Tofugu.com – Wonky Japanese Language and Culture

お久しぶりです!『ohisashiburidesu』It’s been a while!  Per request, Japan [Off The Beaten Track] is going to begin again strong with Hokkaido 北海道, the number one place in Japan where people take adventuring very seriously!  This northern island is rugged and can be thought of as Japan’s Wild Wild North.  People come from all over the world to take part in exploring Japan’s jewel of nature and home of the indigenous people called the Ainu.  This article aims to give you a starting point to getting off the beaten track, but Hokkaido is so big and has so many opportunities for adventures, you’ll have to go there yourself to make your own way on the “north sea road.”  Like in the Shikoku and Saitama posts, I’ll be giving you ideas for food, interesting dialects (in this case the Ainu language), frozen and thawed festivals, and most importantly ADVENTURES!!!  行きましょう！Let’s GO! Read more…

Not to be confused with Dasai-tama…

Some people in the Tokyo area claim that their slightly more rural neighbor is super lame by calling it 「ダ埼玉」 “Dasaitama,” (dasai「ださい」= lame) but I am here to tell you that Saitama Prefecture「埼玉県(さいたまけん)」kicks butt and if you need a break from being smashed into subway cars with a million Japanese salary men, go to Saitama, have an adventure, and get Off the Beaten Track.  Traveling in Shikoku might be a little TOO rural for some, but Saitama Prefecture has a great mix of rural, urban, and special local adventures to be had.  I’ll be covering a few of the basic necessities to have a good time in Saitama: local foods, dialects, festivals, and most importantly adventures! Read more…

Going to Japan is all about having adventures.  Be they accidental adventures, such as getting too drunk and passing out on the last train of the night and ending up in the middle of nowhere, or purposeful ones like hiking in the temple-ridden hills of Kyoto, you MUST find a way to go out, get lost, and off the beaten track.  Japan is less than the size of California, but because of its long rich history, every region has its own special claims to fame.  That means that there are TONS of adventures to be had outside the main tourist traps, and this is the first of a series of articles to get you on your way. Read more…

I know it’s a couple days late, but to usher in the new year, I thought I’d make some mochi soup and sing you a New Years song! Mochi soup (ozoni | お雑煮) is eaten mostly during the New Years, though apparently it used to be more of a Samurai-only cuisine, cooked up on the battlefield. The version I made would have to be for a pretty poor samurai, because all it consisted of was bonito soup-base, shoyu (soy sauce), and mochi. Wasn’t all that bad, though. Read more…

|||| |||||| || |||||| | | |||||||||| |||| |||||||||| | || ||||| ||| ||| ||||| || |||||| ||| || ||||||| |||| |||| |||| ||| ||| ||||| ||||| | ||||| | ||||||||| | |||| | |||| | ||| |||| ||||| |||| |||||| || |||||| | | |||||||||| |||| |||||||||| | || ||||| ||| ||| ||||| || |||||| ||| || ||||||| |||| |||| |||| ||| ||| ||||| ||||| | ||||| | ||||||||| | |||| | |||| | ||| |||| ||||||||| |||||| || |||||| | | |||||||||| |||| |||||||||| | || ||||| ||| ||| ||||| || |||||| ||| || ||||||| |||| |||| |||| ||| ||| ||||| ||||| | ||||| | ||||||||| | |||| | |||| | ||| |||| ||||| |||| |||||| || |||||| | | |||||||||| |||| |||||||||| | || ||||| ||| ||| ||||| || |||||| ||| || ||||||| |||| |||| |||| ||| ||| ||||| ||||| | ||||| | ||||||||| | |||| | |||| | ||| |||| ||||| |||| |||||| || |||||| | | |||||||||| |||| |||||||||| | || ||||| ||| ||| ||||| || |||||| ||| || ||||||| |||| |||| |||| ||| ||| ||||| ||||| | ||||| | ||||||||| | |||| | |||| | ||| |||| ||||| Read more…

I just came across this article (which we’ll talk about more below), which made me think… why are you so lazy!? Of course, I’m only talking to those of you who don’t know how to use chopsticks (or hashi, in Japanese). If you’re heading to Japan (or most Asian countries) you should probably get on that, or just use one of these horrible inventions down below. It’s like putting kids with minor learning disabilities into special classes to make things easier on them. Not so good in the long run. Read more…

The Japanese just can’t get enough of Obama. In this article (via Erin who found it via caitlinomara on Twitter), we get to see a ridiculous Obama Sushi platter. It doesn’t stop with his face, though, which is made from small shrimp and rice for the skin, black sesame seeds for the hair, and processed fish paste for the teeth (so that’s how he keeps his teeth so shiny white!). Let’s take a look at the final product, plus how all the little pieces were made. Read more…

Previously, we’ve covered Ronald McDonald, Colonel Sanders, Hello Kitty, and Mickey Mouse, but today we’re going to delve into food items being parodied. Things like the image above, which are just a little too sexy creepy to eat. Really, it looks like it should be called SM&M. Why do you think he’s showing his pinky like that? That’s the Japanese hand-symbol for boyfriend!

There’s a longstanding obsession and devotion to food in Japan, so it’s only natural that food gets some attention. Here we go! Read more…

Surprisingly (to us Americans, maybe), McDonalds all over the world has different menus to cater themselves to the locals. Even in Hawaii, you’ll find things like ramen, Portuguese Sausage / Eggs / Rice Plates, and taro pies. Japanese McDonalds, of course has it’s own quirks, not to mention special choices on the menu. Read more…

A year or two ago, Japanese square shaped watermelon were big in the news. Not only were they easier to ship, but they were more expensive too, and that catches anyone’s attention. Today, I read an article over at Megaijin, that talked about triangular shaped watermelon (even more expensive, but more difficult to ship, I imagine). This sparked my interest, so I decided to dive a little deeper. You’ll be amazed at the weird watermelon-related things I’ve come across! Read more…