Tofugu.com – Wonky Japanese Language and Culture

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…

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…

It’s New Year’s Eve (in my time zone, at least) and since I haven’t been super active here lately, I decided to make some e-nengajou (年賀状 or New Year’s postcards) for you guys. Most everybody in Japan sends out nengajou to their family, friends, and coworkers, and as long as they’re taken to the post office before December 25th, they all arrive on January 1st. Ours are a little early, but it’s the thought that counts, right? Make sure to click on the previews for the full size cards ↓

Read more…