torakris

Great articles Helen! I am looking forward to more of the recipes you find!!

Gus take a look at this site: http://members.tripod.com/~NiallOK/Kyoto-Yuba.html all yuba recipes!! I admit to being a bit of a purist when eating yuba at home and never do anything with it other than adding a little soy and a drop of wasabi....

Tokoroten is most commonly eaten as a summer food, thus you might not find it in the Japanese markets for a little while longer. I have seen it once already in my area of Yokohama but by mid summer it should be everywhere. I eat it with the vinegar dressing and karashi.

I too have seen mayo unrefrigerated here for long periods of time, I found this at the Kewpie homepage: マヨネーズは高温（真夏の高い気温など）に何日も置かれたり、直接日光にあたると風味が劣化しやすい食品です。また0℃以下に置かれると、油が分離してしまいます。 開栓前は冷暗所に置き、冷えすぎる場所を避け、冷蔵庫で保管するときはドアポケットなどに入れるようにしてください。 また、開栓後は常温で保存するとマヨネーズ中の油が酸化し、味がおちるため、冷蔵庫で保管し、1ヵ月程度で使いきることをおすすめします。 A simple translation says that Kewpie mayo is a product that can become bad if held at high temperatures (like the middle of summer) for a couple of days. Before opening it can be held in a cool place, but please refrigerate after opening. Not refrigerating it can cause the oil to oxidize and loss of flavor, it should be stored in the refrigerator and is best used up with in a month. More questions and answers from Kewpie can be found here (Japanese only): http://www.kewpie.co.jp/mayoworld/mayost_index.html

This thread is really making me look forward to my month long trip to Cleveland this summer..... I will second the Coventry area on the East side, besides the fact that this was the area I grew up in , it is really a wonderful area! Not sure of what is there currently (as stuff seems to come and go between my trips back) but Hunan on Coventry is my favorite Chinese place in Cleveland and all of the food in the area is a really great value for the price you are paying.

word for 5/5: こどもの日 kodomo no hi Children's Day, though it is actually a festival celebrating boys.... Here is the thread on kodomo no hi: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=20512

I have to admit, I don't really do anything for kodomo no hi, didn't even pull out the helmet this year, have no carp streamers, make no traditional foods.... I do go all out on girl's day though Maybe I haven't gotten used to having a boy or maybe it is because I am a girl myself... In my area I think most people buy all the stuff from the supermarket.

Catherine, mayo in Japan, that has its one looong thread.... http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=22965&st=0

Well tomorrow is kodomo no hi..... Wish we had some nicer weather, it looks like a typhoon is blowing through (though it isn't) with lots of rain and really strong winds, looks like it may continue tomorrow as well...

I don't believe the rice bun is actually flavored itself, it is just grilled. It will hold up for a couple bites and then it starts to crumble, it is actually served in a pocket like bag and you sort of eat it out of that, the the parts just fall back into the bag and you just sort of push everything into your mouth. The yakiniku burger is no longer being sold, they now have a shouga-yaki burger (pork with a ginger sauce), but I don't believe their is any additional sauce other than what the meat was cooked in. Here is a nice picture of the rice burger as well as the pocket like bag it is served in: http://jogeedaklown.com/images/worldcup/wo...5-rot-1-0.shtml

The quality of some of the stuff is really incredible, here are a sample of some of the dishes: everything there cost a total of about $6!

yup! $.91 at today's exchange rate....

I love the hundred yen shops! I rarely buy food there though as, at least in my area, I can always find the same thing cheaper somewhere else. It is great for dishes (almost half of my dishes are from there) as well as other kitchen gadgets, bowls, colanders, etc

words for 5/4: 旬さば　　　　　 関さば tokisaba (toe-key-sah-bah) sekisaba (say-key-sah-bah) These are what you would call "brand name" saba. They are both of the masaba variety and are both the kansaba ("cold") saba types yet they difference lays in where they are caught. Tokisaba are caught off the coast of Gotou and Tsushima cities in Nagasaki prefecture, while Sekisaba are caught off the coast of Sagaseki city in Oita Prefecture. In the winter months you will see these names popping up everywhere from sushi bars to packs of shimesaba.

These are the only things that they use for cold drinks in Japan..... They sell them in indivuidual sizes for use at home or in restaurants, though some restaurants set out a tiny pitcher with sugar syrup instead. They are packaeged in those little plastic thingies that coffee cream often comes in. You can also buy them in bottles, small ones for home use and large ones for restaurant size. Here are some pictures: http://www.nakahyo.co.jp/products/gum_syru..._syrup-main.htm and here is a handful I just pulled out of my refrigerator Most of them are from McDonald's, they come with the iced tea, but I don't drink sweetened tea and I bring them home to use for my iced coffee. The popular ones now are those with only 1/2 the calories.... EDIT* by the way they are called gum sryup over here

word for 5/3: 秋さば　　秋サバ akisaba (ah-key-sah-bah) Aki means fall or autumn and thus this refers to saba that are caught around September and October. This is another time of the year that saba are at their best. Saba lay their eggs in the late spring and summer, they eat a lot after laying the eggs and therefore by fall are quite fattened making them quite delicious. The kansaba ("cold" saba) we discussed yesterday are eaten just before laying the eggs and are prized for their fattiness as well. Both the terms akisaba and kansaba are almost exclusively used to describe saba that are caught in the waters around Japan. You shouldn't see this kind of naming on any of the imported fish.

About those beans you were describing, were they possibly the black bean variety of amanattou? 甘納豆 ? Did they look like this: http://www.okashikan.com/shoping/nakamuraya.html I love these, they are too expensive to actually buy but I snack on them every time I see samples, I really like the ones made with the big white beans...

Hope you haven't forgotten about the saba! word for 5/2: 寒さば　寒サバ kansaba (kahn-sah-bah) Kan is the character for cold, more people might be familiar with the other reading for it of samui (寒い). Kansaba refers to saba caught during the cold months normally November to February, this is one of the shun (旬) or seasons for saba and thus one of the best times to eat it.

The newest flyer for Dominos announces the start of their pasta menu, maybe this is the new trend at Japanese pizza chains. They also have a new pizza that looks really good, they recommend it as a half and half pizza though I am sure you could just get a whole pizza of which ever you prefer... One side is called saffron and mussels with a tomato sauce and a saffron sauce along with mussels, zucchini, diced tomates, garlic and black olives, the other side is called habanero and lobster with a habanero sauce, lobster, baby lobster, shrimp and bell peppers. here is their homepage: http://www.dominos.jp/ they will flash info about the new pizza in the main screen but to see it more closely click on the picture of the pizza (at the top of the four pictures) on the right side of the screen. To see their pasta menu just click on pasta menu at the top, all of the pastas are written in English including the incredibly delicious sounding " squid and cod ovum in cream sauce".......

I go to hanami parties every year, however they are not the kind written about in the book, we usually go with other families or just mothers and kids, I normally avoid the places were their are the big office hanamis going on as I don't really care for public drunkeness. We usually going to a very large park (just minutes from our house) called Kodomo no Kuni (Children's Country) which is actually a wonderful place for viewing as they have over 5000 sakura trees, It was absolutely gorgeous this year.

For one month only, the teri-tama burger!! A teriyaki burger with a fried egg, also available with cheese.... http://www.mcdonalds.co.jp/sales/promotion_new2_h_f.html and McDonalds is also running a special during Golden Week of a different value set everyday for only 390 yen (about $3.50) including a one of their burgers a medium fry and medium drink. May 4th is the best deal as the burger of the day is the big mac normally costing over 600yen! http://www.mcdonalds.co.jp/sales/promotion_new3_h_f.html

Bite of Japan: http://www.biteofasia.com/Japan/JPMenu.shtml

Black Moon: http://www.theblackmoon.com/Jfood/food1.html

more recipes: http://www.cbel.com/asian_recipes/?order=alpha

katsuobushi are known in English as bonito flakes, check page 18 of the Daily Nihongo thread for more information!