Travel Advice
Read Hiroko's expert tips on traveling to Japan and other destinations worldwide.
Travel Advice
Kakigori: The Ultimate Summer Snack
Let me introduce you to the ultimate summer snack—kakigori. Kakigori is a finely shaved ice served in a glass cup. Snow-white ice is drizzled with sweet fruit syrups, sweetened milk, or served with cream or another topping.
Preparing for Koromo-gae Season
Every summer, after confirming the end of tsuyu, rainy season, I helped my mother transform our living space from winter and spring to a summer one. We call it a ‘living space-koromo-gae’.
The History of Somen Noodles
Look up in the southern sky on July 7, several hours before and after midnight. You can see a faint Milky Way, visible in the dark spot in the Northern hemisphere. In olden times, when the pollution and humidity were low, I presume spotting the Milky Way was easy. There is a drama up there. A star, Vega (Orihime), and a star, Altair (Hikoboshi), meet once a year in the Milky Way. A mythological story that originated in China describes that Orihime, a weaver and a daughter of the King of the Heavens, fell in love with Hikoboshi, a cowherd. They were deeply in love and neglected their work. The King of the Heavens became angry and separated them with one permission. They can meet only on July 7. Pictured above: This ukiyo-e woodblock print depicts the Tanabata festival. Courtesy of the Harvard Art Museum. This is called the Tanabata festival, one of Japan's five annual big festivals. When you visit Japan around this time, you see strips of colorful paper written with wishes hanging on bamboo poles across the towns. During the Tanabata festival, we enjoy somen, 素麺, the thin wheat noodles (1.3 mm in diameter). Thin noodles symbolize Orihime's weaving threads. Let us enjoy a cold somen noodle dish before attempting to find the Milky Way and two stars. Somen is a definitive summer noodle. Cooked noodles are served cold in a proper amount of ice-cube added water in a serving bowl with a dipping sauce; otherwise, the cooked and drained noodles stick together when served drained. When you visit a famous somen noodle region, you can enjoy Nagashi somen. The noodle shop set up long chutes made from a halved bamboo stalk, where clean water continuously runs down from a higher elevation to the lower one. The chairs are arranged along (and across) this aqueduct. Following an announcement, the shop staffs drop a portion of cooked noodles into the flowing water at the top of the chute one after another. Diners must catch the noodles before they pass them. It is a fun, excitement-building, and body-cooling dining experience. See the Nagashi somen experience on TikTok Somen noodle production is different from that of udon noodles. The dough, made of flour and water, is repeatedly stretched until thin. A little oil is used for the smooth stretching of the dough. The origin of somen noodles goes back to the 9th century in Miwa City, Nara Prefecture. During the Edo period (1600-1868), the production spread to other regions such as Hyogo, Kagawa, and Nagasaki Prefectures, and the production technology significantly improved. Miwa Yamamoto Tenobe Noodle Company, founded in 1717 in Nara Prefecture, continues producing one of the finest somen noodles. Masugi Tenobe Noodle Factory is a relatively new comer in this industry, established in 1974 in Aichi Prefecture. The owner and his family produce somen noodles using over 200-year-old artisan techniques. This website shows a video of the art of somen noodle making at Masugi Company. Old and new somen noodle companies across the country continue to preserve the traditional crafts and food culture.
The Japanese Ume Plum
Ume, the Japanese plum, plays a significant role in Japanese culture. The Japanese population greatly admires the ume flowers that bloom in February for their humble elegance. The flowers represent resilience and symbolize the arrival of spring. The tree bears green fruits, called ume. These are ready for harvesting at the end of May and the beginning of June. We use these young fruits to make umeshu, ume-infused liquor. Continuous rain during the rainy season provides sufficient moisture for the green fruits to mature to an orange-yellow color. We harvest these to make salt-pickled plums, umeboshi. The ume fruits are never eaten raw. The seeds contain amygdalin, a cyanogenic glycoside that can be converted into cyanide. The fruit itself has just a fraction of this chemical. The Japanese ume plum has many health benefits. Ume plums are very acidic, and their citric acid is essential for breaking down carbohydrates and producing energy in our bodies. Ume has some degree of sterilization and antibacterial properties. The custom of making salt-pickled plums, umeboshi, goes back to the 8th century. The aristocrat consumed it to maintain and care for their health. During the civil war of the 15th to early 17th century, fighting warriors carried a small amount of umeboshi mixed with rice and other ingredients as part of their essential diet on the battlefields. By the 18th century, it had become common for people to enjoy it. I always keep umeboshi in the refrigerator. I enjoy eating it with plain cooked rice. I add it to vegetable pickling liquid, fish simmering stock, and salad dressing to impart a unique, salty, and sour flavor. The history of making umeshu (Japanese ume plum liquor) goes back to the Edo period (1600-1868). Back then, the fruits were pickled with sugar in sake. Today, we make umeshu with rock sugar and distilled alcohol, known as white liquor. I have an eight-year-old umeshu that remains in a couple of sanitized liquor bottles. It entertains me from time to time. It presents a beautiful amber color, and the flavor is exquisite and mature. The years passed without me making a new batch of umeshu, due to the difficulty in acquiring the right, beautiful fruits at the right time. They are grown on the West Coast. The sales season for these fruits at the East Coast Japanese stores, such as Mitsuwa Marketplace in New Jersey, is very short, and purchasing is highly competitive. This year, I decided to make one and made a special effort to get the fruits at one of the online stores before they were sold out. I ordered rock sugar, too. The fruits arrived, and I was hugely disappointed that they were not Japanese ume, but Janerik (sour green plums). I tasted one and concluded that $90 went down the toilet. When it comes to umeshu, it is delicious, but consumption should be well-managed due to its high sugar and alcohol content. Proper consumption – 1/4 cup daily - promotes increased HDL cholesterol, prevents arteriosclerosis, and aids digestion.
Experiencing May in Japan
May is a month with mild days, low humidity, refreshing breezes, and a blue sky. Gorgeous tsutsuji (azalea, pictured) and Satsuki (a different kind of azalea, which blooms a little later than tsutsuji) bloom everywhere in Japan. It is a perfect month for traveling, hiking, and mountain climbing activities. Luckily, the succession of national holidays – Constitution Memorial Day (May 3), Greenery Day (May 4), and Children’s Day (May 5) falls at the beginning of May. People take a week-long holiday, combining these national holidays with Saturdays and Sundays. This long vacation week was nicknamed Golden Week by hard-working Japanese businesspeople who couldn’t afford long holidays from work. Trains, hotels, inns, attraction spots, and roads are jammed with happy domestic travelers. If you plan to travel to Japan during this time, make reservations far in advance and enjoy the weather, nature, good food, and crowds!
The Japanese Lunisolar Calendar
Japan changed from a lunisolar calendar, Kyureki 旧暦, to the Gregorian calendar, Shinreki 新暦 . This happened on January 1, 1873, as part of the Meiji government's modernization efforts. Japan must align with Western standards to avoid colonization and build a militarily strong country. The old lunisolar calendar is approximately one month behind the Gregorian calendar. Each month of Kyureki 旧暦 is given a Japanese name with seasonal, cultural, historical, and social connections. The first month, Mutsuki 睦月, covers the present calendar’s late January through early March. Mutsu 睦 means establishing a good relationship with others at a New Year Gathering. The second month is Kisaragi, which is from late February through early April on the present calendar. One interpretation of' Kisaragi is to wear layers to counter coldness. The third month, Yayo i弥生, is from late March through early May on the present calendar. Yayoi 弥生 means the vegetation starts to grow. The fourth month, Uzuki 卯月, is April in the present calendar. It celebrates the bloom of the Japanese snow flower, U卯. The fifth month: Satsuki 皐月 corresponds to the present calendar’s May, and is the rice planting time. The sixth month, Minazuki 水無月corresponds, corresponds to the present calendar’s June and is the time of water-drawing into the rice paddy. The seventh month: Fumitsuki 文月, which occurs from late July through early September, is the time when the ears of rice are golden and ripe. The eight month: Hazuki 葉月 , which corresponds to the present calendar’s late August through early October, is the time of fallen leaves 葉. The ninth month: Nagatsuki 長月 corresponds to late September through early November. Naga 長 (long) implies longer night and shorter day. The tenth month: Kannazuki 神無月 which occurs early November through early December. This is the month of all Shinto deities 神 from across Japan to gather at the Izumo Taisha Grand Shrine in Izumo. The eleventh month: Shimotsuki 霜月 corresponds to the present calendar’s December. Shimo 霜 (frost) implies the arrival of the frost season. The twelfth month, Shiwasu 師走, corresponds to the present calendar’s December. Shiwasu 師走 means ‘Buddhist monks running around’. In ancient times, homes invited monks to perform end-of-year services.
It's Sakura Season!
Sakura! Cherry blossoms! Now, the whole population in Japan waits for the Sakura no Hana to bloom! The weather forecasts on TV announce cherry blossom forecasts along with daily weather forecasts. This helps people plan a special trip to enjoy the flowers at distant locations and arrange picnics under the Sakura no Hana at their favorite neighborhood parks and gardens. Japan experienced a cold winter this year, but the forecasts show a regular blooming schedule. Kyushu, Osaka, Tokyo – March 25, Okayama, Hiroshima, Kanazawa – March 30, Nagano, Fukuoka, Sendai, Tsuruoka – April 10 and Hokkaido and Tohoku – April 30. Japan celebrates the end and beginning of the school year during this festive time. The school year typically ends on March 25, and the new school year begins on April 5. Companies also employ freshmen at this time of the year. In Japan, you may witness young school children in their new school uniform taking trains with their formally-dressed mothers (in most cases) heading to the school where they begin their studies. No one in Japan can pass this season without having Sakura-mochi, a sweet azuki bean paste stuffed pounded sticky rice cake wrapped in salt-pickled cherry blossom leaves. Salt-pickled cherry flowers and young leaves made the year before are sold at the food stores. Restaurant chefs and home cooks use these seasonal blessings to prepare special, seasonal dishes such as Sakura no Hana Takikomigohan (rice cooked and infused with cherry flowers), Sakuramochi (sticky rice cake wrapped up in cherry leaves), and cherry leaves-wrapped grilled fish. At high-end restaurants, chefs pick and use wild cherry blossoms as a garnish for the prepared dishes to bring the very nature outside into the dining table. When the students return to my class, we will use salt-pickled cherry flowers and leaves to make bento boxes for sale at the school. My neighbour’s Sakura tree will bloom by then, so I can bring some to the classroom. Exciting!
Using Apple Pay in Japan
Apple Pay can be used in Japan at stores displaying the EMV contactless payment symbol, apps that accept Apple Pay, and during online shopping. To use Apple Pay, hold your device over a dedicated reader. Shops and services that can be used include convenience stores, supermarkets, restaurants, gas stations and electronic stores.
Slipper Etiquette at Japanese Inns
When you stay at Japanese Inns, you are offered two to three different slippers, each with its own function. When entering a certain ryokan, you are asked to take off your shoes at the main Genkan entrance and step up onto the raised floor of the inn. You are always supplied with inside slippers, which you use to get to your room. Taking off shoes at the genkan prepares us to get into a clean, indoor space. Now you walk to your room with the slipper. This slipper’s role is to take you to the entrance to your room. You are again to take off this slipper and step up on your room's raised floor – tatami mat or wooden. Sometimes, another slipper waits for you in the room, but I ignore that in-room slipper. A toilet slipper is very important. It is a simple, plastic one that must be used and stay in the toilet all the time. Keeping clean space from non-clean space is important. You are not always taking off your shoes at the Inn’s great genkan entrance. You are led to walk to your room with your shoes on. Each room has a genkan entrance where you remove your shoes, step up on the elevated floor – tatami mat or wood, and wear slippers that wait for you. This is not the end of the slipper story. Some fancy inns have outside terraces with outside tables and chairs. To use this space, you use the supplied outside shoes, in this case it is traditional ‘geta’, a kind of sandal, made of wood and fabric. By the way, you have to wear split-toe tabi socks. All inns supply it to you. To become an expert in using different slippers requires time, money, and curiosity!
6 Very Useful Things to Know When Traveling to Japan
1. Bars at Japanese Country Inns Do not plan a before-dinner cocktail hour when you are staying at Japanese inns in the countryside, both traditional and modern ones. Bars at such establishments, if they do exist, tend to not open until 8pm or later after the dinner hour. The custom at these places does not seem to include the usual Western pre-dinner cocktail; I’m not sure why. In the major cities at hotels the bar is always open before dinner. Japanese country inns usually serve a fixed multi-course dinner featuring local ingredients. Often the first group of dishes – the appetizers – is served with a small glass of an aperitif such as plum wine. This is a “welcome” drink on-the-house, they say. After the meal you may find a bar. It will be crowded with people who are staying at the inn. What they are doing is called a 'nijikai', a “second round” party following the dinner. Those who want more drinks and fun after dinner gather in these usually dark and sometimes smoky bars for libation, chatting and, sometimes alcohol-induced singing. 2. Yukata or Kimono-style Gown A Japanese inn offers men and women a yukata, a kimono-style gown. It is found in your room. Today some Japanese inns may offer the customers a colorful and sometimes untraditional choice – a top and loose pants. While you are staying at the inn you are encouraged to shed your street clothes and don a yukata. Wearing this garment, you may go everywhere in the hotel, including to the dining room and even for a stroll outside in a hot springs town. The yukata is very comfortable. But after wearing one for dinner five consecutive nights at several inns, I got tired of it. At my sixth dinner I put on my travel dinner “uniform,” a casual dress. It was fine and I did not feel out of place. When you put on a yutaka, there is one rule that you must never ignore. After putting on the yukata with your arms through the sleeves – always place the right hand side of the fabric over your body with the left side of the yukata over the top of that. Doing it in the opposite way is reserved for the way in which the dead are wrapped before cremation. Women tie the obi belt that secures the yukaya, over the waistline, while men place obi a bit lower - over the hip bone. The obi is quite long. Arrange it so the knot is in front for women, and at the back, for men. And, a caution; do not attempt to run while wearing a yukata! You will expose your entire legs (and more) and you might trip. 3. Different Slippers, Different Functions At Japanese inns, you may be asked to take off your shoes when you enter the inn. They may store your shoes at the front door. You will be given a pair of slippers, and they become your in-house shoes. At some Japanese inns, rather than at the front door you are asked to take off your shoes when you enter your own room. You take off your shoes, leave them in the entry foyer of the room and use the in-room slippers you will find there. There is a further complication. If the room floor is covered in straw tatami mats, no slippers are worn – only bare feet or socks are acceptable on tatami. Most of the time, I ignore the in-room slippers and walk in my bare feet regardless of the floor covering, since the floor is always impeccably clean. To make things a bit more confusing, there is an additional pair of slippers in the toilet room. These are designated slippers for use in this space. In Japan clean areas and unclean areas are strictly separated, so don’t forget to take them off. You must never walk out of your room wearing your toilet slippers. People will stare at you if you do. 4. Train Tickets Hold onto your tickets after boarding without bending or mutilating them no matter what happens or how long your journey. It’s the system bequeathed by the British who built the first railways in Japan. You need your ticket both for entering the platform or train and for leaving the platform or station. At Japan Railway (JR) stations you can buy a card, called Suica and fill it with funds for tickets, like the Metrocard in New York or similar systems in other major cities. Put it into your wallet as the Japanese do. At the station you just touch your wallet with the card to the ticket gate and, with the built in chip, the automatic ticket gate will open. On exiting from a station, you do the same. The fare is debited from the card and the amount of cash remaining is briefly flashed at the exit gate. Cards can be recharged with more funds and the cards are good on non-JR railways and the subways as well. You can even use the card for purchases at station kiosks and convenience stores. It is a marvelously efficient and easy to use system. 5. Handkerchief After landing in Japan one of the first things you should do is buy a couple of inexpensive handkerchiefs, if you don’t already have some with you. You can find simple handkerchiefs at convenience stores, and more expensive ones at department stores including international designer brands. When you eat at casual restaurants they may serve a wet cloth, oshibori, but no paper or cloth napkins. The oshibori is too wet to put on your lap. The handkerchief is perfect for such duty. For reasons that are not at all clear, soba noodle shops do not supply napkins of any kind, so your handkerchief will be quite handy after slurping a bowl of delicious noodles. A handkerchief is also very convenient to wipe away sweat if you are out and about during the steamy, sweltering Japanese summer. One thing we never do in Japan is to blow our nose into a handkerchief. 6. Left Side Rule - Mostly Japan adopted the British railway system. Therefore, we drive on the left and even walk on the left. When it comes to escalators, it is not so straightforward. In Tokyo we stand on the left side and let the hurrying people pass us on the right. In Osaka this becomes the opposite; stand on the right. A nationwide survey found out that 57% of the population follows the Tokyo way, 13%, the Osaka way, 9.2% depend on the local situation and 12.3% simply do not let other people pass. So observe and do as the locals do in each part of Japan you are visiting.