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December 。。。 juunigatsu 十二月
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December 18, 2010
Taiwan: Radium-Kagaya Grand Opening
Chairman of Radium-Kagaya. said:
“Radium-Kagaya is the first hotel with Japanese-style butler service introduced in Taiwan, and we hope to bring customers the top and authentic Japanese-style hotel experience. We have done a great job in the testing operation, and we believe the grand opening will increase the tourism business, bring back the prosperity of Beitou district and improve the overall tourism industry service standards.”
President of Japan Kagaya said:
"We decided to bring the traditional Japanese culture into the hot spring hotels in Taiwan. Most importantly, we would like to bring Kagaya’s true spirit of hospitality and butler service to the people of Taiwan. During the experience, we hope to promote cultural exchanges between Chinese and Japanese services. "
source : www.taiwannews.com.tw
I watched a special on TV about the training of the nakai personal room service . . . It was quite tough on the teaching side of Japan.
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December 05, 2010
Ministry Launches "Sato-Umi" Website
to Promote Sustainable Coastal Village and Fisheries Ecosystems
Japan's Ministry of the Environment launched a new website July 22, 2010, called Sato-Umi Net. The term "sato-umi" refers to coastal areas where the livelihoods of a community and nature coexist and intersect closely.
Sato means "home" and "umi" means ocean. The website supports activities to create harmonious interaction between people and the ocean, by explaining the concept and importance of sato-umi, as well as information on the topic, both domestic and international.
http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/030439.html
. WASHOKU
Satoyama 里山
satoumi net 里海ネット
http://www.env.go.jp/water/heisa/satoumi/
http://www.env.go.jp/water/heisa/satoumi/en/index_e.html
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High Percentage of Food Waste
from Hotels in Food Service Industry in FY2009
Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries announced on August 6, 2010, an overview of the results by the Statistical Survey on Food Waste from the food service industry for fiscal 2009. According to the survey, waste per amount of food served (excluding beverages) was 3.2 percent for cafeterias and restaurants, 13.7 percent for wedding receptions, 10.7 percent for banquets and 14.8 percent for accommodations.
http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/030416.html
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December 30, 2009
11th Eco-Products 2009 Exhibition
「エコプロダクツ2009」
December 10th to 12th
http://eco-pro.com/eco2009/english/
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
Tokyo International Exhibition Center,
"Tokyo Big Sight," in Ariake, Tokyo
Reference
エコプロダクツ東北2009
http://www.e-products.jp/2009-1/index.html
Some products introduced
kattobashi カットバシ / カット箸 / かっとばし
chopsticks made from old baseball clubs
The naming is a play of words with KAT .. KATSU .. to win or meaning "a super homerun". From each baseball bat they make about 5 pairs of chopsticks. Since there are so many broken bats in Japan, this is quite a number after this kind of "re-use".
. . . CLICK here for Photos !
Itoen, a Tea company 伊藤園 / 伊東園
http://www.itoen.co.jp/
Makes insoles out of the left-over tealeaves ! They are deodorizing and antibacterial in a natural way.
お茶殻入りインソール ochagara-iri insooru
http://item.rakuten.co.jp/kaiketu/10001048/
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.......... December 05, 2008
New varieties of potato reaching marketplace
jagaimo じゃがいも
At Koganezaki Farm at the foot of Mt. Iwaki in the Tsugaru region of Aomori Prefecture, workers have started harvesting many varieties of potatoes - red and purple spuds with skins that are either unusually bumpy or quite smooth.
The garden farm, which is operated by Koganezaki-farm, produces about 30 varieties of potato and sells them as a package containing five to 10 different types under the name of Tasting Potato, including such unfamiliar names as the Destroyer and Shadow Queen.
"Each type has a different taste, so we want consumers to select the appropriate variety depending on the dishes they are preparing," said Katsuko Nakamura, in charge of sales at the farm.
The Japanese potato market has long been dominated by two varieties - Danshaku and May Queen - in sharp contrast with other fruits and vegetables, such as tomatoes, apples and strawberries, for which new kinds are created all the time.
However, the situation has begun to change recently. Varieties called Cynthia, Chérie and Inka-no Mezame (or Inca's awakening, a seed potato from the Andes) are among the newcomers whose output has been increasing rapidly over the past several years. "A number of new varieties will be developed in the future," said Kimio Sasaki, who is responsible for overseeing operations at the farm.
The most promising of all is the Cynthia - an egg-shaped potato with a very smooth skin, thanks to the fine starch it contains. It is also easy to peel and quick to absorb seasonings, but does not become mushy when boiled. In March 2000, Kirin Agribio Co. and Koganezaki-farm jointly set up Japan Potato Corp., which sells seed potatoes including for the Cynthia and Chérie varieties.
Production of the Cynthia variety this fiscal year is estimated at about 3,000 metric tons, up 25% from a year earlier, and is expected to reach 4,500 tons next year, accounting for only a small percentage of total output. "We want Cynthia to grab about half the market shares from May Queen and Danshaku in 10 years," said Takao Aoki, chief executive officer of Japan Potato.
source : www.nni.nikkei.co.jp
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.......... December 07, 2008
Samurai Cooking
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.......... December 09, 2008
Drop of imported Australian beef of about 30%.
Family restaurants and expensive coffee shops are closing down, whereas McDonalds is gaining about 13%. ... We are in a recession all right!
Quote from the Japan Times
Ice maker fearing a global thaw
By KO HIRANO
MINANO, Saitama Pref. — Tetsuo Asami in Nagatoro
As many as 100,000 people from Japan and abroad visit Tetsuo Asami's shaved ice parlor every summer in Minano, a small town in the Chichibu region of Saitama Prefecture, seeking out his products that use naturally frozen ice and are known for their rich taste.
Although Asami, 58, is happy with the thriving business, the threat of global warming makes him unsure whether he will still be able to make natural ice a decade from now.
"I think our customers travel all the way to Chichibu for shaved ice because they sense that they may not be able to eat it in 10 years' time given rising temperatures and deterioration in the environment of the mountains" which generate nutritious water for natural ice, Asami said.
Running the 117-year-old family business, Asami is one of only four existing natural ice makers in Japan, down from some 100 around the 1930s. The three others operate in Tochigi Prefecture.
"Given the major climate change I have seen in recent years, such as warm winters, it has become increasingly difficult to make decent natural ice," Asami said, citing his family records that show average temperatures in January in Chichibu have risen 3.5 degrees over the past 40 years.
Records by Asami's father from 1960 to 1991 show that there were many days in winter when temperatures hit minus 12 to minus 15 at 6 a.m., allowing him to "harvest" ice in December and then once again in January every year.
But since Asami took over the business in 1992, he has seen only three days or so when local temperatures fell below minus 10, making it difficult for him to harvest ice twice a season.
The declining quantity of ice has forced Asami to halt the shipment of natural ice to bars, hotels and department stores in Tokyo. Today, he only serves shaved ice at his parlor from March through November.
Natural ice forms only when it becomes very cold. Snow, meanwhile, damages the taste of the ice. With its favorable climate, the Chichibu area has long been an ideal place for making ice, in which workers form ice in ponds after drawing water from mountain streams.
"I'm very worried about the future of natural ice-making if the climate continues to change at the current pace," Asami said.
Asami believes the leadership of the United States — the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitter along with China — is vital if the world is to address global warming.
source : japantimes.co.jp/ December 10, 2008
WASHOKU : fresh clear water !
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Related words
JANUARY ... ichigatsu 一月
FEBRUARY ... nigatsu 二月
MARCH ... sangatsu 三月
APRIL ... shigatsu 四月
MAY ... gogatsu 五月
JUNE ... rokugatsu 六月
JULY ... shichigatsu 七月
AUGUST ... hachigatsu 八月
SEPTEMBER ... kugatsu 九月
OCOTBER ... juugatsu 十月
NOVEMBER ... juuichigatsu 十一月
DECEMBER ... juunigatsu 十二月
***** WASHOKU : General Information
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