Tohoku Update

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New learning for a new future

Akiko Toya visits a recently launched centre in Ogatsu that aims to build awareness and offer interactive learning for children affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake

The town of Ogatsu in Miyagi Prefecture lost approximately 80 percent of its buildings and houses during the tsunami caused by 2011’s Great East Japan Earthquake. To help rebuild the community and provide an interactive learning environment for the town’s children, a new centre opened in July this year. Moriumius Lusail (the name means ‘forest, sea, and tomorrow’ in Japanese) welcomes elementary and junior high school kids, and features a variety of programmes where children can experience fishing and forestry. The centre is housed in an old school building, which closed down in 2002 but has now been renovated for its new purpose. To see just how the centre is helping to encourage change and development, I went along for some first-hand experience...

FISHING AND FORESTRY One of the main programmes of Moriumius Lusail involves fishing. Depending on the season, children go out to fish for scallops, sea squirts and oysters. One draw of the programme is that freshly caught seafood can be ‘cleaned’ on the ship and eaten on the spot. When the children first see sea squirts fished from the sea, they shout things like, ‘It’s a monster!’ Their first taste of this delicacy seems to be ‘a little bitter’. They also get involved in

forestry, using hatchets and saws here, and the water used at the to cut out trees. The cut wood is later centre and in the fields is circulated used as material for woodworking by state-of-the-art technology. programmes. MOUNTAIN At the open-air bath ADVENTURING Just nearby the centre there’s a winding Children go out to fish next door, you can see the local craftsmanship handed down from stream along which the children can go on little adventures. Some for scallops, sea squirts ancient times – in the fences made of bamboo that’s sourced from the children wear streamclimbing shoes that help and oysters mountains, or in the walls that are painted them not to slip and slide, but others with soil. The firewood that’s used to brave it barefoot, enjoying the feel of heat the bath water is split by hand by the moss-covered rocks underfoot. the children who visit the facility. There’s no need to worry about it OPEN-AIR BATHING being dangerous as attentive staff REMEMBERING WHY are present at all times. Harmony WE’RE HERE with nature is an important theme The founders of Moriumius Lusail chose to renovate an old building, even though it would have cost less to build a brand-new building. The point, however, is to retain the wooden schoolhouse’s 90-year history, especially in this town where almost none of the original buildings remain. Many residents are still forced to live in temporary housing and the local elementary school is still in a state of disrepair after the tsunami. While visiting the centre, take time to visit the town’s school and other areas to increase your and your children’s awareness of those who are still suffering.

INSPIRING LEADERS Children of all ages from Japan and abroad gather at Moriumius Lusail, encouraging diverse encounters. Younger elementary school students follow the lead of the older students; older elementary school students follow the lead of junior high school students; junior high school students follow the volunteer leaders; and the leaders follow the local artisans and professionals from various fields who visit the centre – there is always somebody to be inspired by here. Spending time with new friends of various nationalities, ages and backgrounds is another wonderful way to expand awareness.

Moshi Moshi Nippon Festival 2015

Register beforehand and flash your foreign passport to gain free entry

The Moshi Moshi Nippon Project, which aims to spread Japan’s pop culture around the world, will hold the Moshi Moshi Nippon Festival 2015 in Tokyo this November, offering fashion, music, food and more. Similar events have already been held in Taiwan, Paris, London and other cities this year, all of which have been hugely successful. On stage you’ll be treated to Kyary Pamyu Pamyu (this issue’s cover star), Natsume Mito, Dempagumi.inc, Golden Bomber, to name just a few. Hungry? Head over to the free entry area for a meat fest. Nov 6-8 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, www.moshimoshi-nippon.jp

Find your way in Harajuku

Head straight for Moshi Moshi Box

As the shopping district that symbolises Japanese pop culture, Harajuku is a must-visit for any tourist. But anyone who’s jumped into the shopping fray will tell you it can be a little intimidating. Which is why you’ll be pleased to hear about Moshi Moshi Box, the tourist information centre that’s right in the heart of the area.

To find it, walk five minutes from the station and look out for the centre’s symbol – a big, colourful world clock designed by Harajuku kawaii impresario Sebastian Masuda. The centre provides sightseeing information for the Shibuya area, including Harajuku. It also provides essential information and services such as courier assistance, a foreign currency exchange machine, and free wi-fi. But that’s not all: aiming to serve as an entertainment centre in itself, it’s a place where overseas visitors can experience J-pop culture through activities such as karaoke. There’s also a souvenir shop where you can pick up must-haves like a traditional tenugui, Mt Fuji artwork and even a pair of sushi socks. And don’t leave without trying the character-themed crepes. 3-23-5 Jingumae, Shibuya (Harajuku and Meiji-Jingumae stations). 03 6447 2225. moshimoshi-nippon.jp. Daily 10am-6pm.

Get our maps and mag in Shibuya Stop by the Shibuya Station Tourist Information Centre You can now get your copy of Time Out Tokyo magazine delivered – we ship internationally too! Please visit time-outtokyo.myshopify. com.

Time Out readers will know about our popular series of free maps: pocket-sized guides to the multifarious delights this city has to offer. They’re hard to miss these days – as well as our ever-popular ‘101 things to do in Shibuya’ edition and the comprehensive ‘88 things to do in Tokyo’, we’ve come out with maps for nearly all the top areas including Roppongi, Shinjuku, Nihonbashi, Marunouchi, Koenji and Ginza.

Each edition squeezes the best of the capital into a compact pamphlet, complete with a city map, and we’ve included everything from offbeat art galleries and otaku meccas to ancient shrines and hipster hangouts.

We’ve also recently expanded the series to include places beyond Tokyo, launching special maps for those of you heading to Ise-Shima or Sapporo in Hokkaido – both make for a great mini getaway.

All of these publications, along with issues of our magazine, are available to pick up at Shibuya Station’s tourist information centre, conveniently located in the underground passage on the second basement floor of Shibuya Station. The Englishspeaking guides will help you stock up, provide sightseeing tips, and assist you in navigating the bowels of the cavernous

Pick up our maps and magazine at one of these venues: Stations: Select Tokyo Metro and Toei Subway stations Tourist information centres: Tokyo Metropolitan Government Headquarters Shibuya Station Tourist Information Centre Tokyo City Air Terminal and more tourist information centres Airports: Haneda Airport Narita International Airport Shops: Tsutaya Tokyo Roppongi Books Kinokuniya Tokyo Tower Records Shibuya and more shops Restaurants: Time Out Cafe & Diner Hard Rock Café Tokyo (Roppongi) and more restaurants Hotels that have Les Clefs d’Or Japan member concierge: ANA InterContinental Tokyo The Peninsula Tokyo Palace Hotel Tokyo Park Hyatt Tokyo station itself.

Grand Pacific Le Daiba Mandarin Oriental,Tokyo Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel Grand Hyatt Tokyo Conrad Tokyo Hotel Okura Tokyo The Ritz Carlton Tokyo Prince Park Tower Tokyo and more hotels Note: If you can’t find the map you’re looking for, this probably means we’ve temporarily run out of stock. Please be patient while we work on the next print run. Please direct any advertising queries to sales@timeout.jp.

Has sushi lost its roots? Takeo Funabiki wrestles against the modern forms of Japan’s biggest culinary export

Why is it that non-Japanese people, who once balked at the thought of raw fish, have now started eating sushi? As a Japanese person, this feels at once rewarding, embarrassing and frustrating. Nobody seems to remember that the Japanese were once discriminated against as ‘weirdos who eat raw fish’. This ‘historical awareness’, however, does not seem to be shared by our younger generation, so losing my temper is really quite pointless.

After all, my anger flows from a major misunderstanding: what people around the world eat these days isn’t really sushi ( 鮓) – it is ‘sushi’. Now you might be confused – isn’t sushi just sushi? Well, sure, sushi is sushi, but the original Japanese term and what people mean by ‘sushi’ nowadays do not always refer to the same thing.

On the origin of sushi species Forty or 50 years ago, a new ‘species’ of sushi, topped with avocado and mayonnaise, was born in California. Later referred to as the California Roll, this innovative creation appealed to Westerners’ fascination with new things and came to be associated with health and diet foods. Slowly, types of ‘sushi’ that had little or nothing in common with the original came into being, as I personally found out at a Japanese restaurant in the Nordics ‘sandwich’ can now be used even around the year 1990, when I was for non-culinary purposes – it aptly ‘treated’ to some terrible ‘sushi’ describes a certain pro wrestling while celebrating my son’s birthday. move. This makes me wonder if we’ll

This new group of species known eventually start using ‘sushing’ in as ‘sushi’ has subcategories – reference to the way football players ‘maki’ and ‘nigiri’ – and is steadily jump all over each other to celebrate expanding. The original Japanese a goal (well, maybe not…). strain of sushi lives on, but it has Still, my anger smoulders on. Even now become part though I know ‘sushi’ of a larger whole. in New York is never This is what I mean going to be the same when arguing that as 鮓 in Japan, I still feel 鮓 is ‘sushi’, but not all ‘sushi’ is 鮓. One should also note that Japanese were once upset when confronted with the concept. My discomfort flows from a even the original is undergoing change – call it degeneration called ‘weirdos who larger problem, namely the closed-off nature of Japanese culture and or evolution – with stray subspecies eat raw fish’ cultural identity. Here’s an analogy: like ‘natto temaki’, football first developed upsetting the intentions of selfin England, from where it spread proclaimed purveyors of ‘Edomae’ around the entire globe. England, sushi, who pretend to offer the most however, hasn’t been able to win the original kind. World Cup for some time. Adding insult to injury, some pundits even Food evolution is real claim the heart and soul of football is Sushi’s culinary evolution has best expressed by South Americans precedents. Take sandwiches, for or – worse – by recent champions example. If we accept the definition Spain. I presume the English feel of a sandwich as meat, vegetables their cultural identity is being violated and other fillings placed between two by such claims. Yet, at the same slices of bread, it allows for a huge time, I suspect the English can ease variety of ‘species’. Any allegiance to their minds by reminding themselves the Earl of Sandwich, the presumed of their evolutionary position in this originator of the word, has long case – being ‘original’ allows for a since vanished. Indeed, the word certain sense of superiority.

Embracing evolutionary change Returning to sushi, what I wasn’t able to do in New York was to act like a self-righteous English football fan. If only I had managed to do so, I could have gone without losing my temper at the sight of the Big Apple’s ‘rice topped with a slice of fish’.

I should instead have rejoiced at the wonders of evolution and how far Japan’s very own sushi has come. Perhaps the reason I fell short has to do with our isolation of culture. Japan lacks the long history of interaction with the outside world that gives the English an advantage in dealing with mutated forms of sandwiches and football.

Japanese culture has obviously spread to foreign lands before as well, but it always did so under labels like ‘exotic’ and ‘strange’. Sushi may have started out the same way, but eventually evolved into something different, just like 柔道 become ‘judo’. In the future, as they become globally accepted, more aspects of Japanese culture may undergo similar changes.

When this happens, Japanese people should consider it an honour, rather than clinging to a narrow form of cultural identity. We’re already eating gyoza tacos and onigiri burgers while dreaming of establishing a Japanese style of football – cultural evolution clearly brings net positives.

You know you’re in Tokyo when… W inter is coming. But the impending cold is no reason to dampen your spirits! In fact, it’s the perfect excuse to You chase a van just to buy a sweet spud eat more – there’s even a Japanese By Benjamin Boas saying that goes ‘Shokuyoku no aki’ (‘Autumn is the season for hearty appetites’). Japanese culture is famous for its appreciation of each of the four seasons, especially in the realm of food. The ingredients may not be what you’re used to, but hey, MATSUTAKE that’s never stopped you from doing anything in this country before, right? Join the locals and help MUSHROOMS yourself to one of these five delicious dishes so you Used in ceremonial gifts to mark can survive until the cherry blossoms come out. the passing of the colder seasons, YAKI-IMO mushrooms. They are hard to find and command supreme prices, selling (ROASTED SWEET for around ¥20,000 per kilogram, or more! What’s so special about them? POTATO) They can grow up to 20cm in length and it’s believed their strong earthy aroma Many things mark the passing of stimulates the appetite. They’ve been autumn, but only Japan has the part of the Japanese diet for more than melodious yet slightly sad tune of a thousand years and are a symbol of the yaki-imo vendor wandering the longevity. So if someone sends you a residential neighbourhoods enticing you gift basket of mushrooms, you can take to sample his wares. Back in the day he’d only it as a massive compliment. have a cart and a bicycle, but today you’ll hear the tune emanating from open-backed vans. This is your cue to run outside and offer him a couple of hundred yen for a spud snack. The song goes like this: ‘Ishii ya-kimo, yaki-imo, yaki-imo’ (‘Stone-baked sweet potatoes, baked matsutake are the royalty of potatoes, baked potatoes’). Can’t track down the van? Look out for stalls outside shops boasting rows of the SANMA FISH purple veg. Thin, long and silvery, this idiosyncratic fish could almost be mistaken for a Japanese wakizashi NABE (HOT POT) short sword. Sanma (Pacific saury) is the fish most Japanese people associate with autumn and Sukiyaki! Yosenabe! Shabu-shabu! They’re not baseball is normally grilled whole and served with grated daikon cheers, they’re names of Japanese hot pot dishes popular (radish), soy sauce and, if you’re lucky, a small kabosu citrus fruit. for home parties. The word ‘nabe’ pretty much covers The sharp taste can take a bit of getting used to, but try a few and it’ll be all of these and is essentially a kind of stew packed with something you look forward to year after year. Every September, the season vegetables, meat and/or seafood, prepared and cooked in kicks off with the Sanma Matsuri in Meguro, and after that you can find the fish at fondue style. To host a winter nabe party of your own, you’ll supermarkets and street food stalls. need a nabe pot and a gas or electric burner. Prepare a soup broth in the pot, then slice ODEN (A PARTICULAR all ingredients into bite-sized pieces TYPE OF NABE) (or simply buy You’ve seen it: the little collection of small the nabe party vats near the cash register at the 7-Eleven pack at the or those carts in outdoor shotengai (shopping supermarket) streets). But what exactly is this brownand place them coloured collection of food soaking in water, and in the pot until why is it so appealing to the masses here? The it’s about twoingredients vary from region to region but generally thirds full. include eggs, daikon (radish), fishcakes, meatballs and Once cooked, tofu – all of which are boiled in a soy-based broth. At convenience stores, serve in little each piece costs between ¥75 and ¥120, and you can mix and match your bowls. favourites to create a cheap, warming, salty, protein-rich meal.