Japanese Blooming Flower Tea

I found a type of tea made from a dried flower that is wrapped in green tea leaves . Once hot water is poured over it, it blooms in the glass. I decided to make an accompanying video to show off the different stages of the steeping process. It's beautiful to watch. If you love tea, you'll love this video!

By the way, if you love tea China is a heavenly experience. I imagine India and the Middle East are a tea lover's paradise too. I will have to travel there one day to see the unique teas they have. 

Before coming to Japan for the first time, I rarely drank tea.  My first experience with bitter green tea changed all that and I have gone on a tasting journey since.  The tea culture and my travels in Asia have given me the chance to drink corn tea in Korea, Jasmine and Wolong tea in China, Macha and wheat (Mugi) tea in Japan, and many others.  I hope to continue this tasting adventure and add updates and relevant video here.

If you have any recommendations and useful info please leave it in the comments. 

Music is "If" by Peter Rudenko and used under a CC-BY 3.0 License.

Nature Japan - Exploring Caves

The caves of Inazumi in Oita Prefecture were naturally formed and contain some of the purest water in Japan. People come from all over not only to see them, but to collect water and take it back home. One of the local restaurants even exclusively serves its water. I recommend a visit, they are amazing and 18 degrees Celsius all-year-round. Great in the summer!  The network of caves is broken into two branches with each measuring around 200 meters in length.  Below is a description in Japanese as posted on the official website:

 稲積水中鍾乳洞は３億年前の古生代に形成され、 ３０万年前の阿蘇火山大噴火により水没し現在の形を形成しました。
   洞内には水中鍾乳石や珊瑚石、ベルホール、ヘリクタイトなどが 数多く見られる世界的にも珍しい水中鍾乳洞です。
無数の鍾乳石、水深 40ｍをこえる深渕、未知の洞奥から湧き出る清流、 その清らかな水が、千変万化の美をおりなし 水中鍾乳洞のコントラストは訪れる人たちを幻想の世界へ導いてくれます。
   また、洞内の温度は一年中16度で、夏は涼しく、冬は暖かいため一年を通してすばらしい水中鍾乳洞をご覧いただけます。
   マイナスイオンを感じる洞内で心も体も癒されます。

Japan's Economic Stagnation Leads 20-30 Year-Olds Balancing 2 or 3 Jobs

I read two interesting articles today.  The first deals with the increasing trend of 20 and 30 year-olds holding 2 or 3 jobs. These side jobs being necessary to help cover living expenses and provide some wiggle room in the budget for fun.

 According to figures from the National Tax Agency, average annual salaries for Japanese workers in their early 20s fell to 2.48 million yen in 2008, the latest year for which figures are available, from 2.83 million yen in 1997. At the current exchange rate, that is a decrease to $29,470, from $33,63.

It is interesting, actually scary, that full-time employment at a company doesn't provide enough income by itself to support the lifestyles, even modest ones, of the younger generations.

 Data released last week by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare found that almost 56 percent of workers 15 to 34 years old needed another form of income to help pay living expenses.

Some of the people highlighted in the article have been able to parlay the experience they gained in their second job into new entrepreneurial ventures allowing them to quit their main job.  This entrepreneurship is something that Japan and its economy have traditionally lacked and if this spirit increases it could help Japan slowly claw its way out of economic stagnation and retreat.
The second article deals with the upcoming selection of a new Prime Minister by the DPJ, and highlights the revolving door of leaders that Japan has experienced over the last two decades.  The first two paragraphs sum up the effects that a lack of leadership has wrecked on Japan and its economy.

 Japan’s frequent leadership changes are dizzying and increasingly counterproductive. The country has had 14 prime ministers in the last two decades and could soon have another. That would make three in the last 12 months alone — hardly time enough to introduce new policies, much less effectively implement them.
This phenomenon would make successful governance difficult in any country. But Japan is the world’s third largest economy and a technological and regional power. It needs a prime minister who can offer robust, principled leadership over a sustained period, win support for economic policies that would help pull the world out of recession and maintain a strong alliance with the United States.

 Who will be the new prime minister, Kan or Ozawa, and how long will he last?  For more information and deeper analysis see the respective articles.  They are worth the read.

Aggccording to figures from the National Tax Agency, average annual salaries for Japanese workers in their early 20s fell to 2.48 million yen in 2008, the latest year for which figures are available, from 2.83 million yen in 1997. At the current exchange rate, that is a decrease to $29,470, from $33,635.

Two Misconceptions About Japan and the Japanese

Once you come to Japan, you very quickly realize that you didn't know much about the country before you arrived.   Even the most diligent internet researcher will likely be in for a surprise or two.  This week I came across two interesting articles that shed some light on aspects of the country often over looked by western media.  The first article deals with the stark difference between Japan's high-tech image and the low-tech reality that pervades businesses and civil services where much of the work is still done on paper ala the 1960's:

Police stations without computers, 30-year-old "on hold" tapes grinding out tinny renditions of Greensleeves, ATMs that close when the bank does, suspect car engineering, and kerosene heaters but no central heating.

A dystopian vision of a nation with technology stuck in an Orwellian time warp? Not at all. These are aspects of contemporary, low-tech Japan that most visitors miss as they look around the hi-tech nation that its government, electronics industry and tourism board are keen to promote.

 The second article might provide some relief to all those just starting or thinking about study Japanese.  It highlights the fact that with the introduction of word-processors and cellphones into mainstream society people in Japan and China have steadily lost the ability to recall and handwrite even simple characters (kanji):

Like every Chinese child, Li Hanwei spent her schooldays memorising thousands of the intricate characters that make up the Chinese writing system.

Yet aged just 21 and now a university student in Hong Kong, Li already finds that when she picks up a pen to write, the characters for words as simple as "embarrassed" have slipped from her mind.

 "We rely too much on the conversion function on our phones and PCs," said Ayumi Kawamoto, 23, shopping in Tokyo's upscale Ginza district.

"I've mostly forgotten characters I learned in middle and high school and I tend to forget the characters I only occasionally use."

 Please click on the quotes to enjoy the full articles from the BBC and AFP, respectively.

Jijimi（Korean-style pancake）美味しいチヂミの作り方

A simple and delicious Jijimi recipe with a to die for sauce. All done in under 10 minutes. Great appetizer for parties or an afternoon snack.

Jijimi Ingredients:
3 eggs
4 tbs flour
sliced ham
4 stocks nira
2 tbs chilled water

Sauce ingredients:
2 tbs vinegar (apple vinegar if you have it)
2 tbs soy sauce
minced garlic
1/2 tbs sugar
red chili paste

Vintage Japanese Model Cars

A trip to a retro Japanese town from the 1950~60s yielded a treasure trove of vintage model toy cars. All you collectors should enjoy this video and the models only found in Japan.

Background Music: London [demo 2004] by The Dominant Gene. Licensed under a CC-BY license.
For more information follow the link: http://www.jamendo.com/en/album/70224

Japanese Tofu and Cucumber Salad

A quick and easy tofu and cucumber side salad often accompanying meals here in Japan.

Ingredients:
150g Tofu
1 thin cucumber
30 g carrot
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon mayo
1 tablespoon ground sesame seeds
1 strip of ham
dash of Cayenne pepper (or try curry power)

Shattered Memories of Japan

A sudden minor shock or meaningless/meaningful interruption...that is a memory...here is a blip of the land of the rising sun. JAPAN!

Shot with the 7D by Nathan Miller
Edited by Matthew Brown

Music - "Empty Room Trailer Version" by Zack Hemsey zackhemsey.com