Umaimon Osaka

My flatmate at Dublin came to visit Japan from 9th, Jan. On 10th, we went to Osaka. First we went to Yodobashi Umeda which is one the most attractive place for foreigners who want to buy electric equipment. She was happy to buy a brand new compact digital camera. Then we moved to Shinsaibashi which is the central of shopping, eating and entertainment in Osaka area. We walked "Shinsaibashi-suji" to "Do-ton-bori" which is famous for its sign call "Glico", "Kani-doraku" and bridge call "Ebisu-bashi." At Do-ton-bori, we ate one of the specialty of Osaka call "Takoyaki" which has octopus inside.

After hanging around the area, we went to watch "Kabuki" which is a traditional Japanese form of theater with its origins in the Edo period.
Kabuki plays are about historical events, moral conflicts, love relationships and the like. The actors use an old fashioned language which is difficult to understand even for some Japanese people. Actors speak in monotonous voices accompanied by traditional Japanese instruments.

After the Kabuki, we ate Ramen at "Kamukura" which is one of the most famous and delicious place.

Osaka has different culture from Tokyo, for example people are much more cheerful and funny. Just try as much food as you can in Osaka!!

Coming Of Age Day

The second Monday of January is "Seijin no hi" (Coming Of Age Day) in Japan. People celebrate this day to welcome the young men and women, who have turned or will turn the age of 20 during the current year, as new members of society!! Ceremonies are held in every city, town and village. The people who have reached the age of twenty get the right to vote and also allowed to smoke and drink.

Personally I was at Canada when I became 20, so we held a Coming Of Age Day ceremony at Canada with my friends.

Japanese New Year

How is New Year celebrated in Japan? Japanese New Year celebration called "shogatsu" takes place from January 1-3. New Year's Day on January 1 is called "gantan" and is a Japanese national holiday. It's the most important holiday in Japan.

Japanese people eat special dishes called osechi ryori during shogatsu. Osechi ryouri is packed in a Jubako box, which has several layers. The foods are colorful and artistically presented. Each dish has a particular meaning. For example, prawns for long life, kuromame (sweet black beans) for health, kazunoko (herring roe) for fertility, tazukuri (teriyaki taste small sardines) for a good harvest, kurikinton (sweet chestnuts and mashed sweet potato) for happiness, and so on. It is also traditional to eat mochi (rice cake) dishes during New Year's holidays. Zouni (rice cake soup) is the most popular mochi dish. The ingredients vary depending on regions and families. If you are lucky, you can taste many different zouni in Japan.

It's a Japanese tradition to eat osechi-ryori throughout the New Year's holidays (until Jan. 3.) Traditionally, people finish cooking osechi dishes by New Year's Eve so that they have food for a couple days without cooking. Most of the dishes can last a couple days in the refrigerator or at cool room temperature.

People usually spend New Year's holidays quietly at home eating various food. There is a custom of giving money to children during New Year's holidays in Japan. It's called "otoshidama." If you are going to family gatherings, it's good to prepare some money in small envelopes.

It is traditional for Japanese people to visit to a shrine or a temple during New Year's holidays. People pray for safety, health and good fortune. The first visit to a temple or shrine in a year is called "hatsumoude." It is not a very religious event but rather a custom. Many well-known temples and shrines are extremely crowded.

VISIT JAPAN Year 2010

After spent a year traveling around more than 20 countries, I realized how Japan is different from the other countries. I heard a lot of positive impression about Japan from people who have traveled or lived in Japan.

However at the same time, I heard that even they want to visit Japan, it is far away and expensive. In fact, Japan is popular distination but we are still not so good at attractting people from over the world to visit Japan.

Since few years ago, the government introduced "VISIT JAPAN Project" to focus on increase the number of inbound tourism to the country.

Therefore in this blog, I'm going to post some information about Japan such as culture, food, people and etc.

First of all, I'd like to introduce interesting site to know about Japan running by Japan Tourism Agency. It's a very convenient site and easy to know about the basics of Japan. You can find a tips to travel around Japan and also discount coupons.

If you are planning to visit Japan or even you are just interested in Japan, you should check it out.

VISIT JAPAN Year 2010