When it comes to a home party one always looks for a sake which is not only tasty and easy to pair at all temperatures but also reasonably-priced.
The other day I did participate to a big home party with old mates and I had the perfect present to bring with me!
Hatsukame Brewery in Okabe, Fujieda City produces this extravagant honjozo called “En/縁”！
When you read the specs you will realize that some breweries in Shizuoka Prefecture are spoiling their customers!
Rice: Yamada Nishiki
Rice milled down to 65%
Dryness: + 4
Acidity: 1.30
Alcohol: 15~16 degrees
Brewed in September 2015
Bottled in November 2015
Clarity: very clear
Color: faint golden hue
Aroma: dry and fruity. pears, banana, rice, greens
Body: fluid
Taste: Dry and fruity attack.
Complex: oranges, custard, chestnuts.
Lingers only for a short while before departing on a still drier note with oranges, custard and coffee beans.
Becomes milder and lighter with food before finishing on a drier note.
Oranges and custard in particular will come back once again away from food.
At lukewarm temperature/”nurukan”, tends to become lighter and less complex, but still very pleasant on the palate.
Overall: I conducted that tasting in a light-hearted manner with my friends before he alcohol took the best of them. We all agreed it was simply extravagant considering the ridiculously cheap price!
This is the kind of sake you can bring to any party any time of the year when you can savor it on its own or with any food, at room temperature or warmed up!
The kind of sake you won’t let inside the bottle very long and a great introduction to beginners!
Yesterday on my way to Anzai Bridge across the Abe River in Shizuoka City, I decided to cycle along a die road on a whim and discovered this small Shinto shrine in Ta Machi!
Upon seeing the name plaque on the torii/sacred gate I wondered how the kanji for “water/水”, that is “mizu” would be pronounced.
Luckily enough a neighbor had just come out and I decided to ask him and get some more information!
The locals pronounce the name “wata”!
And apparently it is a very old if small shrine, dating back to Edo Era!
Although their roofing is recent the hand washing stone basin are very ancient.
Two of them in such a small shrine is indeed rare and the neighbor indicated me through their engravings that they had been erected in totally different eras!
Two large stone lanterns and two smaller ones stood along the short path with mountain and clouds carvings!
I noted an interesting difference between the two deers!
The one above has its right foreleg raised!
But not this one!
A smaller stone lantern between two venerable trees!
The “haiden”/worshipers hall!
Unusually the lion guards/shishi are not represented as stone statues, but as wooden carvings abovehead!
Its companion!
I pointed out the fact to the kind neighbor relating the history of the shrine and I had the pleasure to notice his surprise!
Money offerings are unusually thrown though the door instead of inside a box placed outside!
Side view of the “haiden” and “honden/deity abode”!
The enshrined deity is male!
A side view of the completely isolated “haiden”!
The trees inside the shrine are dwarfing the building proving its ancient origins!
A very interesting and reasonable way to taste sake is to acquire one-cup sake!
They also make for cute collection of glasses or cups!
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Now, this is the sixth tasting of the second batch of Shizuoka Prefecture One Cup Sake I obtained at Matsuzakaya Department Store in Shizuoka City!
Shidaizumi Brewery-Nyan Cup Shidaizumi Junmai Ginjo!
Actually, this is the original Nyan Cup which has now 4 different types all with different sake inside!
If you look at the inside of cup once empty you will find out that the cats look at with different eyes!
Rice: Yamada Nishiki
Rice milled down to 55%
Alcohol: 16 degrees
Bottled in July 2015
Clarity: very clear
Color: very faint golden hue
Aroma: assertive, dry and fruity.
Banana, pears, custard, green apple.
Body: fluid, a little sirupy
Taste: dry and very fruity attack backed up with puissant junmai petillant.
Complex. Bananas, dry oranges, faint almonds.
Lingers only for a little while before departing on a drier note with drier chocolate, custard and mandarin oranges.
Oranges and coffee beans will make a surprise appearance once in a while.
Turns drier with food with faint coffee beans appearing.
Stays dry all the way through with plenty of junmai petillant.
Overall: very elegant and extravagant one cup sake!
I wonder if people understand its real value as a premium sake and as a splendid souvenir!
To take with you on any trip and to forget the crowds!
No wonder it sells out so quickly!
Christmas is around the corner and Aoi Brewing in Shizuoka City has put out or the second year running a special craft beer to commemorate the event!
Hollyhock Christmas Ale!
“Hollyhock” means “Aoi” or “Tachi Aoi” in Japanese and is the symbol flower of Shizuoka City!
Actually I had suggested that name myself when Aoi Brewing was looking for names for its beers back last year in June!
The truth is that the secret name given to that Strong Belgian Type Ale is “Dozen Roses Ales” as it includes 12 different main ingredients!
Served on tap
Barley, Maris Otter malt, Munich malt, Crystal malt dark, Chocolate malt, Australian Galaxy hop, Styrian Golding malt, Coriander, Orange peels, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Vanilla beans, Sugars, live yeast.
Unfiltered
Alcohol/ABV: 10%
IBU: 31
Natural carbonation
Production: 450 liters
Bubbles: very fine bubbles. Shortish head. White color
Clarity: slightly smoky (normal considering live yeast and being unfiltered), very clean
Color: dark amber
Aroma:Light, dry and fruity. Biscuits, citrus
Taste: Soft, deep and dry attack with only a little acidity.
Complex: oranges, citruses, honey, cinnamon, biscuits.
Big gap between aroma and actual taste due to high alcohol contents.
lingers long enough for true tasting before leaving on more dry honey, citruses and cinnamon.
Citruses and persimmons surging back with every sip.
becomes even more complex as its temperature rises.
Overall: generous and extravagant ale!
Very deep and complex craft beer.
Although tasted fist only slightly chilled, performs best at room temperature .
To be savored slowly!
Should please both genders of any age in spite of its alcohol contents!
Suggested pairings: pickles, salami, cheese.
To be expected every year before Christmas!
Beer Junkie MOTEL
420-0035 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Shichiken Cho, 11-5, IMAKKOKO Bldg. 1F
Tel.: 054-253-6558
Opening hours: 17:00~25:00, 17:00~26:00 (Saturday), 15:00~22:00 (Sunday)
Closed on Tuesday
Parties welcome FACEBOOK
BEER GARAGE
Aoi Brewing Co.,Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Miyagasaki Chyo, 30
Tel.: 054-294-8911
Opening hours: 17:00~23:00 (Monday~Friday), 15:00~23:00 (Saturday), 15:00~22:00 (Sunday)
Closed on Tuesdays
COD, Cash On Delivery only for all orders. MAP FACEBOOK
AOI BEER STAND
Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Miyuki Cho, 4-6, Den bill, 1F
Tel.: 054-260-5203
Opening hours: 11:00~23:00
Credit cards OK FACEBOOK
Some Aoi beers are also available at Aoi Brewery’s restaurant in Shizuoka City, namely
GROWSTOCK
420-0852 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Koyamachi Naka Building, 5F
Tel.: 054-293-9331
Opening hours: 17:00~25:00 (Mon.~Thurs.), 17:00~27:00 (Fri & Sat.), 17:00~24:00 (Sun.)
Parties welcome (reserve!)
Credit Cards OK FACEBOOK
Catch of the night display at Fish market in Parche Department Store, Shizuoka JR Station!
I thought that such a lexicon would become handy both for English-speaking newcomers and long term residents!
I wrote the Japanese pronunciation first, the Chinese (Japanese kanji) characters and the English translations.
Bear in mind that many fish have many names depending on the Japanese region. These are the common names.
If you have a question I will be glad to investigate!
A separate lexicon is being prepared for all other seafood!
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Traditional Japanese Fish Classification
Akami/赤身: red-fleshed fish (tuna, bonito, etc)
Amago/アマゴ: fresh water Red spotted masu trout, Satsukimasu salmon
Gyoran/魚卵: Fish roe (salmon roe, etc)
Hikarimono/光り物: “shining fish” (scabbard fis, etc.)
Nagamono/長もの: “long fish” (eels, etc.)
Saamon/サーモン: salmons
Shiromi/白身: white-fleshed fish (sole, etc.)
Fish varieties
Aburagarei/油鰈: a cheap variety of karei/鰈: righteye flounder, atheresthes evermanni Jordan and Starks
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Aka saba/赤鯖/REd Mackerel( also called Hachibiki/葉血引: Bonnetmouth/Pacific Bonnetmouth)
Aodai/青鯛: “blue snapper”, paracaesio caeruleus (Katayama)
Atorantikku saamon/アトランティックサーモン: Atlantic salmon
Ainame/鮎並、愛魚女: greenling
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Akahata/赤羽太: an expensive variety of red grouper, epinephelus fasciatus
Aka isaki/赤伊佐木、赤伊佐幾、赤鶏魚/Red chicken grunt
Aka jinmiidai/赤仁羽鯛 (also called Sujiara/筋𩺊): Red-spotted rockcod, Blue spotted grouper
Akakamasu/赤梭魚、赤梭子魚、赤魳 (also called Honkamasu/本梭魚、本梭子魚、本魳): red barracuda, sphyraena pinguis Gunther
Aka kasago/赤笠子、赤瘡魚: rockfish, marbled rockfish, scorpionfish
Akamanbou/赤万包 (also called Mandai/万鯛): Opah,Moonfish
Aka mebaru/赤メバル: red Japanese sea perch-rockfish
Akamutsu/赤鱫、赤鯥 (also called Nodokuro/喉黒): rosy seabass, red gnomefish
Akou/茂魚,石茂魚 (also called kijihata/雉羽太): redspotted grouper
Akoudai/赤魚鯛: rose fish
Amadai/甘鯛: tilefish
Amenouo (Biwa masu)/岩魚, 鯇、天之魚（琵琶鱒）: Biwa trout, Biwa salmon (fresh water), char
Aanago/穴子、海鰻: conger eel
Ankou/鮟鱇、鮟: frogfish, monkfish
Ara/𩺊: sawedged perch
Ayu/鮎、香魚: ayu, ayu fish (fresh water)
Bachimaguro/鉢鮪 ・撥鮪(also known as Mebachi/目鉢 。眼撥or as Mebachimaguro/目鉢鮪・眼撥鮪): big-eyed tuna
Bakemaguro/化け鮪(also called Koshinagamaguro/腰長鮪): longtail tuna, longtailed tuna, spot-side tuna (the smallest tuna in Japan)
Binchoumaguro/鬢長鮪 (also known as Binnaga/鬢長 and Tonbomaguro/蜻蛉鮪): Albacore
Binnaga/鬢長 (also known as Binchoumaguro/鬢長鮪 and Tonbomaguro/蜻蛉鮪): Albacore
Biwa masu (Amenouo)/ 琵琶鱒（岩魚, 鯇、天之魚）: Biwa trout, Biwa salmon (fresh water), char
Bora/鯔: mullet
Bouzu Konnnyaku/坊主蒟蒻 (also called Chikodai/チコ鯛 or Chidai/血鯛, although misleading): Chunky fathead, cubiceps squmixeps
Budai/ブ鯛: white-spotted parrotfish, Japanese parrotfish
Buri/鰤: yellowtail
Chidai/血鯛: Crimson sea-bream,Porgy
Chouzame/蝶鮫、鱘: sturgeon
Dojyou/鰌：loach
Ebisudai/恵比寿鯛: Deepwater squirrelfish, Ebisu perch, Giant squirrelfish
Ebodai (also called Ibodai)/えぼ鯛（疣鯛）: Japanese butterfish, Melon seed, Wart Perch
Fuedai/笛鯛: star snapper
Fugu/鰒、河豚: Globefish
Fuka/鱶: shark
Funa/鮒: crucian carp (fresh water)
Ginzake/銀鮭: coho salmon, silver salmon
Gomasaba/胡麻鯖: blue mackerel
Goten anago/御殿穴子: a cheap variety of Anago/穴子: conger eel, arisoma meeki (Jordan and Snyder)
Hachibiki/葉血引: Bonnetmouth/Pacific Bonnetmouth (also called Aka saba/赤鯖/REd Mackerel)
Hagatsuo/歯鰹: striped bonito
Hakkaku (also called Tokubire)/八角 （トクビレ）: a variety of poacher, Podothecus sachi
Hamadai/浜鯛 (also called Onaga/尾長): flame snapper, longtailed red snapper, Onaga
Hamafuefukidai/浜笛吹鯛: a cheap variety of snapper, lethrinus nebulosus (Forsskal)
Hamo/鱧: pike eel
Hata/羽太: grouper, the expensive variety
Hata hata/鰰: a sandfish
Haze/蝦虎魚、鯊: goby
Hedai/平鯛: goldlined seabream-tarwhine-stumpnose
Himekari/姫光: a rare deep sea fish found in Suruga Bay near Numazu City
Hirame/平目、鮃、比目魚: sole, flatfish
Hiramasa/平政: yellowtail amberjack
Hirasaba/平鯖: chub mackerel, Pacific mackerel, blue mackerel
Hirasoudagatsuo/平宗田鰹: auxis, variety of bonito, bullet tuna
Hirasuzuki/平鱸: a variety of sea blackbass
Hokke/𩸽: Okhotsk atka mackerel, Arabesque greenling
Honkamasu/本梭魚、本梭子魚、本魳 (also called Akakamasu/赤梭魚、赤梭子魚、赤魳): red barracuda, sphyraena pinguis Gunther
Honmaguro/本鮪 (also called Kuromaguro/黒鮪): bluefin tuna
Hoshigarei/星鰈: “Star Turbot”,verasper variegatus (Temmink and Schlegel)
Houbou/方々: red gurnard, red robin
Ibodai (also called Ebodai)/ 疣鯛（えぼ鯛）: Japanese butterfish, Melon seed, Wart Perch
Ikanago/玉筋魚: Japanese sand lance
Indomaguro印度鮪 (also known as Minamimaguro/南鮪): Southern Bluefin tuna
Irako anago/伊良子穴子: a cheap variety of Anago/穴子: conger eel, synaphobranchus kaupii Johnson
Isaki/伊佐木、伊佐幾、鶏魚: chicken grunt
Ishidai/石鯛: striped beakfish, barred knifejaw
Ishigaki-Ishigakidai/石垣-石垣鯛: spotted knifejaw
Ishigarei/石喰霊: stone flounder
Ishimochi/石持: silver croaker, white croaker, silver jewfish
Iso kasago/磯笠子、磯瘡魚: a variety of rockfish
Iwana/岩魚、嘉魚、鮇: char, charr
Kaiwari/貝割: whitefin trevally
Kajikimaguro/梶木鮪・旗魚鮪 (also known as Makajiki/真梶木・真旗魚): spearfish (blue) marlin
Kagokakidai/駕籠担鯛: Stripey, Microcanthus strigatus (Cuvier)
Kamasu/魳、梭魚、梭子魚: barracuda
Kanpachi/間八、環八: greater amberjack, Japanese amberjack
Karasugarei/烏鰈: Greenland halibut, Mock halibut, Bastard halibut, Black halibut, Reinhardtius hippoglossoides (Walbaum)
Karei/鰈: righteye flounder
Kasago/笠子、瘡魚: False kelpfish, Marbled rockfish
Kasugo/春子鯛: young Madai/真鯛: Japanese seabream
Katsuo/鰹: bonito
Kawahagi/皮剥: filefish, leather jacket
Kibinago/黍女子、黍魚子、吉備女子、吉備奈仔: silver-stripe round herring,
Kibire/黄鰭: yellowback seabream
Kihadamaguro/黄肌鮪 (also known as Kiwada/キワダ(Tokyo, Wakayama), Gesunaga/ゲスナガ(Shizuoka), Mashipi/マシビ(Osaka, Kochi) and Kinhire/キンヒレ: yellowfin tuna
kijihata/雉羽太(also called Akou/茂魚,石茂魚): redspotted grouper
Kinki/金色魚: Thornhead, Idiot, Sebastolobus macrochir (Gunther)
Kinmedai/金目鯛: splendid alfonsino
Kintokidai/金時鯛: red bigeye
Kisu /鱚、鼠頭魚: sand boarer
Ko Aji/子鯵: very young horse mackerel (also called Mame aji/豆鯵)
Kochi/鯒、牛尾魚: flathead
Kohada (konoshiro)/小肌（鰶・鮗・鯯・鱅）: dotted gizzard shad
Koi/鯉: carp (fresh water)
Konoshiro (kohada)/小肌（鰶・鮗・鯯・鱅）: dotted gizzard shad
Korodai/胡蘆鯛: a cheap variety of snapper, diagramma pictum
Kose/コセ: A variety of Stripped jack, also called Shima aji/縞鯵!
Koshinagamaguro/腰長鮪 (also called Bakemaguro/化け鮪): longtail tuna, longtailed tuna, spot-side tuna (the smallest tuna in Japan)
Koshyo (Koshiodai)/胡椒鯛: crescent sweetlips
Kuchimidai/口美鯛 (also called Menada/目奈陀・目魚): haarder, redlip mullet, Liza haematocheila (Temminck and Schlegel)!
Other names I will have to add to the lexicon!
Kue/九絵、垢穢: longtooth grouper
Kurodai/黒鯛: Japanese black porgy
Kuromaguro/黒鮪(also called Honmaguro/本鮪): bluefin tuna
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Kuro Mebaru/黒眼張、黒眼張魚、黒鮴/Black Japanese sea perch
Kuromutsu/黒鱫、黒鯥: Black gnomefish
Kuro shitabirame/黒舌平目: Black Sole
Kyuusen/九線・九仙 (also called Bera/ベラ): halichoeres poecilopterus (Temminck and Schlegel) a cheap variety of snapper in Eastern Japan, but an expensive one in Western Japan
Maaji/真鯵: Japanese jack mackerel
Ma anago/真穴子 (also called Maru anago/丸穴子): a cheap variety of Anago/穴子: conger eel, conger myriaster (Brevoort)
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Madai/真鯛: Japanese seabream
Madara/真鱈: Pacific cod
Magarei/真鰈: flounder, yellow striped flounder, turbot, halibut
Maiwashi/真鰯: sardine
Makajiki/真梶木・真旗魚 (also known as Kajikimaguro/梶木鮪・旗魚鮪): spear fish (blue) marlin
Makubuu/マクブー (also called Shirokurabera/シロクラベラ): Okinawa Blackspot tuskfish, Choerodon shoenleinii (Valenciennes)
Mame aji/豆鯵: very young horse mackerel (also called Ko Aji/子鯵)
Managatsuo/真魚鰹: butterfish
Mandai/万鯛 (also called Akamanbou/赤万包): Opah,Moonfish
Maruaji/丸鯵: “round horse mackerel”, decpterus akaadsi Abe
Maru anago/丸穴子 (also called Ma anago/真穴子): a cheap variety of Anago/穴子: conger eel, conger myriaster (Brevoort)
Marusoudagatsuo/丸宗田鰹: auxis, variety of bonito, frigate tuna
Masu/鱒: trout
Masunosake/鱒の介: king salmon, chinok salmon
Matoudai/的鯛、馬頭鯛: John dory, St Peter’s fish
Matsukawagarei/松川鰈: An expensive variety of Japanese Karei/鰈: righteye flounder, verasper moseri Jordan and Gilbert
Mebachi/目鉢・眼撥 (also known as Mebachimaguro/目鉢鮪・眼撥鮪or as Bachimaguro/鉢鮪・撥鮪): big-eyed tuna
Mebachimaguro/目鉢鮪 ・眼撥鮪(also known as Mebachi/目鉢 。眼撥or as Bachimaguro/鉢鮪・撥鮪): big-eyed tuna
Mebaru/眼張、眼張魚、鮴: Japanese sea perch, Japanese rock fish
Medai/目鯛: an expensive variety of Japanese snapper, hyperoglyphe japonica
Meichidai/目一鯛: an expensive variety of Japanese snapper, Gymnocranius griseus
Meitagarei/目板鰈: Frog-flounder, Finespotted flounder, Seriola quinqueradiata Temminck and Schlegel
Mejina/眼仁奈: largescale blackfish
Mejiro/目白: young Buri/鰤: yellowtail
Mekajiki/眼梶木・眼旗魚: swordfish, broadbill
Menada/目奈陀・目魚 (also called Kuchimidai/口美鯛): haarder, redlip mullet, Liza haematocheila (Temminck and Schlegel)!
Menuke/目抜: a Japanese variety of rock fish/sea perch, “flame fish”, sebastes flammeus (Jordan and Starks)
Minaimaguro/ 南鮪 (also known as Indomaguro印度鮪): Southern Bluefin tuna
Mizukamasu/水魳、水梭魚、水梭子魚: a variety of Japanese barracuda
Mutsu/鱫、鯥: gnomefish
Namazu/鯰: catfish (fresh water)
Nanyoubudai/: blunt headed parrotfish, parrotfish, Chlorurus microrhinos (Bleeker)
Nishin/鯡・鰊: herring
Nodokuro/喉黒 (also called Akamutsu/赤鱫、赤鯥): Rosy seabass
Noresore/のれそれ: conger eel whiting
Oaka Aji/尾赤鯵:Red tail horse mackerel
Ohyou/大鮃: halibut
Okimebara/沖目張 (also called Usumebaru/薄目張): sebastes Thompson (Jordan and Hubbs): a variety of Japanese sea perch, Japanese rock fish
Okoze/虎魚、鰧: velvet fish
Onaga/尾長(also called Hamadai/浜鯛): flame snapper, longtailed red snapper, Onaga
Onigochi/鬼鯒、鬼牛尾魚/a variety of sand borer
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Onikasago/鬼笠子、鬼瘡魚: Devil scorpion fish
Renkodai/連子鯛: Yellowback seabream
Saamon torauto/サーモントラウト: salmon trout
Sagoshi/サゴシ/Another name for Sawara/鰆/Japanese Spanish mackerel
Sake, Shake/鮭: salmon
Samegarei/鮫鰈: roughscale sole, clidoderma asperrimum (Temminck and schlegel)
Satsuki masu/皐月鱒: Red spotted masu trout, Satsukimasu salmon
Sakura masu/桜鱒: seema, cherry salmon, masu salmon
Same/鮫: shark
Sanma/秋刀魚、青串魚: mackerel pike
Sappa/鯥: Japanese shad
Sawara/鰆: Japanese Spanish mackerel
Sayori/細魚、針魚: halfbeak
Sennendai:千年鯛: Emperor red sanpper
Shiira/鱪、鱰: mahi mahi, dolphinfish
Shimaaji/縞鯵・島鯵: striped jack, white trevally
Shimanagatsuo/縞鰹: Striped butter fish (not to be confused with Suma/縞鰹: a variety of bonito found in South Japan/same kanji characters!)
Shinko/シンコ: young Kohada (konoshiro)/小肌（鰶・鮗・鯯・鱅）: dotted gizzard shad
Shirauo/白魚: white bait
Shirasu/白子(Namasirasu/生白子 if raw): sardine whiting
Shirokurabera/シロクラベラ (also called Makubuu/マクブー): Okinawa Blackspot tuskfish, Choerodon shoenleinii (Valenciennes)
Shiro mebaru/白眼張、白眼張魚、白鮴: white Japanese sea perch-rockfish
Shirosaba Fugu/白鯖河豚: a variety of globefish/puffer fish, lagocephalus wheeleri abe, tabeta and kitahama
Shishamo/柳葉魚: Shishamo (meaning willow leaf fish, a kind of Japanese smelt), Spirinchus lanceolatus
Soi or Kurosoi/曽以, 黒曽以: a variety of black rockfish, sebastes schlegeli, 1880
Sujiara/筋𩺊 (also called Aka jinmiidai/赤仁羽鯛): red-spotted rockcod, blue spotted grouper, plectropomus leoparadus(Lacepède,1802)
Suma/縞鰹: a variety of bonito found in South Japan. Not to be confused with Shimanagatsuo/縞鰹(same kanji characters!): striped butter fish
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Suzuki/鱸: Japanese seabass, Japanese dace
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Tachiuo/太刀魚、魛: scabbard fish, cutlass fish
Tai/鯛: Seabream (in Japan, it means the best variety!), red snapper
Taiseiyoumaguro/大西洋鮪: Atlantic (including Mediterranean) bluefin tuna
Takabe/鰖: Yellowstriped Butterfish
Tara/鱈: cod
Tobiuo/飛魚: flying fish
Tonbomaguro/蜻蛉鮪(also known as Binchoumaguro/鬢長鮪 and Binnaga/鬢長): Albacore
Torafugu/虎河豚・虎鰒: globefish
Tsubodai/つぼ鯛: pentaceros japonicus Doderlein (seabream variety)
Ugui/鯎、石斑魚: a Japanese dace, fresh water minnow
Umazura/馬面 (also called Umazurahagi/馬面剥): black scraper, Filefish, Scraper, a large variety of filefish
Umazurahagi/馬面剥(also called Umazura/馬面): black scraper, Filefish, Scraper, a large variety of filefish
Unagi/鰻: eel (only cooked)
Urumeiwashi/うるめ鰯: round Herring
Usumebaru/薄目張 (also called Okimebara/沖目張): sebastes Thompson (Jordan and Hubbs): a variety of Japanese sea perch, Japanese rock fish
Utsubo/鱓: moray eel
Wakasagi/公魚、鰙、若鷺: pond melt, Japanese melt (fresh water)
Yagara/矢柄: trumpet fish
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Mr. Osamu Kurosawa, a very old friend of mine, decided after retirement as an officer at the Shizuoka Municipal Library to buy an old farm house in Ieyama, Shimada City for a meaningful life, now that he has plenty of time not only to really enjoy it but to make other people also share his pleasure.
Osamu is actually the recognized expert on Shizuoka, especially Shizuoka City, history and culture and has already published a number of books and papers on it.
He does not intend whatsoever to rest on his laurels and has embarked on a mission to promote the town he is presently living in.
He has just registered his home a member of Japanese Airbnb under the name, “Shimada Ieyama Shounso”, to provide cheap accommodation with all necessary facilities for people and tourists wishing to experience the real Japanese rural life in the “outback” of Shizuoka Prefecture!
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The small farmhouse has been completely refurbished for comfort and everyday life at a walking distance from Ieyama Station along the Oigawa Railway Line extending from Kanaya, Shimada City to Ikawa in the Japanese Southern Alps!
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The view from the first floor entrance!
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It stands by real tea fields of Kawane, producing top-class green tea in Japan!
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The entrance itself gives a good indication of what to expect inside!
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Ask Osamu to translate his own life’s philosophy!
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I have already described the interior during my first visit and second visit.
The place has been considerably reformed since, especially the kitchen and the tatami room here above!
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The guest room on the second floor! Sorry, it was a bit dark when I visited it!
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It has its own terrace!
A real Japanese atmosphere!
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The place is still full of artifacts and real history and antiques that Osamu will have a pleasure to introduce to all!
But my favorite place is still the Japanese traditional hearth (irori/囲炉裏), whatever the season!
Always ready for a cooking fire!
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A landscape pot made with local wild plants!
Osamu went as far as to create his own coasters and under-plates!
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For that particular visit I had brought a very unusual sake from Niigata prefecture for Osamu who is a great lover of good food drink!
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We shared around a barbecue of enormous chicken wings cooked over charcoal!
Looking forward to the next visit!
Do visit Osamu Kurosawa on his FACEBOOK blog as he is fluent in English and Spanish!
OSAMU KUROSWA/黒澤修さん
Shimada City, Kawane Cho, Ieyama, 763-2
Tel.: 09085525739
Service: very friendly, attentive and informative Equipment & Facilities: Spotless clean. Superb washroom. Entirely non-smoking! Prices: Reasonable to slightly expensive Strong points: Ju wari/100% soba/buckwheat noodles. Tempura. sake list!
Kishigami Soba Restaurant is located in a celebrated touristic area of Shizuoka City in Utsunoya famous for its many Edo Period houses and inns along the Old Tokaido Road.
It makes for the perfect stop for refreshments in the middle of nature!
It is not that difficult to reach actually.
Just take the bus to Fujieda City at platform 7 in front of Shizuoka JR Station north exit and get off at Utsunoya just before the Fuijieda Tunnel.
Cross the road and take the paved street on the right side snaking up the mountain and you will discover it in the middle of an Edo Travel Inn Village!
The menu is waiting for you outside!
100% buckwheat noodles!
Have a good look inside before choosing a table!
A traveling artist actually drew this picture of the restaurant during his only visit!
The spotless clean kitchen manned by two generations!
Traditional Japan!
A real wood fire stove!
All warm wood!
Although it is open only at lunch time the menu is really extensive!
The elder daughter, Ms. Kayoko Kishigami/岸上香誉子さん is very knowledgeable with sake and a seasonal brew by Sugii Brewery (Fujieda City) was on offer that day!
The Japanese sake from nearby Fujieda City!
The big bonus is a menu in English in no less than 4 pages!
Page 1!
Page 2!
Page 3!
Page 4!
Elegant earthenware and glassware!
My friend’s order!
Ten Oroshi Soba!
My order!
Kamo/Duck Oroshi Soba!
The sobayu/buckwheat noodles boiling water to add to the leftover soup and wash it all down!
A meal is not complete at Kishigami without their superb tempura!
What do we have there?
Soba Dango/Buckwheat balls!
Green leafy vegetable!
Maitake/hen-of-the-woods, ram’s head and sheep’s head mushroom!
Another very special treat is this homemade ham prepared every year by Kayoko’s father!
It is made with whole legs of pigs raised in Mikkabi, Western Shizuoka Prefecture which are salted, cured and smoked for a whole month to obtain a succulent ham which is neither raw or cooked! A discovery!
A very original dessert: buckwheat balls with hot sweetmeat/anko shiru!
SOBADOKORO KSHIGAMI SOBA RESTAURANT
Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Utsunoya, 232-2
Tel.: 054-258-5664
Opening hours: 11:00~14:00
Closed on Mondays and 3rd Tuesday of the month (next day in case of a national holiday) HOMEPAGE (Japanese) Entirely non-smoking!
The other day my good friend, Miss Asami Ittoh invited me in the company of 7 more guests to make wasabi zuke according to traditional recipe at her company, Marufuku Tea factory Co. Ltd in Shizuoka City!
Wasabi zuke literally means “pickled wasabi” and it is a typical agricultural product of Shizuoka Prefecture, and particularly Shizuoka City, the birthplace of wasabi in Japan!
Wasabi Zuke might be common in Shizuoka but I can assure you it is a rare and expensive delicacy away from our region!
Maruku Tea factory in Aoi Ku, Shizuoka City!
For that particular session all products were either from Shizuoka or made in Japan!
The fresh wasabi roots and stems were cultivated in the mountains along the Abe River in Shizuoka City, the sake kasu/sake white lees came from directly from a sake brewery in Shizuoka Prefecture. The salt, brown cane sugar and the mirin/sweet sake were all made in Japan!
The wasabi and the sake kasu/sake white lees!
All the ingredients for 8 people!
Fresh and clean wasabi roots.
They were of very good quality but cheaper (by Shizuoka standards) due to their inferior shape!
The fresh wasabi stems!
Unprocessed sea salt and top class sugar cane sugar!
The mirin/sweet sake!
All the ingredients with the sake kasu (softened) included.
Each member was allotted the following for the recipe:
Fresh wasabi root: 375 g
Wasai stems and small leaves: 375 g
Sake kasu/Sake white lees: 500 g
Salt: 37 g
Sugar:: 100=120 g
Mirin/sweet sake: optional
Making sure that everybody understood the proportions!
Weighing up everyone’s share!
First chopping the wasabi stems!
My share of wasabi roots!
We were soon all in tears chopping away the wasabi roots!
First chopping!
Second chopping!
Third chopping!
The roots have to hand-chopped finely to obtain maximum piquancy!
A machine would not do a good job, it is all slow food!
Mixing the chopped stems and roots, adding the salt, mix well and lest rest for 20 minutes!
A well-earned rest!
Pressing out by hand as much of the excess water as possible!
Softened sake kasu/sake white lees!
If you use unprocessed sake kasu, you will have to soften it by kneading it or user a beater!
Adding the sake kasu!
Adding the sugar!
Mixing the whole by hand until you obtain a smooth paste!
Taste and add mirin/sweet sake if necessary!
I didn’t!
Filling small boxes to take back home!
We had 1.2 kg of it each!
Note that is greener than the comparatively cheap variety you will find in shops downtown!
Simply extravagant!
I dare not imagine the price even in Shizuoka!
To be eaten over freshly steamed white rice, with baked poultry, sausages and even hot on toasts!
Heda, a harbor tucked away inside an almost closed cove is the epitome of what Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka Prefecture has best to offer to any tourist, be he/she Japanese or from distant shores!
-A resort off the beaten tracks.
-A spa renowned for its thermal hot springs.
-A major fishing harbor part of Numazu City, one of the main providers of seafood to Tokyo.
-Arguably one of the best spots to admire Mount Fuji in the whole of Japan!
-A gastronomic venture with its deep-sea fish and marine life including the largest crab in the world, Takaashigani/高足蟹/Japanese Spider Crab!
-History: It was visited in 1854 by the Russian frigate Diana of the Imperial Russian Navy, the flagship of the Russian explorer Yevfimy Putyatin when it was damaged in a tsunami, following the powerful Ansei-Tōkai earthquake of 23 December 1854. The Diana sank while sailing from Shimoda to Heda for repairs!
Board in front of the tiny but extremely useful Heda Tourist Bureau.
Before I can extol on the reasons to visit the village let me explain the easy access:
Go down at Mishima JR Station (Shinkasen Bullet Train Stop) and proceed to the neighboring Izu Hakone Line Station (right of the Mishima JR Station South Exit). Board the local train/Izu Hakone Line to Shyuzenji (30 minutes, 510 yen). Take a bus from Shuzenji Station, terminal No 6 to Heda (54 minutes, 1,000 yen).
The bus will reach Heda just beside the Tourist Bureau you ought to visit to get as much information and as many pamphlets as possible from the very kind staff!
First of all, Heda is a paradise for photographers, amateur and professional alike, who can take innumerable shots of Mount Fuji from various view spots all year round as the sacred mountain is changing its robes daily!
In Autumn, one may sight Mount Fuji as a dark and mysterious figure shrouded in mists looming beyond the sea.
Sometimes it does look as surging out blue expanses!
At dusk it will be blurred out of the sky by magnificent sunsets irreverently crossed by returning squid fishing boats!
Once you have managed to take your eyes off Mount Fuji you will realize that the cove itself is also worth clicking away all day long!
In the middle of November the surrounding mountains will explode into autumnal colors and the first snow will don a cap to the faraway Mount Fuji!
But before you linger on the inside beach let me take to the tiny Shipyard and Suruga Bay Deep-Sea Museum past the old lighthouse!
It is an old and almost decrepit building, the more when you realize that the various monuments left and donated by the Soviet Government date back to 1947!
But the entrance fee is a mere 200 yen as the Museum is managed by the City!
The largest crab in the world, Takaashigani, almost 3 meters from leg tip to leg tip!
The Museum is divided into two distinct parts, the Shipyard & Suruga Bay Deep-sea Hall on the lower level and the upper level dedicated to Yevfimy Putyatin and his frigate Diana.
A real Sakegashira, a variety of deep-sea mahi mahi, even bigger than the Japanese Spider Crabs!
Most of the displays were donated by local fishermen or well-wishers. All names of fishermen, places and dates of catch are clearly indicated!
Tasmanian Giant Crab, the crab with the largest body (legs not included) in the world!
Crabs out of the deeps…
Spiders of the deeps…?
Hands off me, guys! (I know that I’m tasty!)
A ghost of the deeps…?
Sharks of the deeps…
They call that critter from the deeps a fan globefish!
Seesaw sharks!
Shark eggs!
For the marine history buffs!
Walking from the Museum towards the inlet you will go past the small quaint Shinto Shrine Maorokuchi Jinjya/諸口神社!
Keep walking under the pines and you will find the sacred shrine portal/torii/鳥居/ overlooking the inlet. Needless to say that the shrine is there to protect the fishermen and their families!
In summer that small pine forest is a welcome haven from the hot sun!
Away from the summer bathers, fishing buffs enjoy the day on the small pier in front of the shrine portal!
A last picture of Mount Fuji before walking back along the beach!
The shrine portal as it looks from inside the cove!
The beach is a great promenade out of season (I mean the bathing season!)!
Calm blue and beautiful waters away from the rough seas!
A monster from the deeps…? Utsubo/ウツボ/Moray eel!
A Nessie monster for the kids!
One can walk all the way to the center of Heda past fishing boats!
A squid-fishing boat! Red squids are a delicacy abundant in the Suruga Bay waters. The boats go at sea at night only.
Time to go back to our hot springs hotel!
HEDA TOURISM ASSOCIATION & BUREAU
410-3402 Shizuoka Prefecture, Numazu City, Heda, 289-12
Tel.: 0558-94-3115 HOMEPAGE (English)
Decidedly you have to keep tour ears and eyes open as Aoi Brewing in Shizuoka City puts out an average of two new craft beers every month.
And as most of them are limited you also have to hurry!
Marika Ale! The difference this time is that hops were used both whole and in pellets!
As Aoi Beer Stand in Miyuki-Cho, Aoi Ku, Shizuoka City was full we drank outside encouraging passersby to join us!
Served on tap
Barley, Maris Otter malt, Dark Crystal Malt, Black malt, SIMCO hop (whole), Nugget hop (pellets), live yeast.
Unfiltered
Alcohol/ABV: 5.5%
IBU: 19
Production: 450 liters
Bubbles: very fine bubbles. Shortish head. White color
Clarity: slightly smoky (normal considering live yeast and being unfiltered), very clean
Color: amber
Aroma: sweetish and fruity. Bread, biscuits, oranges
Taste: dry, very fruity and complex attack.
Oranges, biscuits, honey, faint persimmon.
Lingers long enough for true tasting before departing on a still constant dry but very fruity note with more honey.
The fruitiness faithfully continues all the way through.
Very, although shows practically no acidity.
Overall: an exceptional and intriguing amber ale!
Although very fruity, it stays dry but without any acidity.
A craft beer you drink slowly. No need of food to interfere with it although good pairings could be achieved with pork, sausages and cheese.
For ale lovers of all genders and ages!
Beer Junkie MOTEL
420-0035 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Shichiken Cho, 11-5, IMAKKOKO Bldg. 1F
Tel.: 054-253-6558
Opening hours: 17:00~25:00, 17:00~26:00 (Saturday), 15:00~22:00 (Sunday)
Closed on Tuesday
Parties welcome FACEBOOK
BEER GARAGE
Aoi Brewing Co.,Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Miyagasaki Chyo, 30
Tel.: 054-294-8911
Opening hours: 17:00~23:00 (Monday~Friday), 15:00~23:00 (Saturday), 15:00~22:00 (Sunday)
Closed on Tuesdays
COD, Cash On Delivery only for all orders. MAP FACEBOOK
AOI BEER STAND
Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Miyuki Cho, 4-6, Den bill, 1F
Tel.: 054-260-5203
Opening hours: 11:00~23:00
Credit cards OK FACEBOOK
Some Aoi beers are also available at Aoi Brewery’s restaurant in Shizuoka City, namely
GROWSTOCK
420-0852 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Koyamachi Naka Building, 5F
Tel.: 054-293-9331
Opening hours: 17:00~25:00 (Mon.~Thurs.), 17:00~27:00 (Fri & Sat.), 17:00~24:00 (Sun.)
Parties welcome (reserve!)
Credit Cards OK FACEBOOK
I don’t mind repeating it all the time but I prefer conducting sake tastings in the right environment but not many places are propitious for that exercise or willing to help.
But La Sommeliere in Miyuki Cho, Aoi Ku, Shizuoka City is certainly becoming a habit as not only I can conduct my tasting in the best conditions possible but also exchange views at the same time!
This time we tasted a classic by Oomuraya Brewery in Shimada City: Nagai Ki No Hashi Junmai Ginjo!
“Nagai Ki No Hashi” stands for Horai Bridge in Shimada City which holds the Guinness Book World Record of the longest pedestrian wooden bridge!
Rice milled down to 55%
Yeast: Shizuoka NEW-5
Alcohol: 15~16 degrees
Dryness: + 2.0
Acidity: 1.3
Amino acids: 1.1
Bottled in December 2015
Clarity: very clear
Color: faint golden hue
Aroma: assertive, dry, fresh and fruity
Lime, pears, green apples, banana, gin
Body: fluid
Taste: dry and fruity attack backed up with solid junmai petillant.
Complex. Green apples, dry custard.
Stays dry all the way through.
Lingers on palate only for a while before departing on strong notes of dry coffee beans, dry dark chocolate and dry almonds.
Overall: Both elegant and straightforward sake.
Can be enjoyed on its own at room temperature or as “nurukan” up to 45 degrees, or with a meal, especially as an aperitif as its dryness will disappear quickly enough and enhances the following glass of wine.
Actually drinks like a very dry Alsace wine!
Suggested pairings: sauerkraut, cold meats, feta cheese.
LA SOMMELIERE
420-0857 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Miyuki Cho, 7-5, Aiseido Bldg, 1F
Tel. & Fax: 054-266-5085
Opening hours: 11:00~22:00, 12:00~18:00 on Sundays & National Holidays FACEBOOK (Japanese) Entirely non-smoking!
Dorayaki (どら焼き) is a very popular Japanese cake enjoyed by all genders and ages consisting of two pancake-like layers sandwiching sweet red beans paste/ankou (鮟)!
Now if you are in Aoi ku, Shizuoka City walk in the general direction of Sengen Shrine, about 20 minutes walk from Shizuoka JR Station north exit and you will discover an enormous red torii/sacred gate at the entrance of Sengen Street. Go past it and you will discover the best dorayaki shop in the whole Prefecture soon on your right hand side!
You can’t miss it as there is always a queue of customers in front of it, especially at dorayaki “baking” time!
Dorayaki no Kawauchiya (どら焼きの河内屋)!
One of the very rare individual shops left in Japan!
I arrived just before the 4:30 dorayaki baking time!
Such times are always announced due to their enormous popularity!
Plenty of famous visitors’ signatures!
The Lady of The House is always present to sell other confectioneries!
The dorayaki are limited to 5 per person and may not be ordered in advance, although other confectioneries may!
The Lady of the House is always busy packaging the purchases!
Banana castella!
Kuri no ko yokan/”sweet red beans jelly with chestnuts”!
Neri yokan/煉羊かん/”red red beans jelly” and shio yokan/塩羊かん/”salted red beans jelly”!
Shoga Satou Zuke/しょうが砂糖漬/”candied ginger”!
Dangou maki/だんごう巻/”soft rice cake wrapped in red beans paste and pancake roll”
The hot plate which can produce 15 pancakes simultaneously, 3 more than a usual hot plate!
The bear-like Man of The House who is actually a very jovial gentleman constantly joking with his customers!
The chef makes his own batter and red beans paste from scratch! Absolutely authentic!
And he is so deft and quick!
It is always a good idea to come early as the first batch is usually a trial that will be given away!
The very fluffy and light pancakes almost ready!
Bemused customers!
On week ends in winter the queue may easily stretch to 30 customers!
The red bean paste is immediately sandwiched between two pancakes!
Ready to be packed!
The Lady of the House wraps them individually with an antique hand-operated contraption and then put them inside a paper bag itself contained inside a vinyl bag!
Ready to be taken home unless you cannot resist from eating them on the way!
Dorayaki no KAWAUCHIYA/どら焼きの河内屋
420-0867 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Baban Cho, 12-1, Chuo Bldg. 1F
Tel.: 054–271-4363
Opening hours: 10:00~20:00
Closed on Sunday Afternoon and Monday
During a recent visit to the Post Office I notice this mini sheet of Commemorative stamps featuring 10 basic letter postage 82 yen stamps!
“Traditional Dietary Culture of Japan Series No 1!
A slightly misleading title, but that is not the first one!
The Japanese staple, steamed rice and miso soup!
The full Japanese dinner!
Mind you people do not eat that much fr dinner every day, but this is a good indication of homey food!
From magic toilets to wet finger napkins/”wet tissue”
Hot spring foot bath in Shuzenji, Izu Peninsula, Shizuoka Prefecture!
Japan is considered by many a traveler, tourist and businessperson as one of the mst beutiful countries in the world. But the Land of the Rising Sun has another in her pocket other than the beauty of her landscapes, her universally recognized gastronomy or her financial opportunities: a daily life safety unbeknownst in our lands, a comfort bordering on obsession, but above all an hygiene above any norms.
Baths in hot spring hotel in Shuzenji, Izu Peninsula, Shizuoka Prefecture
Japan has been blessed since immemorial times with an abundance of natural water rushing down her mountains all year round and with a generally abrupt geographical profile allowing for a natural and fast evacuation of debris, and soiled waters. This active volcano-dotted archipelago is replete with hot springs which have been exploited for more than 1,500 years and contributed to the establishment of daily baths as never witnessed in any other countries.
The Japanese do not wash themsleves inside bathtubs. They clean their body first before immersing themselves in clean and ideally warm water. This attention to the cleanliness of their bodies before plunging it in a veritable liquid massage is the more remarkable when you consider the icy cold winter and tropical summers prevalent in most Japan.
In fact the love of the Japanese for their hot springs (“onsen”) lies not only in the need to warm up their bodies in summer but also to treat their skins and even clean their internal organs in summer.
Junior high school students scrubbing their own toilets!
When it comes to natural needs the inhabitants of this crowded archipelago far away from the rest of Asia have always understood the vital importance of a strict daily hygiene be it that of individuals or groups. Already by the end of the 19th Century, when Japan “reopened her doors” to the rest of the World, Occidental visitors were surprised, if not shocked, by this attention brought to the care of the body that they often mistakenly interpreted as a lack of decency, the more for it that the same Japanese showed a great sexual freedom and a marked veneration for all kinds of fertilty symbols in their daily life and festivals (“matsuri”). After all the famous/notorious Japanese erotic woodblock prints (“shunga”) had been possible only with ethics vastly different from those considered as normal in Europe and and North America. Homosexuality and bisexuality were condemned as they were in the “Westernized World”. Accordingly the Japanese are not bashful at all when it comes to frankly talk about natural needs even when Westerners attempted to impose their customs and interdicts in this country which never accepted colonization in spite of its preparedness to other standards than their own.
Japanese magic toilets/a recent revolution
Undoubtedly those famous Japanese toilets are very much talked about although few outside Japan know how they have become part and parcel of daily life in this country.
Until 30 years ago they existed only in two distinct forms.”Japanese toilets”, that is the oldest model that consists of simple toilets above which you have to crouch (somewhat like inverted Turkish toilets). They still can be found in many public toilets. After WWII flush toilets and urinals started to appear. But it was in 2004 that Japanese toilets became magical thanks to the added quasi computers hidden inside their structure enabling the control of a bidet system that architects and builders adopted to the point of equipping half of the Japanese abodes within a single year. In Japan bidets are commonly called “washlets”, a commercial name owned by the TOTO Company, a company based in Kitakyushu (Kyushu Island).
Apart of a far better hygiene and easier maintenance and cleaning the main reason for the popularity of this type of toilets is that many Japanese suffered from piles/hemorrhoids due to the physical effort required to stay in a crouching position above the traditional toilets. Actually Japan holds the world record number of clinics solely specializing in proctology and colorectal surgery, a extremely lucrative medical field in spite of the recent change in toilets.
Although most public toilets, school toilets and those found in temples and stations are traditionally equipped, the Japanese prefer to sit down on a toilet at home, especially old citizens for whom the crouching position can become particularly difficult and uncomfortable.
But it is when you disembark at a Japanese airpor that you will discover incredible state of of the art facilities due to the fierce competition between the two biggest companies in the field, namely TOTO (50% share of the production) and INAX (25%), which make most of their profits with hotels all over the World, especially in the Middle East. The long rolling carpets carrying you from planes to different arrival gates are regularly interrupted to allow tired travelers to relieve themselves after a long voyage not only inside vast and spotless facilities but also equipped with the very latest amenities. Although divided according to gender, the only difference is that the toilets for gents are also equipped with state of the art urinals (no button to press, which avoids any dicey contacts!). The toilets on which you sit are fit with two types of washlets whose temperature you can regulate, one to wash your backside, the other for ladies’ intimate parts Even if you do not understand Japanese the small illustrations will leave you in no doubt! And thay are even equipped qith hot air drying systems for people who do not want to use paper at all!
Of course all modern hotels are equipped thus, but another difference with Western countries is that yu will find toilets almost anywhere in Japan, either public inside railway stations, parks, beaches, sport centers and areas and leisure spots and supermarkets where they will always be state of the art but which are immensely cleaner, but they will sport the latest models inside department stores, museums, theaters, movies, concert halls as well as inside town halls, police stations and other public buildings! An embarrassment of choices! And furthermore they are spotless clean at any hour of the day and night!
The Japanese went as far as devising mobile telephone app called”Check a Toilet”. this app will enable you to find the nearest public toilets, wherever you are!
A word for our ladies: “otohime”
“Otohime”!
Many Japanese ladies feel embarrassed by the notion of someone being able to hear the noise raised by their visits to the toilets to the point of developing a kind of allergy called “timid bladder”! To hide all the noises many women will let water run all the way through thus causing an incredible waste of water. As education campaigns could not help eradicate such a practice a system was devised during the 1980’s.Once activated it reproduces the sound of water being flushed without having to have to let the water. One of of the brands proposing such a device is Otohime (音姫), which literally means “The Princess of Sound”, thus named after the Japanese Goddess Otohime, daughter of the God Ryujin (although the Chinese characters for Otohime are different (乙姫) and mean “the Second Princess”. This device is installed in most new toilets for ladies, while many old public ladies toilets are also equipped with it. The Otohime can either be an independent device fixed on the inside wall of the toilets or as a component of of the washlet. One can activate the device by pressing a button or with a hand passing in front of a sensor. Once activated the device will emit a similar sound to that of a real water flush. Thus more than 20 liters of water can be saved every day with such an apparatus. Nonetheless many a ladyy still thinks that the sound of the Otohime is artificial and prefer a constant water flushing than using the recorded tape. As it seems that such a device is not required or requested in gents toilets it will very seldom be found in public amenites
Apart of the toilets you will also discover that the hygiene standards in Japanese hotels is almost unheard of in Western establishments. In any case you will not find a star ranking system or else which allows tight-fisted hotel owners back home to do without advantages considered as the norm in any Japanese hotel. Any decent standard hotel provides shampoos, eau de toilette, razors, combs, brushes and others changed every day with your sheets, and this in hotels costing less than 50 euros a night!
Of course the same applies to restaurants and cafés in the whole country.
Actually it has turned into a cutthroat competition as to which establishment will offer the best amenities. Even away from Tokyo, I know many a restaurant which besides state of the art bilingual washrooms will offer you mouthwash, disposable toothpicks and ear cotton swabs without mentioning a whole palette of paper napkins!
Talking of paper it simply becomes outlandish: single layer, double layer, triple layer, soft, exra soft, white, colored, with motifs all kinds, I just can’t mention them all! Stores generally have a single department dedicated to their sole display!
Incidentally many hotels complain that their toilet paper completely disappears after the visit by tourists from other Asian countries!
Finger napkins/”wet tissue”.
Anti germ finger wet tissue napkins.
Finger napkins/wet tissue and others for men only!
Finger napkins/”wet tissue” are simply delirious!
In fact #finger napkins/wet tissue” doesn’t mean whrn one is confronted by ts choice, be it for ladies or gents (or children and senior citizens!)!
Wet napkins, anti-germ or perfumed, not only for hands and fingers (and nails) but also various parts of body, napkins of different size, napkins for sportsmen or professionals, talcum napkins, anti germ napkins for toilet seats, tables, chairs and others, and others, and others…
In fact many people who buy them just to build up a collection to show to their friends as manyof them are conceived for a publicity and commemorative purpose!
On Novemebr 1st Shizuoka City decided to sponsor free WiFi rental for the sole benefit of foreign tourists until next March on a trial basis, by which time the City will decide whether to make it permanent!
First of all, bear in mind that such service can obtained in only one place, namely the Shizuoka City Tourist Information Center/静岡市総合観光案内所 located at the north entrance of Shizuoka City JR Station!
It is open any day of the week from 09:00 to 17:45!
You will have to follow a strict procedure as follows:
-Step 1: Go to the Shizuoka-shi Tourist Informartion Center and tell the staff, “I’d like to rent a NINJA WiFi router.”
-Step 2: Take a a photo of the NINJA WiFi POP: take a photo of the NINJA WiFi POP with your smartphone and connect your smartphone to the NINJA WiFi located at the information center.
-Step 3: Post to SNS: Post the photo taken in Step 2 to an SNS, such as Facebook, Twitter, Line, YouTube or whichever you prefer.
-Step 4: Show the post: show the post to the staff.
-Step 5: Fill in the registration form: fill in the registration form and show your passport. Please allow the staff to make a copy of your passport.
-Step 6: Get the free WiFi: once the staff has verified the information, you will get a NINJA WiFi router.
The WiFi router package!
The package includes the router, peripheral devices, manuals and a Return by Delivery Form.
The WiFi router!
Bear in mind that only visitors with “short term visitors Visa” are eligible to apply.
You can use this WiFi router anywhere in Japan
When returning the WiFi router by free delivery you have to return 1) the pouch, 2) WiFi router (303ZT), 3) the USB cable, 4)The Charging Adapter.
You then put the whole into the return kit envelope, fill in the form and hand it to convenience store as cited below:
Otherwise you can return it at the following airports:
Narita Airport (Terminal 1), Narita Airport (Terminal 2), Haneda Airport, Chubu Centrair International Airport, Kansai International Airport, New Chitose Airport, Komatsu Airport, Fukuoka Aiport, Naha Airport
Copy the documents below for more precise information:
SHIZUOKA GOURMET 