Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why the country is sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun". Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands, the four largest being Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku. Together, these four islands hold about 97 percent of the country's land area. Japan has the world's tenth-largest population, with more than 126 million people. It is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with more than 30 million residents.
2014/04/21 - Shopping around Northern Osaka
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| Hankyu Higashidori Shopping Street |
Osaka in the Kansai Region is the economic hub and the most populated city of western Japan. Today, we visited Osaka's northern district around Osaka Station. This is a leading business district and the home to headquarters of many famous corporations. The area thus has an urban look with many tall buildings and a sprawling network of underground walkways. Yet, a 10-15 minute walk away from the station will take you into parts of the district which retain a nostalgic flavor of traditional local culture and a common neighborhood feel.
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| Food section at department store |
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| Products on sale in the shopping centre |
Cherry Blossom Forecast 2014
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| Cherry Blossom in Yoshinoyama https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tu894odxaIw
The delicate pink sakura, or cherry blossom, is associated primarily with the culture of its native Japan. These trees blossom throughout Japan every spring, but their beauty never gets old, so we’ve collected some of our favorite photos of this year’s cherry blossoms in Japan.
In Japan, the blossoming of the sakura begins in April, when students go back to school or people go back to work after the holidays. Japan’s national weather service even tracks the movement of the “sakura front,” which is an imaginary line that travels south-to-north every season and heralds the blooming of the sakura. This line’s progression in Japan is marked on this convenient sakura calendar.
The cherry blossom is tied to the ancient Japanese tradition of hanami, or picnicking under a sakura tree. The fact that the cherry blossom has heavily featured in ancient Japanese art has made it a staple of both historical and modern Japanese aesthetic. Although it is also native to China and Korea, it is generally associated primarily with Japanese culture, which is why it often accompanies the Japanese diaspora into cities around the world.
While sakuras are probably best viewed with a Japanese castle, mountain or garden in the backdrop, they might also be planted somewhere in your city as well. They provide a great opportunity to go have a beautiful springtime picnic!
The country is filled with beautiful cherry blossoms in spring. Visiting Japan during the cherry blossom season is a memorable experience. When do cherry blossom flower in Japan? Cherry blossoms (Higan zakura) normally begin blooming in January in Okinawa, and somei yoshino cherry blossoms reach their peak in late March to April in Honshu region. In Hokkaido, cherry blossoms are usually in full blooms in May. However, it's really difficult to predict cherry blossom opening dates in advance, and planning a trip at the right time is tough. In Japan, the JWA (Japan Weather Association), the Weather Map Co., Ltd, and the Weathernews Inc. mainly announce cherry blossom forecasts every spring.
Top 5 Japanese Food
The Japanese cuisine (和食, washoku) offers a very large variety of dishes and regional specialities. In this section of japan-guide.com you will find information pages about some of the popular dishes and Japanese table manners, as well as some illustrated recipes.
 1. Maki-zushi (巻寿司)
Maki zushi is rolled sushi that is usually wrapped in nori (seaweed). Maki sushi includes some of the most popular sushi varieties such as kappa maki (cucumber), tekka maki (tuna), negitoro maki(tuna, scallion), tsunamayo maki(tuna and mayo) and kanpyō maki (tuna and carrots).
 2. Udon
Udon is a thick Japanese wheat noodle. Udon is usually served hot in a mild broth with toppings such as mochi, tempura or deep fried tofu. However, there are many ways to eat Udon and it is prepared in dozens of ways including cold dishes such as Zaru udon (cold udon with nori dipped in a light sauce and wasabi). Udon can be challenging to eat because they tend to splash as you eat them. In Japan it is polite to loudly slurp soup noodles so don't be shy to make a little noise.
 3. Soba (そば)
Thin buckwheat noodles served cold with wasabi or hot with toppings such as tempura, duck, mochi or mountain vegetables.
 4. Mochi
Mochi are Japanese rice cakes that can be toasted and eaten with nori or sugar and kinako (soybean flour). Mochi are also a common topping for foods such as noodles or pizza and are an ingredient in many Japanese desserts such as dango and ozenzai (red bean soup with mochi).Mochi can be made the old fashioned way by pounding glutinous rice with a large wooden hammer. Mochi making (mochitsuki) is a popular event during Japanese New Year celebrations.
 5. Takoyaki (たこ焼き)
Takoyaki are Japanese octopus dumplings from Osaka. They are prepared with a light batter and a single piece of octopus in the center and deep-fried. Takoyaki are usually topped with okonomiyaki sauce, mayonnaise, seaweed (aonori) and fish shavings(katsuobushi). Takoyaki can be prepared at home and are a crowd-pleasing snack at festivals.
Suzanne Ho |
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