Category: Culture

Japanese Bento Lunches Popular in the USA

Bento (弁当 bentō) is a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine. A traditional bento holds rice, fish or meat, with pickled or cooked vegetables, usually in a box-shaped container.

Lunch is a midday meal of varying size depending on the culture. Since lunch typically falls in the early-middle of the working day, it can either be eaten on a break from work, or as part of the workday.

Books Kinokuniya (紀伊國屋書店 Kinokuniya Shoten) is a Japanese bookstore chain operated by Kinokuniya Company Ltd. (株式会社紀伊國屋書店 Kabushiki-gaisha Kinokuniya Shoten), founded in 1927, with its first store located in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Since 2000, Kinokuniya in the US has capitalised on the growing popularity of Japanese TV / anime by stocking both English- and Japanese-language books / manga, as well as other Japanese TV / anime-related paraphernalia.

Aeon Ehomaki

Setsubun (節分) is the day before the beginning of spring in Japan. It is customary in Kansai area to eat uncut makizushi called ehō-maki (恵方巻, lit “lucky direction roll”), a type of futomaki (太巻, “thick, large or fat rolls”), in silence on Setsubun while facing the year’s lucky compass direction, determined by the zodiac symbol of that year. This custom started in Osaka, but in recent years eho-maki can be purchased at stores in the Kanto area and it is getting more recognized as a part of Setsubun tradition. Charts are published and occasionally packaged with uncut makizushi during February.


Ehōmaki (恵方巻, “lucky direction roll”) is a roll composed of 7 ingredients considered to be lucky. The typical ingredients include kanpyō, egg, eel, and shiitake mushrooms. Ehōmaki often include other ingredients too.

ÆON Co., Ltd. (イオン株式会社 Ion Kabushiki-gaisha), commonly written AEON Co., Ltd., is the holding company of Æon Group. It operates all the AEON Retail Stores (formerly known as JUSCO supermarkets) directly in Japan. ÆON is Japan’s single-largest shopping mall developer and operator.

Shiseido Olive Soap Bubbles

Shiseido Company, Limited (株式会社資生堂 Kabushiki-gaisha Shiseidō) is a major Japanese hair care and cosmetics producer. Founded in 1872, it celebrated its 140th year anniversary in 2012. It is the largest cosmetic firm in Japan and the fourth largest cosmetics company in the world.

In chemistry, soap is a salt of a fatty acid. Soaps are mainly used as surfactants for washing, bathing, and cleaning, but they are also used in textile spinning and are important components of lubricants.

Bath water in Japan is much hotter than what is usual in Central Europe. The temperature is usually well above 40°C.

Flatus (intestinal gas) is mostly produced as a byproduct of bacterial fermentation in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, especially the colon.