Hiroyuki

While searching for information on aeroponics, I found this incredible device: Tame Taro Aero. Sorry the webpage is in Japanese only. Lots of interesting information there! According to this webpage, one single unit, which measures 42 (W) x 39 (D) x 35 (H), is capable of providing crops equivalent to those that can be harvested in a 3.3 m^2 space (i.e., one 1.8-m square), and is priced at 21,000 yen (including 5% consumption tax), which is about half the price of equivalent devices sold in the United States and Europe. Hmmmmm... I might buy one...

I don't know what you (or they?) mean by "worse", but some manufacturers make less stinky versions aimed at Kansai and other people, who are not accustomed to the smell of natto.

After carefully reading the book again, I found that that even if you select not to create a bottom for your SFG box, you must cover the location with weed cloth before placing the box there, which means that Mel's mix in the box is isolated from the ground underneath, right? I also found that there is a description of crop rotation in the book, under the title, "Rotation Not Critical" on page 144. Mel says that with Mel's mix, crop rotation is not critical although it is still a good idea. Well, I will practice crop rotation, but I feel kind of relieved when I read that paragraph.

Dr. Hattori talks about Japan's food education here. To learn more about shokuiku in general, click here (pdf format).

I'm no expert on tableware, but as a regular user of 100-yen shop tableware, I can say that I'm quite satisfied with the quality of most items. But you should be careful when buying them because there are some defective ones such as ochawan (rice bowls) that do not sit well and small plates that are not quite round.

I learned today from Taku's website that Taku is 宅 as in jitaku (one's home) not 炊く (to cook (rice, etc.)). That's a great concept.

People in Tokyo are quite resourceful in using any bit of available outdoor space for, among other things, growing plants, often in containers. Most apartments have a small balcony for drying clothes, which sometimes get used for plants as well. Steps, stairs, and the space around external walls and even parts of the pavement or roadside are also used. The fact that space is so limited could even work against the AeroGarden for some people, because not everyone will want to sacrifice precious internal space for plants. ← You put it really well, Ohba. Another factor is that many Japanese have faith in sunlight. They really like to dry laundry and bedding in the sun.

Was it this? I found some others too, such as this and this. ←

Have you ever wondered what percentage of the total population of Japan actually like natto? If so, here's an answer: More than 80% according to a recent survey conducted by Asahi Beer in February 2006. http://www.asahibeer.co.jp/aboutus/researc...0602/00122.html (Japanese only)

"Kama" (literally "sickle") refers to a gill. I'm not quite sure why kama is translated into neck or collar.

I bought the tableware for eight people that I needed for the housewarming party at the 100-yen shop. There were many attractive, fancy items, but I ended up buying basic whitish ones.

Soon after we decided to give a housewarming party for twelve people (four of us and eight guests), our 15 plus-year-old fridge became faulty . Naturally, we decided to buy a new one; we went to an electric appliance shop on July 14, and the fridge came to our house the next day - one day before the day we gave the party. We liked the fridge mainly because the vegetable compartment at the bottom was bigger than conventional ones because of the placement of the compressor in the upper part of the fridge instead of the lower part, but the fridge has another interesting feature - hikari (optical?) partial. This compartment is provided with a UV-LED and keeps the food at -2C, not the conventional temperature of -3C, thereby keeping the food fresh for one week and increasing the amount of amino acids (because a protein-degrading enzyme is active at -2C). I have yet to find whether the manufacturer's claim is true. Manufacturer's page on this fridge: http://national.jp/product/cooking/refrige...r_f500t/p2.html (Japanese only) Anyway, we like our new fridge.

It's customary for relatives and friends to give a new home owner a gift called 'shinchiku iwai' (new-construction gift) and for the new home owner to give a party at his house and invite those people in return for the gift, usually within one or two months after the completion of the house, but what with one thing and another, we were unable to give such a party until yesterday -almost nine month after we moved in on October 17. We invited eight people for dinner. We ordered several sashimi, hors d'oeuvre, and edamame dishes, as well as beer and sake, bought some pickles and others, and made several dishes including mushroom takikomi gohan, clear soup, and ratatouille. Dinner under preparation: By the way, this is the only Japanese style room we have in our house. Thus ends the story of our house construction. Who's next?

I can't tell what you mean by "very small seedlings". You mean the carrots in the upper middle square of the box in the second photo? For clarification, Box 1: Basil, cherry tomato (ct), ct vacant, okra, ct Mulukhiya, okra, ct Box 2: ct, carrot, ct mulukhiya, komatsuna, edamame okra, vacant, vacant The vacant squares are the ones in which we planted corn seeds, some of which didn't sprout at all and the others of which did sprout but later turned brown and rotted, probably because one or some of the manures we used to make Mel's mix were not good, well-rotten ones. We made the SFG boxes and immediately planted seeds and seedlings on June 17, but only a few of the seeds sprouted in almost two weeks, so we decided to try "indoor seed sprouting", described in the SFG book, on June 30. To our surprise, mulukhiya, komatsuna, and edamame seeds put forth roots the next day. Carrot seeds took five days or so to put forth roots. As for corn, only 4 out of 12 seeds sprouted. I didn't want to let them turn brown in the SFG boxes, so I dug part of the yard where the soil was soft to dig, and planted them there.

How does your version differ from the traditional one in texture?

Whether to employ "hara biraki" (cutting from the belly) or "se biraki" (cutting from the back) depends on the fish to be cut and the region. For eels, "hara biraki" is popular in Kansai (region including Osaka) and "se biraki" in Kanto (region including Tokyo). The reason is often said to be that Osaka was a town of merchants and people there liked to have a heart to heart talk (talk by "hara wo watte" (splitting the belly)) and Edo (former Tokyo) was a town of bushi (= samurai) and they disliked "hara biraki" because its resemblance to seppuku. Well, the reason may sound plausible, but the problem is that no one can tell whether this is true!

Update July 13: Not much progress in our two SFG boxes yet: You can see other photos by visiting my SFG blog.

Probably not yet. I did some googling and found only these: http://shop.fujitv.co.jp/daiba/shopping/browse.asp?B_ID=54 Anyone?

My only request so far is that I'd like to get a glimpse of your normal everyday meals. How about breakfast, for example? You don't have cereal? How about drinks? Do you ever eat "gohan" (cooked rice) like Japanese do? Am I asking too much?

Interesting! I learned about the gimmick from this thread (no replies up to now). How much will it be in yen and when will it be available in Japan? What other items does your mother's company deal in? I want to try AeroPress and Toddy (both coffee makers)! I hope this is not off topic...

I never make iced green tea. I prefer hot green tea even on a hot summer day. I googled and found that a common way to make iced green tea in Japan is to cold-brew green tea bags. An example: http://www.rakuten.co.jp/oft/531580/539355/

OK, tell us more about it!

Does anyone know what chukka means? I don't think it's a Japanese word. Is it Korean? Does it mean seaweed?

It's hard to tell from the picture, but does this dish contain some kind of leaf vegetable as well as seaweed? And, why did you leave out kombu? The first thing that came into my head was kiri kombu or kizami kombu. Kiri kombu and kizami kombu are often used in salad, like these: http://www.misbit.com/recipe/mid00915.html http://www.kikkoman.co.jp/cgi-bin/homecook...i?numb=00001232