Gouka Seishi

Japanese Food, Snacks and more

Keith Morrell — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:24:05 +0000

A huge selection of food arrived from Japan, but this time more food, than snacks.

The snack was actually meant for my gf, but as I was trying some of the food which arrived, I thought I would take pictures to show everyone.

Sanritsu a nice pie, it tastes so nice and a bit weird too.

An interesting Tofu curry sauce.

I tried some of the Tofu curry, but I didn’t really like it myself as I still don’t like Tofu!

Breadcrumbs and Nori rice topping

The Japanese bread crumbs tasted so nice when used with Chicken.

Rice crackers/snacks

A mixture of different crackers/snacks which included nori wrapped round. It tastes pretty nice, but if you hate nori (seaweed), then of course you won’t like it.

Miso Soup

A selection of different miso soups.

Rice Cake

Rice cake which you cook in the oven. Tastes pretty good.

Sauces

All three are so nice.

Different noodles

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Ready to make Rice (gohan)

The mixtures of different food

We had so much Japanese snacks and foods to try, but i loved them all and I miss Japanese food!

Japanese Masks (マスク)

Keith Morrell — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 22:45:37 +0000

Many foreigners who visit Japan will most likely notice many people around them wearing these surgical masks, especially in Winter.

Many friends I have talked to have seen pictures of Japanese people wearing the masks, but they have no idea why.

On my first trip to Japan I noticed people wearing the masks, even in cars. I thought this was strange, and it would look completely out of place in a Western environment.

The masks are actually worn as a way to show consideration to others, to stop diseases spreading such as colds/flu etc. They are also worn in Taiwan.

During Spring/Summer many people wear the masks to try combat hay fever which is high with pollen from the Japanese Cedar Tree (杉 “Sugi”). When I was in Tokyo I noticed a woman driving a car with the mask on, which I thought was strange at the time as she was inside the car.

I learned that the masks, as mentioned previously are used to prevent colds which I saw when I visited Japan for the 2nd time.

You can find the masks in pictures like this above in shopping markets, and even some public toilet areas. In Japan the masks are called “Masuku (マスク)”.

I got used to people seeing them and trying one myself, I realised they seem pretty comfy and are useful to stop the spread of diseases.

The masks were also widely used during the outbreaks of the the SARS outbreak in Toronto, China, Vietnam and Hong Kong.

For more information about surgical masks, checkout this Wikipedia page.

Films Coming Soon 2012 P1

Keith Morrell — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:27:34 +0000

A round up of films coming soon in 2012.

Prometheus

Prometheus Official Website

The Dark knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises Official Website by Warner Bros Ent

Madagascar 3, Europe’s Most Wanted

Madagascar 3 Official Website by Dreamworks

The Cabin In The Woods

The Cabin In The Woods Official Website by Lionsgate

Xin Nian Kuai Le (Happy Chinese New Year 2012, Year of the Dragon)

Keith Morrell — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:02:28 +0000

Happy Chinese New Year.

This year is “The Year of the Dragon”, it is infact the “Water Dragon” (rénchén (壬辰)) which was last seen in 1992.

Find out about the Chinese New Year on Wikipedia.

Remix Your City, Tokyo Lab

Keith Morrell — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 12:58:03 +0000

Another awesome campaign by Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo & HIFANA to promote the Fresh Plug Play iPhone/iPad app.

During this viral you can see HIFANA recording sounds around Tokyo, like the strange but cool pedestrian/traffic crossing sounds and then bringing it all together. They create a live set performed in front of a small group of fans on a boat on the Tokyo Bay.

I love all the views around Tokyo, and I really want to buy this app to try it around here .

Find out more about the campaign here.

Daruma Market

Keith Morrell — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:32:47 +0000

Each year in December/January an event called the “Daruma Market” (Daruma Ichi) is held in a few locations across Japan, but mainly in Takasaki.

The Daruma Doll (達磨), is also known as a Dharma doll. The Doll is hollow and round, and is a Japanese doll modelled after Bodhidharma who was a Buddhist Monk who lived between the 5th and 6th century AD.

The Daruma Doll ranges in colours in different regions, but is usually red depicting a bearded man called “Dharma”.

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Ome Daruma Market by Gabi Greve on Flickr

The Daruma is seen as an item to bring good luck, and is a popular gift. Each year a celebration takes place in Takasaki city, which is located in the Gunma Region, which is seen as a birthplace of the Daruma Doll. The Shorinzan Daruma Temple hosts Japans most famous Daruma Market, which is held on the 6th and 7th of January.

Daruma dolls are usually bought at the start of each New Year without the pupils painted on the Daruma Doll. A wish is made and then a pupil is painted onto the doll. If this wish comes true, another pupil is added, then the doll is returned to shrine at the end of the year to be burned.

Burning of the Daruma Dolls in Ome by Gabi Greve on Flickr

These markets as also held in Odawara (Dec 16th/17th), Jindaiji Tokyo (March 3/4th), Fukushima Shirakawa Station (Feb 11th), Ome (12th Jan).

This post is a part of the J-Festa January 2012 blog carnival. To join in check out the guidelines.

Japanese New Year’s Cards

Keith Morrell — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:30:12 +0000

I received a selection of cards from Japan for the New Year. I received so many variations, and I love all the different variations.

The versions above look more traditional, and are really pretty. They have different depictions of god’s etc, and good luck items.

This year is the “Year of the Water Dragon (ウォーター・ドラゴン/タツノオトシゴ)”, and at the start of the year you will find selections of cards like these below, and magazines with cute dragons on them all over Japan.

I am my girlfriend received a range of cute Japanese Dragon cards like these above and even Christmas/holiday cards!

You can find out more about Dragons (ryū竜) on this Wikipedia page and about the Water Dragon/Japanese tradition for this year on Muzachans, 2012 Year of the Dragon.

Christmas Cards

Above are two cards received for Christmas, which I didn’t expect to get. The Shinkansen/Mount Fuji card is interesting as a Christmas card with a different picture, instead of the usual cards we receive here in England.

Last year when I visited Japan, I noticed a whole floor dedicated to New Year’s cards in the Loft department store and when I visited a shopping mall named Dynacity, I noticed these..

Magazines to do with the New Year, which at the same was “The Year of the Rabbit”. I love all the cute characters used.

I hope everyone has a wonderful 2012.

Arrietty Released on DVD

Keith Morrell — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 06:00:25 +0000

Arrietty, one of the latest Studio Ghibli films will finally hit the shelves today in the UK.

The film was released in the UK Last year on July the 29th, and I was totally looking forward to seeing it. I had seen the DVD for the Japanese version in June of last year, but if you want to order the DVD online, you can buy Arriety here on Amazon.

I love Ghibli movies, but this film which is based on on the novel “The Borrowers” by Mary Norton ended too quickly for me.

Still for any Ghibli fan/anime fan or anyone who loves nice animation, I recommend checking it out.

The website (www.arriettymovie.co.uk) which was launched last year hasn’t been updated which is strange, but the UK version features the voices of Saoirse Ronan, Olivia Coleman, Tom Holland & Mark Strong.

Japanese Sweets & Snacks 5

Keith Morrell — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 15:19:02 +0000

When I visited London last year, I visited a shop which sells Japanese food and bought these..

I spent too much on the sweets and snacks, but as I missed Japanese sweets and snacks so much, I couldn’t help myself.

I love these items above. The Tohato Caramel Corn tasted so nice. It has a nice taste and at the bottom of the bag you have corn as well, I recommend eating this to anyone. C.C. Lemon is a drink I missed from Japan, it only costs about 90 to 120 yen in Japan, and it’s the nicest lemon drink I have had.

I bought the rice above and Okonomiyaki powder. The okonomiyaki was awesome, and you can see how it turned out in my previous post (Japanese Food: Making Okonomiyaki).

More sweet sticks. I love Pocky, and strawberry is my favourite flavour of Pocky Sticks. The Pocky on the right are caramel and chocolate, which tasted nice. Choco Boy is similar to きのこの山　(Kinokonoyama) a Japanese brand which makes the same style biscuits, but Kinokonoyama tastes better.

Calbee Hot & Spicy was as it say’s, Hot and Spicy.

Kagome is a nice fruity drink.

My favourite drinks above, sake! I loved the citrus flavoured sake (yuzu ゆず) best and the plum sake. I didn’t really like the peach sake myself, which is in the middle.

Ready made noodles above, all tasted nice and had different flavours.

Gouka Seishi

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