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.
The Shinkansen (新幹線, new main line), also known as the bullet train, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan operated by four Japan Railways Group companies. The popular English name bullet train is a literal translation of the Japanese term dangan ressha (弾丸列車), a nickname given to the project while it was initially being discussed in the 1930s.
The Tōhoku Shinkansen (東北新幹線) is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen rail line, connecting Tokyo with Aomori in Aomori Prefecture for a total length of 674 km, Japan’s longest Shinkansen line. [On] December 4, 2010 the extension from Hachinohe to Shin-Aomori opens.
Aomori (青森市, Aomori-shi) is the capital city of Aomori Prefecture, in the northern Tōhoku region of Japan. Aomori literally means blue forest. The name is generally considered to refer to a small forest on a hill which existed near the town.
Nigirizushi (握り寿司, lit. hand-formed sushi) consists of an oblong mound of sushi rice that the chef presses into a small rectangular box between the palms of the hands, usually with a bit of wasabi, and a topping draped over it. Unlike sashimi, which is almost always eaten with chopsticks, nigirizushi is traditionally eaten with the fingers, even in formal settings
Wasabi is often served with sushi or sashimi, usually accompanied with soy sauce.
Soy sauce is a condiment produced by fermenting soybeans with Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus soyae molds, along with water and salt. All varieties of soy sauce are salty, earthy, brownish liquids intended to season food while cooking or at the table. Soy sauce has a distinct basic taste called umami (旨味, literally “delicious taste”) in Japanese.
The Fuccons, known in Japan as Oh! Mikey (オー! マイキー Ō! Maikī), is a series of Japanese comedy sketches created by Yoshimasa Ishibashi featuring a family of Americans (“The Fuccons”) living in metropolitan Japan.
A traditional Japanese breakfast is based on rice, seafood, and fermented foods, which do not differ substantially from dishes eaten at other meals in Japanese cuisine. A typical Japanese restaurant breakfast presentation would be miso soup, rice with nori or other garnishes, nattō, rice porridge, grilled fish, raw egg, and a pickled vegetable.
(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)).
Suntory was one of the first Asian companies to specifically employ American celebrities to market their product. One of the most notable is Sammy Davis, Jr., who appeared in a series of memorable Suntory commercials in the early 1970s.
Samuel George “Sammy” Davis, Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American entertainer. Primarily a dancer and singer, Davis was a childhood vaudevillian, and became known for his performances on Broadway and in Las Vegas, as a recording artist, television and film star, and the only black member of Frank Sinatra’s “Rat Pack”. In the 1970s, he appeared in commercials in Japan for Suntory whiskey.
A blended whisky (or whiskey) is the product of blending different types of whiskies.
Cup Noodles is a brand of instant ramen noodle snack manufactured by Nissin, packaged in an XPS foam, hard plastic or paper cup. The product is known for being inexpensive and easy to prepare. Other brand names are used in specific countries, such as Cup Noodle in Japan.
Reiko Takagaki (高垣麗子)(born October 11, 1979 in Tokyo, Japan) is a fashion model and actress. She is married to Japanese speed skater former Hiroyasu Shimizu (清水宏保).
Asashōryū Akinori (朝青龍 明徳, born September 27, 1980, as Dolgorsürengiin Dagvadorj, Mongolian: Долгорсүрэнгийн Дагвадорж) is a former sumo wrestler from Ulan Bator, Mongolia. During the January 2010 tournament, a tabloid magazine claimed he punched his personal manager after getting drunk during a night out in downtown Nishiazabu [Minato Ward, Tokyo]. Subsequently, on February 4, 2010, he announced his decision to retire, after discussing the matter at a meeting with the Board of Directors of the Sumo Association.
Fanta has its origins in Germany, when a trading ban was placed on that nation by the Allies during World War II. The Coca-Cola company therefore was not able to import the syrup needed to produce Coca-Cola in Germany.
Pachinko (パチンコ) is a Japanese gaming device used for amusement and gambling. A pachinko machine resembles a vertical pinball machine, but with no flippers and a large number of relatively small balls. In Japan, gambling within the private industry is illegal, but pachinko parlors are tacitly tolerated by the Japanese authorities as “semi-gambling” and are not categorically considered as centers of illegal activity.
The Matrix is a 1999 American science fiction-action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski; starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving.
Bullet Time refers to a digitally enhanced simulation of variable speed photography used in films, broadcast advertisements and video games. It is characterized both by its extreme transformation of time and space.
Soba (そば or 蕎麦) is a type of thin Japanese noodle made from buckwheat flour. Chilled soba is often served on a sieve-like bamboo tray called a zaru, sometimes garnished with bits of dried nori seaweed, with a dipping sauce known as soba tsuyu on the side.
Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd. (第一三共株式会社, Daiichi Sankyō Kabushiki-kaisha) is a Japan-based major pharmaceutical company, which ranks number 22 in the world in sales.
The Tōkyū Den-en-toshi Line (東急田園都市線, Tōkyū Den’entoshi-sen) is a major commuter line operated by Tokyu Corporation and connecting south-western suburbs of Tokyo and neighbouring Kanagawa, with its western terminus of Chūō-Rinkan, to a major railway junction of western downtown Tokyo, Shibuya.
The term oshiya (押し屋) [English: railway station attendant] is derived from the verb “osu” (押す), meaning “push”, and the suffix “-ya” (屋), indicating “line of work.”
A rush hour or peak hour is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest.
