After getting drunk on a bottle of white wine Saturday night, I made a drunk-person purchase at 7-11. Placed side-by-side in the soda refrigerator were Shiso Pepsi and Green Tea Coke. The Green Tea Coke was on sale for 125 yen, marked down from the standard soda price in Japan of 150 yen. This was […]
Author Archives: Yoko Kumano
June 26, 2009
Japanify: How to Make Biwashu (Loquat Liqueur)
After making my umeshu and bottling it up for indulgence in October, I became restless. I wanted to make more while I waited for three months. But this time I wanted to try another fruit. After discussing it over with a veteran Japanese fruit liqueur-maker (my ex-coworker), she suggested I try biwashu (“biwa” is a […]
June 21, 2009
Tokyo JUNKtion: Kinako Kit Kat
Kit Kats are wildly popular in Japan. Part of it has to do with the fact that when said in Japanese, Kit Kat sounds like “Kitto katsu,” which in Japanese means “You will (probably) win.” Therefore, it’s common practice for family and friends to buy their loved ones Kit Kats before a big game or […]
June 18, 2009
Mozuku Somen
As I said goodbye to my drunk friend last Friday, he mentioned something about how good mozuku (Cladosiphon okamuranus – a type of edible seawead) and somen are together. The next morning, slightly hungover, “mozuku and somen” was still ringing in my ears. I did a google search for a recipe and went to the […]
June 16, 2009
Japanify: How to Make Umeshu (Japanese Plum Liqueur)
Japanese mothers and grandmothers are hardcore. Every year they make their own liqueur and June is the month to start preparing. Starting in late May, supermarkets stock ume (Japanese plums) in bags of 1 kilogram which cost around 700-900 yen per bag, alongside cartons of white liquor. I decided to join the mama-san frenzy and […]
June 15, 2009
Tokyo JUNKtion: I LOHAS Water Bottle
Everyone is hopping on the eco-friendly bandwagon these days. Japanese advertisers and marketers are drooling at the opportunities and capitalizing heavily. Take this new line of bottled water, brought to you by the good folks at Coca-cola (who totally care about the earth). It’s called I LOHAS (pronouced i-rohasu). LOHAS stands for Lifestyles of Health […]
June 9, 2009
UM Recession: 88 Cent Meal
You read it right – 88 cents (or yen). I have mastered the art of cheap bastardism, and come up with a meal that could be the favorite for both my taste buds and my wallet. In a city like Tokyo, where you expect to spend $30-40 for a dinner out with friends, here’s a […]
June 8, 2009
Yokohama Shumai Cheetos
Last weekend I moved to a new apartment with my boyfriend. To properly celebrate our cohabitation I invited fellow Umamimarter June to our home last night. After picking June up at the nearest train station, we stopped by 7-11 to stock up on the night’s booze and munchies. After selecting our spirits, we were tempted […]
June 5, 2009
A Veggie Burger in Tokyo
The concept of being a vegetarian in Japan is illogical unless you are a Buddhist monk. I have done a lot of thinking about why Japanese people aren’t vegetarians, and I think it is because they originally do not have many meat products in their diet, with the exception of fish. Dairy is also very […]
June 3, 2009
Japanify: Half-and-Half Rice
My new thing is to mix two kinds of rice, hakumai (short-grain white rice) and genmai (brown rice). I used to alternate between brown and white depending on the day, but found brown rice alone to be too heavy sometimes. For example, eating a delicate condiment such as tai-chazuke (white fish condiment with tea poured […]