Japan: It isn't all raw fish.

[Anti M]

Okay, I swiped that line. I thought that any "old Japan hand" could post the things and experiences which make Japan such a special place.

Let me start with the food. I've never been a big fan of sushi, my tastes were simple. I liked the 7-11 cheap sushi, and the stuff my neighbors made, and the inari zushi (little football looking things). But I do love Japanese food, especially the simple fare. Noodle carts at night serving udon or soba, and sprinkling on the hot red pepper. Yum. Good to have a full belly for the midnight walk home. The yakitori carts selling grilled chicken, and other things, on a stick. Okonomiyaki, a type of pancake topped with cabbage, veggies, meats and seafood and sometimes noodles and an egg. This is more of a festival street food, but there was a tiny restaurant which specialized in it. Gyoza in the bars (potstickers). Yakisoba, whenever possible (stirfried noodles). Omrice, which is flavored rice wrapped in a thin omlette. Karai-risu or curry rice, which is just as it sounds, rice with curry sauce over it. Ten-don, a tempura fried shrimp over rice. Katsu-don, a prok cutlet with onions and egg over rice. The "-don" refers to a bowl of rice with a meat and egg topping. Takoyaki, a grilled doughball with octopus pieces in the middle. No, really, much tastier that it sounds!

Let's see: seafood of course. Sukiyaki, which is meats and veggies you cook yourself in a hot pot at the table. Chinese food in Japan is slightly different but very tasty. No pineapple in the sweet and sour, but you get used to that, LOL. There were (maybe still are) a number of hole in the wall Korean BBQ places, very tasty grilled meats. MOS burgers, which are not beef but soy... my favorite was the teriyaki burger.

There are bakeries selling fresh breads, European style. Fresh produce, yummy but some is pricey. The french pastry shops are to die for. doughnut shops, coffee shops, pizza places, you can find anything if you look enough. Not so much Mexican food, but that may have changed since I was there. There are plenty of American fast food places, tailored to Japanese tastes and portion preferences. Yeah, we ate KFC and Mickey-D now and then, but why?

[Melia]

Wow Anti M, I am very impressed!! You know a lot about REAL Japanese food. Most of the food mentioned, I can make and we eat sometimes at home. Also we have Mitsuwa (chain of Japanese grocery store in US) here in IL so we go to their food court to eat ramen and such. Oh I miss convinience store foods and yakitori stands! I love chicken skin.

Good thing about Japan is that you can get a little snack whenever and wherever you want that is healthy. Plus all the different type of drinks you can get from the machine besides the typical sodas we have in US.... You could experience something similar in Hawaii so I loved living there food wise.

Mexican foods are more popular than it used to be back then, Anti M. They started with El torito in Yokohama and there are some other small ones. But I don't think it will ever be accepted in Japan like a hamburger did. Starbucks are all over the place in Japan though!

Anti M, what do you mean by "MOS burgers, which are not beef but soy..."? I think they never had soy burgers. They have just regular beef burgers and rice burgers. I love their rice burgers. There used to be one in HI but seems like it is gone now.....

Oh don't forget about all the pre-made food floor at department stores where you can try them all!

[Anti M]

MOS burgers? The patties weren't pure beef, they were soy. Maybe they switched? Funny how we each have a different experience of them. I lived two doors down from a 24 hour MOS at one time. You bet I ate there at three in the morning. They didn't mind tipsy customers at all. I didn't like the rice burgers, but then I don't like moshi either.

There wasn't a single Starbucks when I was there. Getting a McDonald's on base instead of the Haiyaku Chicken Shack was a big deal. And I don't think I spelled Haiyaku right....

I used to eat with my neighbors, so I like a lot of food which I don't know the correct name. Bamboo rice; we had bamboo in the yard and hubby would dig up the shoots in the spring. He'd leave them in bags on the neighbors' doors in the morning, the next day they'd bring us bamboo rice. We'd make pot roast for potluck suppers; the neighbors would come over to practice English and we'd have giant leisurely meals. At New Years, one of the ladies would bring us a special handmade bento of delicacies. Some of those weren't my favorites, but I knew they were fancy and special.

We have a couple Asian markets, but not very big ones. We do have a couple Japanese restaurants in town, I can get good katsu-don at least. I do have a rice cooker, and pans and such for Japanese cooking, but mine isn't very authentic.

I do miss the department store basement browsing! That was wonderful.

Oh! And the azuki! I love the sweet red bean paste in and on almost anything. Those little cakes? And fresh rice crackers, and the smell of roasting tea. And the sweet potato guy!

I lived in Hawaii in the 60s, so yes, I know about the good food there too! Coconut turnover, yum. And we have a real hand-cranked shave ice machine, although I got mine used in Yokosuka. It is pretty old now, but works perfectly.

[Kim]

Thanks Anti M. I loved reading this. I was in Japan last November for work. We where in Yokota (air force base). I wandered through the town every day. I don't usually eat desserts but the pastry shops where to die for. The whip cream was so light and fresh. I don't know what anything was. No one in the stores spoke English so I just pointed. The Japanese that we worked with took us out for lunch. Their English was not great and until now I did not know what it was called. "Sukiyaki" Thank you. There is an order you are supposed to follow as you put the vegetables in. Then you have soup about half way through. They laughed at me because I loved the soup more than anything. I was also taken to a Chinese buffet where you have a whole in the table and kind of a bar-b-q in the hole. Do you have any idea what that is called? Where in Japan where you. My son is in Sasebo. The Japanese told me that it is an entirely different culture down there.
BTW, the lunch I mentioned above was sitting on the floor. There where 16 of us (2 Americans, 3 Japanese from Yokuska base, 11 Japanese from Yokota base). I was amazed that my legs did not cramp up any more that them. We where stretching our legs equally.
You need to write about shopping next.

[Anti M]

Off the top of my head the BBQ is shabu-shabu. I could be wrong, I'll dig up my food book. But if it were Chinese, it may have another name altogether!

Sasebo is quite different than Yokosuka is some ways. A much smaller base, and not near as many well-known sites.

I spent a little time up at Yokota; I was on temporary duty to help them work on some gear. I was sent in to report on the system to the ready room for the Commander of the Armed Forces in Japan. I was impressed. Maps and radar and bustling airmen, looked very much like a movie set. Yokota base is very large compared to Yokosuka physically, and I didn't explore too much right offbase. I stayed in old barracks that were set aside for travelers and people on temp duty (TAD/TDY). The wives staying in the transit barracks waiting for space a flights were badly behaved, I have a funny but ugly story about that. Involved walls you could hear through, a man who felt guilty about what he thought he was going to do, and a dependent wife who wanted $50 for ... being friendly. I ended up throwing shoes at the wall and yelling, "Either pay her and do her, or shut and go home and let me sleep!" There was a lot of silence, then he left. I was disgusted, because that woman was a military wife who'd hopped a flight from another base/country just so she could hustle. Grrrr.

I did my fair share of pointing! It usually works out just fine. That's one thing we could use in the US, plastic replicas of the food in a window! Yes, in some places the menu is pretty hard to decipher even if it is in English. Many restaurants have a display of the dishes, very realistic looking. If you can't order off the menu, you go outside with the waitress and point at what you want. If she's nice, she'll teach you the name of the dish. And no tipping, it is considered rude.

[Melia]

BBQ is "Yakiniku", are you sure it was a chinese buffet? BBQs are usually Korean or Japanese style.

"Shabushabu" is the one you dip raw pork or beef in boiling broth to cook. Sukiyaki is the one with beef and vegitables all cooked in one pot with soysauce/sugar/sake.

I lived in Sasebo before, Kim :) Tell your son, not to waste all his paycheck at "Bunny bar", he'll be like what???????? lol

[Kim]

Thank you Anti M and Melia for helping me pronounce the food. I got a small taste of Japan. Unfortunatly, I couldn't hook up with son at the time. But, I loved Japan. What a wonderful country and culture. The local Japanese girls took us shopping. We went to used shops. I could make a living on ebay with what I found (especially English China). Please share your experiences. As a personal note. My son seems to have Japanese girlfriend in sasebo. Please give me advice.

[Anti M]

My hubby says if we hadn't been together when he got to Japan, he'd have a Japanese wife now. There's not a lot of advice to give, except be accepting and see where it goes.

[Anti M]

One of the things I loved about Japan is the level of care and talent that goes into even the simplest craft items. I love the art too. So many types! I'll list interesting things as I think of them.

I wish I'd concentrated on collecting certain items, I was pretty scattershot. I did pick up some excellent (and now valuable) woodblock prints and etchings. Some are by T. Yoshida and some are by Nakajima (contemporary) plus I have a nice group of etchings of Japanese farmhouses. If your sailor is at all interested in art, they should acquire some.

Washi paper is a type of handmade craft paper used for everything. It can be textured or smooth, thick or thin, printed or embedded with all sorts of fibers and things. You can cover things with it, use it for scrapbooking or just frame the elegant pieces. I used mine for dollhouse wallpaper, lining glass curio cabinets and collage work. There is an old store in Kamakura which has the most fabulous paper goods I've ever seen.

Lucky cats are popular. I like the old ones, again, I hit the shops in Kamakura for those. The prices on ebay just floor me. The modern ones can be fun and inexpensive. Another thing, outside the restaurants are Tanuki (ta-noo-key) statues. A tanuki is a "badger-fox", a type of um, canine, I think. They are supposed to be mischevious and play tricks on people. The statues are holding sake jugs in one hand, and a sheaf of leaves they pass off as money in the other. And they are very definitely BOYS. I have some miniature ones, and a couple small ones, but what I really wanted and never got was one about three feet tall. We had live tanukis in the neighborhood, had to be careful when they were around so the cats wouldn't get bitten. The old ladies would put out warm milk and sake for them. Drunk tanukis, that was strange.

Fans are way cool to collect, you can use them or display them. There are folding fans and fans on a straight handle, advertising fans and big Kabuki fans, kid fans, fancy fans, mens fans... I love them. My dad brought some for me and mom in the 60s, and I picked up several while I was there. I do use them, once you get the hang of the wrist movement, they are practical personal cooling devices.

I like kokeshi, which are wooden dolls. And geta which are wooden clogs to keep you up out of the mud. And parasols, not just the paper ones, but the fancy summer lace ones. We picked up several wedding kimonos too, but don't have the wall space to show them off. I have some dolls in cases, but only bought one new; the rest came from second-hand shops in Yokosuka. I have souvenir paper lanterns, and prayer plaques and lucky charms from Shinto shrines.

Dishes! The Japanese pottery and porcelain is flat out amazing. I have things from a full out fancy set of Noritake china, to simple bowls and sushi dishes from the "dirty dish" shop. And teasets and teapots and beautiful vases. There are so many different types of tea pots, you wouldn't believe it. And nifty little creamers and oterh condiment servers. I have a set of ones shaped like persimmons.

Kamakura has several glass shops selling blown glass trinkets and animals, and some modern glass dishes that are gorgeous. If you love glass, these shops are fun.

[Emily]

MOS Burger... brings back memories.. I liked the bacon,egg,burger..myself...Nothing can beat the Japanese bakeries..
Now that we live in South Texas we are limited on the Japanese Groceries but thank goodness for online stores... I sure do miss eating everything you mentioned.. like the takoyaki . I miss the grilled corn with the soy sauce... we have tried making it at home but its not as good as when your there at the bonodori's and stuff.

[Anti M]

I was cutting up carrots and I realized... I hadn't talked about knives. Kitchen knives from Japan are expensive, sharp and ultra-cool. I have long skinny sashimi knives for raw fish but most excellent for chicken. A cleaver and a little triangular knife I use for everything. Okay, they are not stainless steel and require actual cleaning and sharpening, but if you love to cook and love good cutlery, have your sailor invest in some knives for you. My sashimi knife is as well-made and beautifully crafted as a sword. No, not cheap, but a work of art. Sharp kitchen art. Do be careful, my friend dropped his GF's knife while making a sandwich. It stuck in in the floor... right through his foot. Poor guy, he'd just gotten out of a cast for a baseball injury, and he'd gotten that just a week after getting out of a cast for injuring the same leg in a bike accident. Hmmm... just be careful I guess.

We didn't get swords in Japan as hubby and I didn't want touristy imitations. We always drooled over the swords in the shop in Kamakura. They had pedigrees and lineages. They also cost more than a really nice car. Or house. So the knives had to do.

[Anti M]

Trains! And more trains! I'll post a link, but I am afraid I will scare you!

In Yokosuka there are two separate train lines, and each has a couple stations. They go to different places so you must know if you need the JNR or "the Chuo". You must also know if you want the local (every stop), the limited or the express. And when you get to Yokohama, several more lines feed in. And more in Tokyo. And then there are subways. And the bullet train which is the high speed train one would take to other major cities (Hiroshima, Osaka, Kyoto). And don't forget the tiny electric train in Kamakura which you take to go to see the Great Buddha and Enoshima.

Your sailor can get a good train map in English for you at Family Services or MWR. Don't be afraid to go for it, or to ask for help if you get lost. My first weekend in Japan I decide to go to Kamakura. I got on the wrong train line. In Ofuna, a nice man walked all through the station to another train line to get me on the right train. I was waaaay lost, but it was fun.

Have your sailor sign you up for the MWR shuttle from the airport if it is available (active duty and families get to go first). The trains from Narita to Tokyo to Yokosuka are not impossible, but even experienced hands can get sidetracked. (sidetracked, heehee).

[Anti M]

Time for a little more cultural introduction:

Religion. In Japan, the two major religions are Shinto and Buddhism. Shinto is a nature religion honoring local spirits and ancestors. Buddhism is following the peaceful practices of the Buddha. Many people observe both religions, although some of the Buddhist sects prohibit Shinto practices. Shinto has shrines, Buddhists have temples. You can tell them apart with a little practice. Most of the Shinto shrines do not mind respectful visitors, and accept prayers from anyone. Shinto is a religion of beginnings, marriages, blessings, prayers for success in school and business; while most funerals are Buddhist. The red torii gates you see in pictures are Shinto. You will see tiny roadside shrines to very large complexes. The natural beauty of some of the shrines is simply breathtaking. I have little wooden plaques, one side has symbolic art depicting what the shrine is known for, on the other you are supposed to write your prayer and hang it up at the shrine. I kept mine for souvenirs, they have no prayers on them, but they are beautiful. Shinto is also the religion which has street festivals and dances, and parades of mikoshi (portable shrines). Perfectly alright to participate without being a believer. I could get into a lot of detail, but you can do that online through Wiki if you want to know more.

There are also many Christian churches in Japan, and the chapel on base has many different types to choose from. Some Japanese people I knew were all three religions, and felt this was not a conflict. Buddha was merely a teacher, while Shinto is honoring their heritage and surroundings. So there is a lot of give and take when it comes to belief. The best bet is be respectful wherever you may visit.

My one sad story: There was a problem one year with Americans from base defacing the local shrine near the train station. They broke the guardian dogs, and pushed over the stone lanterns, and vandalized the buildings with graffiti. I was horrified at the disrespect. They were caught, young sailors with too much time on their hands and too much beer in their brains, and some base daughters who shouldn't have been out drinking with sailors in the first place. The Navy sent them packing!