Do you know “Shokuhin Samples”?
Have you ever seen plastic food samples in front of Japanese restaurants instead of the traditional menus?
They look real, like real food… but they are all fake!
Almost hard to believe, isn’t it?
Plastic food samples have been around for over 100 years in Japan with the first on display in 1917.
Takizo Iwasaki (1895-1965) is acknowledged as...
In search of the best ramen in Melbourne
I remember just a short time ago Ramen was the best thing since sliced bread, a fad, in fact, a trend even but somehow Melbournians have really embraced it. The trend is still strong today and seems to be more and more popular as I find new shops in Melbourne all the...
Bento, essentially a boxed lunch. It’s sold at bento shops, convenient stores and other places that sell ready meals.
Since old times, when they made bento box Japanese mothers made octopus-shaped sausages, drew patterns and pictures by putting nori (dried weed) on top of white rice and make rabbit shape apple to make their children happy and to encourage a...
Do you like cooking Japanese food? I often miss the taste of Japanese food and the biggest problem is finding the right ingredients to cook Japanese dishes that taste like home. These days many Asian supermarkets are starting to stock a good range of Japanese food and products. There are also a few that stock almost exclusively Japanese food...
Izakaya（居酒屋）are casual drinking places where people can relax and enjoy the local taste of good food and drink. They are the most commonly known restaurant type in Japan and since the prices are usually more reasonable than those at restaurants or fancy bars, they are favoured by Japanese for the place to grab a couple of drinks after work...
The very first convenience store (Konbini) opened up in Japan in the early 70’s. To date there is now a staggering 52,872 stores throughout Japan. Hence there name “convenient”, but like so many other things we take them for granted. For people who have shopped at Konbini, have you ever thought about what is uniquely different about them, apposed...
Did you know that for every 23 people in Japan there is 1 vending machine available, which works out to be approximately 5.5 million vending machines in Japan alone!
Vending machines in Japan have played their part since the 50’s providing an interesting array of products ranging from fresh eggs to a pair of running shoes. Everything imaginable has been...
