NIPPON TIDBITS

Final Result At Last! Mushroom vs Bamboo Shoot

“Kino-Take Battle” – a long battle between ‘Kinoko no Yama’ devotees and ‘Takenoko no Sato’ fanatics – has finally come to an end. For those who have no idea what it is all about, visit: www.zoomjapan.info/2018/03/29/ mushroom-or-bamboo-shoot-that-is-the-question12 The interim report[...]

Do as Romans do in Rome. … How about doing as Japanese in Japan, then?

Japan used to be some kind of mysterious Timbuktu for most non-Japanese people. For a long time, we were known only as a country of ‘samurai & geisha’, ‘harakiri’ and ‘raw fish’, but that was also a long before ‘sake’, ‘karaoke’, and &[...]

Kyabe Ban Ban CBB-001… Seriously? Yes. Very.

If you think Kyabe Ban Ban CBB-001 sounds like one of the Star Wars’ characters, you are not alone. Probably not far off from the truth, either. Because Kyabe Ban Ban CBB- 001 concerns U.F.Os… but don’t get too excited, Sci-Fi fans! As you are reading this article in Zoom Japan website, I [...]

Mushroom or Bamboo Shoot? Interim Report

I hope you remember that, back in April, I told you about “Kino-Take Battle”: the battle between ‘Kinoko no Yama’ devotees and ‘Takenoko no Sato’ fanatics. (www.zoomjapan.info/2018/03/29/mushroom-or-bamboo-shoot-that-is-the-question12) I couldn’t resist finding out what was happening t[...]

Ramen Noodles of Con-FUSION 2/2

… the meaning of ‘FUSION’ has gone to the next level It is true that we Japanese value tradition (or at least we’d like to think so), but it is equally true that things in Japan change as fast as a bullet train. But, the ramen noodles, too…? Somebody must have thought that we are finally f[...]

The Ramen Noodles of Con-FUSION 1/2

… the reason why it is called instant noodles (possibly?) The ramen noodles have long been one of our favourite national dishes. For the last decade or so, its popularity has spread around the world. Any Japanese person who had left Japan before this noodle-mania phenomenon missed the ramen noodle[...]

Our national treasures; Gold and Silver … but they were not what you think

If you know a bit of the Akihabara culture, you may have heard about ‘Chika Aidoru’. This literally means ‘underground idols’ as oppose to ‘mainstream idols’. They are young and reasonably pretty (I am not being mean here. Being ‘reasonably’ pretty is important as it makes them more [...]

Special Curry … Stephen Hawking would have wanted to try

Okayama is one of 47 Japanese prefectures, located in the western part of Honshu, Japan’s mainland. Okayama has a city called ‘Asakuchi’. This city built its own astronomy museum in 1960, and this March saw the museum’s reopened after being closed for over 6 months for restoration. Asakuchi [...]

Mushroom or Bamboo Shoot? Now, the national referendum is on!…(2/2)

Now, the national referendum is on! アジアンスーパーで見て衝撃。このスーパー… きのこ派..か？ @kinoko_meiji#30セントの高級感#きのこ党#きのこたけのこ国民総選挙 pic.twitter.com/flkAMctK14 — Mimistylee (@Mimistylee) 2018年3月18日   To [...]

Mushroom or Bamboo Shoot? that is the question…(1/2)

that is the question… Many of you know that Japan offers a variety of yummy snacks; did you know that there are so many different flavours of KitKat in Japan, which you never see in the UK? If you don’t believe me, just Google it. When we are away from Japan for a while, we start missing our fav[...]

Unique “library” is now open… but just for 12-days

Japan is known as a nation of manga and anime lovers. It all started in comic format, long before the world discovered Studio Ghibli. Actually, even before VHS (or ß!) videos. Japanese boys and girls grew up with them (and still do) and many of the grown-ups still enjoy them, some secretly, some mo[...]