Vinegar, anyone?

Whoever thought that vinegar would become a popular drink? It sure is good for cooking and salad dressings but it is quite difficult to imagine drinking vinegar, isn’t it? Well in Japan, vinegar is one of the most sought after drinks. This is, however, not the vinegar that we are used to.

Called su, or rice vinegar, this liquid has a lot of purported health benefits. As such, it has become quite popular with the Japanese. Restaurants and cafes sell drinks comprised of rice vinegar and fruits or other ingredients. Aside from drinks, food establishments are trying to out do each other by incorporating rice vinegar into every dish imaginable – from vegetables to meat to desserts!

The main health benefit of vinegar is to lower blood pressure. It also prevents lactic acid to build up, making people less prone to fatigue. Other benefits are better digestion and resistance to fungal ailments.
[tags]Japan, food, drinks, su, rice vinegar, health[/tags]

Posted March 6th, 2007 by geisha | Comments Off

Ranobe

Anywhere in the world today, there seems to be a growing trend for light reading. What exactly does this encompass? It’s basically comic books that are like light novels. In Japan, they are called ranobe.

Publishers have no clear cut standards as to what really makes ranobe. However, in general, you would see that ranobe is characterized by a heavy emphasis on dialogue and illustrations. The plots of these novels are very straightforward and easy to understand. In short, there is not much thinking to be done when reading ranobe.

Ranobe extends to different genres. Romance and comedy are some of the more popular genres. However, ranobe also covers science fiction and fantasy. The main audience groups for this type of reading are teens and those in their 20s.

To attest to the popularity of these light novels in Japan today, several of them have already been made into movies. At present, there are plans to make more of them into the film format.
[tags]Japan, culture, books, novels, anime, illustrations, manga, ranobe[/tags]

Posted March 4th, 2007 by geisha | Comments Off

Robot: Tea, Anyone?

Japan is undeniably a leader when it comes to innovations in the electronics industry. They have long been trying to come up with various applications for robotics. Who does not know about Asimo, Honda Motors’ child-sized robot? This time, however, a new robot is in the works – with a twist. This new robot is Japanese to the core.

One of the most distinct things about the Japanese is that they consume large amounts of tea. This robot “knows” this fact and is programmed to serve tea to its owners. At present, the researchers at the University of Tokyo are still in the early stages of testing. Their prototype robot can pour tea from a bottle into a cup and deliver this cup – but only in a special room with embedded sensors on the floor and ceiling. A big plus for this robot is that it is also programmed to do the dishes!
[tags]Japan, culture, innovation, electronics, robotics, robots, Asimo, tea[/tags]

Posted March 2nd, 2007 by geisha | Comments Off