Encouraged by the commercial sector, the secular celebration of Christmas is popular in Japan, though Christmas is not a national holiday. Gifts are exchanged and children’s presents are left next to their pillow at night. Christmas parties are held on and around Christmas Day; the Japanese type of Christmas cake is often a white whipped cream cake with strawberries.
The most famous dessert made with shortcake is strawberry shortcake. Japanese-style strawberry shortcakes use a sponge cake base, and are a favorite Christmas or birthday cake in Japan.
[McDonald's] McFlurry is a vanilla ice cream dessert that has pieces of candy, fruit or cookies mixed into it.
(うなぎ) is the Japanese word for freshwater eels, especially the Japanese eel, Anguilla japonica. Unagi is often eaten during the hot summers in Japan. There is even a special day for eating unagi, the midsummer day of the Ox (doyo no ushi no hi).
Kabayaki (蒲焼) is a generic Japanese term for a dish of seafood which is filleted, boned and dipped in a sweet soy sauce-base sauce before broiled on a grill. In general, kabayaki refers to the dish made with unagi.
Hokka Hokka Tei (ほっかほっか亭) is a bento take-out chain with over 2,000 franchises and company-owned branches throughout Japan. Hokka Hokka Tei [was] the major brand name of Plenus Co., Ltd., which used to be engaged in office equipment sales before it changed industries to the food industry in 1980 [and then in 2008 split from Hokka Hokka Tei to form the HottoMotto bento chain in 2005.]
Taiko (太鼓) means “drum” in Japanese (etymologically “great” or “wide drum”). Outside Japan, the word is often used to refer to any of the various Japanese drums (和太鼓, wa-daiko, “Japanese drum”, in Japanese) and to the relatively recent art-form of ensemble taiko drumming (sometimes called more specifically, kumi-daiko (組太鼓)).
A Soapland (ソープランド, sōpurando) is a a type of brothel in Japan where male clients can engage in sexual activity with female prostitutes, although officially the clubs do business as places where the client is bathed. Soaplands began when explicit prostitution in Japan became illegal, as a simple form of bath where women washed men’s bodies. They were originally known as toruko-buro, meaning Turkish bath. Following a campaign by Turkish scholar Nusret Sancakli denouncing the use of this name for brothels, the new name “soapland” was the winning entry in a nationwide contest to rename them.
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A capsule hotel (カプセルホテル, kapuseru hoteru) is a hotel system of extremely dense occupancy. This style of hotel accommodation was developed in Japan and has not gained popularity outside of the country, although Western variants with larger accommodations and often private baths are being developed.
Akihabara (秋葉原, “Field of Autumn Leaves”), also known as Akihabara Electric Town (秋葉原電気街, Akihabara Denki Gai), is an area of Tokyo, Japan. It is located less than five minutes by rail from Tokyo Station. Akihabara is a major shopping area for electronic, computer, anime, and otaku goods, including new and used items.
Judo (柔道, jūdō), meaning “gentle way”, is a modern Japanese martial art (gendai budō) and combat sport, that originated in Japan in the late nineteenth century. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw one’s opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one’s opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an opponent to submit by joint locking the elbow or by applying a choke.
There are a variety of techniques recognized by Kodokan (講道館) judo (柔道) and other budo (武道).
Credit Saison Co., Ltd., commonly known as Credit Saison or simply Saison, is a Japanese financial services company affiliated to Mizuho Financial Group. Founded in 1946, Credit Saison is the 3rd largest credit card issuer with over 20 million cardholders in Japan, behind JCB and Visa Japan.
Physically [Takeru] Kobayashi has undergone drastic change from his earlier appearances on the competitive eating circuit (weighing in at a mere 110 pounds in his beginning competitions and then 144 pounds in later events.) This is due in large part to his more recent endeavors in weight training. By training with weights and working out, Kobayashi has increased his metabolism, which in turn has helped him to burn more calories. This training is used by Kobayashi to maintain his overall health as well as helping him to elude excess calories from being stored as fat. Kobayashi’s official Web site gives his height as 173 cm (5 ft 7 in) and his weight as 75 kg (165 lb), but in a June 29, 2006, entry on his blog, he says that his weight grew to over 196 pounds during 2006, still being under 10 percent body fat.
[Takeru] Kobayashi expands his stomach for a competition by eating larger and larger amounts of food, and then exercises to ensure that fat will not impede expansion of his stomach during a competition. According to a 2006 episode of MTV’s documentary series True Life, Kobayashi has a condition called gastroptosis, an abnormal downward displacement of the stomach. It plays a role in his eating ability because his stomach is able to expand below the rib cage unlike most people, allowing him to take in large portions of food.
Hot dogs are traditionally made from beef, pork, or a combination of those meats. Unlike many other sausages (which may be sold cooked or uncooked), hot dogs are always cooked before being offered commercially. Unless they have spoiled, hot dogs may be safely eaten without further cooking though they are usually warmed up before serving. Vegetarian hot dogs and sausages which are made completely from meat analogue are also widely available in most areas where hot dogs are popular.
The Beatles were the first rock group to perform [at the Nippon Budokan (日本武道館, Nippon Budōkan)] in a series of shows in June/July 1966; their appearances were met with suitable opposition who felt the appearance of a western pop group would defile the martial arts arena. By 1978, however, the arena gained worldwide fame when American artists Bob Dylan and Cheap Trick used the arena to record their concert albums, Bob Dylan at Budokan (1978) and At Budokan (1979), respectively.
The Beatles were an English rock band from Liverpool whose members were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are among the most commercially successful, and one of the most critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music. Their innovative music and cultural impact helped define the 1960s.
Assistant Language Teacher, often abbreviated to ALT, is a term that was created by the Japanese Ministry of Education at the time of the creation of the JET Programme as a translation of the term (外国語指導助手）”gaikokugo shido joshu” or literally “foreign language instruction assistant.” It is used primarily by the Japanese Ministry of Education, local Boards of Education (BOEs) and schools to refer to native language speakers who assist teaching languages in elementary, junior high and high schools in Japan.
The [Roppongi] area features numerous bars, nightclubs, restaurants, and other forms of entertainment including hostess clubs and cabarets. Among the Western expatriate community, it tends to be favoured by business people and financial workers as well as off-duty military.
Kyoto (京都市, Kyōto-shi) listen is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.
Traditionally, [geisha] began their training at a very young age. Although some girls were sold to geisha houses (“okiya”) as children, this was not common practice in reputable districts. Daughters of geisha were often brought up as geisha themselves, usually as the successor (“atotori” meaning heir) or daughter-role (“musume-bun”) to the okiya.
The practice of hanami is many centuries old. The custom is said to have started during the Nara Period (710–784) when the Chinese Tang Dynasty influenced Japan in many ways; one of which was the custom of enjoying flowers. Though it was ume blossoms that people admired in the beginning, by the Heian Period, sakura came to attract more attention. From then on, in tanka and haiku, “flowers” meant “sakura.”
Avoiding exposure to pollen is the best way to decrease allergic symptoms. Remain indoors in the morning and evening when outdoor pollen levels are highest. Wear face masks designed to filter out pollen if you must be outdoors.
