torakris

Inari definitely have a sweetness to them but it is far from dessert-sweet. Rice for sushi (even California rolls) is seasoned with vinegar, salt and sugar. For inari, the pockets are further seasoned with usually both mirin and sugar included in the seasonings. See the link two posts above this for a recipe (with pictures).

Pepsi white It wasn't half bad but I had no intentions of drinking it again, which is good because it seems to have disappeared from the shelves already.

The bento included,starting at 12 o'clock, frozen corn cream croquette (this is a frozen product that requires no cooking, you put it in your bento and it defrosts by lunch), simple salad, teriyaki meatballs (she made these), kabocha gratin (another frozen product though this needs to be cooked first) and finally a little bit of curry.

Made a wonderful hiyayakko a couple nights ago. Mentaiko (spicy cod roe) mixed with an egg yolk and soy sauce. I topped it with shiso with for color and another flavor contrast. The kids devoured it.

Mia wanted me to post this picture of a bento that she made for her own lunch. She is really enjoying making her won bentos and does it 2 to 3 times a week!

Tomizawa carries super fine, here is a link- scroll down to the 6th one and click on it for more information. I almost bought it once but at 2 to 3 times the price of regular granulated I decided it was cheaper to make it at home. ETA it is called シュクレーヌ　 in Japanese, I am not going to tempt to romanize it because it sounds French to be and I tend to cruelly butcher French...

I just tried the yuzu ones as well, I really enjoyed them. oshiruko kit kats? now that sounds weird. Has anyone else noticed that Hi-chew is seriously lacking in new flavors recently? I really wish they would bring the lime one back...

A couple questions to help you narrow down your quest. Will you be traveling with children? (you did mention 2 days at Disneyland..) Do you know what area of Tokyo you will be in? Will you be able to do things on your arrival/departure date? You can expect it to take at least 3 hours from touching down until you arrive at your hotel. So if you arrive on a late afternoon flight you may want to stick close to your hotel. Are there any foods you can't eat? Any foods you have always wanted to try? What is the most you would want to spend on a meal?

Rona, we would never force you to buy and eat such breads. Here are some pictures of various Japanese potato breads.

and here is an example of a Japanese potato sandwich While they are far from my favorite I do indulge occasionally. The potato pancake and muffin does sound good though.

I am another one astounded by the prices! We hit quite a few food festivals this fall and almost all the dishes are in the 300 to 600 yen range with 500 yen being most common. With a family of 5 a lunch at one of these festivals costs over 5000 yen ($50)! It may be worth a trip to Niigata next year.

Are you talking about Misawa (the air base ) way up in Aomori? Or is there another city called Misawa ?

I love canned fish! I always have a couple cans on hand for quick meals. For me they are divided into two categories, flavored (aji-tsuki 味付) and plain-water packed (mizu-ni 水煮). The flavored ones (usually kabayaki flavor) I eat plain straight out of the can, no heating at all. I am sure you can heat them up in the microwave or even grill them but for me that would defeat the purpose of an easy meal.... The water packed ones I usually add to dishes, one good example is Hiroyuki's majo furikake (magic rice sprinkles) from the furikakre thread. Here is a direct link. ETA Welcome to eGullet and cool name!

I saw a really interesting show on kabocha not to long ago on the tv show Megaten (Sundays at 7am on Nihon TV). One thing they discovered was that the best flavor came out 1 to 1 1/2 months after picking. Kabocha are actually have a very soft skin at picking and are quite delicate but are pretty much flavorless at that point. They also lose flavor after the 1 1/2 month storage and should be avoided after 3 months. The problem is how do you know how long they have been stored? I wish they would put labels showing the date they were picked. I can't link directly to the page for some reason but this is their homepage. It is a really great show, it is geared toward children so it is fairly easy to understand.

I agree with you completely! If given the choice I would prefer them on separate sides of the dish otherwise a bit of curry covering only a part would be ok. I don't like when the the katsu is drowning in the curry. My preference is also for a curry containing no or very little meat. I don't care t\for the recipe as written in the article, I often use ground meat in curry but find it odd in combination with katsu. I can't recall ever seeing that kind of curry being used in katsu curry.

I thought mixing the rice and curry was a kid thing. My kids all did it and my 7 year old son still does but my daughters no longer mix it (ages 10 and 12). I think they stopped around his age. Maybe you never grew up.... I should try kimchi with my curry that sounds really good, I love crunchy foods with my curry and can't eat it with out rakkyo (tiny onion pickles).

Very interesting article, I had a problem with this this part though: It is remarkably easy to make. It is harder to explain. I am curious as to what the author is normally cooking if katsu curry (especially the way it is described in the article) is remarkably easy to make! I would consider it easy if you have leftover curry and a store bought katsu but making it from scratch with ingredients like onions and garlic, mangoes, apples, carrots and chicken stock, ground pork, and curry powder, simmering for 5 hours and deep frying double dipped cutlets???

I had ordered it from from co-op so I didn't see the size and was a little surprised by how small it was. After eating it and discovering how rich it was I think the size was perfect. I had no idea that it actually contained cake, when I ordered it I just assumed it was a rich chocolate flavor... If I weigh 200lbs the next time you see me you will now know the reason.... I think I am addicted.

I know it is nearing the end of October but I want you to stop everything you are doing and get out to the nearest supermarket/convenience store right NOW! Haagen Dazs has just put a new desert that you must try. It is called Gateau au Chocolat and is a combination of ice cream, chocolate gateau and cream. I didn't think to take any pictures but this person did.

After making takoyaki with friends a while back I have been wanting to try them at home for some time. We finally made them! All the ingredients poured into the takoyaki hotplate Making the first flip Almost ready! Not the best picture but sauced and ready to be eaten This is definitely more fun as a party, it took a lot longer to cook than I remember and this kids got tired of waiting and went to play the Wii...

This is a fairly "western" bento with a hamburger patty, carrots, smashed potatoes and a green bean salad. The rice is topped with a tarako (cod roe) furikake (rice sprinkles) that my daughter begged me to buy.

Now that is a breakfast! I could eat that everyday.. All that mochi was lunch? or was that just the dessert part?

That bread looks really good! I could really go for some great bread right now. That breakfast did look a little sad....

I have always wanted to go and last week we were watching a tv show about Korean food and everyone was commenting on how much they wanted to eat all of it. We had no plans for this winter so I told my family if I could get a flight and hotel for less than $2,500 (for all 5 of us) we could go. It took 3 days on the internet but I managed to plan our trip for $2,400--including breakfast. The 2 1/2 hour flight is the biggest bonus, we are also saving more time by flying Haneda-Gimpo instead of Narita-Incheon. More time for eating and shopping! Any other recommendations on Korean products I should keep my eyes out for?

Zunda kit kat?? Can you break off a piece and send it to me? Those are some great pictures! Was there any sauce with the Ghengis Kahn? I always thought the lamb was seasoned before grilling but the one you have looks plain. Also, was there an entrance fee to enter Koiwai Farm?