Tag: green tea

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12 Japanese delicacies we will miss

Flavors in Japan won’t punch you in your face like in Korea, won’t knock you off your feet like on Sri Lanka but they will slowly charm you with subtle flavors. That’s what happened to us and we are completely hooked.

Japan presented us with new ingredients but it also gave us a new concept of a meal. We discovered how great it is to eat a tiny bit of everything. Enjoying bite after bite, each flavor seems more intense and new… and you end up eating less!

  1. Green goodness from the sea- Nori

Or simply seaweed. Before Japan I always thought it was only used to roll sushi but little did I know that it was the best snack at any time. Not to mention what a great addition it is for any meal as well 🙂 Almost like chips but than healthier and so much more delicious!

  1. Bowl of umami- miso soup

No meal could be complete without a bit of miso soup. It’s such an easy soup based on miso paste which is made of soy. What goes in there is pure creativity of the chef, Chinese cabbage, mushrooms, maybe some seaweed. Everything's allowed. The taste is not comparable to anything, pure umami goodness that brings warmth and joy to your body.

  1. Sour, sour and even more sour- pickles

After miso soup, pickles are the most important part of every meal. I have never seen such a variety of sour goodness. There are daikons, plums, cucumbers, eggplants and whatever else you could imagine. It’s something that has been around for ages as one of the easiest methods to preserve the food. I was shocked by how many different techniques there are, pickles can be made with miso paste, vinegar, roasted rice bran or humble salt. 

  1. Our guilty pleasure- candied ginger

Jandirk got especially addicted to it. It's definitely something only a few people can like as it’s this weird combination of sweet and very spicy.

  1. Decadent goodness- okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki are kind of pancakes made on a hot plate that hero cabbage and batter. We especially loved the ones that put you straight into a food coma, with bacon, egg, shrimp, lots of soy sauce and shavings of smoked bonito. People on a diet can downscale their choice a bit and go for a bit more basic option...

  1. Pancake balls- Takoyaki

Takoyaki are decadent ball pancakes stuffed with octopus and topped with a decadent sauce and smoked bonito shavings. They reminded us a lot of okonomiyaki but because of their small size they seem a bit less unhealthy. There is not a single food market or event in Japan without them so don’t worry, you won't have to search.

  1. Japan’s famous- sushi and sashimi

Japan is associated with raw food, sometimes I feel like half of the world thinks that it’s all there is. It’s not but it is a big part of the culture. What most people don’t realize, it requires a lot of technique and finesse to put a great sushi together and to slice the sashimi to perfection. With quality comes the price so we haven’t eaten much of the fancy sushi or sashimi. But I have to admit that what is sold in some belt restaurants or even some supermarkets is just to die for!

  1. Upgraded hot pot- Shabu shabu

It’s just a humble broth put on a little stove at the table. But that’s the whole beauty of it. It’s like pure Christmas. Everyone sits around the table and dips in whatever they want. It can be pork, Chinese cabbage or spinach. At first it seemed a bit weird to get raw ingredients and cook your own meal at the table. Especially that that's what you get in a restaurant as well. But it's just pure fun and such a beautiful experience to share. At the very end when the soup is almost finished, you throw beaten eggs in there with some rice and eat that. So don't forget to leave some place for those last bits. So simple and so delicious!

  1. Noddles like no others- soba

Those buckwheat, thin noodles are Japanese natives. Low price, fast serving time and enormous variety makes them a perfect backpacking meal for every taste. It seems to be a bit of a Japanese fast food option.
The best soba we had was in Hakone. Perfectly thin, al dente, it was so good that many people ate just the noodles without the broth. It’s popular to dip them in some yam paste with raw egg. As weird as it sounds and as slimy as it is, it’s delicious. In a country with no cheese that’s as close as you will ever get to indulgent and creamy.

  1. God´s drink- Sake

Everything tastes better with sake. It’s a drink that could accompany every single meal. Dry, mild, cold one by the dinner, warm, sweet one by the dessert. Not to mention the one with rice particles could be the dessert on it’s own.

  1. Good for everything- Green tea

We have been tea lovers all our lives but Japan got us addicted to green tea. We started drinking liters of it, hot and cold. Not to mention the very bitter, intense matcha that we were seeing and tasting everywhere

  1. White and essential- tofu

Comes in a variety of forms and uses. It can be soft or hard and watch out… it can be even deep fried. The last one is sliced very thinly and deep fried twice. It looks like many sheets stacked together and its fluffy and airy. To be quite honest I didn’t know it was tofu when I tasted it and even less that it had anything to do with oil. I naively thought it was healthy…

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12 souvenirs from Japan that I just couldn’t resist

Usually I associate souvenirs with kitsch, plastic gifts made in China and faded postcards of doubtful beauty. Over those two years travelling I’ve rarely been tempted to enter a gift shop less even to buy a single thing. Japan has changed it all. The amount of effort and creativity put in so many little objects here makes them unique and really worth buying. Not to mention the tradition and the beauty that go with them. Below some of gifts that I couldn’t resist, even having in mind that I will have to carry them around. Others I will have to get next time.

  1. Multi-functional piece of cloth- Futoshiki

So simple and traditional and yet so functional. The technique of folding a square cloth around anything has been around for centuries. Previously it was used to carry things and to wrap gifts. The patterns and colors were a way of expressing the purpose of the gift and feelings of the generous person. After World War II part of this beautiful art got pushed out by cheaper and more common plastic and paper. But it hasn’t died just yet. The material can be folded in a really nice bag, actually many different types of bags, only imagination is the limit. That variety of a humble piece of material and the idea of supporting something so fragile pushed me to buy some for myself.

  1. Colorful and very unusual socks

Patterns of sushi, shrines, Mount Fuji, cats and soooo much more can be easily found in any shop selling socks. They are colorful, fun and many are divided in “two toes” or even “five toes”. That makes them perfect to wear with your flip flops, as weird as that sounds. We especially loved the collection available in some Don Quijote. Cheap and just brilliant.

  1. Arty, colorful postcards

Japan has numerous different techniques when it comes to postcards. They can be painted, made from recycled kimonos, washi paper. Options are countless and they all look stunning and one of a kind. I don’t think there is any other country I have seen with so many different patterns and so much art and love put into postcards. Honestly I felt sad I had to send them out… Obviously I kept a few for myself 🙂

  1. Fragrant bath salts

We never really appreciated the benefits of a bath. Not until we came to Japan. Here it has almost a ritual like importance and is supposed to relax you after a tough day. And it really does. But the addition of fragrant, Japanese bath salts is the cherry on the top. The smell is as divine as the package looks.

  1. Playful carnival-like facial masks

I know it sounds weird but in what other country can you become a panda or a cat for a few minutes? Only in Japan. The masks are not only playful and cute in a weird way but also very soothing and relaxing. Perfect little detail going in the bathtub. For more picky customers there are also ones that will make you look like a geisha or hello kitty.

  1. The most beautiful bathrobe - Yukata

Yukata is a kind of casual kimono. It literally means “bathing cloth” and at the beginning it was used just as such, since it’s so easy to just wrap it around you and it can dry the leftover moisture from your skin. Nowadays some wear it as a summer version of the kimono. We got them at one of our Airbnbs and I absolutely loved mine. They were colorful, playful and really comfortable to wear. Jandirk wasn’t overly impressed, yukatas for men lack patterns and are generally kept in darker tones.

  1. Fans for the hot summers ahead

Fans are something that have been in use for centuries and perfected over the time. Now only the imagination and budget is the limit. The can be foldable or rigid, bamboo or paper based. They come in unbelievable variety of forms and patterns. In museums we even saw some covered in gold… those I probably wouldn’t buy as a gift even for my best friends.

  1. Everyone’s necessity- chop sticks

They come in a variety of shapes and designs. We especially loved very simple wooden ones. There is a certain charm in the fact that no two chop sticks are exactly the same since no trees are identical.

  1. Something for the stomach- matcha and green tea

Before coming to Japan we have never tried matcha and we were not big green tea drinkers. Here we got thrown into deep water, we saw and tasted matcha not only as a powdered green tea just served as a drink but also in variety of deserts and snacks. We fell in love with its strong flavor and even stronger green color. It’s one of those ingredients that we will take with us and incorporate in our daily life. Same with the cold green tea that became indispensable to us over those months….

  1. Traditional or modern pottery

This one has totally stolen my heart. I hope one day we will return with an empty suitcase and full bank accounts to buy some of so many stunning pots, mugs and plates. We especially loved collections available in small, cozy ateliers in one of the old pottery towns- Tokoname.

  1. The famous "folded paper"- origami

This beautiful technique of folding paper into complicated but beautiful shapes is especially dear to my hearth. Many of the gifts that I got from Jandirk were origami folded animals and flowers. Here in Japan he could go even crazier with all the variety of paper available. Every Japanese person knows how to fold at least a few basic figures, they learn that at school. It has been a nice beginning of a conversation for us and sometimes a nice evening activity with a little origami battle.

In many shrines and museums we saw origami bookmarks and cranes that we could just take for free.

  1. Something for the soul- sake

Sake comes in such a variety of tastes that I just can’t imagine someone wouldn’t enjoy it. It can be sweet, it can be very dry, it can be clear or contain particles of rice, it can be served cold or hot. There is something for all taste buds out there. I don't think there is anyone that could resist the traditional sake serving. The liquid is supposed to overflow from a shot glass or wooden container onto anything that is under it. Being raised in Poland in a society that drinks vodka and likes to show its generosity, I'm shocked we never came up with it.