7/02/2012

Tokuho health label

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Tokuho health label

特定保健用食品

quote
Health: It's in 'tokuho' label
Colas, teas, toothpastes claiming to cut health risks gain accreditation


By MINORU MATSUTANI

Kirin Beverage Co.'s hit beverage Mets Cola has gained Consumer Affairs Agency recognition as "tokuho," which is short for "tokutei hokenyou shokuhin," or foods with special healthy qualities.



Cola drinks are generally not believed to contribute to good health, but consumers have snapped up Mets Cola because of its official distinction.

Following are questions and answers regarding the tokuho status and its bona fides:

What is the origin of the tokuho status?
The health ministry began in 1991 attaching tokuho status to certain foods and drinks to promote their healthy qualities, including ingredients that are high in fiber, good for digestion or help slow tooth decay.

By cluing consumers in to food items that promote health, the government hoped to also mitigate the nation's future health insurance burden, said Akira Yabuki, a director at the Japan Health & Nutrition Food Association, which is run with funds pooled from member companies — mostly food and drink makers.

Since September 2009, when the Consumer Affairs Agency was created under the health ministry, the agency has taken over the role of granting tokuho status.

How has the tokuho product market been growing?
Products given the status have seen a consistent increase, reaching 1,000 in May.

Included among them are Lotte Co.'s Xylitol gum, which boasts the ability to protect teeth from cavities, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co.'s fiber-rich drink Fibe-Mini, which aids digestive organs, as well as yogurts and many kinds of oolong and green teas.

Tokuho-status product sales amounted to ¥679.8 billion in 2007, but have declined since then and stood at ¥517.5 billion in 2011, according to the association, which compiles data in odd-numbered years.

The sales decline can be attributed in part to the 2008 financial crisis as well as product development that was put on hold because the Consumer Affairs Agency was planning to change the rules on tokuho recognition, Yabuki said.

With new rules in place, the development of tokuho products has gotten back into full swing, he said.

How is tokuho status earned?
To obtain the status, food and drink makers must conduct various experiments to demonstrate the healthy effects of their products. Afterward, the Consumer Affairs Agency must review the results of these tests and issue its judgment accordingly.

If the product experiment documents pass muster, the manufacturers will be authorized to attach the tokuho designation and list the specific health-supporting ingredients on their labels, Yabuki said.

What experiments are required?
The manufacturers have to test their products on individuals.

In the case of Mets Cola, Kirin Beverage divided 82 people with no significant health problems into two groups. One was served Mets Cola, which contains indigestible dextrin — a nutrient that restricts the rise in body fat after a meal — while the other group drank cola that did not contain the substance for a day, Kirin Beverage spokesman Mitsutake Matano said.

A week later the two groups reversed roles for a day.

Afterward, the subjects were tested for the density of fat in their blood, Matano said.

Overconsumption was also gauged for any harmful effects.

For example, manufacturers conducted experiments in which people consumed triple the amounts of food or drinks to determine if such activities posed damage to health, Yabuki said.

"Tokuho products can be useful in maintaining your health, but that may not be the case if one binge eats and drinks," Yabuki said.

The Consumer Affairs Agency reportedly issued Suntory Holdings Ltd. a warning to halt a TV commercial pushing Suntory's black oolong tea because the ad could mislead consumers into believing they did not have to be careful about what they ate as long as they drank the company's product.

What nutrients will the Consumer Affairs Agency let makers boast on their products as promoting health?
Diacylglycerol and other nutrients that make it difficult for fat to be stored in the body can be listed on product labels, according to the website of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Bureau of Social Welfare and Public Health.

Other nutrients listed include bifidobacteria, chitosan and L-arabinose, which can lower blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol.

The Mets Cola label says its indigestible dextrin restricts absorption of fat and increases the excretion of fat.

The Consumer Affairs Agency does not disclose the specific components, only the products granted tokuho recognition, agency official Noriko Yokota said. She added, however, that the information on the metro government's website is correct.




How popular is Mets Cola?
Between April 24, when Kirin Beverage began selling 480-milliter bottles, and the end of May, 1.5 million cases, or 36 million bottles, were sold, company spokesman Mitsutake Matano said.

This compares with the 30 million cases of Pepsi cola sold last year, of which 20.95 million were the zero-calorie Pepsi Nex, said Midori Takahashi, a spokeswoman at Suntory Holdings Ltd., the parent of Nihon Pepsi Cola Ltd.

A case basically can mean 24 250-ml cans or 6 2-liter bottles.

Kirin Beverage has sold Kirin Cola only in vending machines since June 2010. It sells no other kinds of cola, and the product is nowhere near comparable with Mets Cola, Matano said.

Why is Mets Cola doing so well?
Cola drinks in general are popular worldwide, even if they generally are not associated with the promotion of health.

Throwing in the tokuho component only lends to the boom, Yabuki said.

"People have the impression that cola has lots of sugar, and thus tokuho cola has had a big impact on consumers," he said.

The TV commercial for Mets Cola using characters from the popular boxing "anime" series "Ashita no Jo" also gives the product added punch, he said.

How will future tokuho products evolve?
Tokuho status has been granted to many kinds of tea, which even before such designation attracted health-conscious consumers, Yabuki said.

"I expect diet-related tokuho products will continue to grow. Also, makers will probably take new directions, including foods and drinks that promote healthy skin," he said.

source : Japan Times, July 03, 2012



消費者庁 Consumer Affairs Agency, Government of Japan
http://www.caa.go.jp/


特定保健用食品(トクホ) 許可 tokuho
特定保健用食品許可




. . . CLICK here for Photos of more products!


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6/28/2012

snap dish photos

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SnapDish for food photos



Food Camera App
http://snapdi.sh/ja/


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quote
The first bite is with the camera

When Misako Fukuda, 40, went to a cherry-blossom viewing party at Tokyo's Inokashira Park in April, she did not know the other 30 people who had gathered nor their professions. The only thing she knew about them was what they ate or cooked every day —
through SnapDish, a smartphone social-networking app.



Each day, Fukuda, a Tokyo-based freelance Web director, chronicles her dietary life with iPhone snapshots. Before she takes a bite, she takes a photo of the dish and quickly uploads it via SnapDish to share with her friends.

"It's part of my life log," says Fukuda, who has been keeping her photographic food diary since she got an iPhone in 2009.

Fukuda is one of millions of people who are obsessed with food photos and sharing their culinary experiences with virtual and real friends on the Web. In the old days, many shied away from taking pictures of the food at restaurants for fear of being rude, but it has become such an everyday tool for socializing in Japan that people now take photos of anything from rice balls at a convenience store to the culinary arts at three-Michelin-star restaurants.

"In the past, I did feel it wasn't kosher to take such pictures, especially at fine restaurants," says Moto Tomita, a Japanese-American executive for a luxury brand.

"I have a circle of friends who really enjoy sharing such culinary experiences from other countries," says Tomita, who moved to Tokyo from Silicon Valley four years ago. "Some live in rural areas, where they don't have regular access to such cuisine."

As smartphone users become more savvy, apps catering to food bloggers, such as SnapDish, have started to sprout in Japan. Unlike Instagram or other photo-sharing apps, SnapDish is exclusively designed for people wanting to share food photos.

"Some don't want to be labeled as being obsessed with food by their friends on Facebook, where they might be connected with their bosses. I wanted to create a community for those food lovers," says Zen Funada, the CEO of Tokyo-based Vuss Inc., which operates SnapDish.

Just as Instagram's tools can make photos look more artistic, SnapDish makes the food in photos look more appetizing, with color and light correcting functions. The Rare function lightly retouches the photos, Medium makes the color more vivid and Well-done applies the maximum correction and effects to the images.

Since the app's launch in May 2011, users have grown to 250,000. The app is available in English, Japanese and two forms of Chinese. Some 30 percent of its users are overseas, mostly from Asian countries such as China, Taiwan and Singapore.

Willin Low, a Singapore-based SnapDish user who has posted more than 1,000 photos since the launch, says he feels food represents community in Asia.

"I think it is very much an Asian thing," says Low, a Singapore-based lawyer turned chef and restaurateur. "It is traditional here when eating to place all the dishes in the center of the table to be shared by everyone, rather than to be served individual dishes. So I think culturally we like to share our food with others, even if it means virtually via the Internet." Low was named as one of the world's top emerging culinary stars by fellow contemporary chefs in the Phaidon Press book "Coco: 10 World-Leading Masters Choose 100 Contemporary Chefs."

Fukuda says that sharing her food experiences has helped expand her circle of friends.

"Food is such a happy topic for everybody," she says. "By sharing photos, we feel as if we were there to break bread with them."


By AYAKO MIE
source : Japan Times June 29, 2012






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6/24/2012

Rolling Stones Bar Suntory

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Rolling Stones Bar Suntory
ストーンズバー サントリー








source : www.suntory.co.jp/stonesbar/


quote
Can Suntory Get ‘Stones Bar’ Satisfaction?
It’s not really beer, in the true sense, and it’s got a lower alcohol content. So just how much of a kick can a young Japanese hipster get from drinking something like the “Rolling Hop?”

According to drinks maker Suntory Liquors Ltd., plenty. And in case drinkers were in any doubt, Suntory has lined up a new ploy to convince them: A “Stones Bar” series of specially themed alcoholic beverages stamped with none other than the iconic Rolling Stones lips and tongue logo on “stylishly designed” bottles and cans.

The use of the brand made famous by Mick, Keef and the “boys” is aimed at customers “in their 20s who are attuned to fashion,” according to Suntory, who want a stylish container that fits with their trendy image “as they go to clubs and darts bars, or karaoke.”

The beverages are designed to appeal to younger consumers, still developing a taste for beer, with a less bitter taste and an alcohol content of between 4% and 5%, noticeably lower than Japan’s mainstay brews. The “Rolling Hop,” for example, has a 4% alcohol content and is more carbonated than normal.

In a 2010 online survey, both men and women in their 20s were less likely to drink “almost every day” than middle-aged respondents. But Suntory’s own research suggests that Japanese in their 20s are now spending more money on alcohol, at least 17.8% reporting that they had increased the amount they spent on booze, as well as more of the sweeter, less alcoholic beverages.

In fact, like a range of similar drinks in Japan, the “Stones Bar” products aren’t regular beers that contain malt, nor low-malt alternatives: Falling into what’s called the “third beer” category, they contain no malt at all, but are designed to taste like beer, and were developed by Japan’s brewers in an attempt to offset a slow decline in the sale of traditional beers. The line also includes ready-to-drink cocktail beverages, which promise gin or whiskey flavors without the high alcohol content.

Of course, it’s tough to keep track of all the gimmickry, including links with rock and pop stars, that has been wheeled out by brewers in Japan and elsewhere in attempts to persuade picky consumers to choose their brand. Just last year, in arguably one of the least likely hookups, the all-but-forgotten mid-90s American pop sensation Hanson resurfaced when the band said it plans to launch its own “Mmmhop” Indian pale ale, named after the “Mmmbop” global smash, according to reports from the U.K.

With a combined age of 272, the four principal members of the Rolling Stones are, of course, well beyond Suntory’s target demographic for the “Stones Bar” line. A Suntory official said that while the band may be aware of the use of the logo, they haven’t made any official comment. But then the lip and tongue image is actually owned by Universal Music, with which Suntory negotiated the rights for the “Stones Bar” label. Suntory declined to comment on the amount paid to use the logo.

In any case, fans of the band and “third beers” alike will have to wait to get some satisfaction: the drinks don’t go on sale until June 19.

source : Sarah Berlow



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5/22/2012

Tokyo Sky Tree Senbei

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Tokyo Sky Tree 東京スカイツリー

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Humanity


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Explanation


東京そらの木煎餅(R)


Tokyo Sky Tree Senbei

from the shop Mirin Do みりん堂
source : allabout.co.jp

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The people of Edo loved . puns (dajare 駄洒落) .
and the poeple of Tokyo do too, even in our modern times.

Tokyo is situated in the Musashi plain 武蔵平野
MU SA SHI 。。。六三四 - 6 3 4
So when the tower had to be just a bit higher than the tower in China, they decided to make it

634 meters high.

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World's tallest Tokyo Sky Tree to open

The world's tallest tower, Tokyo's 634-meter Sky Tree, opens on Tuesday.
The tower has two panoramic observation decks, at 350 and 450 meters above ground. On a clear day, it offers a view of Mt. Fuji on the horizon.

After a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10AM, the woman who named the tower will visit the observatory. At noon, the doors will open to the public.
7,500 people won a lottery to ascend the broadcasting tower on its first day.

The tower's operator issued advance tickets for the first 50 days.
It is recommending that visitors use public transportation as the roads around the tower are likely to be congested.

Tokyo Sky Tree opens to the public
Tokyo's latest landmark has opened to an eager public. Standing 634 meters high, the Tokyo Sky Tree is the world's tallest tower.
The broadcasting tower with a modern truss exterior stands in the old quarters of Sumida Ward in Tokyo. It has two observation decks at 350 and 450 meters.

After a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday morning, a woman who named the structure and her son became the first to ascend.
On the ground, many more were waiting in line from early morning. They were welcomed in at noon, and quickly boarded elevators for the 50-second ride to the first observation deck.
Rain and clouds unfortunately hampered the tower's panoramic view of Tokyo -- and the sight of Mount Fuji in the distance on a very clear day.
But the visitors still appeared to enjoy the climb, the structure's brand new interior, and its displays of maps and other items.

8,000 people are due to visit the tower on the opening day. They are the lucky ones who won lotteries to purchase advance tickets.
The tower's adjoining commercial complex also opened. Together, about 200,000 people are expected to visit the tower and complex on Tuesday.


Skytree may pump over $2 bil into Japan's economy
Local municipal officials estimate that the economic ripple effects of Tokyo Skytree will bring more than 2 billion dollars a year to Japan.
They say the tower and nearby commercial facilities are expected to attract nearly 21 million visitors annually.
Those visitors are forecast to spend about 990 million dollars in admission fees for the tower's observation decks and at restaurants and shops.
The officials say sales of various businesses across the country will also increase by about 1.2 billion dollars.
The actual total economic impact is believed to be even greater as the estimate does not include revenues from the aquarium and the planetarium located in the tower compound.

source : NHK World News - May 21, 2012




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Tokyo Skytree (東京スカイツリー, Tōkyō Sukai Tsurī
is a broadcasting, restaurant, and observation tower in Sumida, Tokyo, Japan. It became the tallest structure in Japan in 2010 and reached its full height of 634.0 metres (2,080 ft) in March 2011, making it the tallest tower in the world, displacing the Canton Tower, and the second tallest structure in the world after Burj Khalifa (829.84 m/2,723 ft).
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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東京スカイツリー

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Things found on the way


Daruma and the Sky Tree
山田るまブログ




source : yamadaruma.laff.jp


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solamachi ソラマチ  - the shopping mall

soramachi 空町  "village in the sky"
Many shops imitate the atmosphere of Edo.


もんじゃ お好み焼き Monja and Okonomi yaki
One of the many shops in the Sky Tree compound.




source : barbee.exblog.jp


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Skytree has elevator glitch on first day

Despite cold and rainy springtime weather Tuesday, Tokyo Skytree attracted thousands of people to the new landmark as the world's tallest tower opened to the public.
But the first day didn't go off without a hitch. High winds forced two elevators to halt at around 6 p.m., stranding visitors in the No. 2 observatory, 450 meters above the ground.
The elevators soon resumed operations, but at 7:36 p.m. the No. 2 observatory was closed due to the wind.

Skytree Town is a commercial complex combining the 634-meter-tall broadcast tower, an aquarium, a planetarium and the Tokyo Solamachi complex, which boasts 312 shops and restaurants.
source : Japan Times, May 23, 2012


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Tower Donburi タワー丼 tawaa don
sold at a shop in Asakusa



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HAIKU and SENRYU



Tokyo Sky Tree -
a new inspiration
for new heights


Gabi Greve, May 22, 2012


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Silent Night-
the Tokyo Sky Tree
luminescent green


Angelee Deodhar
Winter 2013



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5/15/2012

Poetry and Food

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Food and Poetry


. Haiku Sweets (haika ) .


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Waka 和歌 Japanese waka poems

. Cherry blossoms in Kyoto .



Arare cracker devoted to the poetry collection
. Hyakunin Isshu 百人一首 .
Ogurayama shunjuu おぐら山春秋 
Spring and Autumn at Mount Ogura


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4/20/2012

Michelin

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Michelin about Japan

Michelin has been active to rate restaurants in Tokyo.

CLICK for more photos


The tour guide Michelin awarded 191 stars to 150 restaurants in the Japanese capital, Tokyo, the most number of stars awarded in any city.
Paris so far had the most stars, 65.

Michelin and Tokyo Food


 List of some Tokyo Restaurants


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quote December 2007

Michelin Tokyo takes Japan by storm
Guide sells out nationwide, but critics question rating system's validity

By REIJI YOSHIDA
Japan Times

A new book released last month has created a sensation and is selling like hotcakes in Japan, with bookstores being picked clean of the initial stock of 120,000 copies in only three days.

Michelin guides Director Jean-Luc Naret speaks about the famous restaurant guide during a recent interview in Tokyo's Iidabashi district. YOSHIAKI MIURA PHOTO

Its publisher printed an additional 150,000 copies and put them on shelves on Dec. 12, but they also quickly disappeared from bookstores up and down the country.
The book in question is the Japanese version of Michelin Tokyo 2008, the first Asian edition of the prestigious gastronomic guidebook.

Kazumi Kawashima, an employee at Yaesu Book Center near Tokyo Station, said the only book she can remember selling like this was the "Harry Potter" series.

"We started selling the book at 8 a.m. (on Nov. 22) outside the store — two hours before the store itself opened. We ran out of our stock before noon the same day," Kawashima said.

..... But what has surprised people the most is perhaps not the book's impressive sales, but the fact that all of the 150 restaurants listed in Michelin Tokyo carry at least one prestigious star.

..... That means Tokyo is now considered the world leader in terms of the sheer number of Michelin stars awarded.

..... Before launching the Tokyo project, Naret visited other Asian cities, including Hong Kong and Singapore. He said he was particularly impressed with Japanese people's passion for food and the quality of restaurants in Japan.

At a reception party to celebrate the publication of the book last month, he kiddingly urged reporters to buy a copy immediately because, he joked, all the copies would soon be gone from bookstores.

 source: Japan Times . Dec. 29, 2007


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Critics dispute Michelin regard for Tokyo food

By ERIC TALMADGE,
Associated Press Writer
Mon Aug 25, 2008


TOKYO - Paris might still be good if you've got a big wad of cash and want the best of the best. But Tokyo is really where it's at food-wise, at least according to the French people who keep track of these things.

When the venerable Michelin guide came out with its first Tokyo edition, it was so full of praise that it almost read like a press release for the Japan Restaurant Association. Its conclusion — Tokyo is the culinary capital of the world.

But is it, really?

Here's a Michelin morsel:

"Tokyo is a shining star in the world of cuisine," Michelin Guides Director Jean-Luc Naret said shortly after its Tokyo edition came out last November. "We found the city's restaurants to be excellent, featuring the best ingredients, culinary talents and a tradition passed on from generation to generation and refined by today's chefs."

Michelin's Tokyo guide awarded a whopping 191 stars to 150 restaurants in the Japanese capital, the most number of stars awarded in any city. Previously, Paris had the most stars, at 65. Eight restaurants in Tokyo — three French, two sushi bars and three traditional Japanese — received Michelin's highest three-star rating.

Paris can still claim to have the most top-rated restaurants — with 10. New York has just three.

The announcement was a godsend for Japan, which has been trying for years to put a shine on a tourist industry muted by the country's notoriously high prices and a powerful lineup of rival attractions just beyond its shores — such as the fabled shopping districts of Hong Kong, the beaches of Thailand, and the rapid rise of Shanghai as one of Asia's most interesting cityscapes.

Treated as front-page news and trumpeted on TV broadcasts, Michelin's glowing review was also seen as confirmation of the value of something that the Japanese have long seen as a source of national pride — their mastery of sushi, raw fish and all the other famously subtle elements of Japan's indigenous cuisine.

The guide sold 120,000 copies in just three days.

It was a hard-won honor for Tokyo.

A team of three undercover European and two Japanese inspectors spent a year and a half visiting 1,500 of Tokyo's estimated 160,000 restaurants to decide on the ratings, according to Michelin. The guidebook series rates restaurants on excellence in cooking, service, decor and upkeep.

But the Michelin hype has met with a great deal of skepticism — especially from other reviewers.

One particularly controversial pick was a sushi bar that — though on just about everybody's list for quality — is located in a basement, is cramped even by Tokyo standards and shares its restroom with other tenants. Ambiance, it would seem, is pretty subjective.

Some of Michelin's competitors say there are bigger problems with Michelin's whole premise. Why, for example, are so many French restaurants at the top of the Tokyo list? Why no Chinese, no Italian, no palaces of tofu?

"There are a lot of great cities in the world," Tim Zagat, founder of the Zagat guides, told The Associated Press. "Tokyo is an exciting place to eat. But Paris is an exciting place to eat. So is Rome."

The question, he says, is whether Tokyo is better.

"I don't think it is helpful to make that kind of statement," Zagat said. "Tokyo has the best Japanese food in the world. But it is nowhere near as diverse as other cities."

There is no doubt Tokyo — the land of the Iron Chef — has an exceptionally well-developed restaurant scene.

Zagat said the reasons are many — not least of which being the fact that the Japanese like good food, they have money to spend on it and their native cuisine is highly refined and places a very strong emphasis on tradition, freshness and the natural balance of ingredients.

Another reason, however, is that dining in is often not an option, especially for business-related meals. Homes continue to be relatively small and cramped, and getting there often involves a long commute for all. Thus, restaurants have thrived, from the neighborhood bar to the whole areas of town that are built around after-hours entertaining.

Yasuo Terui, the editor of "Tokyo Ii Mise, Umai Mise (Tokyo Good Restaurant, Delicious Restaurant)" whose first edition went on sale in 1967, was also critical of Michelin, saying that it only scratched the surface of what there is to be had in Tokyo.

"I don't think Michelin knows anything about Japan," he said.

But he basically agreed with the rating of Tokyo as the world's best place to eat.

"I think we can call it the culinary capital of the world," he said. "If you try any cuisine, it's hard to go wrong in Tokyo."

Terui said part of the secret of Tokyo's success is that many of emerging Japanese chefs have studied Italian, French, Chinese and other international cuisines all over the world, and are trying to be creative by adding to them a fusion of Japanese tradition.

He added, however, that guides have limitations — some good places are bound to be overlooked.

"You can find many places that are not publicized at all but are still good, especially when you are traveling rural Europe," he said. "I'm sure it's similar in Japan, too."

___

AP writer Mari Yamaguchi contributed to this report.

___

If You Go...

According to the Michelin Guides, Tokyo is the world's capital of good food. Of course, not everybody agrees. But when the lists come out, there are a few places that just seem to please everybody. Here are three that got Michelin's highest ranking, three stars, and also tend to get the nod in other lists as well. Dinner prices can range from $180-$280.

L'OSIER:
7-5-5 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, phone 011-81-3-3571-6050, http://www.shiseido.co.jp/e/losier/htmlver/index.htm
French food in Tokyo's swanky Ginza shopping and nightlife area under French chef Bruno Menard. Claims to be "More French than France." Ambiance is a mix of Japonism, art deco and 20th century French painters.

HAMADAYA:
3-13-5 Ningyo-cho, Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, phone 011-81-3-3661-5940, http://www.hamadaya.info/pc/english
Very Japanese. Meals may or may not include the services of geisha, depending on what kind of a dining experience the customer is looking for. Food is elegant classical Japanese cuisine, with a strong emphasis on seasonal elements, the finest ingredients and service on beautiful dishes. Location is an old geisha establishment by the Nihon Bridge, an older Tokyo neighborhood.

SUKIYABASHI JIRO:
4-2-15 Ginza Chuo-ku, Tokyo, near JR Yurakucho Station/Ginza Station, phone 011-81-3-3535-3600.
Located near a subway exit in the basement of an office building, this place is the stuff of sushi legend. Chef Jiro Ono is a national treasure. The restaurant is tiny, seating only about 20 people at its counter and tables. Chefs make their way each day to the huge Tsukiji fish market, a short walk away, to find the best and freshest.

source: news.yahoo.com
By ERIC TALMADGE, Associated Press Writer



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October 2009

Michelin Guide Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe
Keihanshin (京阪神)


October 13, 2009

Michelin Gives 3 Stars to 7 Kyoto, Osaka Restaurants

The Michelin Guide said it gave top billing to six traditional restaurants in Japan’s ancient capital of Kyoto and one French eatery in Osaka in its debut coverage of the cities that pays homage to local cuisine.

The best-possible three-star rating was awarded to Kyoto outlets such as Chihana, a six-decade-old, family-run restaurant in the geisha district of Gion; Osaka’s Hajime, which opened last year and serves French food under owner-chef, Hajime Yoneda, won the title in Japan’s second-biggest business center. Kyoto won a combined 110 stars, shared among 85 restaurants and traditional hotels, known as “ryokans,” while Osaka had 79 stars among 65 restaurants, Michelin said in a statement.

“We are shocked,” said Yoshihiro Murata, owner of Kyoto- based Kikunoi, one of six restaurants awarded three stars. “We didn’t even know the judges had come by and had been focused on serving to satisfy our customers.”

The Kyoto-Osaka guide is Michelin’s second in Japan after the Tokyo edition, first released in November 2007 to media controversy over the French company’s perceived leaning toward foreign cuisines. Michelin has repeatedly denied that bias and defended its understanding of local food.

Kyoto Restaurants With Three Michelin Stars

Chihana (Traditional Japanese):
584 Minamigawa, Gionmachi, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, Japan.
Tel:+81-75-561-2741; http://kyotochihana.com/e/

Hyo-tei (Traditional Japanese):
35 Nanzen-ji Kusakawa-cho Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan.
Tel: +81-75-771-4116; http://hyotei.co.jp/

Kikunoi Honten (Traditional Japanese):
459 Shimo Kawaramachi, Yasaka Torii Mae, Shimo Kawara dori,
Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, Japan.
Tel: +81-75-561-0015; http://kikunoi.jp/store/

Kitcho Arashiyama Honten (Traditional Japanese):
58, Susukinobaba, SagaTenryuji, Ukyo, Kyoto, Japan
Tel: +81-75-881-1101;
http://www.kitcho.com/kyoto/english/about/index.html

Mizai (Traditional Japanese):
Maruyama park Higashiyama-ku Kyoto,Japan
Tel: +81-75-551-3310; http://www.mizai.net/annai.html

Tsuruya (Traditional Japanese):
30, Okazakihigashi-Tennocho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan
Tel: +81-75-761-0171; http://www.kyoto-tsuruya.co.jp/kyoto.html

Osaka Restaurants With Three Michelin Stars

Hajime (French):
1-9-11,Edohori,Nishi-ku, Osaka, Japan
Tel: +81-6-6447-6688; http://www.hajime-artistes.com/

source : www.bloomberg.com


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Friday, April 20, 2012

quote
Hokkaido's diverse cuisine recognized by Michelin

Hiroshi Nakamichi dreamed of becoming a great one-star restaurateur when he went to Lyon, France, with a Michelin guide in his hands, to work at Michelin-starred restaurants. More than 30 years later, his dream came more than true when his "bible" gave three stars to his Sapporo-based French restaurant Molière.

"I never thought three stars was possible," says owner-chef Nakamichi, 60.



The "Michelin Guide Hokkaido 2012,"
which hit store shelves today, brought tears and cheers to 69 restaurants and hotels awarded with the treasured Michelin stars. This is the first time Michelin has put Hokkaido on its reputable gastronomic map; the guide introduces 699 restaurants and hotels in the region.

The highest honor of three Michelin stars went to Japanese restaurants Sushi Tanabe and Nukumi, as well as to Nakamichi's Molière, all in the city of Sapporo. Michel Bras Toya Japon, which offers French cuisine in the town of Toyako, is also listed among the three-starred restaurants, all of which Michelin designates as "worth a special journey."

Nakamichi says Michelin's Hokkaido guide gave credit to restaurants that showcase Hokkaido's rich and diverse harvest.

"I thought Michelin made a bold decision by awarding stars to my restaurant, which serves very authentic French cuisine, leaving not so much room for creativity — even though creativity is something Michelin valued in its Tokyo guide," says Nakamichi.
Nakamichi's observation might be true.

After Michelin's eight famously anonymous food connoisseurs journeyed around Japan's largest chunk of land to wine and dine at 1,500 restaurants and hotels, they decided that Hokkaido offers too wide a variety of culinary experiences to apply their usual tack. In order to the embrace the gastronomic diversity, Michelin's inspectors took unusual steps.

For the first time in a Japanese Michelin restaurants and hotels guide, they added a Bib Gourmands selection, introducing 121 nonstar restaurants that offer reasonable gourmet experiences for under ¥3,500. They also listed 288 restaurants featuring local cuisine such as the mutton barbecue jingisukan, a dish named after Genghis Khan, whose Mongolian soldiers were said to have grilled mutton on their own helmets.

The biggest surprise came when Michelin recognized 19 ramen eateries, its first inclusion of the noodle dish in Michelin's five-year history in Japan.

"I did not even really know what the Michelin Guide was about," says Machimi Terui, 43, the owner-chef of ramen noodle shop Gentle-men in the town of Kyowa. The restaurant's name is a play on words, since men is Japanese for "noodle."

Hokkaido Prefecture has high hopes that the Michelin guide will bolster its already-robust tourism industry, especially in attracting visitors from outside of Japan. But how much the guide will contribute has yet to be tested, as the Hokkaido edition, unlike the guides for the Kanto and Kansai areas, is published in Japanese only. The prefecture says it will put an English translation on its official tourism website by summer.
source : www.japantimes.co.jp


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Related words

***** Restaurants in Japan


***** WASHOKU : General Information and References

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3/29/2012

- Tokyo News -

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quote
Helping Tokyo menus to get found in translation

One of the longtime complaints of English-speaking foreigners visiting restaurants in Japan is that few of them offer menus in English. Well, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government is doing what it can to help eateries translate their menus into English and other languages, to help them become more hospitable to expats and tourists.



A website run by the metropolitan government's tourism division, named Restaurants with Multilingual Menus (www.menu-tokyo.jp/menu), lists 263 restaurants with menus in English, Korean, traditional and simplified Chinese, German and French. While this is far from comprehensive, you can search for eateries by area (such as Ginza, Tsukiji and Roppongi), type of cuisine (like sushi, noodles, eel and monja pan-fried snacks) and by language.

Takashi Kitajima, director of the tourism division at the metro government, says his office started offering translation assistance to restaurants in the capital in 2002, starting from such basics as how to explain the difference between nigiri (hand-formed sushi) and makimono (rolled sushi).

"We want to make the dining experience in Tokyo more enjoyable for foreigners," says Kitajima. "The truth is, not many restaurants in Tokyo have menus in languages other than Japanese, and not many restaurants welcome foreign visitors. It's not that they don't want business from foreigners. They just don't know what to do."

Thus the metro government has held numerous workshops around Tokyo over the years, through which thousands of establishments have received computer-based tutorials on how to create multilingual menus, Kitajima says.

Hidenori Kiba, owner of Erika, a German restaurant in Ikebukuro, who attended one of the workshops this month, says he found the program very helpful. While his restaurant has a Polish employee who speaks English and German, he hopes that the restaurant's now-fully-multilingual menu will also make it easier for Chinese and Korean customers to stop by.

On the other hand, three other Japanese-cuisine restaurants contacted by The Japan Times this week were surprisingly reluctant to share their views, saying bluntly that they were either busy serving customers or that whomever in charge was not available.

Kitajima acknowledges that more work needs to be done for foreigners to feel comfortable visiting restaurants in Tokyo, saying that the key is to "nurture a welcoming attitude."

He adds that he hopes to expand the program, noting that the somewhat shabby current website will soon be merged with another tourism-information portal run by the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau, and will go through a major revamp around June. Hopefully by then the metro government can increase the number of restaurants, fix the site's many dead links and make it more visible through searches. But as our quick phone calls to the eateries suggest, what's missing in the menus of many restaurants in Tokyo is probably not just foreign languages, but an all-embracing marketing mentality and a true sense of hospitality.

TOMOKO OTAKE
source : Japan Times




2011 Tokyo Ramen Show
“B-rank gourmet.”
source : Tokyo Metropolitan Gevernment


Justin ist auf seiner ersten Besichtigungsreise in Tokio. Andrew führt ihn auf der Tokyo Ramen Show 2011 (Komazawa-Park) herum.
„B-Klasse-Delikatessen“ (jap: B-Klasse-Gourmet)
source : Tokyo Metropolitan Gevernment - Deutsch


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. B Grade Gourmet .

. Dishes from Tokyo 東京 .


. WASHOKU - GENERAL INFORMATION .

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3/09/2012

Tohoku Food

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Regional Food from Tohoku


. The Food Culture of Tohoku .


including




"Kibo: Brimming with Hope" 希望
Elizabeth Andoh



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- Regionale landwirtschaftliche Produkte aus Tohoku -

Obwohl die Region Tohoku zu großen Teilen aus Gebirgen besteht, spielt sie eine wichtige Rolle für die Lebensmittelversorgung Japans. Alle Flächen, die sich in dem harten Klima für den Anbau von landwirtschaftlichen Erzeugnissen eignen, werden entsprechend genutzt. So ist Tohoku bekannt für den Anbau von Äpfeln, Reis, Trauben, Pfirsichen, Melonen, Mais und auch Tabak. Auch Milchprodukte werden hier produziert und in ganz Japan vertrieben.

Nur zwölf Kilometer nordwestlich der Stadt Morioka liegt ein landwirtschaftliches Unternehmen, das in ganz Japan bekannt ist. Die großen Weiden dieser Farm bieten mit dem Berg Iwate (2041 m) als Hintergrund ein Bild ländlichen Friedens und natürlicher Landwirtschaft. Die Erfolgsgeschichte begann im Jahr 1891, als Inoue Masaru hier mit der Zucht von Holstein-, Ayrshire- und Brown-Swiss-Kühen begann. Seinem Beispiel folgten bald zwei weitere Landwirte aus der Gegend. Mit Beginn des 20. Jahrhundert befassten sich die Bauern auch mit der Pferdezucht, lange bevor in den frühen 1960er-Jahren die Hühnerzucht folgte. Einen Namen für ihr gemeinsames Unternehmen hatten die drei Bauern bereits 1938 gefunden: KOIWAI; er besteht aus den Initialen der drei Gründer.
Neun der erhaltenen historischen Gebäude wurden Ende der 1960er-Jahre zu wichtigen nationalen Kulturdenkmalen ernannt. Inzwischen werden die Milch- und Eierprodukte dieser Farm in allen Supermärkten Japans verkauft.

Die Halbinsel Tsugaru und die Ebenen vor dem Berg Iwaki (1625 m) sind den Apfelplantagen gewidmet. Die jungen Äpfel werden liebevoll in zwei Papiertaschen eingetütet, um sie vor Insekten zu schützen. Kurz vor der Ernte wird zunächst die äußere Tasche, zwei Wochen später die innere abgenommen, damit der Apfel kurz vor dem Ernten noch etwas natürliches Sonnenlicht bekommt. Der größte Feind der Apfelbauern sind die Herbststürme, oft "Apfel-Taifun" genannt, gegen die die Bauern jedoch machtlos sind.

Durch einen Film erlangten die Äpfel von Tsugaru direkt nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg besondere Berühmtheit. Die damals 14-jährige Misora Hibari (1937–1989) spielte hierin »Das Mädchen von der Apfelplantage« und brachte durch ihre kecken Lieder über die Äpfel von Tsugaru etwas Licht und Freude in die triste Nachkriegszeit.

In dem trockengelegten Gebiet des ehemaligen Sees Hachirogata, das mit vier Metern unter dem Meeresspiegel die tiefstgelegene Gegend Japans ist, werden Reis, Melonen, Sojabohnen, Weizen und Trauben angebaut. Das Gebiet liegt nur 20 km nördlich der Stadt Akita und viele Stadtbewohner fahren am Wochenende hierher, um einen Ausflug ins Grüne mit dem Einkauf von frischem Obst und Gemüse zu verknüpfen.


.................................................................................


. Japan after the BIG earthquake March 11, 2011 .

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[ . BACK to DARUMA MUSEUM TOP . ]
[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]

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2/12/2012

Takana mustard greens

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Mustard greens, Senfkraut (takana)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Summer
***** Category: Plant


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Explanation

takana 高菜 mustard greens, Senfkraut
Leaf mustard, Indian mustard, Rai, Brown mustard, wild mustard
Brassica juncea var. integlifolia




quote
Young tender leaves of mustard greens are used in salads or mixed with other salad greens. Older leaves with stems may be eaten fresh, canned or frozen, for potherbs, and to a limited extent in salads. Mustard greens are often cooked with ham or salt pork, and may be used in soups and stews. Although widely and extensively grown as a vegetable, it is being grown more for its seeds which yield an essential oil and condiment. Easier to grow than Black Mustard (B. nigra), it has nearly replaced it in brown mustard preparations since 1945.

Mustard Oil is one of the major edible oils in India, the fixed oil content of rai varying between 28.6% and 45.7%. Oil is also used for hair oil, lubricants and, in Russia, as a substitute for olive oil. Adding 1.1–2.2% mustard oil to fresh apple cider retards fermentation.
Seed residue is used as cattle feed and in fertilizers.

Folk Medicine
Reported to be anodyne, apertif, diuretic, emetic, rubefacient, and stimulant, Indian Mustard is a folk remedy for arthritis, footache, lumbago, and rheumatism (Duke and Wain 1981).
Seed used for tumors in China.
Root used as a galactagogue in Africa. Sun-dried leaf and flower are smoked in Tanganyika to "get in touch with the spirits."
Ingestion may impart a body odor repellent to mosquitoes (Burkill, 1966). Believed to be aperient and tonic, the volatile oil is used as a counterirritant and stimulant.
In Java the plant is used as an antisyphilitic emmenagogue. Leaves applied to the forehead are said to relieve headache (Burkill, 1966).
In Korea, the seeds are used for abscesses, colds, lumbago, rheumatism, and stomach disorders. Chinese eat the leaves in soups for bladder, inflammation or hemorrhage. Mustard oil is used for skin eruptions and ulcers (Perry, 1980).
source : www.hort.purdue.edu

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Kagawa

. hyakka 万葉(ひゃっか)"onethousand leaves".

This is a special green leaf vegetable of Kagawa prefecture,the naming is of Western Sanuki. It is quite bitter and needs to be soaked in water over night to get rid of the bitterness (akunuku). It can then be prepared like hakusai or komatsuna leaves.
In Takamatsu, it is called "manba". takana, oona 高菜 (大からし菜)
ひゃっかのドレッシングあえ hyakka no doresshingu ae
dressing with mustard green


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Fukuoka



. takana raisu 高菜ライス fried rice with takana .


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Mie

. nuberizushi, nuberi sushi めばり寿司
sushi with takana leafy vegetable .

a form of takanazushi. 高菜 takana leaves are marinated in nibaizu or sanbaizu vinegar and then the warm leaf wrapped around sushi rice.

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Nara

. meharizushi, mehari sushi めはり寿司
rice wrapped in leaves .


... toobazushi, tooba sushi とう菜寿司
From the Back Yoshino area 奥吉野, made from wild takana, 高菜, (mana マナ, harumana 春真菜) wrapped around hot cooked rice. It is the first harbinger of spring in Yoshino. Woodworkers and forest workers used it as a bento lunch paket.
The names comes from a wordplay, with "opeinig your eyes wide when seeing this huge lunch paket" "me o miharu hodo okii".
Also eaten in Mie and Wakayama prefecture.

. takanazushi, takana sushi 高菜ずし sushi from takana leaves .
Wakayama


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Worldwide use

Punjab, India

kigo for winter

female fingers
washing mustard greens
in hot water


Charan Gill

. INDIA SAIJIKI ..... (WKD - INDIA) .




quote
Beautiful mustard green (“Sarson”) fields
adorn the Indian state of Punjab (my homeland!). During the Sarson season, Punjabis will eat a puree of mustard greens and spinach literally every day for lunch.
These greens have a deliciously addictive bitter taste that is insanely good for you.
This particular recipe is inspired by my love of Chinese stir-fried greens with garlic :
• Sauteed mustard greens in garlic, spiced with fennel, cumin and coriander seeds
source : kasaindian.com


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Things found on the way



In parts of Northern Russia they are planted in summer to fight the weeds in the fields.

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HAIKU and SENRYU


亡き父の耳たぶ揺るる高菜畑 
naki chichi no mimitabu yururu takanabata

the earlobe
of my dead father shakes -
field of mustard greens


Ikegami 池上樵人

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火山灰洗ひ流して高菜漬く
kazanbai arai-nagashite takana tsuku

I wash off
all the volcanic ash -
pickling mustard leaves


Yoshino Michiko 吉野みち子



Takanazuke 高菜漬 pickled mustard greens are a well-liked side-dish in Western Japan.
Many housewifes still do their own mix.


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Related words




***** . Nanohana 菜の花 rape seed flowers
Sometimes called mustard flowers.
Rapeseed (Brassica napus)

***** . Mustard plant (karashina 芥菜).
and more about MUSTARD !


. VEGETABLE SAIJIKI .

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2/09/2012

Oishi hanashi Okayama

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Oishii hanashi Okayama
おいしいおはなし 岡山


An event from February to March 13, 2012

本に出てくる食べものって、とびきりおいしそう!

Local coffeshops and restaurants have prepared special food, each one with respect to a children's book where the dish is mentioned.

There are 12 restaurants participating, so mothers with children can walk their way through picture books.

Take a look at the cafes and books and the dishes here

source : www.city.okayama.jp/bungaku






Okayama Bungaku Festival


おかやま文学フェスティバル2012
おいしいおはなし~本の世界の素敵なひと皿~



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HAIKU and SENRYU


はらぺこあおむし




a hungry worm
finds a sweet bite -
Okayama spring





Animal Tales, issued 10 January 2006, was the first set of commemorative stamps issued by the Royal Mail in Great Britain in 2006.


quote
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
is a children's picture book designed, illustrated and written by Eric Carle, first published by the World Publishing Company in 1969, later published by Penguin Putnam.

The book follows a caterpillar as it eats its way through a wide variety of foodstuffs before pupating and emerging as a butterfly. The winner of many children's literature awards and a major graphic design award, it has sold 30 million copies worldwide.

It features distinctive collage illustrations (Carle's third book, and a new style at the time), 'eaten' holes in the pages and simple text with educational themes – counting, the days of the week, foods, and a butterfly's life stages. There have been a large number of related books and other products, including educational tools, created in connection to the book.

Whilst the caterpillar's diet is fictional, rather than scientifically accurate, The Very Hungry Caterpillar introduces concepts of Lepidoptera life stages where transformations take place including the ultimate metamorphosis from 'hungry caterpillar' to 'beautiful butterfly', and the book has been endorsed by the Royal Entomological Society.
It has been described as "one of the greatest childhood classics of all time."

Synopsis
The book starts with an egg on a leaf, in the light of the moon.
The sun comes up and a tiny caterpillar emerges and looks for food.
On consecutive days, the caterpillar eats through a single red apple, two (green) pears, three (purple) plums, four strawberries, and five oranges, which takes us from Monday to Friday.
Saturday: the caterpillar eats its way through many different foods: chocolate cake, ice-cream, a pickle, Swiss cheese, salami, a lollipop, cherry pie, a sausage, a cupcake, and a slice of watermelon. The caterpillar gets stomach ache as a result of eating all this food.
Sunday: the caterpillar eats through a single leaf, which makes the caterpillar feel better.
The now big caterpillar forms a cocoon (since the titular character is not a moth larva, this is poetic license).
On the final pages the caterpillar is now a 'beautiful' butterfly.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !



Die kleine Raupe Nimmersatt

ist ein Bilderbuch des US-Kinderbuchautors und -Illustrators Eric Carle, das im Jahr 1969 erschien.
© More in the German WIKIPEDIA !


Die kleine Raupe Nimmersatt
frisst sich seit nunmehr 40 Jahren durch die Kinderzimmer dieser Welt. Ihr Schöpfer Eric Carle liest den Kinderbuch-Klassiker vor.
"Und satt war sie noch immer nicht..."
LISTEN here
source : www.youtube.com



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Related words

***** WASHOKU - OKAYAMA



. Green Caterpillar, aomushi 青虫 .
leaf-eating caterpiller, namushi 菜虫
picking leaf-caterpillars 菜虫取る

kigo for all autumn


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2/08/2012

Mindful Eating

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Mindful eating

This buzzword is suddenly sprouting in the Japanese media.




quote
Mindful Eating as Food for Thought
TRY this:
place a forkful of food in your mouth. It doesn’t matter what the food is, but make it something you love — let’s say it’s that first nibble from three hot, fragrant, perfectly cooked ravioli.

Now comes the hard part. Put the fork down. This could be a lot more challenging than you imagine, because that first bite was very good and another immediately beckons. You’re hungry.

Today’s experiment in eating, however, involves becoming aware of that reflexive urge to plow through your meal like Cookie Monster on a shortbread bender. Resist it. Leave the fork on the table. Chew slowly. Stop talking. Tune in to the texture of the pasta, the flavor of the cheese, the bright color of the sauce in the bowl, the aroma of the rising steam.

Continue this way throughout the course of a meal, and you’ll experience the third-eye-opening pleasures and frustrations of a practice known as mindful eating.

Eat more HERE
source : www.nytimes.com


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Mindfulness teachings from
Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr. Lilian Cheung


マインドフル イーティング
mindful eating(意識して食べる, 賢く食べる)
mindless eating(無意識に食べる)

- more reference -


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HAIKU and SENRYU




source : www.meditation-tips.org



mindful eating -
the Zen cook gets
an extra bite


. Gabi Greve .



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contribution from Larry
Circumstances arose one day which delayed preparation of the dinner of a Soto Zen master, Fugai [I don't know if this is Fuugai Ekun (ca. 1568-1654?) or Fuugai Hoonko (1779-1847)], and his followers. In haste the cook went to the garden with his curved knife and cut off the tops of green vegetables, chopping them together, and made soup, unaware that in his haste he had included a part of a snake in the vegetables.

The followers of Fugai thought they had never tasted such good soup. But when the master himself found the snakes head in his bowl, he summoned the cook.
"What is this?" he demanded, holding up the head of the snake.

"Oh, thank you master," replied the cook, taking the morsel and eating it quickly.

--from Zen Flesh, Zen Bones:
A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings,
compiled by Paul Reps

source : Zen Koans Database



'mindful eating' (headnote)

"Don't chew with your mouth open!"
"Don't talk with your mouth full!"
--Buddha's mom too, I bet!


or maybe she said,

"Don't chew with your mouth full!"
"Don't talk with your mouth open!"




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Related words

. Vegetarian Temple Food
(shoojin ryoori 精進料理) .


. Tenzo 典座 the Zen Cook .


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2/06/2012

Eel catch problems

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Eel catch problems

Prices soar as eel catch continues downtrend


Prices for young eel have surged to their highest amid a string of extremely poor catches, and the government is looking for countermeasures, it was learned Monday.

Fishermen mainly go after wild glass eel caught at the headwaters of rivers so they can produce farm-raised eel to satisfy high summer demand for "unagi."

This is because the complete cycle for artificially breeding eel fry from eggs has not entered practical use yet. But catches for glass have plunged over 95 percent since peaking in 1963.

The eel-fishing season has suffered an unprecedented third consecutive year of bad hauls. The 2009 haul for glass eel was believed to be 24.7 tons, but that plunged to 9.2 tons in 2010 and 9.5 tons in 2011, according to the Fisheries Agency.

The catch so far this year has fallen to less than half of what it was in the previous year for the same time period, and this trend appears prevalent in almost all of the major fishing grounds in western Japan, agency and industry sources said.

Transaction prices for freshwater glass eel have tripled from last year's nationwide average of about ¥850,000 per kg, to ¥2 million to ¥2.5 million this year — about 10 times the ¥250,000 quoted in 2004.

Fisheries experts have voiced concern about the lack of regulations against overfishing. But agency officials said it is difficult to take effective measures because they do not know what is behind the drop in catches.

Ninety-nine percent of the unagi sold are farm-raised. Experts have attributed the drastic decline of the wild Japanese eel catch, for both glass and mature eel, in recent years to overfishing as well as dam construction and other environmental damage to rivers.

source : Japan Times, February 2012



. WKD : Eel (unagi 鰻) .


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Related words

***** WASHOKU : General Information

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Wasara dishes

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Wasara dishes






ワインカップ wine cup
コーヒーカップ coffee cup
角皿・丸皿 plates and many more


The organic forms that can be accepted comfortably and the texture that gives a handcrafted feel are functional beauty rooted in the Japanese custom of holding dishes as we eat

source : www.wasara.jp



wasara
is a japanese company making disposable dishes from paper. these paper dishes are made from reed pulp and sugar cane waste making them a more eco-friendly option than standard paper plates.
separating themselves further from the average disposable dishes, wasara dishes boast a unique simplicity that is thoroughly japanese. the elegant shapes are subtle and specifically designed for holding in your hands, for events like cocktail parties.
source : www.designboom.com



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Things found on the way



'siwa' paper products by naoto fukasawa for onao

source : www.designboom.com


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Related words

***** - Tableware -

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