Eat in Tokyo: Tempura

Tempura(天ぷら) is a traditional Japanese dish. It is either filled with vegeable or meat or, preferably, prawns, and deep-fried to be served. It is usually served with shōyu(醤油, soya sauce), mirin(みりん, a kind of Japanese condiment with the traditional rice wine), etc.

It's a surprise that tempura was not originally a Japanese dish. It actually originates to visiting Portuguese in the 16th century. But tempura, slowly adapted itself to Japanese taste. By the late nineteenth century tempura was a popular fast food in Tokyo, sold everywhere. And today's modern tempura (made by deep-frying vegetables, fish and shellfish) is no longer regarded as a foreign food at all, but a completely part of the Japanese and Tokyo culture.

In Tokyo, Tempura restaurants are called tenpuraya(天ぷら屋, literally tempura house), ranging from fast food chains to very 5-star restaurants. Many restaurants offer tempura as part of a bentō (弁当, lunch box), and it is also a popular ingredient in take-away or convenience store bentō.

Walk in Tokyo: Ginza

Ginza (銀座, literally means "silver mint") is one of the largest shopping districts in Tokyo with long history. It is well known for its various department stores, boutiques, and restaurants. Most of the stores are similar with stores you would encounter in a modern western shopping district.

There's an Apple store here - the first ever opened outside the US. There is even a 4-storey Sony Building here, with a Sony Building, boasting with the brand's latest technology. For hotel, Mandarin Oriental is the best amongst the hotels in the area.

Talk in Tokyo: Greetings

Greetings are an important part in the life in Tokyo. Japanese, and Tokyo people are well-known in the world for their politeness.

In the morning, people greets each other by saying "ohayō gozaimasu"(お早う　御座います。) or just "ohayō(お早う。)" for the informal ones. As it gets to the noon, people say "konnichiwa(今日は。)", one of the most commonly known Japanese word, it is equivalent to the French word bonjour, meaning both hello and good afternoon. In the evening or at night, people say "Konbanwa(今晩は。)".

To express thankfulness, people use "arigatō gozaimazu(ありがと　御座います。)" for formal ones and "arigatō (ありがと。)" for the friendly ones. To say you're welcome, it's a bit more complicated, it's "iie, dō itashimashite(いいえ、どう　いたしまして。)". To say sorry or excuse me, you use "sumimasen (すみません。)". Finally, to say bye, you say "sayōnara(さようなら。)". That's all for today. Enjoy Tokyo!

Eat in Tokyo: Sashimi

Welcome to my new blog, Tokyo Culture, in this blog you can find everything about Japanese and Tokyo culture. This article is about the food in Tokyo.

The Tokyo culture is influenced by the Western and Eastern culture. The Japanese food is known to be famous arround the world for keeping healthy and long life. The most common food in Tokyo is sashimi(刺身), which literally means "pierced meat". There are a few varieties of sashimi, including sake(サケ, salmon), ika(いか, squid), ebi(えび, shrimp), hamachi(はまち, yellowtail), tako(たこ, octopus), maguro(まぐろ, tuna), masu (マス, trout), fugu(河豚, putterfish), etc.



*Know more about this*
There are different types of sashimi, as you can see above, but fugu(河豚, pufferfish) is possibly the most exotic and dangerous food known to the world. If it's not properly prepared, it can really cause death. The most toxic parts of the fish are treated as hazardous waste. Fugu cooks are strictly licenced and trained to prevent poisoning, so fugu offered in restaurants is safe for consumers. That being said, some highly trained chefs include a tiny bit of the toxin when they serve fugu. The toxin will create a prickly, numb feeling on the tongue. Fugu is forbidden to the Emperor of Japan, the tennō(天皇), for obvious reasons.

There are a new type of fugu recently, Japanese fish farmers are now mass-producing poison-free fugu as harmless as goldfish. Most important, they have taken the poison out of fugu's liver - considered both its most delicious but poisonous part, one whose consumption has left countless Japanese dead over the centuries. The farmers basically put fish away from the bacteria, which fugu consume and start to develop poisonous subsances in their body after having it.