Get Rid Of The Common Cold With Acerola Berries

Oriental medicine has become big even in the world market. When conventional western treatments do not work, many people turn to cures from the east – and Japan is one of the main countries which offer leading cures. Surprisingly enough, one of the most popular cures in Japan today is not indigenous to the country. I am talking about the acerola berry, which is used widely across the country to cure the common cold.

The acerola berry is a small red berry which is native to the West Indies. It is also known as the Barbados cherry or wild crapemyrtle. Products based on the acerola berry are very popular in Japan today. In fact, if you were to visit Tokyo, or any other major city in Japan, you would see bottles and bottles of acerola berry products. Drug stores, supermarkets, and even convenience stores carry these products.

Why is the berry so popular? Because it is quite effective in keeping one healthy and keeping the common cold away. More than that, the acerola berry (or its products) can make your cold go away faster. The concept is nothing new, really. The reason behind the effectiveness of the acerola berry is its high vitamin C content. It also contains a lot of flavanoids.

How potent is the acerola berry? According to some studies, a drop of acerola juice can contain the same amount of vitamin C that an 8 oz can of orange juice has! So, if you are interested in something healthy and novel (at least for us in the west), you might want to check out acerola berry products.

Posted April 7th, 2008 by Maki | Comment (1)

Nomi No Ichi – Japanese Flea Markets

A flea market by any other name is still a flea market – and in Japan, it is called nomi no ichi. This traditional name is still used by the older generation in Japan but the young people use the global term flea market. Today, flea markets still abound in Japan, perhaps even more than in the past. This should not really be a surprise as the Japanese are known to be environmentally conscious, maybe more than some other nations today. They even have the word mottainai, which refers to the concept of recycling – reduce, reuse, and recycle.

As such, one can find most anything in the nomi no ichi – everything that the Japanese people deem reusable can be found here. Flea markets can be found almost anywhere in Japan. They are normally held during on the weekends, from early morning to late afternoon. The venue is usually on temple grounds and shrine grounds. According to the Japan National Tourist Organization, some of the most popular nomi no ichi in Japan include:

*Togo-no-Mori Nomi-no-ichi at Togo Shrine in Tokyo (3-min. walk from JR Harajuku Station); 1st Sunday of every month.
*Hanazono Jinja Nomi-no-ichi at Hanazono Shrine in Tokyo (5-min. walk from Shinjuku Sanchome Station); every Sunday (except May and November).
*Kyoto Temmangu Nomi-no-ichi at Kitano Temmangu Shrine in Kyoto (30 min. by bus from JR Kyoto Station); on the 25th of every month.
*Kyoto Toji Garakuta-ichi & Kobi-ichi at the South Gate of Toji Temple in Kyoto (10-min. walk from Toji Station on Kintetsu Line); Japan’s largest flea market, the 21st of every month, with a smaller market 1st Sunday of every month.

The next time you pay Japan a visit, try roaming these grounds and you might just find something to take home with you!

Posted April 6th, 2008 by Maki | Comment (1)

Urawaza – Quirky Japanese Solutions

We all love how the Japanese think – they are just a breed of their own! I believe that nothing showcases this way of thinking more than a recently released book entitled Urawaza: Secret Everyday Tips and Tricks from Japan. Quite obviously, with the release of this book, these supposedly secret everyday tips and tricks no longer remain secret.

Written by Lisa Katayama, who was born in Tokyo, Urawaza highlights tons of quick fixes for mundane things. It could have been an ordinary collection of DIY tricks except that the solutions that Katayama are things that we probably would not have thought of – that is, unless you are Japanese.

How’s this for starters - put your plant in a water soaked diaper if you are going away on a trip and you can’t find anyone to water it for you. Over time, it will slowly soak the water from the diaper, making sure that your plant will not die. Think that’s clever? How about this one – having problems with your sled sliding smoothly down the hill? Give it a boost by spraying nonstick cooking spray! You’ll be gliding down the hill at speeds you’ve never imagined before!

If these quirky solutions have caught your attention, then you would want to get yourself a copy of Urawaza, which, by the way, is the Japanese term for “secret lifestyle tricks and techniques.” The book is available at Amazon for only $10. Even if you are too conventional to try out the tricks, it would be quite a good read.

Posted April 3rd, 2008 by Maki | Comment (1)