Bento&co Blog

Japan's national excercise, Rajio Taiso - 1, 2, 3...

Fri, 24 May 2013 13:49:12 +0900

Have you ever heard of Rajio Taiso? Probably not, but it is very well known here in Japan. Rajio Taiso (ラジオ体操), meaning “radio calisthenics”, is the national exercise of Japan that is broadcast on radio and TV. We here at Bento&co are big fans of the exercise, so we thought we would tell you a bit about it. You can even try it out yourself if you fancy it (^-^)

The exercise has 13 parts and a old-timey song that helps you keep your place. It wouldn’t be much of a radio broadcast without the song, huh?

Everyone in Japan know the exercise because it is done in schools and in companies and because NHK plays the radio and TV versions every morning at 6:30 a.m. (Wow!) In the summer, school children go to their local parks and participate in the group exercises. If they go every morning of the summer, they can win prizes.

We even do it here at Bento&co sometimes, and one of our foreign-born employees is a big fan and even has the video on his iPhone.

Being the national exercise of Japan, you probably would not expect that it originally came from the U.S. of all places. Apparently, it was started in 1925 as a way to promote better health by Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., and shortly after, when officials from the Japanese government, researching how to create health insurance in Japan, were visiting the US they learned of the broadcast. Later, in 1928, it was introduced to the country during coronation of emperor Hirohito.

You can hear the song and watch the TV broadcast thanks to YouTube. If you want to know more about Rajio Taiso, this article by the Japan Times is a great overview of Rajio Taiso. The English Wikipedia page on Rajio Taiso is also interesting, and for the daring of you, there is the Japanese Wikipedia page (^-^)

Well, do you think you will try it? Do you have a national exercise where you live?

Learning to eat again

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:57:00 +0900

A while back, I had a great, though rainy, weekend at a ryokan, a traditional Japanese hotel in Amanohashidate in the north of Kyoto Prefecture, on the shore of the Sea of Japan.

The place is beautiful, considered to have one of the three most beautiful views in all of Japan. And you can easily get there by train from Kyoto—this is the way to travel in Japan (^-^)

I’m not going to bore you with the details about my about the weekend, but the breakfast I had there was amazing.

As a Westerner, a few years ago, I do not think I could have not eaten everything on my plate completely, not to mention the other dishes that you can not see in this picture, like a bowl of rice, miso soup and chawanmushi. No coffee or orange juice, let alone a croissant and jam!

This plate has grilled fish, tamagoyaki (a Japanese-style omelet), orange slice, Japanese turnips (daikon) steamed, tsukemono (Japanese pickles), various algae, pumpkin (steamed so even the skin can be eaten).

It seems frugal, but the great variety of foods offers two advantages: many different flavors and the abiltiy to replenish easily.

Our eating habits play tricks on us. Certainly, our taste buds must learn, learn to appreciate the good things. This is also true for wine, fish or rice. But most importantly, it has nothing to do with our language nor our stomachs— it is certainly our brain.

If you have come to Japan once or twice, you may know what I mean. Tofu and grilled fish in the morning, it does not suit everyone, but yet I can assure you that some of us have made it to the point that we eat these food, and even more, we appreciate them.

Japan offers incredible culinary discoveries, even in the morning. A traditional breakfast as it is a great pleasure for those with curious taste buds. It is only a little bit of pain for a new really pleasurable experience. It can’t hurt to try, can it?

What about you? Have you ever had trouble eating a new food from a different culture? Share your experiences with us.

How your bento boxes are made

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:23:00 +0900

The vast majority of our bento box manufacturers are located in Ishikawa Prefecture, north of Kyoto. You may know the city Kanazawa, which is nicknamed “Little Kyoto”. It is definitely worth a visit if you go to Japan.

Few days ago, I visited one of these manufacturers, and also had the chance to take pictures of the whole production line of bento boxes, (I had you all in mind, of course!) The mold used to make raw plastic boxes, the artisans who apply the color and patterns to the boxes, the machines they use, you can see everything related to the manufacturing process here. No hidden tricks, folks! (^-^)

Our boxes may be used by people all over the world (over 80 countries), but the manufacturing is all local—everything is located in the countryside in an area of two to three kilometers.

Except for the rice production and the timber trade, the great activity is the production on bento boxes and other products, such as bowls (for miso soup) and chopsticks. The production happens in a beautiful surrounding, as you can see.

Now, on to the production.

As for the plastic boxes, in order to make the boxes, a mold is necessary. The molds are made by some impressive machines which “sculpt” the metal into the desired shape. You can see the machines and the molds below.

The next step is the fabrication of the boxes and other elements, like covers and dividers, are done in the press. The press works by heating and then blowing small plastic beads into the mold, which then forms the box. All of this happens a few hundred meters from the company which made the mold. Here is the man who cares for the plastic box fabrication, which he has been doing for 15 years.

Behind him, the bento box lids come out of the press and are deposited by a robotic arm on the table. At this company, there are about five or six presses and about a dozen people.

The last step is where they make the box look pretty. The plastic parts are now given their color by passing them under a paint gun. (This paint is a food-grade paint.) Each piece is examined—you can’t find any dust or particles on the surface of the box. If there was this kind of imperfection, it would be fixed immediately, of course!

“There we go”, the craftsman paints this box white. Now it awaits it’s motif.

The motifs are something a bit more technical. For most boxes, a screen-printing technique is used. The colors are applied where necessary using perforated screens. The more complicated techniques are need for boxes that are round, like the heads of our Kokeshi Bento!

This artisan here works for several manufactures, specializing in screen-printing, as I am sure you can see from the amazingly creative Kokeshi Bento above. These are all designs he created while playing around, thus, you will not see them anywhere else.

During our visit, he was busy applying the small red circles on the cheeks of the Kokeshi Bento with a machine that turns the plastic bento part and gives a few well-placed brushstrokes.

One by one, part by part, he adds his contribution to the pieces. It’s work, but is is a work that we and our craftsmen love. What a pleasure to know that these boxes made here will find their way into into the lunch bags of so many people in so many countries around the world.

Wait, wait! It’s not over yet! The last stop for the boxes before their delivery to Bento&co is at Hakoya, one of our favorite manufacturers. It is here that the elements of bento boxes are assembled and packaged.

Many small highly skilled hands pack assemble and pack the boxes, and also check that the job done right. That’s everything. Now, it’s time for us to our job: to promote the pretty boxes and export them worldwide. The fact that we can do that is all owed to these craftspeople.

The ancient and beautiful festival Aoi Matsuri in Kyoto

Wed, 15 May 2013 16:53:11 +0900

Today in Kyoto, Aoi Matsuri was held. It it a beautiful festival where hundreds of participants dress in anicent garb and enact the festival as it was held hundreds of years ago. The festival began in the 6th century as a way to appease the gods that were seen to be causing the great number of hardships the people were experiencing at the time, such as disasterous rains that devestated the local crops. The festival gets its name from the word for hollyhock, aoi, which was believed to guard against natural disasters.

The emperor at the time, Kinmei, sent messengers to the local shrine in order to try to appease the gods, which wrere seen as causing the people’s hardships. The appeasement was done by the performance of vairous acts, such as horse riding. The sending of the messenger was then done year after year and developed into the festival that it is today.

Now, the messanger leads six hundred people, thirty-six horses, four cows, adn two ox carts to the two temples associated with the festival, Shimogamo Shrine and Kamigamo Shrine. Before beginning the procession, the festival also has horse racing and mounted archery demonstrations.

It is a truely beautiful sight to behold, and the people in the ancient outfits make you feel as if you have a view into the past. If you would like to know more please take a look at the Wikipedia page on Aoi Matsuri.

Here are a few pictures that we took today. We hope you enjoy them.

2013 International Bento Contest Infographic! (^-^)

Thu, 09 May 2013 10:58:00 +0900

Come see the whole thing and all the results from our 2013 International Bento Contest (^-^)

The Japan Rail Pass

Thu, 02 May 2013 18:23:29 +0900

Our 2013 International Bento Contest recently finished, and the International Grand Winner, Yunita won a trip to Japan, which was provided by Bento&co, as the grand prize. While she is visiting, she may want to travel around Japan, and we know a great way to do it, so we thought we would tell you about the Japan Rail Pass…

Two thousand kilometers separate snowy Hokkaido and the sunny beaches of the Kyushu coast. Yet, one can traverse this amazing land with all its beauty, pitfalls and dazzling scenery on an amazing rail network of over 20,000 km. The best way for the traveler to enjoy these benefits? Put a Japan Rail Pass in his suitcase

This single ticket, valid for periods of 7, 14 or 21 days is the golden ticket of Japanese travel. This ticket has no restrictions or complicated calculations to limit travel; you can traveling without constraints while fully enjoying all the nature and culture the country has to offer.

The train is an integral part of Japan and the Japanese people; locomotives cutting through the mist in pages of Yasunari Kawabata’s Snow Country, or the shinkansen (the bullet trains Japan is so famous for) are jewels of high technology and genuine national pride. They hold a position in society far beyond that of simple transportation.

After a few moments on board one of these trains, you can understand this well enough. On the main lines, trains offer comfortable reclining seats that can change directions so you can enjoy the company of friends or family. These flexible seating arrangements also allows travelers to fully take in the the sparkling waters of Lake Biwa or visage of of Mount Fuji while traveling between Tokyo and Kyoto.

You can purchase the Japan Rail Pass a maximum of three months before your trip, after which you will receive a voucher that you will use to exchange for a ticket once you arrive. And you can do this at any of the major train stations across the country. Quick, easy and convenient, it is the best way to experience all Japan has to offer.

Our friends at Japan Experience, who were extremely generous sponsors of the 2013 International Bento Contest, are experts at this whole Japan travel thing, so check them out and see what this Japan Rail Pass is all about.

Cute cat doughnut!

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 13:40:38 +0900

Cute cat doughnut!

japanloverme: Yes you will! <3 Enter our 2013 International...

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 11:18:22 +0900

japanloverme:

Yes you will! <3

Enter our 2013 International Bento Contest and you could come to Japan very soon! http://en.bentoandco.com/pages/the-2013-international-bento-contest

The 2013 International Bento Contest! Win a trip to Kyoto, Japan! And tons of other stuff! (^-^)

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 17:51:33 +0900

Best season in #japan #sakura #hanami

Sun, 31 Mar 2013 10:29:55 +0900

Best season in #japan #sakura #hanami

#kyoto #japon

Sun, 31 Mar 2013 07:21:38 +0900

#kyoto #japon

Onigiri. #japon

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 11:02:34 +0900

Onigiri. #japon

A beer from Kyoto...

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 16:40:07 +0900

Living here in Kyoto, you get a chance to try so many amazing Japanese foods, drinks and desserts. One thing that probably wouldn’t come to mind when thinking of those things is beer. It’s not Japanese in origin, but Japan has a long history of taking things from abroad and doing them in their own way. Beer has been around for a while, but craft beer has been taking off in Japan of late.

I am a big fan of craft beer, and I can tell you, there is nothing like having a Kyoto craft beer and sitting under the cherry blossoms in the spring. It has been getting warm of late and soon it will be time, so I thought I would show you where I get one of my beloved beers.

Just two blocks away from Bento&co’s offices is Nishiki street, or Nishiki-dori (錦通), a famous market street that people from all over Japan and the world come to see. It is usually so crowded that it can take quite a while to walk through, so I only venture down here for my very favorite things.

About two blocks to the west is a small sake shop on the north side. This shop is very traditional, not some where you would expect to find a craft beer, but here is one of my favorites, Shuzankaido (Japanese).

And the reason this traditional sake shop has craft beer is that Shuzankaido beer comes from Haneda Sake Brewery (Japanese), sake brewery in the north of Kyoto in an area called Shuzan (周山).

The word shuzankaido means “Shuzan road” (周山街道). The term kaido is used especially for roads that have existed since the Heian period (794-1185), so the name of this beer represents something local and ancient. Haneda Sake Brewery, itself, was established in 1893 and they have been making beer since 1997.

In Japan, craft beer is usually called ji-biiru (地ビール), which means “regional beer”. This is an extension of the term ji-zake (地酒), meaning “regional sake”. Sake is made all over the country, but the characteristics vary based on region, so sake are heavily identified by where they come from, thus the word. Not to mention, a lot of the craft beer in Japan is brewed by sake breweries, so it is natural to switch out the word “sake” for “beer” when talking about ji-biiru.

This sake brewery makes Shuzankaido beer in three styles: Amber Ale, Weizen and Kölsch

And, here are two of them, the Weizen and the Kölsch.

I had to go with the Kölsch (^-^) What a beautiful label!

Beer in Japan has been around ever since beer-drinking sailors started coming here, but craft beer only started to be viable after 1994, when the tax laws related to breweries were relaxed. Before that, you had to make at least 2 million liters to get a brewing license, basically making brewing craft beer not possible.

Still now, there are still other tax barriers related to beer; alcoholic drinks that contain more than 67% malt are taxed at a higher rate, effectively making beer twice the cost. Due to this, most people drink a happoshu (発泡酒), a low-malt alcoholic drink, which means “sparkling alcoholic drink”. It tastes like a lot like beer, but it is definitely not as good (T_T)

So, when craft beer, which is made in small batches and with higher quality ingredients, costs, in many cases, twice what beer (those with over 67% malt content) costs, and that beer is already twice the price of happoshu, it means that it is not an environment that is conducive to craft beer brewing.

So, we have to take our hats off to the folks like those at Haneda Sake Brewery, who make the beer we love so much despite the hardships.

Here are a few other ji-biiru breweries that I love:

Minoh Brewery 箕面ブリュワリー (Minoh, Osaka)
Baird Brewing Company 合資会社ベアードブルーイング (Numazu, Shizuoka)
Hitachino Nest Biiru 常陸野ネストビール (Naka, Ibaraki)
Yo-ho Brewing ヤッホー・ブルーイング (Karuizawa, Nagano)

In the end, it is about the experience, and it’s worth a few extra hundred yen to enjoy a quality craft beer under the cherry blossoms, so I gladly pay more for it.

Well, I need to wait for the cherry blossoms to create the perfect drinking experience, so you will have to wait a bit. I promise to share some photos of it, so stay tuned!

Pens and pretty paper:

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 14:50:00 +0900

So, since we have these new stationary products, Deco Rush Animals and Mini Craft Tape, which many of you are likely to use with letters, it got us thinking about the differences between letter writing in the West and in Japan. We thought we would tell you a little about it in case your are curious or maybe you have a Japanese friend that you want to write to.

So, first we start with the paper. There are many beautiful stationary products in Japan that have elaborate patterns. Many times the the paper looks similar to kimono fabric like some of the ones we have below. Different patterns go with different seasons.

And, of course, they have matching envelopes.

So, first, we pick our paper. It is spring, so let’s go for the cherry blossom (sakura, 桜) motif.

Now, technically, the more savvy writer would not do this, but since we are still learning, we take out the lined guide paper in the back of the paper pad and put it under the piece of paper we are going to write on. Like so…

Now, back in the day, people used to all write vertically (top to bottom, left to right), but these days it is up to the writer. Most young people will write like one does in English, horizontally, but we wanted to show you the traditional way so we wrote our letter vertically for your entertainment (^-^)

The content of Japanese letters has a set format, which I will attempt to explain to you now.

So, first you start with the person’s name, family name that is. See the first line all the way to the right, below? Ok, the first two characters are Takahashi (高橋), the family name of the person we are writing (I often use the word “family name” here in Japan because “last name” can be confusing since Japanese people write their “last name” first!). Right after the name and a one space comes the suffix -sama (様). This is the same as -san like “Mr.” or “Ms.”, but it is more polite.

After that we have a line break and then comes haikei (拝啓), which is like “dear” in English. Yeah, it comes after the name.

Next line… This is an important part: the seasonal greeting. The seasonal greeting are a bit decided. Can you see that yellow text above the paper? That is the cover of the paper and it has many seasonal greetings written there so you can use them when you write your letters. What a life saver.

For this letter we did shundan no kou (春暖の候), which means “warm spring season”, or maybe more like “It’s becoming warm, isn’t it?”

The next line is the opening of the letter and is also decided. It means something like “We are hoping for your health and happiness.” I won’t go into the details of that but, if you are interested, here is the phrase: 皆様におかれましては益々御健勝のこととお慶び申し上げます。

After this you would put the content of your letter and then there would be more phrases to add at the end to make it a proper letter, but that is a whole other blog post!

So, we are going to use the pretty envelope that goes with this paper, but we also wanted to show you the standard envelope that people use in Japan. It has boxes for the zip code.

If you look at the pretty envelope on the left, since the envelope doesn’t have the boxes for the zip code and we want to make it more presentable, we write the zip code in in kanji, Chinese characters, on the right side. To the left of that is the address and then the big characters in the middle are the person’s name: family name, name, and -sama. In this case, it is Takahashi Nao-sama.

It is best to write the name in the center of the envelope. We didn’t do too well at that, but “even monkeys fall from trees” (saru mo ki kara ochiru. 猿も木から落ちる。). That is a well known Japanese proverb (^_-)

Well, we hope you find that interesting. It truly is an art. If you are learning Japanese and want to write one yourself, good luck! You can do it!

If you want to send us letters, we would love it. That is our address there on the envelopes. Can you write it? Try, and say “hi” to us.

Ohaiyou Gozaimasu おはよう (hope this is correct). I have purchased several products from your shop and I have enjoyed them thouroughly. I was wondering if you could help me with the proper way to prepare rice for Onigiri? When I make it, it drys out very quickly. Usually by the morning time when I am packing it for lunch. Any advice you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 13:52:28 +0900

Hello jburgess37,

Thank you for your message.

Yes, that is correct (^-^)

おはよう is informal and おはようございます is formal. Most times in email you would use the latter.

Personally, I would say wrap it in clear wrap or put it in an air-tight container.
Also, I don’t keep mine in the refrigerator overnight because it makes the rice hard. I put in on my kitchen table until the next day.

Here is a blog post that will give you more info: http://justhungry.com/more-about-onigiri-keeping-them-fresh-and-more

Let me know if there is anything else I can do for you.

Ciao

Brett
Bento&Co

NHK Bento&co office!

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 11:02:38 +0900

NHK Bento&co office!

Kyoto to Tokyo Green Car shinkansen (bullet train): everything you need to know

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 14:27:00 +0900

Two hours and fifteen minutes: the time it takes to go from Tokyo to Kyoto by shinkansen, the Japanese bullet train. Trains and Japan, it is a great love story. As convenient as it is for business, it is also useful to escape the cities from the countryside from time to time. Taking the train is an experience from which you cannot escape here in Japan.

Here’s a little story and some figures about my trip this morning from Kyoto (starting at 6:38) to Tokyo:

At 6:38, it is not even rush hour yet, but the train that left Osaka 15 minutes earlier arrives at Kyoto Station and it is already full. 90% of the people on the train are men who are going to Tokyo for business trips. During the week, the shinkansen doesn’t really have a family feel, it is all gray suits and ties.

Oh! At at 6:30 am, the station shops are not yet open. Too bad. It looks like no bento in the train for breakfast…

The three stations of Nagoya, Yokohama and Shinagawa are the stops on this trip for this “Nozomi” shinkansen, the fastest of the three shinkansen trains on this line.

1000 yen (€8 / $12 USD), the amount extra I paid on top of the original 12,000 yen ticket to be able to ride in the Green Car, the comfort class car of the shinkansen. The seats are wider and there is more space for the legs too. The seats are equipped with electrical outlets, which also have built-in radios with headphone jacks. Two other bonuses: two magazines to help pass the time and a oshibori, a small damp towel to wipe your hands and face.

But the biggest benefit of the Green Car is that it is often empty. It is much quieter there!

Sit on the left or right? The left, on the way from Kyoto, because you can see see Mount Fuji about 30 minutes before arrival. And then, on the way back, it’s the opposite side, so you can see it again!

One negative point: the coffee served in the shinkansen. Avoid it if you’re a gourmet.

A small treat for the way back: a jar of vanilla ice cream for 300 yen (€2.5 / $4 USD). Hard to resist.

8:53: arrival in Tokyo. As usual, the shinkansen arrives on time, to be followed by another every four minutes.

In Japan, you take high speed trains like its the subway.

Holy rolling rice balls, Batman! It's onigiri on a bike!

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 17:05:46 +0900

Everyday around lunch time, this man and his bike bring tasty rice balls to the people in the Teramachi shopping arcade (shotengai, 商店街), near our offices here in Kyoto. To me, this is quite unique. I have never seen another onigiri bike or food vendor bike like this in Japan, but the man’s bike is very old, and I have seen those kinds of bikes before, so I think this kind of thing must have been popular once upon a time.

He has many different kinds of onigiri, with all the varieties written on the lid of the box that the onigiri are stored in. I contemplated getting the no-pesticide, brown rice onigiri, but I ended up going with the umeboshi (pickled plum, 梅干し).

When I got back to the office, I wondered if the bicycle man’s onigiri were compatible with our onigir box Norio, and they are!

I love the packaging and the stamp business card and logo. There is also a stamp that says “ume”, so you know, what you are getting.

The name of the business is Ao-onigiri, or “blue onigiri”. They have a shop in the northeast of town near the famous, Silver Pavilion (ginkakuji, 銀閣寺). If you ever come out this way, you can find out more about it and the bicycle here www.aoonigiri.com (in Japanese), so hopefully you can try their “Lovely Friendly Onigily”. (^-^)

Lunch time, in Osaka, Japan.

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 11:47:31 +0900

Lunch time, in Osaka, Japan.

Sushi. “Otoro” inside.

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 22:51:37 +0900

Sushi. “Otoro” inside.