for the appropriate fare to be deducted.

320 HAKATA

SHIN YATSUHIRO

BUSES Many bus routes link train stations and residential areas. Each stop is announced and displayed on an electric signboard on approach. Push the button to alert the bus driver when you wish to alight. Tickets are purchased upon entering the bus, or when getting off, depending on the bus company and the bus route.

Fares can be pre-paid or you can use cash or integratedcircuit cards (Suica or Pasmo) on the bus. *It is considered bad manners to talk on a mobile phone in trains and buses, so they are best left switched off or muted.

THE JAPAN RAIL (JR) PASS

JR EAST PASS

The JR pass allows unlimited travel on JR-owned trains, buses and ferries for periods of 7, 14 or 21 days. JR passes are available outside of Japan (either online or through your travel agent) before your visit.

See www.japanrailpass.net for more information.

The JR East Pass provides tourists with unlimited travel on JR trains (including shinkansen and limited express trains) on 72 lines in the Kanto, Koshinetsu and Tohoku regions. Passes are available for five or 10 consecutive days or four flexible days within one month.

jStyle Vol.14 │ 53

TRAVEL Tips

TRAVEL TIPS Handy tips and useful information to know before travelling to Japan VISAS Visitors to Japan from Australia do not require a visa for stays of up to 90 days. Under Japan's New Immigration Procedures, all visitors must present their passport upon arrival and agree to be fingerprinted and photographed.

Immigration may also ask a few quick questions. See www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/ for more information.

MONEY AND COSTS The Japanese currency unit is the Yen (¥). Coins are available in units of 1, 5, 10, 50, 100 and 500 yen. Notes are available in 1000, 2000, 5000 and 10 000 yen. ATMs that accept Cirrus, MasterCard, Visa, American Express, PLUS and JCB can be found at post offices, major convenience stores and many banks.

Cash payments are still more popular than credit cards, especially in smaller stores.

TIPPING Tipping and bartering are not customary in Japan.

54 │ jStyle Vol.14

MOBILE PHONES

INTERNET

PUBLIC PHONES

Currently, 3G models and 4G LTE work in Japan that use the 2100 MHz band. With some global roaming plans from Australian service providers you can use your own phone to send and receive calls and texts and to access broadband internet. Alternatively, you can rent a SIM card if it works in Japan to use with your own phone, or a pre-paid phone from such service providers as Softbank and Mobal Narita at Narita Airport Terminal 1.

Renting a portable Wi-Fi in Australia to use in Japan is also an option worth considering.

Portable Wi-Fi is a device that allows multiple machines including laptops, tablets and smartphones to gain internet access wherever you are within the carrier service area.

Internet cafes are readily accessible in Japan, especially in the cities. Although big-name chain stores like Global Gossip are prevalent, the most popular internet cafes in Japan are Manga cafes, which also provide comics, magazines and video games. You pay time increments in either a private booth or a communal seating area. Special time-packages are available and there is even the option of an overnight stay on a reclining seat in a private booth.

Green or grey public phones can be found everywhere in Japan. They accept ¥10 and ¥100 coins, and telephone cards that can be purchased from kiosks and news agencies. You can make international calls from grey phones displaying the "International" sign.

TO CALL AUSTRALIA Japan has three international call providers. Dial one of their access numbers (0033, 001, or 0061) + 010 + country code (61) + area code (without the zero) + personal number.

POSTAL SERVICE

POSTAGE

International mail can be classified into letter post (letters, aerogrammes and postcards); parcel post; and EMS (Express Mail Service).

EMS takes two to four days to reach Australia. Airmail or letter post and parcel post takes three to six days and sea mail takes one to three months. Parcels must be under 20 kg. Most post offices are open 9am to 5pm on weekdays. www.post.japanpost.jp/ english

Domestic Mail to Mail Australia

EMS

Postcard

52 yen

70 yen

---

Standard Letter up to 25g

82 yen

110 yen

1,200 yen

Standard Letter up to 50g

92 yen

190 yen

1,200 yen

Number of delivery days

---

7

3

SENDAI

TOKYO

YOKKAICHI

OSAKA

FUKUOKA

EMERGENCIES

Train, bus and flight timetables may change during the following peak travel seasons: New Year (December 27 to January 3 and adjacent weekends), Golden Week (April 29 to May 5 and adjacent weekends), Bon Festival (the week surrounding August 15).

For police assistance call 110 (free call from public phones if you press the red button) or look for the nearest koban, or police kiosk, marked with a red pentagonal light. For the fire department or an ambulance call 119.

WATER All tap water in Japan is safe to drink.

INFORMATION CENTRES

AVERAGE TEMPERATURE

SAPPORO

PEAK TRAVEL SEASONS

Source: Japan Meteorological Agency, www.jma.go.jp/jma/indexe.html

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Highs

-1.6

-1.3

3.4

11.5

17.7

22.1

26.4

27.2

26.5

17.0

8.2

0.4

Lows

-7.6

-7.8

-3.1

3.4

9.8

13.5

18.2

20.4

19.0

9.0

3.0

-5.4

Highs

3.8

4.2

9.0

14.2

20.3

22.2

26.6

30.8

28.0

21.1

13.5

6.8

Lows

-2.6

-3.1

0.7

6.3

12.3

15.5

20.0

23.4

20.9

12.5

6.2

0.0

Highs

8.3

9.1

12.5

18.5

23.6

24.8

30.1

33.1

29.8

23.0

16.3

11.2

Lows

1.8

2.2

5.3

11.0

16.1

18.6

23.5

26.3

23.3

16.2

9.6

3.8

Highs

8.6

8.5

12.7

18.6

23.0

24.9

29.8

31.5

28.7

23.0

15.4

9.7

Lows

-0.3

-0.4

2.8

8.1

12.5

17.4

22.4

24.1

20.5

12.5

5.6

0.1

Highs

8.9

8.4

12.9

20.4

24.6

27.4

32.0

34.3

30.7

23.9

15.9

10.1

Lows

2.7

2.0

5.5

10.9

15.6

19.8

24.8

25.8

22.7

15.5

9.3

3.3

Highs

9.4

8.9

14.4

21.0

24.6

26.9

31.9

33.6

28.4

23.8

16.5

11.0

Lows

3.7

2.9

7.6

12.1

16.9

20.6

25.2

26.0

21.6

15.3

9.5

4.4

The Visit Japan Information Network consists of 250 information services across the country. Usually located near major train stations and town centres, they will provide information on local tourist sites.

jStyle Vol.14 │ 55

SUBCULTURES Akihabara

AKIHABARA Electronics and Otaku Town Words: Charlene Lim

56 │ jStyle Vol.14

Located in central Tokyo on the eastern side of Chiyoda-ku and on the intersection of Chuo-dori and Kanda Myojin-dori roads, the Akihabara district, or Akiba as the locals call it, is internationally famous as the ‘go to’ place for electrical and electronic appliances.

In recent years Akihabara has perhaps become even more famous as a mecca for fans of anime and manga. Akihabara is the centre of Japan’s otaku culture and has attracted many otaku from all around the world for a full cultural immersion in their obsessions with anime and manga.

In the late 19th century, Akihabara Station became a major freight transit point, from which the district grew and developed into a futuristic area specialising in electrical appliances. Further into the 20th century, the focus in Akihabara shifted from household electrical goods to catering to specialists and hobbyists. That shift brought a wave of otaku into the district and laid the foundations for the Akihabara we know today.

To fully enjoy Akihabara, it may take more than a leisurely afternoon stroll along its streets. It is important to understand what Akihabara has to offer.

One of the more distinctive features of the area is the multitude of billboards and neon and digital signs featuring images of anime and game characters. Besides electronics and mainstream anime, amateur manga, or doujinshi, are allowed to be freely distributed on the streets. The authors of doujinshi self-publish, printing and distributing their work in hopes of gaining a passionate audience in the otaku world.

A

O

kaerinasai, goshujin-sama!

One of the top attractions in Akihabara is the maid café. Maid, or cosplay cafés, which are plentiful in the area, are themed restaurants where customers are served by waitresses dressed as French maids.

Some of the more popular have a long wait time, but it is worth it! Well-known examples are @Home Cafe and Maidreamin, both of which have English speaking maids and menus written in English.

On arrival at a maid café, the lovely maids greet male customers with the honorific expression, goshujin-sama (Master), and females with hime-sama (Princess), or ojousama (Mistress). Menus offered have combo package options, which may include meals and a commemorative photo. Some cafés invite customers to play games with the maids to win café original memorabilia.

The experience of attending a session at a maid or cosplay café is quite unique. Maids

draw cute, or kawaii images of bears and other characters onto customer drinks with caramel sauce, or serve adorably decorated sundaes quite unlike those in other, ordinary cafés.

KB48 is a Japanese idol girl group with many popular hits, named after Akihabara, where the group’s theatre is located. A café and shops specialising in AKB48 memorabilia are also to be found in the district. The café serves food inspired by the group and has a theatre where members perform daily at scheduled times.

Reservations are required to view the performances!

What is most unique about AKB48 is the idol group’s concept of teams. Each team has a different image and member line up is subject to change. Daily performances are possible because AKB48 teams rotate, with different teams performing simultaneously at more than one event.

R

adio Kaikan is the place to go to source the latest and greatest electrical goods, as well as antique electronics and hard to find parts. This ten-storey specialist hobby store caters to a wide range of interests, from anime to electronics, and houses more than 30 stores for all your hobby needs. On the ground floor you will also find a shop selling only-in-Japan themed snacks and drinks.

G

amers carries a wide range of anime and manga related goods, including DVDs and games.

Be sure to pick up some figurines! Other similar shops include Super Potato and Mandarake.

jStyle Vol.14 │ 57

SUBCULTURES Akihabara

G I

nterested in figurines, action figures and other collectibles? Kotobukiya is a store specialising in plastic figurines of Japanese anime characters, as well as internationally renowned action figures.

J

ust a short walk from the electronics district is the Kanda Myojin Shrine. As with most shrines, visitors are able to purchase omamori lucky charms. The charm offered at Kanda Myojin pays homage to the shrine’s proximity to Electronic Town; it is a take-home omamori that looks like a RAM card.

Kanda Shrine is very popular with business owners. The shrine houses Daikoku and Ebisu, who are two of the Seven Gods of Fortune, with responsibility for wealth and business respectively.

58 │ jStyle Vol.14

achapon, or gacha-gacha machine, are vending machines that dispense capsules containing various memorabilia and trinkets. Save your coins and pick up a few capsules for yourself, or as gifts for friends!

Prices range from 100 to 600 yen.

Each machine has a theme and offers a random prize. Some feature popular anime characters among their figurines, while the offerings of others can be quite practical, such as drink-coasters, or decorative mini plastic plants.

C

V

ending machines are commonplace across Japan, and buying from a vending machine is one of the “to do” things when visiting.

Akihabara is no different.

Besides beverages such as coffee, soda and juice, vending machines also dispense corn soup and custard puddings in easy-to-open cans. Some of the more unique offerings in Akihabara include oden, and ramen noodles in a can.

The most fascinating thing about vending machines in Japan is the ability to serve hot food. Cans are dispensed hot and their contents may be consumed immediately.

At 320 yen a can, it is a fun, economical and unique way to enjoy street food.

osplay is an integral part of Akihabara’s culture.

Here you may be able to pick up ready-made costumes and accessories, and may encounter people dressed up as part of a promotion, or simply to express their personal style.

COSPA Gee! is the shop for clothing and merchandise to enhance your cosplay experience. Here you will also find anime and manga related items.

HOW TO GET THERE

The best way to travel to Akihabara is by train, as the district has its own station where several lines converge.

JR Yamanote Line is a circle line that links up the majority of the most popular spots in Tokyo, including Akihabara.

Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line runs through Roppongi, Ginza and Tsukiji before arriving at Akihabara.

Other lines running through Akihabara include the JR KeihinTohoku Line and the JR Chuo-Sobu Line.

On arrival, exit through the Electric Town exit, which is the closest to Don Quijote Akihabara and Radio Kaikan, around which most of the popular shops and cafes are located.

Another handy exit is onto Showa-dori road leading to Yodobashi Camera, a massive department store that offers a one-stop centre for all possible electronic needs. The Akihabara store is a branch of the Shinjuku-based electronic discount giant, and also offers duty free items.

WHAT IS AN OTAKU? The epitome of an otaku is someone with a strong interest, to the point of obsession, in a certain topic. Outside Japan, the term otaku is directed at anime and manga fandom. The degree of interest may range from someone who spends some of their free time reading anime and manga, to the extent they are able to quote from them, to those who spend an inordinate amount of time watching anime, reading manga and collecting memorabilia.

Another phenomenon commonly associated with otaku is the practice of dressing up as a favourite character, or ‘cosplay’, but not all otaku enjoy this activity.

Some may prefer to watch cosplay performances, or take photos of cosplayers in action.

The anime TV series “I Can’t Understand What My Husband is Saying”, gives a good insight into otaku. The main character, Kaoru, is married to one. Kaoru explains her husband as a lifeform that will die if it is unable to watch anime. The best part about watching this series is trying to figure out how many

anime references there are in each the three-minute episode.

COSPLAY Cosplay is short for “costume play”. It is considered a performance artform in which the performers dress up in clothing resembling, or representing, a chosen character. Cosplayers are a subculture whose activities are not limited to stage performance.

It is not unusual for cosplayers to dress up for events, or for fun.

Engaging in cosplay is a bit like getting dressed up for Halloween. Costumes are not gender specific. In fact, it is quite common for performers to tweak their costumes to keep the main features and colour of the original character’s appearance, while changing the gender to suit the performer.

Cosplay is also an activity that performers may take quite seriously.

Dedicated cosplayers take pride in their work and may spend many hours over weeks hand-making their costumes for an event.

The World Cosplay

Summit (WCS) is held every year. Preliminary competitions are held around the world. The prize for winning national teams is a trip to Japan, including a week’s accommodation, to take part in the WCS. Popular cosplayers travel internationally to participate in conventions, host panels, publish photo books and host signing events. They also have fans who will attend an event just for a meet and greet session with their idol.

OTAKU

CULTURE IN AUSTRALIA

Words: Charlene Lim

Photo: SMASH!

WHERE CAN YOU FIND AN OTAKU? Popular events to attend in Sydney frequented by otaku include SMASH! Sydney Manga and Anime Show, Supanova Pop Culture Expo and Oz Comic-Con. Immerse yourself in this wonderful subculture and enjoy the fun!

SMASH! SYDNEY MANGA AND ANIME SHOW 2015 SMASH! Sydney Manga and Anime Show is our very own pop culture convention dedicated to promoting and gathering together artists, creators and fans of the genre. Founded in 2007, it is now a yearly event that goes for two days over a weekend and has attracted crowds of over 10,000 each year for the last couple of years.

The event line up is diverse and the show is jam-packed with activities. SMASH! schedules are usually posted on the event’s website before event day and are sorted according to activity areas and times.

Different guest speakers are featured in the Panel Room each day.

Throughout the weekend there are many ongoing activities to participate in. Check out the art workshop area to make your own origami, or test your vocals in a karaoke competition or at free singing sessions in the Live DAM karaoke room.

SMASH! also runs several competitions over

jStyle Vol.14 │ 59

SUBCULTURES

the weekend. In addition to the karaoke competitions, expect quite a few console and card gaming tournaments and cosplay competitions.

TIPS Pick up an events guide on arrival and check out the activities you are interested in. Plan your other activities, such as shopping and viewing exhibitions, around them.

There are some activities that are extremely popular, such as cosplay events, Maid Café and signing panels. For these events in particular, it is best to plan ahead and arrive at the location ahead of schedule.

MAID CAFÉ Every year a cosplay “maid café” is hosted at the SMASH! show site. It is usually booked up quickly. Your best bet is to make a beeline straight for the café on arrival at SMASH! to book your preferred time for the café experience, before moving on to other activities.

60 │ jStyle Vol.14

COSPLAY COMPETITIONS Perhaps the most popular activity at SMASH! is the cosplay events.

In fact, most showgoers turn up all dressed up, even if they do not intend to compete.

There are two main cosplay events. The Madman Cosplay Competition is a local comp in which contestants perform a prepared script, or answer a few questions from the emcee about their costume and character.

The World Cosplay Summit (WCS) Australian preliminaries are held at SMASH! The winning team represents cosplayers of Australia at the final WCS event in Japan.

GAMING COMPETITIONS In the Gaming Hall there are a few competition blocks to attend, depending on the games in which you are interested.

Registration opens an hour before each competition starts, so if

WHO IS SMASH!?

SMASH! is a non-profit organisation created and managed by fans for fans. The organisation’s objective is to bring together like-minded individuals and create an open and affordable event that encourages creativity and community spirit.

this is your cup of tea, head towards the registration booth in the Gaming Hall. If you do not wish to compete, there are also free-play sessions held across the day.

FOOD AND SHOPPING In addition to booths hosted by major exhibitors such as Madman Entertainment and Hobbyco, there are other vendors operating booths featuring popular culture and anime related merchandise. In the artist’s circle, many artists display their drawings and creations, which are also available for sale. Besides the Maid Café, there are quite a few caterers on site supplying food to the hungry masses, so if you are unable to secure a session at the Maid Café, there is no need to worry about dining.

To mark Hello Kitty’s 40th birthday, on November 1 last year Keio Plaza Hotel in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district opened several Hello Kitty rooms, where everything in each room is Kitty themed.

The hotel offers eight rooms, four each of two themesPrincess Kitty and Kitty Town.

The Princess Kitty rooms are designed like private spaces where a tired Kitty goes to restore her energy; she can live like a princess, surrounded by all the things she likes. The pop design of the Kitty Town rooms invites Kitty and her family and friends to enjoy the delights of Tokyo; shopping and going to amusement parks.

Each room is furnished with Hello Kitty themed amenities that guests may take home with them, including a letter writing set and pen, a Keio Plaza Hotel original Kitty doll and a skin care set.

A Must for Dedicated Kitty Fans!

Keio Plaza Hotel presents Hello Kitty rooms

As of July, guests staying in a Hello Kitty room are also served a Keio Plaza Hotel original breakfast, designed just for the Hello Kitty rooms. Available through room service, guests can enjoy a leisurely Hello Kitty themed American-style breakfast.

The nutritiously balanced and colourful meal features a fluffy plain omelette bearing the hotel’s original Hello Kitty motif, Hello Kitty motif ratatouille and a green salad incorporating vegetables cut in Kitty shapes.

These special rooms invite guests to lose themselves in a Hello Kitty world and spend some time living the Kitty dream. Check out hotel stay packages and room rates here: www.keioplaza.com/ rooms/special/kitty.html Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo Address: 2-2-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Tel: 81-3-5322-8000

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GOURMET Japanese rice wine, or sake, is an alcoholic beverage brewed from fermented rice. In addition to rice, its base ingredients are koji and water, where koji is a mould grown on the rice that kick-starts the fermentation process. Rice grain is polished and left to ferment. The flavour of the sake is established by the rice and water used, and most importantly, the amount of rice grain that is polished away.

Sake Words: Charlene Lim

WHAT IS

Sake

HISTORY OF SAKE

?

Sake has been around for over 2,000 years and was traditionally used for religious ceremonies and court festivals. In the beginning, sake production was controlled by the government, but in the 10th century production was taken over by temples and shrines.

The Meiji Restoration saw a sake boom. Many breweries were set up by landowners who would brew sake from leftover rice crops, rather than let rice grain go to waste.

Today sake is brewed not only in Japan, but also in Asia, America, and even in Australia. The Go-Shu Australian sake brewery operated by Sun Masamune is located in Penrith.

DRINKING CULTURE

WHERE YOU CAN BUY OR DRINK HAKKAISAN IN TOKYO

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Hakkaisan is a popular global brand offering many types of both sake and the Japanese spirit, shochu.

In central Tokyo you can try Hakkaisan at COREDO Muromachi 2 building located in Nihonbashi. Hakkaisan Sennenkoujiya located on the first floor, offers a full range of Hakkaisan products. For those interested, but unsure of what to expect, ask one of the friendly staff who will be happy to assist you make your drink choices.

October 1st is official World Sake Day: Nihonshu no Hi, and is traditionally the start date of Japanese sake production.

Like wine, sake should be sipped and savoured, not drunk in shots.

When drinking sake in a group, you will often hear the expression “Kampai!” The equivalent of “Bottoms up!” but after making the

toast, you should sip and enjoy the rest of your glass at your own pace.

There is no need to down sake in one shot.

TYPES OF SAKE The labels on sake bottles carry a lot of legally required information that will assist you in knowing what to expect of your drink. For example, the label will tell you the type of sake, its alcohol content, its ingredients (in particular, if it contains distilled alcohol), the production date, the amount in the bottle, the name and address of the brewer, and the sake’s characteristics.

Sake is split into different categories depending on the rice polishing ratio, or how much grain remains after polishing. Sake is brewed from the starch inside the rice grain. Less polished rice with more grain remaining results in a full-bodied and richer sake. The more polished the rice, the cleaner and crisper the taste.

Occasionally brewers may add distilled alcohol into a sake brew to adjust the taste. Sake made with pure rice and not containing distilled alcohol is differentiated by the prefix, junmai, meaning pure rice.

There are three main types of aroma and flavour.

Ginjo - indicates a rice polishing ratio of 60 per cent. Ginjo sake is pure, refreshing and rich, yet light bodied. It includes dai-ginjo, in which the rice is most polished, to less than 50 per cent remaining grain.

Dai-ginjo is the most expensive sake, as it takes approximately 40 hours to polish rice to less than 50 per cent of its volume.

Ginjo sake that does not contain

distilled alcohol is known as junmai ginjo-shu, or junmai dai-ginjo-shu, depending on the rice polishing ratio. Ginjo is best served cold.

Honjozo – indicates a rice polishing ratio of 70 per cent. It takes some ten hours for rice to be polished to this level. Tokubetsu honjozo is in the same flavour profile, but has a rice polishing ratio of 60 per cent. Both types of honjozo have small amounts of distilled alcohol added, resulting in a cleaner, more fragrant and drier sake.

Honjozo may be served hot or cold.

Junmai – has an unspecified rice polishing ratio and no distilled alcohol added. Junmai is rich, savoury, and full bodied, with a subtle aroma. It is not as polished as ginjo sake, and generally has a ricelike flavour. Junmai is best served at room temperature, or warm, to bring out the most flavour.

SAKE METER VALUE (SMV) SMV is used to indicate the sweetness or dryness of sake. It is a measure of the density of sake

relative to water. A negative SMV indicates a sweeter sake, while a positive value defines a dry sake, and is affected by the sugar content, or level of acidity. SMV is indicative of sake flavour and an average SMV is +3.

HOW SAKE IS PREPARED AND SERVED Sake is served neat at either room temperature, chilled, or warmed.

Temperature is dependent on the type of sake being drunk. The label on the bottle may include a suggested serving temperature.

Sake should be warmed in a bath of hot water and not over an open flame. The best approach is to use a thermometer to monitor the temperature.

Some sake has sediment. Sake with sediments should not be shaken.

Move the bottle gently from side to side to mix the liquid before serving.

Most restaurants will serve sake in a small, bowl-shaped cup called a choko, poured from a flask called a tokkuri. A tokkuri is good for serving

warm sake, as the narrow neck prevents heat from escaping, but a tokkuri can also be used to serve sake cold . A slightly larger cup is known as a guinomi and is used to serve both warm and cold sake.

Cold sake is sometimes served in a tall shot glass placed in a wooden box called a masu. The sake overflowing from the shot glass into the masu represents wealth and abundance. Start by drinking the sake from the shot glass, then either pour the remaining sake from the masu into the shot glass, or drink from a corner of the masu itself. If the shot glass comes in contact with a surface outside the masu, do not return the glass into the sake-filled masu, to avoid contamination.

POPULAR BRANDS There are quite a few sake breweries in the market. The more popular ones are Hakkaisan and Dassai. Each are brewed in different parts of Japan and are available in Australia at various izakaya Japanese pubs.

WHERE TO TASTE SAKE? In Australia there are plenty of places to enjoy sake with Japanese food.

Head to your local izakaya and order away!

Some izakaya have push carts on which sake is brought to your table. The restaurant staff may offer you a taste before you order. Take the opportunity to chat with the staff about your preferred flavour profile and ask for suggestions.

If you would like to buy some sake in Sydney, Tokyo Mart located in Northbridge Plaza is a 15-minute drive from the city. Tokyo Mart has an extensive range of sake and other Japanese beverages.

quality Great range of high s, Japanese grocerie price all at a reasonable l One of the biggest Jap anese supermarkets in Aus tralia l From Japanese sake and beers to seafoods, diverse variaty of products l Freshness, quality and value guranteed on all pro ducts

Sydney: Shop 27, Northbridge Plaza, Northbridge (02)9958-6860

Mon-Wed,Fri Thu Sat Sun Public Holidays

9AM〜5:30PM 9AM〜6:30PM 9AM〜6PM 9AM〜4PM Closed

日本食品、生活用品、食器の総合スーパーマーケット

Gold Coast: Southport Park Shopping Centre, Cnr Ferry & Benowa Rd, Southport / (07)5591-6211 Brisbane: Shop 5, Buranda Village, 264 Ipswich Rd, Woolloongabba / (07)3172-7021 Melbourne: 34A Elizabeth St, south Yarra / (03)9826-5839 Perth: Shop 13-14, 29 Station St, Subiaco / (08)6162-8608 0221TOKY

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Hakkaisan JUNMAI GINJO

Minami Uonuma in Niigata Prefecture is a region subject to torrential rain and renowned as the growing region for Japan’s most delectable rice, koshihikari. The famous Hakkaisan brand of sake, which sparked the regional sake boom, epitomises Niigata’s sake rice wines. It is so famous that even if it is not your preferred regional brew, you are likely to have heard of it. Melded with the softness and the tanrei crispness and dryness characteristic of Niigata sakes, it has the characteristic sake umami and its signature style, with superb edge, is typical of a sophisticated Niigata ginjo.

Hakkaisan boasts a broad product line up, but Junmai Ginjo is its only junmai pure rice preparation. The Hakkaisan Junmai Ginjo is a precious drop of which even the brewer says he never tires. Each time he drinks

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it, he reports, he is moved by how much it ‘makes sense’.

Among the tanrei crisp and dry Hakkaisan products, Junmai Ginjo stands out as having a clearly defined flavour. The aroma is subtle, with a consummate balance of acid and umami, to be enjoyed both for the umami from the rice and the ease with which the sake glides down the throat.

This drop does not overstate the characteristic sake flavour, and its sophisticated and polished appeal, which sets off a meal to perfection, makes it a popular product at home and abroad.

THE EPITOME OF HAKKAISAN ENJOYMENT – SENNEN KOUJIYA On the first floor of COREDO Muromachi 2 in Nihonbashi in Tokyo, you will find the new style Hakkaisan

Sennen Koujiya. The store features the full Hakkaisan product line up, and offers a bounty of foods featuring rice, koji and fermentation, where koji is the mould on rice that kick-starts the fermentation. Food offerings include limited edition sweets such as a baumkuchen cake made with select ingredients; daiginjo sake and wasanbon sugar.

Another attraction at the store is the Sake Bar. Customers can seat themselves at the counter to enjoy some sake time, selecting from the ‘Marriage of Sake and Food’ themed lunch and bar menus, which match dishes with Hakkaisan sake. Customers may also enjoy Hakkaisan sake to their heart’s content by partaking of the ginjo, junmai ginjo and dai-ginjo taste testing set.

In addition to Hakkaisan Sennnen Koujiya in Nihonbashi, there are two sister stores in Tokyo and Kanagawa; the Kagurazaka and Shonan Sennnen Koujiya outlets.

Popular at both stores are koji drinks, including a sweet amazake made of koji mixed with coffee or matcha powdered green tea.

HAKKAISAN SENNEN KOUJIYA Address: 1st floor, COREDO Muromachi 2, 2-3-1 Nihonbashi Muromachi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo Opening Hours: Monday to Saturday: 10am-11pm Sunday and Public holidays: 10am-10pm Holidays: Some irregular holidays as dictated by COREDO Muromachi 2 Web: www.hakkaisan. com

GOURMET

Food

Your essential guide to Japan’s culinary feast

Nabe

HOT POT Oden

IS HEARTY WINTER FARE When visiting Japan in winter, nabe, or a one-pot dish cooked at the table, is a must-try meal. Although it’s possible to have nabe for just one person, sharing a large nabe with like-minded friends is the way to enjoy it. It warms not only your body, but also your heart.

There are many different approaches to nabe, but perhaps the most famous is sukiyaki. The Kanto style of sukiyaki involves boiling the beef and vegetables simultaneously, while in the Kansai style the beef is fried first and after flavouring with a little sugar and soy sauce, vegetables are added, followed by sake and water. A raw egg is used when eating sukiyaki made in either style, as is warishita, a special sauce for sukiyaki made from sweet mirin cooking wine, soy sauce, sake and sugar.

Shabu-shabu

Yosenabe

Chanko nabe

Japan offers a rare opportunity to eat wagyu beef in its land of origin, and shabu-shabu is the perfect way to experience this premium meat. Beef which has been sliced extremely thinly is cooked at the table by briefly immersing it in a flavoursome pot of stock. The beef is cooked together with vegetables and tofu and eaten with either a sesame sauce or a ponzu citrus sauce. It’s truly a mouth-watering taste sensation.

Oden, a popular type of street food, is also a kind of nabe, consisting of various ingredients such as daikon Chinese, or white, radish, chikuwa, which is a processed fish cake, firm konnyaku jelly made from devil’s tongue yam, and boiled eggs, all simmered in a stock flavoured with soy sauce.

Other types of nabe include kaki, or oyster nabe, where miso is spread around the edge of the pot to infuse the boiling oysters, tofu and vegetables. Tofu nabe contains tofu gently simmering on a bed of kombu seaweed.

Mizutaki takes its name from a delicious stock made from chicken bones, and chanko nabe is famous for forming part of the daily diet of sumo wrestlers. Chanko contains big helpings of meatballs, Chinese cabbage and udon noodles. Trying many different kinds of nabe and increasing your culinary repertoire could turn out to be one of the most fun things about travelling to Japan in winter.

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GOURMET Today, sushi is widely available outside of Japan. In Australia, sushi has become more and more prevalent, with increasing numbers of Japanese-style restaurants opening here. So it’s the perfect time to introduce you to a delicious way to eat nigirizushi, in which the topping is placed on a ball of rice shaped by hand.

There are no hard and fast rules for eating sushi. Both chopsticks and fingers are acceptable. People who don’t want to get sticky fingers should use chopsticks, otherwise it’s quite acceptable to eat sushi with your hands.

Sushi tastes best when dipped into a small saucer of soy sauce to which you can add wasabi for extra zing. Obviously this depends on personal taste, however, you should be careful about how much wasabi you add to the soy sauce, as there is already wasabi on

ENJOY AUTHENTIC

the sushi itself. Also, when dipping the sushi in the soy sauce, take care not to overdo it.

There’s no point getting so much soy sauce that it cancels out the delicate taste of the ushi. Soaking the rice with too much soy sauce can also cause the sushi to fall apart before you can eat it. Flipping the nigirizushi over so that you get just enough soy sauce on the topping, but not on the rice, is the most delicious way to eat sushi.

Incidentally, soy sauce is not necessary with certain types of sushi, such as unagi eel, that is pre-seasoned with a special sauce. It’s already served with just the right amount of flavouring.

As a rule of thumb, start with subtly flavoured sushi and finish with stronger flavoured pieces, to avoid overpowering the subtleties of the milder sushi. On the other

Sushi

hand, if after eating something oily such as toro, the fatty part of the bluefin tuna, you would like something lighter like a whitemeat fish, then nibble on some pickled ginger. Pickled ginger is not just for decoration, it’s there to refresh your palate.

Inarizushi

Sushi roll

Maguro nigiri

Nigirizushi

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GENUINE

Izakaya One Japanese word that is making an increasingly frequent appearance in Australia in recent years is izakaya the term for combined restaurant and bar spaces in Japan that offer both alcohol and a range of simple food.

Where the concept of a bar or pub in Japan conjures images of western-style stores serving western-style drinks, the izakaya is all Japanese. Many offer beer, chuhai, and Japanese sake, and a wide range of food as well. Something else that sets the izakaya apart from standard restaurants is that what you drink is the star here, and not what you eat.

Here are a few tips that will help ensure maximum enjoyment and a genuine izakaya experience during your next visit, whether it’s located Down Under, or in Japan.

ENJOYING THE APPETISERS When you enter an izakaya and order a drink, you are first served some small dishes without even having to order.

These appetisers, called “otooshi” or “tsukidashi”, fill the time between your first order and the arrival of your food.

Such dishes

EXPERIENCE

are prepared in advance so that they can be served straight away, and are designed as a match for your first drink. While you may hold some reservation over paying for something you didn’t order at first, learning to expect and appreciate such appetisers is the first step in enjoying hospitality izakaya style.

THE RIGHT FOOD FOR THE RIGHT DRINK Good food is the perfect partner to a good drink. While it is popular to stick with beer throughout the evening in Australian pubs, the draw of an izakaya is the food that accompanies and brings out the flavor of the drink.

The term “sakana”, also called “ate” or “tsumami” refers to the food enjoyed alongside alcohol. Often served in small portions like the tapas of Spanish food, such dishes allow you to enjoy a wide range of different food.

Popular items on the izakaya menu include oden, yakitori, edamame, sashimi, karaage, stews, dried foods, pickles, and eggs rolls.

A PLACE FOR EVERYONE While izakaya were often seen as a place for male businessmen up until the 1970s, izakaya catering to

more feminine tastes in food and in drinks such as chuhai and wine are increasingly common, and many stores have worked on their interior to provide a place that anyone, women-only groups and families included, can enjoy.

In the 1980s, izakaya chain stores started popping up, and they came to be known as places with a good range of low-cost food and drink, and a venue where large groups can gather informally without having to worry about a bit of boisterousness. This accessible image has made izakaya a popular place for students, businesspeople, and friends to hold simple gatherings. Those out by themselves are more than welcome, too.

IZAKAYA ETIQUETTE Some izakaya also offer the option of smoking areas. While the number of nonsmoking stores has risen in recent years, some permit smoking.

For those looking to enjoy their time without worrying about smoke, nonsmoking seats are also available.

Some izakaya have seating areas where you must take off your shoes at the door, so it is a good idea to be wearing clean socks! Finally, other locations for a good drink in Japan include snack bars, cabarets, and clubs, the last two offering a uniquely Japanese style where female staff members serve drinks and enjoy a chat with the clientele.

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GOURMET NOODLES THAT POSSESS YOUR SOUL

Ramen It's okay to slurp the noodles while eating!

No story about trending Japanese food culture could be complete without reference to ramen. A deceptively simple dish, ramen is a combination of soup, noodles and toppings that embodies the passion and flair of the cook. The complexity of flavours infused into a bowl of steaming ramen captivates many and has universal appeal.

From its origins as a dish of noodles in China, uniquely Japanese cooking approaches have evolved for every element of ramen.

Ramen

JAPANESE SOUL FOOD

THE MANY VARIATIONS OF RAMEN

Tonkotsu (pork bone) ramen

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Today each region has its own signature dish, and each ramen restaurant boasts a signature soup and stock. The ramen ‘culture’ is so varied that aficionados subdivide it into clear gastronomic preferences.

Ramen is also not just consumed at meal times. Closure to a bout of drinking is customarily achieved with a bowl of ramen, and there is no shortage of ramen restaurants open from lunchtime into the wee small hours. Japanese ramen restaurants have now ventured into Asia and the West, to growing acclaim. Fame is typically achieved by word of mouth and in Tokyo, meandering queues outside popular ramen restaurants are a common sight.

It is a step difference from traditional Japanese cuisine, but once experienced, this Japanese soul food will leave you smitten.

The flavour and impression of a bowl of ramen is established by its soup. There is great variety in ingredients and how they are combined, and many restaurants keep their recipe a closely guarded secret.

Ramen soup may be made from pork bones or chicken frames, or from small dried sardines, dried bonito and vegetables. Soy sauce, miso paste or salt added to the stock characterise the flavour and appearance of the soup, and oil may be added in the form of vegetable oil, lard, or chicken fat, to achieve rich broth.

Noodles are typically made from wheat flour, with each restaurant choosing thickness and shape – either straight or curly – as appropriate to their signature soup.

Some will let customers choose their noodles either soft or al dente, the latter most commonly requested when the stock has been taken from pork bones.

Common toppings are Chinese barbecued pork, pickled bamboo shoots,

Shoyu (soy sauce flavoured) ramen

Gyoza

flavoured egg, nori dried seaweed, fish cake, spring onions, and mung bean shoots, and while some restaurants will serve ramen ready-dressed, others will customise the dish to customer choice. Restaurants typically take great pride in their barbecued pork, so a good thing to do is to try at each restaurant and compare.

WHERE TO FIND YOUR PREFERRED BROTH The array of specialty ramen restaurants in Japan, from famous restaurants that are privately run, to fast food style chain stores, is bewildering. Generally speaking, if your preference is for light, simple flavours, look for advertisements of soy sauce or salt flavoured ramen. If you feel like eating rich, heavy flavours, go for pork bone or miso ramen.

Being a gastronomic tradition that has flourished in the regions, ramen in Japan is typically named after the area from which it hales. Tokyo ramen, for example, refers to the soy sauce flavoured ramen created in the Japanese capital, while Hakata ramen is a pork bone soup with thin, straight noodles that has its origins in the western Japanese city of Hakata, in Fukuoka Prefecture.

Across the sea in major Australian cities like Sydney and Melbourne, ramen restaurants are booming. Some popular Japanese restaurants have also opened Australian outlets, and are attracting local fan bases.

Chashu-men

Once you find a ramen dish you like, make sure to delve deeper into the ramen culture by trying it with extras like a side dish of gyoza dumplings, or an extra helping of noodles.

Your preferred broth is just a slurp away!

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jStyle Vol.14 │ 69

LIVING

Living in Japan

FINDING A PLACE TO STAY IN JAPAN Words: Dennis Bott

W

hether you’re staying long or short-term, finding somewhere to stay in Japan can be a daunting challenge especially if you don’t speak the language and have just arrived. For travellers coming to Japan, hotels are one obvious option, but if you’re staying for more than a few nights, you’ll be burning through your travel budget pretty quickly.

Although I haven’t tried it myself, Airbnb, where people rent out their rooms and apartments, seems to be a popular choice nowadays. It’s usually cheaper than most hotels and depending on the option you choose, you could have an entire apartment where you can cook, use wireless Internet and perhaps even get some travel advice from your hosts.

Another website called couchsurfing.com connects you with hosts around the world on the condition that you also offer your place to other couchsurfers. This can be a great way to connect

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with other travelers and organise trips together and basically allows you to stay for free anywhere.

Then of course there are hostels. Hostels also offer the ability to cook, but can often be noisy and sometimes rough or dirty. You also have to be careful about having your things stolen if you’re staying in a room with several strangers. On the positive side, they’re also a great place to meet people and can be really memorable experiences. I once stayed in a really ratty hostel in Kyoto with about eight people in one room. People came in at all hours of the night and we all had to sleep in bunk beds. There was also a big communal shower room with no place to change. It was a rough couple of nights to say the least. But I’ve also stayed in some really nice ones as well, so make sure you do your research and read the reviews.

For those looking at a long-term stay, a guesthouse is probably the best option. There are several companies in Japan with English-speaking staff and websites where you can book a room by the month

ahead of your arrival. There’s a deposit of 20,000 to 30,000 yen, but you get most of it back when you leave, as long as you don’t trash the room. The rooms are usually furnished with a bed with new sheets and a desk. The kitchen and bathrooms are shared with your housemates. I’ve actually lived in a guesthouse for the past two years. It’s convenient and it’s fun to meet the people from all over who come and go.

Another advantage is that a lot of guesthouses are conveniently located near big train stations so you can live relatively cheaply in a convenient area where rent would typically be very expensive. Paying rent is also easy because all the utilities are included in one price. Learning to live with other people can be a challenge, but it’s a good experience.

Another viable option is doing a homestay. I spent my first two months in Tokyo doing a homestay with a young couple who had two spare rooms. At first it was great having someone to talk to and dinner on the table every night. It was a great chance to see how Japanese people live and they organised a lot of activities every weekend. I would say that for a twoweek stay, a homestay would be perfect. Any longer than that, in my experience, seems to be wearing out your welcome. It became uncomfortable trying to be home on time for dinner and I always felt like I had to be careful about making noise or using the shower.

Homestays can also be quite expensive in the long term, but I would say it was a great experience for someone arriving in Japan for the first time.

Also, both homestays and guesthouses are ideal places to use as a base while you’re searching for your own apartment.

Finding your own apartment presents its own set of pitfalls and challenges. First of all, you’ll need a bank account. But in order to get a bank account, you need an identification card and of course to stay in Japan you need some type of visa, for example a work visa sponsored by your employer. They’ll want to see proof of your income or employment such as a pay stub or a work contract. Even if you have a job lined up before you come, getting everything in order takes time, so I recommend staying in a guesthouse for a month or two so you can take your time to find a good apartment.

Most apartments in Japan require at least a two-year contract as well as up to the equivalent of one or two months rent or so in deposits and fees.

“

Decide what’s important for you depending on your budget and make sure to have ample time and money for your research and application.

Then you should have tons of options.

”

Choosing the right apartment in Tokyo is usually a compromise between price, size or location.

Rarely will you find a place that is ideal in all three.

You have to decide what’s more important for you depending on your own budget. For me, living in a central convenient location, close to a station and my job is important but I also don’t want to pay a lot for rent. So I decided to sacrifice on space and privacy by just staying in my guesthouse.

Basically, the further the apartment is away from a train station, (i.e. less convenient) the more spacious or cheaper it will be. Some people decide to live outside of Tokyo altogether and commute into the city to save money on rent. For me though, not having to ride the crowded morning trains and being able to ride my bike to work is worth the extra cost of living in the city. I’m also able to stop home for lunch or go back if I forget something and I don’t have to worry about catching the last train at night on the weekends.

Hopefully, someone from your company or a friend will help you with the process at the realtor’s office. You might be shocked to hear that some or many of the landlords will reject you right off the bat simply because you’re a foreigner. The most common reason is that they don’t want to deal with the language barrier, although in most cases you’ll never have to interact with them personally or even meet them. Most likely they’re worried you will have poor Japanese etiquette such as making too much noise or not disposing of your trash properly.

Some foreigners also leave Japan suddenly without paying all of their last bills. Whatever the reason, this is one of the most frustrating parts about finding an apartment in Japan. However, they do seem to be more open if you tell them you can speak some Japanese.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you won’t have Internet for the first two or three weeks after you move into an apartment, while the telecommunications company changes the phone lines to your name. With proper research and planning, you may be able to shorten the waiting time by telling them ahead of time to get started on the process.

Make sure you budget ample time and money in your search for a place to stay. There are tons of options, and with a little planning and research, it doesn’t have to be a headache.

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LIVING

Living in Japan

FIVE WAYS TO LIVE ON A BUDGET IN TOKYO

1

on your phone to find better deals online while you’re shopping at stores, too. I usually use Amazon to buy big boxes of oatmeal or my fabourite cereal that I know I’ll eat and that last for a long time.

USE 100-YEN SHOP

A good policy is to always check the 100-yen shop before buying something from a regular store. They carry an amazing variety of items and are ideal places to stock up your apartment with dishes, silverware, and other essentials to survive when you first arrive.

2

BUY IN BULK

Not everything is a bargain at the 100-yen shop, especially toiletries and other things that you’ll use everyday. It’s better to buy essential consumable supplies like tissues, detergent or body soap in bulk from stores like Costco. There are several around Tokyo and if you can find a friend with a membership, tag along with them every once in a while and stock up. It’s also a good idea to buy lots of frozen veggies and fruits, as these can be absurdly expensive when sold fresh in the supermarkets. If you can’t make it to Costco, try finding a local wholesale food store such as “Niku no Hanamasa” (there are several around Tokyo) which caters to restaurants and sells meat and seafood at big discounts. To manage bulk amounts of food, I bought a cheap box of 200 plastic bags which I then use to separate and freeze a few weeks worth of meat and fish.

3

SHOP ONLINE

Shopping online using Amazon or Rakuten is easy and convenient in Japan. You can even have your package sent to a local convenience store for pick up and often can get next day delivery. You can use a barcode reader

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4

USE CRAIGSLIST

At any given time, there are a lot of foreign residents who are packing up and leaving Japan and need to sell their things. I bought a big screen TV and a fridge both from people who lived right down the road from my place. You can search for the item you’re looking for and sometimes even negotiate the price a little as long as you’re willing to pick it up yourself. I sometimes just search the name of my town to see if anyone is selling something locally that’s easy to pick up. This is a great way to buy big items like a washing machine or a stovetop oven.

5

BEWARE OF WARIKAN

Obviously you should try to cook at home as often as possible if you’re living on a budget. And you should also try to pack a lunch everyday if you can. But sometimes you get invited out and want to have fun. In Japan, it’s pretty normal for a group of friends to share all the food and it’s often (but not always) customary to split the bill at the end of the night (called warikan). The problem is that you end up having to help pay for the five bottles of expensive wine someone decided to order. If your friends are considerate they will pitch in more if they had a lot, but don’t count on it! Your best bet is to go to a place with nomi-hodai or all-you-candrink (usually for two hours) with a set individual price or to go to a Western-style pub where you pay separately as you order, (called betsu-betsu).

You can also just buy snacks and drinks at a convenience store but be careful because it’s bad etiquette to eat and drink while walking around.

W

Sakura House Sakura Hotel & Hostel Tokyo HOME AWAY FROM HOME SAKURA HOUSE and SAKURA HOTEL & HOSTEL TOKYO have been providing shortand long-stay accommodation - from daily to weekly and monthly - to the foreign community in Tokyo since 1992. Together we offer a wide range of accommodation in locations all around the metropolitan area.

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LOCATIONS OF HOTELS AND HOSTEL SAKURA HOTEL & HOSTEL offers daily and weekly stays and is a great alternative for tourists and professionals on a short trip. Our three hotels and one hostel are conveniently located in Hatagaya, Ikebukuro, Jimbocho and Asakusa.

FRIENDLY MULTILINGUAL SUPPORT Our multilingual SAKURA HOUSE and SAKURA HOTEL & HOSTEL staff provide a reliable and welcoming service. Their friendly and personalized hospitality support enables newcomers to Tokyo to feel right at home. Our staff are always ready to help guests find their way around Tokyo, and are never short of a good tip or two.

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CHARITY

FUKUSHIMA KIDS DIVE INTO DOLPHIN ADVENTURE Words: Tetsuo Nakahara Photo: Fukushima Kids Dolphin Camp

T

he children wept as they said goodbye to their new friends, friendships that are likely to last a lifetime because of bonds forged during a special week of camp. Yes, it was an emotional scene at the Takeshiba Ferry Terminal in Tokyo. One I will never forget, but one I hope repeats with other children in years to come.

This group of children from Fukushima, Japan, had just returned from the Fukushima Kids Dolphin Camp that was held August 15 to 19 on small, friendly Mikura Island. The group spent the week exploring nature, facing fears, sharing feelings and, yes, swimming with wild dolphins.

Longtime friend Toru Fujita and I held the first FKDC in 2014. It is a radiation and expense-free camp for children whose families were affected by the meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant following the Great Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami on March 11, 2011.

Four years after the earthquake and tsunami devastated Fukushima and surrounding areas, there are still some places where radiation levels are checked regularly. In fact, some kids even carry a special device to keep an eye on the radiation level when they go to school. And

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some areas closer to the power plant are simply off limits. Houses are abandoned, and only the occasional stray animal frequents those neighborhoods.

Concerned about the radiation, even in those areas where people live and work which are considered safe, many parents in Fukushima have cut down the time they allow their children to play outside. And even though a couple of beaches in Fukushima are now open to the public, many families avoid them. So children like the ones who attended the recent camp no longer swim in their hometown.

That’s where FKDC comes in.

But before I go any further, I have to answer the question asked most about the camp: why do you hold a camp that features swimming with wild dolphins?

I spent two years working as a dolphin swim guide in Hawaii about 20 years ago.

I was amazed by the effect these wild, yet approachable creatures have on humans. I believe swimming with dolphins cannot only bring one closer to nature, but also it can bring out courage and confidence.

That’s what the camp is all about: giving children the courage and confidence to live a positive and fulfilling life. And let’s be honest, swimming with wild dolphins is a pretty cool thing to do.

So, Toru and I and other volunteers set up a four night, five day excursion to Mikura

Island, located about 200 kilometers off Tokyo. It is also the stomping grounds of about 150 friendly bottlenose dolphins. It is one of very few places in the world where you can swim with wild dolphins under the watchful eye of professionals.

This year we had 13 children attend the camp. The campers, ranging from second to seventh graders, were selected based on essays they wrote about Fukushima and why they should attend the camp. We had dozens of applicants and it was extremely difficult to select who would attend. We didn’t want to turn anyone down, but the budget and space in the facilities we used were limited.

For those selected, it was quite the adventure: one that didn’t include their parents.

They took a bullet train by themselves from Fukushima to Tokyo, rode a ferry with our camp staff and stayed in a bungalow with other children they had never met.

And they swam with wild dolphins.

Upon arrival and getting settled in, the campers were given a snorkeling lesson in shallow water. And then we boarded a boat and headed out to sea in search of dolphins. After ten minutes, the captain yelled, “Dolphins!”

There was a pod of 30 swimming toward to us.

To say the campers were excited is an understatement. Jumping up and down and eyes almost popping from their heads as they stared at these friendly and approachable

“

I am doing this to give children the courage and confidence to live a positive and fulfilling life. Because children are our future.

”

creatures of the sea, the kids were ready to jump in. So they grabbed their snorkels and masks, donned life jackets and jumped into the unknown.

In the clear blue water, the dolphins slowly approached, checking out the excited children.

I could hear the high-pitched sounds of “yeeew, yeeew” that dolphins made. They swam slowly and got within ten feet of our group. They stayed with us for less than a minute before swimming away, but it is a time that will forever be etched in the minds of these children.

“I saw a baby dolphin!” one of the campers yelled on the surface.

“Their eyes are bigger than mine, and they swam super close and I thought I was going to touch them,” said super stoked third grader Kanta Terauchi. “They were very gentle and I want to swim with them some more.”

During the entire camp, the children had a blast. They played to the max. They ran in their bare feet, snorkeled in the clear water every day, hiked in the mountains and helped cook meals. But most importantly, they bonded with one another.

But the reality of the life they live and the fears they face in Fukushima popped up on occasion.

One day during the camp, a local fisherman gave us a good-sized bonito he caught at sea.

We made sashimi out of it.

“Is it safe from radiation?” one boy asked.

Only after he was assured that indeed the fresh catch was safe to eat, did he chomp down on the raw chunks of bonito.

As I sat there and took in the scene, I was saddened that these children have such worries and can’t enjoy the sea or the seafood around Fukushima. For the past four years they’ve lived with the constant fear of radiation.

I have heard many stories of the healing power of dolphins. And I believe in them. The children traveled far to see dolphins and it took a lot of courage to swim in deep waters with these creatures of the sea. But the trip was more than just swimming with dolphins. It was about exploration, discovery, conquering fears and learning that it’s OK to dream.

During the last night of camp, each child stood up in front of everyone and announced his dream.

“I want to be the strongest man in the world!” a boy screamed.

“I want to be a nurse,” a girl said with pride.

“I want to be an Olympic swimmer,” chimed in another camper.

“I want to be a volunteer leader,” said another.

After each declaration, the other children yelled back in force, “You can do it!”

The campers were no longer timid and shy like when they arrived. They expressed their feelings thoughtfully but vigorously, shouting into the night sky. They had grown. They had formed their own pod.

FUKUSHIMA KIDS DOLPHIN CAMP The camp is run with donations received from the crowd-funding websites Indiegogo and Readyfor. More than $8,000 was raised for this year’s camp. Folks from around the world donated, including from the US, France, Holland and Australia.

Funds for the 2016 camp are being accepted now.

To find out more about the camp, visit our website.

Web: www.kidsdolphincamp.com Email: futurekidsadventure@gmail.com

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LIVING

JAPANESE MANNERS AND ETIQUETTE

While foreign customs can seem daunting, learning about them is half the fun of visiting another country. Here are some basic rules to help you make a good impression in Japan.

Chopsticks 箸

Chopsticks are to be respected as more than a food implement. Do not leave the chopsticks sticking out of the rice or pass food from chopstick to chopstick; both are ancient funeral rituals. Do not lick, chew or nibble the end of your chopsticks, or use them to move or point at anything. Do not spear your food with the chopsticks. When taking food from a communal plate, use serving spoons if provided, or use the bottom, fatter end of your chopsticks.

Only rest chopsticks on a designated chopstick rest.

Eating noodles 麺

Unlike in the Western world where making noise while eating is frowned upon, slurping while eating soba, udon and ramen is very much encouraged. In fact, it actually shows appreciation and enjoyment! So next time you order a bowl, enjoy your meal in true Japanese style.

Meishi (business cards)

Visiting someone’s house

Ofuro (bathing)

Meishi are an important business tool so make sure yours are clean, straight and presentable. You should always stand when exchanging meishi. Offer your meishi with both hands, facing towards the recipient so that they can read the details easily. If you receive a meishi, do not write on it, hurriedly put it in your pocket or disregard it.

Shoes are not permitted in most Japanese houses so slippers will often be provided in the entrance (genkan). Store your shoes neatly, facing towards the door. Toilets have their own designated communal slippers. Be sure to remove these slippers again before going back to the rest of the house. When leaving the house, place the slippers neatly together, facing away from the front door before putting your shoes back on.

Sento (public baths) and onsen or hot springs bathing culture has a long history in Japan. Male and female baths are separated by curtains marked with different colours and kanji characters - 男 for male and 女 for female. No clothes or swimming costumes are permitted so place your personal belongings in the locker provided and cover yourself with a small tenugui towel when walking around. You must wash thoroughly before relaxing in the bath.

名刺

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訪問

お風呂

Tea ceremony 茶道

The ritual of preparing and serving green tea in a formal setting is an art form that can take years to learn. The ceremony uses the finest tools and careful, ritualised movements to focus the mind wholly on the moment, and away from everyday life. Guests wear their best clothes and remove their shoes before kneeling on the tatami mats. Bows are exchanged between the host and the guests and the bowl must be turned three times before drinking the tea. Conversation is limited to keep the mood tranquil.

Karaoke カラオケ

Everyone loves karaoke, especially in Japan.

Enjoy the luxury of sharing your own private karaoke parlour with friends. Songbooks usually have a large selection of songs for you to enjoy, but remember not to hog it. The polite thing to do is to choose a song, sing it and then enjoy everyone else’s superstar renditions.

Kampai

Bowing

Temples and shrines

In Japan when drinking with a guest, friend or work associate, it is customary to pour their drinks first and to refill their glass as soon as it is empty. Your guest will also do the same for you and it is very common to share large bottles of beer or sake amongst a group of people. Plus remember to always say a big “Kampai!” (cheers) to kick the night off.

In Japan, bowing is an important ritual that conveys respect, acknowledgement and appreciation. The lower you bow, the more respect you show. Before you bow you should straighten your posture and bring your knees and heels together. Your hands should be beside your body or crossed in front of you. Look at the person and try to keep your back straight, bowing slowly and deliberately from the waist or the hips.

Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines are places of worship so they should be treated with respect. At a shrine, make a deep bow when you enter the torii gate, and use the bamboo dippers at the nearby fountain to cleanse your hands and mouth. A small amount of money, called o-saisen, is given at most shrines and clapping, ringing a bell, or saying a short prayer are also common.

乾杯

おじぎ

寺と神社

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LIVING

UNDERSTANDING JAPANESE EXPRESSIONS Let’s look at some indispensable words for your stay in Japan.

TRADITIONAL JAPANESE 伝統的な日本語

Words: Shunichi Ikeda, Miona Ikeda

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Wabi-sabi

Fūryū

Giri and Ninjō

Wabi-sabi is the Japanese concept of appreciating the beauty of modest, humble and impermanent things.

For example, an aged and weathered shrine made out of wood could be said to have more qualities of wabi-sabi than a newly built concrete building.

This is because although the new building would be more modern and perfectly clean, it could also be viewed as too artificial and soulless; whereas the old shrine, despite its imperfect and aged appearance, has the visible authentic craftsmanship it would have taken to build it.

You could kind of say that it is to find beauty in old things; however, wabi-sabi is not bound by time. Wabi-sabi could also be observed in the mellow sound of rain, the peace found in a Zen garden, or by looking at the moon floating above a ribbon of clouds.

Fūryū is a Japanese phrase which basically expresses one’s appreciation for the traditional elegance and refinement of an art, object or place. It is, in a way, the opposite concept of appreciation to wabi-sabi in that fūryū appreciates overt elegance and beauty, whereas wabi-sabi appreciates modest elegance and beauty.

For example, fūryū could be used to describe a boat trip down the river surrounded by colourful autumn leaves, wearing a matching colourful kimono with a refined design. Another example is how people appreciate watching fireflies flying to and fro in the dark at summer festivals, illuminating the scene with a fantastic atmosphere.

The concept of giri exists in any culture, but the degree of exercising it is far more widely spread in Japan. Giri can be translated as a ‘social obligation’ or ‘debt of gratitude’.

For example, gift giving in Japan could be considered to be marked by a custom of giri, where it is expected gifts of more value should be reciprocated.

There’s certainly no rule or policy governing giri; however, it is an unwritten but important part of Japanese culture.

Another word which goes hand-in-hand with giri is ninjō.

Ninjō is quite the opposite of giri, and it corresponds to various feelings such as love, friendship, compassion and sympathy among those who have no giri relationships. It is not obligated like giri, and is more a spontaneous expression of kindness towards others.

For example, when a natural disaster occurs in the country, there is no giri for people to donate money to raise funds for the affected areas.

However, those who do donate could be said to be doing their part through ninjō, without wanting or requiring a return for their actions.

わび･さび

風流

義理と人情

WASEI EIGO 和製英語

Japanese adopted from English

Arubaito

Baikingu

Mania

Sourced from the German word arbeit, in Japan the word describes temporary employment associated with unskilled and low-paid work. Arubaito is often done by students seeking to move on to full-time work or by those who cannot find full-time employment. While arubaito are traditionally considered to be low-status jobs, recently there has been a trend where young people seeking a more flexible lifestyle, known as friita, choose arubaito jobs instead of joining the restricted structure of fulltime employment.

In Japan, the word for buffet is baikingu from the English word “Viking”. In 1957 a Japanese cook encountered the Danish smorgasbord and thought to bring this idea to Japan. However as the word smorgasbord is hard to pronounce in Japanese, these buffet-style meals were renamed baikingu.

Like Beatlemania, the word mania defines someone with an almost fanatical interest in something. Unlike the word otaku, which also suggests a strong obsession, the word mania does not carry any negative connotations. Adding mania on the end of another word can be used to describe a personal obsession or a community of enthusiasts interested in the same thing, for example cosplaymania or denshamania (train enthusiast).

Risutora

Sarariman

Wanpatan

The word “restructure” in Japanese, pronounced risutora, refers to downsizing and layoffs due to recession. It was coined during the 1990s with the collapse of Japan’s bubble economy when property prices plummeted, forcing the layoff of thousands of sarariman (white-collar workers) who would have expected to keep their jobs until retirement.

Combining the words “salary” and “man”, sarariman represents the hard-working Japanese white-collar worker. In Japanese popular culture such as manga and anime, the sarariman is the typical father character who works hard at the office late into the night. This portrayal is often close to the real-life experience of many sarariman.

アルバイト Casual employment

リストラ Downsizing

バイキング Buffet

サラリーマン Office worker or white-collar worker

マニア Enthusiast or maniac

ワンパターン Predictable

Derived from the words “one pattern”, this term is used to describe someone who does the same thing time and again. The word has a negative connotation in branding someone as stagnant and unimaginative and is often used to deride a person for their predictability.

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LIVING

EVENT CALENDAR 2016

JP

in Japan

AU

in Australia

April 8 - 10 (Gold Coast) April 15 - 17 (Melbourne) June 17 - 19 (Sydney) June 24 - 26 (Perth)

AU

Supanova Pop Culture Expo

January 1

JP

Hatsumode

February 28

JP

The Tokyo Marathon

Hatsumode is the the first Shinto shrine visit of the Japanese New Year.

The 2016 marathon begins at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building and finishes at Tokyo Big Sight, in Odaiba.

Some 36,000 runners took part in 2015. www.marathon.tokyo

This is a celebration of pop culture in all its forms - TV, film, books, comics, toys, gaming, animation, cosplay and more! A number of high-profile personalities are scheduled to appear, including actors, comic book illustrators, authors and voice over artists. Check the website regularly for ticket release dates, prices and schedule amendments. www.supanova.com.au

July 1 - 31 February 5 - 18

JP

Sapporo Snow Festival An international festival now in its 66th year, it features enormous and breathtaking snow statues on display in Odori Park in Sapporo, Hokkaido. www.snowfes.com

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March 3

JP

Hinamatsuri Also known as Girls’ Day, it is an annual celebration of the wellbeing of daughters in the household. It is a custom to decorate homes with ornate dolls on a special platform.

JP

Gion Festival Lasting for an entire month, Kyoto’s Gion Festival is one of the three biggest festivals in Japan. The festival showcases many traditional events, foods, clothing and activities, but the centrepiece of this religious festival is a large float parade that takes place on July 17. gionfestival.org

August 2 - 7

Aomori Nebuta Festival

JP

A parade of lanterns shaped like samurai warriors through the streets of the city of Aomori.

Some can measure up to eight metres high and fifteen metres wide! This is the largest nebuta float festival in Japan, attracting a large number of tourists each year. Since 1980, this festival has been designated as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property. www.nebuta.or.jp

August 12 - 15

JP

Awa Odori

This festival is the largest dance festival in Japan, dating back over 400 years.

Over 1.3 million tourists visit the city of Tokushima every year to see the traditional dancers performing. www.city.tokushima.tokushima.jp/ english/awaodori.html

September

AU

September 24

JP

Kishiwada Danjiri Festival Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri, a float festival, takes place in Kishiwada, Osaka. Thirtyfour unique and intricately designed floats are carried through this castle town. www.city.kishiwada.osaka.jp/site/ danjiri/english.html

The Cowra Sakura Festival The Cowra Sakura Festival, or the Cherry Blossom Festival, is held each year at Cowra. The festival showcases Japanese arts, crafts and cultural activities, including a traditional tea ceremony, flower arranging, calligraphy and bonsai. www.cowragarden.com.au

October - November

Japanese Film Festival

AU

In 2015, Australia plays host to one of the largest Japanese film festivals worldwide.

This event is presented by the Japan Foundation (Sydney) and will be travelling around the country to Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane and Perth. A variety of films will be screened, showcasing both classics of Japanese cinema, as well as more modern offerings. www.japanesefilmfestival.net

JP

November 15

Shichigosan Shichigosan, or the seven-fivethree festival, is a Japanese celebration for girls aged seven, boys aged five, and boys and girls aged three.

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