Onigiri - food for those on the go

Onigiri, or rice balls, are commonly brought by those who are going to sporting events or when viewing flowers (Hanami time). They are common in bento boxes as they are easy to prepare. Aside from that, they still taste good even when they have already cooled down. Inside the onigiri are pickled plums or fish roe. Common shapes of onigiri are oval and triangle.

Basic ingredients
Onigiri is not difficult to prepare. What you basically need are the following:

• boiled rice
• nori
• roasted sesame seeds
• fillings: pickled plums, smoked salmon, or anything you would like

Preparation
Make sure that your hands are clean before you prepare them. Get them a bit wet with water before you start preparing them.

1. In your hand put a bit of salt and sesame seeds and also around half a cup of rice. Cup it all in your hand.
2. Make a hole in the center of that cupped rice and put in your favorite fillings.
3. Cover the fillings with rice. Press firmly with hands to ensure that the filling is secure.
4. Squeeze it so it will be oval or triangular in shape. It’s up to you which shape you would have.
5. Wrap nori around it.

It is quite simple, isn’t it? You could even teach your children how to prepare this food. Whether you are the kind of person who lives home alone or you have a family to take care of, onigiri will easily be staple in your home.

Onigiri history

In the Heian period, this was called tonjiki. It was food given to the lower class by the nobility. Later on, people were also making the leftover rice rolled into balls, broiled and they put soysauce as flavoring. It was called yakimusubi. Currently anything goes as fillings in onigiri.

Check out the different bento boxes. They would usually have prettily made onigiri. Regardless of how simple this meal could be, it is flavorful and could be prepared differently. It is not just about the shape of the onigiri. It could also be through the amount and shape of nori you will use to wrap it. What matters is that this food is enjoyed by the person eating it.

Pocky mania

Chocolate and strawberry Pocky - common Pocky flavors.

There are many popular Japanese snacks and Pocky is one of them. In anime and manga, you would even see characters eating Pocky or there would be glimpses of Pocky-like snacks. How popular is Pocky? It just so happened that there are even fansites of the delicious snack!

World’s first designer chocolate

Search through the different write-ups about it and you will see that it is said to be the world’s first designer chocolate. Glico manufactured Pocky in the 1960s and it was originally Choco-tek. It is basically biscuit that has been dipped in chocolate. The sound of the biscuits when they are bit gave them the name Pocky. (When you break the biscuits, it gives that pokki sound.)

All sorts of flavors for you and me

It might have started with chocolate but it doesn’t stop there. There are other interesting Pocky flavors:
strawberry
coconut and pineapple
almond crush
bittersweet chocolate
black bitter marble
peach and strawberry decorer
grape (available only in Nagano, Japan)
Pocky reverse white (where the chocolate cream is inside the Pocky, not outside)
murasaki imo (sweet potato flavor - only available in winter)
green tea
Kyoto powdered tea adzuki bean (only in Kyoto)

Popularity

Pocky is quite popular. There are even some fansites devoted to talking about Pocky and its variants. There is a shrine to Pocky and also a Pocky gallery where there are images of the boxes of the different flavors of Pocky. There is also a list of Pocky fans. Feel free to add yourself to the list, if you feel like it. There are also some pop stars who have endorsed Pocky. Morning Musume included.

Pocky is something that is fun to eat as you hear the crunch every time you bite a stick. Aside from that the different flavors could be quite addicting. Aside from that, there are different flavors to look forward to and it makes eating Pocky quite an experience.

Of pets and J-drama: Kimi wa Petto

The J-drama Kimi wa Petto was shown in 2003, with Koyuki as Iyawa Sumire and Matsumoto Jun as Momo. It is a romantic J-drama based on the manga, Kimi was Petto, which literally means “You are my pet” and in English, it is known as “Like us tramps.”

The plot
Iyawa Sumire is a smart and successful career woman who is perceived as someone very strong. Her boyfriend has been insecure because of her status and at the beginning of the series, the circumstances of their break up was explained. Also, at the time of the break up, Iyawa has found Takeshi in a box and decided to take care of him for the night. However, the surprising thing is that she ended up adopting him as a “pet.” Apparently, Takeshi reminded her of her beloved pet dog Momo and she ended up calling him that. That is why it is called “Kimi wa Petto.” There are other complications in Iwaya’s life, such as work. She was relegated to the Lifestyle section of the publication she was working in. Things have not been quite good to her ego but nevertheless Momo’s presence in her life is just the beginning of the changes to take place. Momo himself has a lot of other things going for him as the story unfolds.

Things look interesting in this series because you would see the way women and men are different in the Japanese culture, especially in the workplace. Aside from that, as this is an adaptation of the manga Kimi wa Petto, it is to be noted that the Japanese have the predilection for manga with fantastic themes like having people as pets, although the character of Momo does not really transform into one. Anyhow, this series has been quite popular and the video and manga are available for purchase online. There are people who are really fascinated with the pop culture in Japan, especially J-drama and this tv series looks like a good thing so it shouldn’t be passed up.

Manglish: Mainichi’s manga project

Manga, or comics, are commonly seen. There are even compilations of different manga. Some are considered as shounen manga (manga for boys), some as shoujo manga (manga for girls). They are not just prevalent in Japan but different sorts of manga reach other parts of the world. Some are translated by publishers like Dark Horse and Viz. There are also the fans who do scanlations - scans with translations they made themselves.

Mainichi has a project called Manglish, which is the contraction of Manga in English. It is an amazing effort on the part of Mainichi in bridging the gap between Japanese and English speakers who want to read manga and learn either language at the same time. Their style of showing the manga in English is not your usual translation wherein the text is completely replaced by the translation. Instead, the actual image of the entire page is given, so everything is in Japanese if you look at it. But when you hover your mouse over the specific speech bubbles, sound effects, etc. you will see the English translations. Awesome, isn’t it? You see the context of the manga and the actual dialogues. At the same time, you see them in both languages.

Japanese who wish to learn English can do so with this project. Reading manga makes it easier in a way. This is especially for young people who are otaku. Cultural notes are also important. Hopefully the Manglish project will also include that so that it would be more effective for the message of the manga to get through the readers.

Izakaya - a place to unwind after work

Salarymen (a commonly used term for employees) would typically go to an izakaya after work. This is a place where they could relax and have a few drinks. In Japan, it is typical to see izakayas.

What is an izakaya?
An izakaya is a Japanese bar or tavern that serves drinks and food. Guests are seated on tatami mats and they have low tables, as in the traditional Japanese manner. They serve different kinds of food in izakayas and they have small servings and are usually cheap so you could try them out.

The name izakaya
It is a compound word consisting of “i” and “sakaya” which is sake shop.

Things to note in izakayas

• Izakayas tend to be noisy.
  As this is a place to unwind, sometimes you may catch people do drinking games. Also, when people have had a number of drinks already, they might be speaking too loudly or singing a lot.
• There are different promos, so to speak.
  Some izakayas offer the drink-all-you-can, eat-all-you-can promo. This is common in izakayas that are part of chain of them. As for smaller izakayas, it is more often than not that you pay for the orders individually at the end of the period you are there.

Izakayas seem like lively places to go especially after a long day. It is where you and your co-workers and friends could hang out and just drink for a while. If you happen to avail of the eat-all-you-can, drink-all-you-can promos, good for you. You will surely have a great time enjoying the variety of food and drinks there.

Trivia: There is even a movie featuring an izakaya owner called Izakaya Yurei which was shown in 1994.