I NTR O D U CTI O N a note from the author
If you are reading this, you probably have some interest in Japan and Japanese culture. I studied abroad for a semester in Nagoya, Japan during my sophomore fall semester and this book documents and shares some of the experiences I’ve had and the things I have seen and (most often) eaten. These illustrations only scratch a surface of what can be seen and explored while traveling and studying abroad in Japan, so I would highly encourage you to go forth and experience it yourself!
SUTEKI
travelogue of a Japanofile + travel enthusiast
design + illustrated by shelley xia
SUTEKI
すてき
adj. lovely; dreamy; great; beautiful; fantastic; superb
special thanks to Haven for always being a mentor & inspiration
A CELLPHONE STRAP CULTURE
Cellphone straps are very popular in Japan and can be seen on almost every Japanese cellular phone. Many Japanese teens & young adults, particularly girls, often hang cute and sometimes overly large straps on their cellphone. I couldn’t help but buy into the cellphone strap culture and bought a few myelf. Cellphone straps are also popular souvenir items. For example, my daruma Mickey and donut Mickey were from Tokyo Disneyland. The deer was from Nara and the strap with four hand-picked charms was a customed strap I made in Osaka.
NEW’S YEARS FESTIVITY + WONDERFUL STATIONARY!
2012 YEAR of the DRAGON Every year in Japan, when the new year draws closer, many department store will have a section dedicated to custom-designed stationary, stickers, stamps, and all sorts of stationary goodies for sale. Because the Japanese practice the tradition of sending nengajo postcards sent as a greeting for New Years - to relatives and friends, department stores will have tons and tons of cute postcards with illustrations of the zodiac animal in celebration. During my year abroad in 2011, the 2012 zodiac was year of the dragron.
THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF CONBINI
noun 1. a convenience store, a corner shop 2. a place that contains many useful daily things, including but not limited to snacks, packaged meals, drinks, magazines, tissues, ATM machines 3. frequently found in every street corner in urban Japanese cities 4. has a selection of hot foods, and sometimes even a microwave or hot water for heating up food and making instant ramen noodles 5. frequented by many people, and if on school campus, wildly popular among students
JAPANESE DEPARTMENT STORES
HOPSHOPSHOP SHOPSHOPSHOPSHOP SHOPSHOPSH
Japanese department stores offer floors upon floors of all sorts of merchandise, from kitchenware to furniture to stuffed dolls to clothing to stationary. Many department stores often have entire sections dedicated for stationary, pens, and sketchbooks or planners. You will also find a large selection of uniquely Japanese items, such as bento boxes in the kitchenware section, or New Years postcards in the stationary area. Must go-to department stores: Loft, Tokyu Hands, Afternoon Tea, Muji, etc etc
HOPSHOP SHOPSHOPSHOPSHOPSHOPSHOPSHOPSHO
FE ST
I V AL
Japanese culture is defined by the many festivals, or matsuri, the people celebreate throughout the year. Many of these festivals are rooted in buddhist or shinto religion, but many are also festivals that celebrate
TSUKIMI
HANAMI
Tsukimi, or moon-viewing, is a Japanese festival that honors the autumn moon and harvest. The celebration of the full moon usually takes place on the 15th day of the lunar cycle. This tradition dates back to the Heian period in the 1100s, and has become a popular festival today.
Hanami is the Japanese festival of “flower-viewing”. Every spring, beautiful cherry blossoms (sakura) and plum blossoms (ume) bloom from end of March to early May. There is even a ‘flower forecast’ announced by the weather bureau.
Traditions include displaying decorations made from susuki (Japanese pampas grass) and eating rice dumblings called Tsukimi dango. The Japanese oberve the beauty of the moon and to look for a rabbit in the moon who is pounding mochi.
In modern-day Japan, hanami is primarily celebrated by having outdoor picnics and parties beneath the sakura.
nature and the Japanese appreciation of nature and the different seasons. The festivals below are only 4 examples of the many you can experience while in Japan!
YUKI-MATSURI
TANABATA
Yuki Matsuri, or snow festival, is one of Japan’s largest and most distincitive winter events. It’s held annually at Sapporo, Hokkaido (the northern island of Japan) over seven days in February.
Tanabata is a well-known summer festival and holiday celebrated nationwide in Japan beginning on July 7th. It celebrates the meeting of deities Orihime and Hikoboshi, who were separated and are only allowed to meet each other the seventh day of the seventh month.
Almost two million people visit Sapporo for yuki matsuri to see hundreds of unique and impressive snow and ice sculptures. The International Snow Sculpture contest to make these sculptures have been held annually since 1974!
In modern-day Japan, people celebrate Tanabata by writing wishes on smalle pieces of paper (tanzaku) and hang them on bamboo. The bamboo with the wishes are often set afloat on a river after the festival, resembling the customs practiced during Obon, another popular Japanese festival.
THREE DRINKS THAT ARE A MUST-TRY IN JAPAN.
TAKE A SIP AND DIVE INTO JAPANESE CULTURE!
BARLEY TEA
むぎ茶
Roasted barley tea, or mugicha (むぎ茶), is a very popular tea in Japan. The Japanese commonly drink and serve barley tea as an iced summer beverage, but it can also be served hot during winter. Barley tea is offered in many Japanese restaurants and can also often be found bottled or canned in vending machines. With its subtle, mild taste, it’s no wonder that mugicha goes well with almost any food!
JAPANESE
GREEN TEA
まっ茶
Japanese powder green tea, also popularly known as Matcha, is an almost iconic tea of Japan and its popularity has wildly spread all over the world. In modern times, matcha is not only served as a drink, but also used as flavor for foods, including but not limited to mochi, soba, ice cream, and candy. Matcha is a significant aspect of the Japanese tea ceremony, which centers on the preparation, serving, and drinking of matcha. It’s important to note that while matcha drinks in the US are popular, these drinks are often sweetened - unsweeted, saturated matcha green tea can be extremely bitter!
Melon soda tastes exactly how it sounds - it’s a soda that tastes of honeydrew melon. This carbonated drink is popular in drink (as are many melon-flavored things) and is commonly found in restaurants, vending machines, and karaoke drink bars. Unique in it’s taste, there’s nothing that is quite the same as melon soda. When you’re in Japan, buy a bottle and give it a try!
メロ ン ソー ダ
ME L O S OD N A
The city of Nara, Japan are famous for their large buddhist temples and their deer parks. In these parks, the deer mingle around with tourists and visitors. Food for the deer can be
bought in the area and anyone is allowed to feed them. However, BEWARE! If they are extremely hungry, they may attack you for the food. My sister had an unfortunate encounter with a ravenous
deer and even got bit. So proceed with caution.v
Name
Mount Fuji, Fuji-San
Location
Honshu Island
Height
3, 776 meters (tallest in Japan)
Active
Yes
Climbable?
Yes
Status
Cultural icon & Historic site
the
Golden Pavillion in Kyoto Japan
1
2
3
4 5
6
the traditional obento 1
sushi rolls and nigiri (salmon + tuna)
2
shrimp tempura
3
chilled soba
4
pork tonkatsu + miso sause with rice
5
tsukemono (pickled dishes)
6
consume with chopsticks
お弁当 ( お べ んとう )
the obento (traditionally) refers to a Japanese meal packed in a partitioned laquer box. In modern times, the word obento is popularly used to describe any type of boxed lunch. Over time, the traditional laquered boxes turned into colorful, cute, and compact stacked bento boxes, and the traditional Japanese food items have been replaced by more modern and multicultural foods. Many eager moms even make elaborate obento lunches, with the foods looking like characters from books or movies. However, the Japanese still practice the art of making traditional Japanese obentos, with a selection of yummy foods.
Whether they are traditional or culturally borrowed dishes, the Japanese have a way of making everything look and taste delectable. Just a few of the delicious grub you will encounter in Japan, takoyaki, omurice, and shabu-shabu are all foods that are distinctly Japanese and are increasingly enjoyed by people all over the world today.
TAKO YAK I Takoyaki is a ball-shaped Japanese snack. It’s incased in batter and cooked in special pans; the inside is typically filled with diced octopus (tako), ginger, tempura, and green onion. After grilling them, they are sprinkled with green lavor and dried bonito and brushed with takoyaki sause and mayonnaise.
asparagus
shiitake mushrooms
eggplant red cabbage onions
cabbage
しゃぶしゃぶ
large mushrooms
EAT YOUR VEGGIES corn
some of the various vegetables to highlight your shabu-shabu experience
SHABUSHABU Shabu-shabu is Japanese-styled hotpot. There is a large pot with hot, boiling soup, and a variety of side dishes. These dishes of raw ingredients - usually thin-sliced beef, cabbage, mushrooms, and even mochi - are added into the pot to be cooked. Once it’s cooked, scoop up and enjoy! Shabu-shabu is largely considered a group or family eating experience.
OMURICE omlette rice オムライス
Omurice is a contemporary Japanese dish that consists of fried rice wrapped inside an omlette, and typically topped with ketchup. The rice can be friend with a variety of ingredients, such as chicken and vegetables. Many family diners in Japan serve omurice, but it also an easy dish to make on your own at home. Maid cafes in Japan also often serve omurice, with intricate and cute designs and characters drawn in ketchup on the omlette skin.
time for
DESSERT macarons I crepe I custard pudding I mitarashi dango I sakura mochi matcha ice cream I baumkuchen I strawberry shortcake
japanese custard pudding
プリン
Japanese custard pudding is a lot like flan - it is a custard dessert with a soft caramel topping. In Japan, custard pudding (or purin) is a popular dessert and can be store bought in many places.
There are a few dessert shops dedicated to making purin in Japan. Many gourmet pudding shops make not only caramel custard pudding, but offer a variety of other flavors such as green tea pudding.
INGREDIENTS + INSTRUCTIONS 1
frypan the crepe over medium heat
2
for the filling: apply the desired fruit
3
chocolate syrup + vanilla ice cream
4
spray whipped cream on liberally
5
fold crepe in half
6
roll up the crepe
ESSENTIALS
1 cup flour 3 eggs 1 + 3/4 cups milk (room temp) 1 oz melted butter 1 tbsp sugar a pinch of salt
CREAM OF THE CROP
whipped cream chocolate syrup ice cream your favorite fruits
le JAPANESE CREPE
For any mochi or rice-cake enthusiast, the mitarashi dango is a treat! It can be a bit hard to find outside of Japan, but many local Japanese supermarkets in America are putting them on the market. Go try some now! Mitarashi dango is a type of dango (sweet mochi skewered on sticks) that is usually served in sticks of 3-5. They are characterized by the sweet soy sauce (brown) glaze; it has a glassy glaze and slightly burnt fragrance.
PURIKURA
プリクラ
Purikura photo booths let you take digital pictures with your friends which you can then decorate with the touch-screen and stylus. You can add frames, stamps, sparkles, and even write and draw freehand with a variety of pen colours and styles! The finished pictures are printed on sticker paper in multiple copies so you can cut them up and share them with your friends. Purikura pictures are often used to decorate stationery in school, but you can use them anywhere! Popular among Japanese school children and young adults (mainly girls, young women and young couples).
THE END [?]
There is still so much to explore, in this book and in the world. The journey never ends - not for me, and certainly not for you either. In fact, this is just the starting point! If what you’ve seen in this book is has intrigued, inspired, or sparked your slightest interest in any manner, then I have done my job. Thanks for reading!
Shelley Xia Š 2013