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Hokkaido AND Osaka- perfect! Check out the Eating in Kansai thread for more ideas about Osaka: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=5369

Great, I'll be on the lookout for some crisp, tart imported apples. (They will be crisp and tart, right? Or will the US and New Zealand growers purposely select the old mealy ones to send?)

OK, let me clarify here! I HAVE heard of Edo-mae-zushi, if you're using it in to mean nigiri-zushi. In fact, nigiri-zushi and maki-zushi are about the only kinds I eat regularly here in Tokyo. What I haven't heard of is tradtional Edo-mae-zushi using marinated and cooked toppings, just like the sushi of old Edo. This is becoming increasingly hard to explain! One of the reasons I started this thread was to find out if this style of sushi has a name. Because I don't think 'Edo-mae-zushi' is a very good name at all, since it has now come to mean something else. Does that make sense? Or am I just babbling? Anyone??

This can't be true. Couldn't it be that it was the ice from Mt Fuji that was reserved for the Shogun? I've read before about Edo-era ice vendors who would cut ice blocks from frozen lakes in the winter, store them in warehouses (packed with straw for insulation), then sell them in the summer. In fact I'm certain I've seen an ice vendor depicted in a ukiyo-e! Not quite, detective Hiroyuki! This was just our first time out for good sushi together. I have been out for 'real' sushi before, just not with my husband. He didn't like sushi when we met and it took years to convert him. In fact, even though he loves sushi now he was a bit reluctant to go, since he can't eat wasabi. He's actually had a sushi chef yell at him for requesting his sushi 'sabi-nuki' (my husband has also been to real sushi, dragged there by former bosses, friends etc.), which was a bit traumatic. Anyway, everytime I've eaten in a high-class sushi restaurant the emphasis has been on super-fresh raw fish. I've seriously never heard of traditional Edo-mae sushi before. Yes, it was certainly more than kaiten-zushi, but the two shouldn't even be compared. What I meant was that it was less than any other (non kaiten) sushi shop I've been to. Much less.

Apparently it's been tried before, with American apples. And considering I've never seen a single import, it must have been a failure. I think the American apples were just too sour. People here in Japan like their fruit sickly sweet (these is a major pet peeve of mine) and don't seem to appreciate tartness or crispness.

Thank you Helen and Hiroyuki! I definitely will be going back for more 'research'. Hopefully when katsuo is in season. I certainly did NOT know that! There is very little info available online in English, and when Hanaya Yohei is mentioned he is usually credited with inventing nigiri sushi with raw toppings, apparently keeping his fish cold on ice. From what I could gether, the sushi that was popular before him was called 'haya-zushi', allthough I haven't had any luck figuring out what it consisted of. So I really appreciate your info! Again, I didn't know this. I thought Edo-mae-zushi was simply a term that could be used interchangable with nigiri-zushi. So is traditional Edo-mae-zushi still popular these days? Why have I never seen it before? It actually wasn't all that expensive. I mean, of course it was way more than our typical meal out, but compared to other sushi restaurants (I mean real sushi) it was very reasonable.

The simple stuff is best. Shio-jake (salted salmon). Kombu (simmered kelp). Okaka (bonito flakes moistened with soy sauce). Ikura (salmon roe). No offence to you mayonnaise lovers, but it should be illegal to put mayo in an onigiri.

I've just been introduced to a whole new kind of sushi and am looking for more info. First here's the story. My husband and I went out for sushi last night, at a local place we picked at random. It was our first time going out for 'real' sushi together (although we eat at kaitenzushi or take-out sushi all the time) so we were a bit nervous and made sure we hit the ATM first. It was a great meal, but totally not what we expected. Somehow the place we chose turned out to be one of the few places still serving traditional Edo-style sushi. (Not to be confused with Edo-mae-zushi, which is just another name for nigiri-zushi!) Now, I know about shime-saba. It's saba (mackerel) marinated in vinegar (and kombu?), and it's my all-time favourite sushi topping. What I didn't know was that other fish could be served this way, and that in fact this used to be the norm before one Hanaya Yohei revolutionized the sushi world by introducing raw fish as a sushi topping. So the place we went to specializes in this old-fashioned type of sushi. Much of the fish is served as shime-zushi or kombu-jime-zushi (I don't know what the difference is-obviously kombu-jime uses kombu but I thought shime-zushi did too). Both types were far less sour and strong than the shime-saba that I'm used to, in fact 'sappari' (light, refreshing) is the best way to describe it. Even my husband, who hates sour things and always avoids shime-saba, could eat it. The fish served in this style included aji, iwashi, maguro, kohada, kamasu and tai; and they were all fantastic. Other neta (toppings) were served as aburi (lightly seared), 'steak' (we didn't order this but I'm assuming that it means grilled slightly rare), yaki (grilled), and ni (braised). There were of course raw neta, but these were in the minority! The sushi itself was mostly nigiri, and made just the way I like it: A smallish finger of shari (sushi rice), easy on the seasonings. Perfectly molded- not too loose yet not all smushed, so that it wouldn't fall apart yet each grain of rice could be individually tasted. Topped with perfectly sized neta, curved and molded to fit the shari; it didn't hang off the ends, it didn't fall off the shari when handled. Just the right amought of wasabi. Perfect. My favourites were a kind of gunkan-maki topped with simmered maguro and daikon-oroshi; hon-maguro, which was served raw; and shime-kamasu (sea pike). There was also an extensive menu of non-sushi items, most of which we ignored as we gorged ourselves on the excellent sushi. We ended our meal by sharing a cup of soup- of the 15 types available we chose 'Asakusa-jiru'. This was a sui-mono thick with black nori, with a few morsels of maguro. It was so good we vowed to eat less sushi next time so we can try more soups and other items. The sushi chef was friendly, talkative and very proud to serve his old school sushi. He is a true shokunin and considers his style of sushi a dying art. We were the only customers so we were treated to history lessons, eating tips, and a few rants (apparently all kaiten-zushi shopes add MSG to their sushi rice; he finds no art in the preparation of regular sushi and dismisses it as 'sashimi-zushi'). Here is a partial menu (in Japanese) for anyone interested. http://r.gnavi.co.jp/g526500/menu1.htm It's in Nerima ward, near the Oizumi Junction/Interchanges of the Kanetsu and Tokyo Gaikan Expressways. A bit too out of the way for most people here, unfortunately- you'd either have to drive or take a taxi from the nearest station (we're lucky enough to live just a 30-minute bike-ride away). You can find the address and a map at the site above. And finally, the reason for this post- can anyone tell me more about this kind of sushi? I can't find out much about it, and I'm not even sure what it's called. Would like to know more about its history and other places to try it. Why isn't this style more popular? Especially overseas- with many people still reluctant to try sushi because they're afraid to eat raw fish, wouldn't introducing more cooked/marinated toppings be a good thing?

Yuki, any other season and I'd recommend Osaka and the Kansai area. But in July, Hokkaido sounds good. Osaka may have great food, but otherwise there isn't much of interest to visitors, so you'll likely bore your parents. Kyoto also has fantastic food and lots of stuff to do, but Osaka, Kyoto, and the rest of the Kansai region are notorious for their hot, humid summers. Since you'll likely have a chance to go again, I'd suggest you do Hokkaido this time and visit Osaka next year(and make sure it's in the spring or fall). Never been to Hokkaido, but I've heard that much of the seafood is way better in the winter (in terms of flavour, variety and availability). You might want to concentrate on other stuff- Hokkaido is famous for it's farms, especially dairy and, as already mentioned, potatoes and corn. Apparently the butter, cheese and ice cream are all good, and there are plenty of farms to visit. Genghis Khan, a Mongolian style lamb hot-pot, is also supposed to be good. As for accomodation, it's possible to book a room without an agent but it takes a bit of searching. There are a few associations that can help you. The Japanese Inn Group lists a few places in Hokkaido: http://www.jpinn.com/ The Welcome Inn Reservation centre has several: http://www.itcj.or.jp/search/pref/hokkaido.html Both of the above groups will make the reservations for you, so Japanese is not necessary. A few more lists of accomodations (you may need to make your own reservations, but because these places are listed on English-language sites there's a good chance that you can reserve in English): The Sapporo Sightseeing Guide lists a few places in Sapporo: http://www.welcome.city.sapporo.jp/cgi-bin...te=spETOUR_STAY The Japan National Tourist Organization lists 46 places throughout Hokkaido: http://www.jnto.go.jp/SH/search/accommodat...su=2&city=C0201

I love the food of Osaka and consider the city to be a food lover's paradise. You'll eat very well there! Osakans love food and love to indulge in "kuidaore" (pron. 'ku-ee-dah-oh-ray'). 'Kui' means eat, 'daore' means fall down, so the word literally means "eat 'till you drop"! 'Daore' also means to fall into debt, and there is a saying in Japan- "Kyoto kidaore, Osaka kuidaore". Which means that Kyotoites put themselves into debt by spending lavishly on clothes, whiles Osakans fall into debt by spending on food. Basicly, to do kuidaore means to spend an evening (or entire night) with friends going from restaurant to street stall to restaurant- kind of like bar-hopping with but with food. This lets you try many different things, and is sure to leave you very full and very broke. The best place for kuidaore is the Minami area of Osaka, especially Dotonbori (you may have seen pictures of the area, with its neon and giant tacky attractions like a 6-metre long mechanical crab stuck on the side of a building). Anyway, I know you asked for food info and not for a language lesson, but if you remember- and use- the word kuidaore you'll definitely increase your chances of finding good food. So rather than recommend specific restaurants (Osakans are very picky about restaurants so places open and close really fast), I'll just advise you to tell your hotel staff or anyone else you mean that you want to do kuidaore and let them recommend you their favourite places. Some foods to try in Osaka: -Tako-yaki, little balls of octopus, cabbage and other stuff in batter, topped with bonito flakes and a special sauce. This is usually a street food. -Okonomiyaki, sometimes compared to pancakes, sometimes to pizza, but unlike either. Batter with cabbage and other stuff is cooked on a griddle with pork and, like takoyaki, topped with bonito flakes and a sauce. Okonomiyaki shops usually feature tables with built-in griddles, and you cook it yourself- very fun! -Ikayaki. Anywhere esle in Japan ikayaki is a grilled squid on a stick, here it's a thin okonomiyaki-like crepe with small chunks of squid, folded over a fried egg (I hope I'm describing this right, it's been ages since I've had it). A typical street food. -Kushikatsu, which are small pork cutlets, skewered, breaded and deep-fried. Besides pork cutlests, kushikatsu places have a huge variety of things on sticks, like cheese, mochi, bacon-wrapped asparagus, shiitake, and dozens more. Most shops are tiny and all diners sit at the counter and watch the action. Diners share a dipping sauce, which is in a tup on the counter- there are usually signs all over the shop reminding you NOT to double-dip. Yow will also be served crispy pieces of raw cabbage to munch on between orders, which really are really refreshing amidst all the grease. The drink of choice is draft beer, naturally. -Yakiniku. Osaka is certainly not the only place in Japan with yakiniku (Korean BBQ), but there is a huge concentration of yakiniku shops in Osaka. -Techiri, a nabe (hot-pot) with fugu (blowfish, pufferfish, globefish). -Oshi-zushi, a kind of pressed sushi. Sushi rice is spread into a sheet, topped with shime-saba (marinated mackerel) or other fish, pressed together and cut into squares. 'Aburi-saba', lightly seared shime-sabe, seems to popular now- try it if you get the chance, it's my favourite! I've likely forgotten lots so hopefully someone will jump in with more recommendations (or correct my explanations

Tokyo Crokke might be revenge for Osaka-yaki. Or would that be vice versa...

Does she? Bet she hasn't been there since they stopped using beef. So she's missing out on buta-don, oyako-don, ikura-don, and curry-don And take-out is totally different from eating there! You don't get soup with take-out, or pickles, or a raw egg. I'm telling you, she doens't know what she's missing!

In Canada too, hamburgers always contain just beef. Except for vegetarian versions, of course- I remember eating veggie burgers and tofu burgers when I went through my veggie phase... My mom's recipe is similar to yours, Hiroyuki- just take out the pork and add a few more seasonings. And we used to use a lot more breadcrumbs, not just as a binder but as a cost-effective way to 'extend' the beef. We'd often also have store-bought ones on hand during BBQ season- I guess there is more selection in N. America because some of the store-bought ones can be pretty good. Not nearly as good as homemade, of course, but when the BBQ is going everyday mom gets tired of making patties... I'm glad this thread was started because I've been thinking of making hamburger patties recently. I've actually never made hamburgers before (not a big beef eater) and never really wanted to either. But after seeing last week's "Dotchi no Ryouri" show I can't stop thinking about "locomoco". Locomoco is a Hawaiin donburi- a big juicy hamburger patty on top of rice, topped with a fried egg and covered in gravy. I can't stop thinking about this! They made the burgers with carmelized onions, amoung other things, which made my mouth water. Not sure if that's what they do in Hawaii or if that was just the chef's idea. Anyway, gonna try this tomorrow. Having never made hamburger patties before (how hard could it be??) I hope it's a success!

What are you talking about? Plenty of women eat at ramen shops or Yoshinoya, and plenty more would like to if they could get over their embarassment. Seriously, I've eaten more ramen, gyudon, tachigui soba and other Japanese style fast-food with my Japanese girlfriends than I have with my husband (and he loves that kind of stuff!). They are always happy to eat it and often remark that they wish they could go alone but would just die from the embarassment. So we go in pairs or in a group- strength in numbers! I think the idea that women should eat "women's food"(French or Italian, the fancier, trendier and more expensive the better) and men should eat "men's food" (yakinuku, gyudon, ramen etc- greasy, fast and cheap) is ridiculous. It reinforces harmful stereotypes and prevents people from truly appreciating food. And it gives young women just one more expense, on top of all the expenses involved (like expensive designer bags, a new wardrobe each season etc.) in 'proving' that they are successful and feminine. So Hiroyuki, grab your wife and take her out to Yoshinoya! She'll probably thank you for it.

I don't know about jaded. It's not lark's tongues or bear's genitals, treats of the late Roman emperors. Stuffed Crust Pizza. Now that strikes me as pandering to a jaded palate. I would not be surprised to see the next post on this thread to be how delicious raw lark's tongues and bear's genitals are. I'm sure they're available in Japan. Umm, no. I would definitely be up for that.

What a wonderful report! Like Torakris said, this is a version of daigaku-imo. I hope this doesn't disillusion you, but that 'sweet potato lady' was likely just some part-time employee of a national chain. The shop is called 'Imo-ya Kuromon' http://www.shirohato.com/kuromon/index.htm and they sell 'Karitto-shittori Daigaku-imo'. Compared to regular daigaku-imo, theirs is crunchier with less (or none? can't remember) syrup. Rapoppo, another sweet-potato chain owned by the same company, does 'China Potato', a simliar version covered with sliced almonds. Let it give you hope! Somehow the Japanese have no problem thinking- and proving- that perfection and consistency are totally compatible. There are bad chains, of course, with Kobe-ya being a good example, but I can think of so many good ones- like Kuromon and Rapoppo above.

Don't worry too much about the eating in public thing. Actually, in entertainment or tourist districts, or during festivals, it's guite acceptable to eat street food out in public. It is street food, after all. And hey, you're a foreigner and not really expected to follow the rules anyway. If you do want to be a bit less conspicuous, make sure what you eat on the street was actually bought on the street (a box of tako-yaki is fine, a complete bento isn't), and stand still while you eat it rather than walking around. And stuff you can eat with your hands or with a toothpick is more 'streety' than stuff you need chopsticks for. As for souviners, the candy/confection suggestions are great. If you have a chance to visit an old-fashioned 'dagashi-ya' (a shop that sells candies, snacks and small toys to kids) you should find some unique treasures. In Shinjuku there is a dagashi-ya in the basement of Studio Alta, accross from the east exit of Shinjuku station (Alta is a famous place and you can find it easily by asking anyone on the street). The candies that come in realistic fruit shapes or that look like bento or plates of sushi are always big hits. Also, old-fashioned 'kintaro-ame' are good- they are made in long rolls and are cut into rounds, revealing faces or other designs. From depa-chika, sembei in tin boxes make sturdy souviners. Amoung the many varieties, the ones that are made with whole shrimp make beautiful gifts for the slightly adventurous. If you can stand the weight, 'ramune' in plastic bottles are great. (Ramune is that slightly fizzy lemon-aide like drink sold at festivals and tourist spots- it comes in a unique bottle with a marble in the top part, has to be dramitically popped open, and can only be drunk if the marble is in the correct position. Fun!) The plastic bottles are only slightly less impressive then the glass ones and are great for kid's souviners.

Palladion, For the best deal on bamboo steamers head to Yokohama's Chinatown. Actually, pretty much anything to do with Chinese cooking can be found cheaply there. Besides my bamboo steamers, I bought a contraption that allows the steamers to be used on top of any sized pot or pan available- it's like a big flat lid with a wide hole in the middle that you place on top of a pot, then put the steamer on. This sounds like "Osaka-yaki". It seems to be only available in Tokyo, which makes the name a bit of a mystery.

Thanks for clearing that up, guys. Yes, Hiroyuki, "moxibustion" is the correct word, I supposed "moxa" is a Japanized short form. My husband also has bad memories of okyu. Seems to be used just as much as a punishment for naughty children as for a treatment! My husband used to use okyu for his sore back and stiff shoulders. There is now a convenient type that looks like a tiny fat stick of incence standing on a round sticky pad. You just light the tip and stick the pad to your skin. Supposed to be safer than traditional moxibustion, with less risk of burning. But it DID burn, slightly, leaving marks all over his back, so I made him stop. I tried it too and the sensation ranges from pleasant to painful, depending on the type and where it's used. Made sore spots feel better temporarily, but didn't seem to have any long-lasting effects. I'll take a massage or a nice hot bath over moxibustion any day!

Not at all! Thanks for giving it a name. Like I said, I had no idea what the dish was called, so couldn't find anything about it online. I buy yose-dofu all the time! I have no idea what to do with all those cute little baskets- it seems a shame to just throw them out. However, it seems more like regular silken tofu than the hot-soymilk-instantly-turning-into-tofu dish. And the fact that it comes in a basket seems to indicate that, just like with regular tofu, the curds were removed from the soymilk and pressed into a basket. So what exactly is the difference between yose-dofu and regular tofu? To add to the confusion, this recipe for 'yose-dofu' is exactly the same as the homemade tofu I described earlier: http://www.murakami-s.com/recipe/rec_con/1197.htm This is the one my student makes and that I've been meaning to make too.

What's moxa?

Danjou, I've seen this dish too (I think it was at Ume-no-hana) but I don't know what it's called. It's a little different from regular tofu, in that it sets very quickly after that coagulant is added. I have no idea what coagulant they use. Calcium sulfate, in the form of gypsum, and magnesium chloride are common coagulants. Nigari is a natural substance that contains magnesium chloride and other minerals. One of my students makes her own tofu in the microwave from store-bought soy milk and nigari, and says it's really easy. I actually went out and bought supplies to do it myself, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Apparently you can't use any old soy milk (I don't know why but I suppose most soy milk undergoes some kind of sterilization or processing?), you have to buy the kind that says it can be used to make tofu. So unless you find this particular kind, you may not be able to make tofu from store-bought soy milk. Just in case, though, here is how it's done, in pictures. http://e-farm.atori.net/topics/toufu2.html The soy milk is shown in the top picture, on the left (on the right is a pouch of nigari, but it is now more common to buy it in bottles). Basically you mix a small amount of nigari with cold soy milk, pour it into heat-safe bowls, put the bowls in a steamer, and steam over low heat for 10 minutes (the microwave version is heated for about one minute). Not the same as the dish you mentioned, but apparently it does make a very nice, soft tofu.

The Tokyo Carrefour is at Minami Machida Station on the Tokyo Den-en-toshi Line. There is another Carrefour in Sayama, Saitama (near Tokorozawa) which might be more convenient for you, depending on where you live. It's at Sayami-shi station on the Seibu Shinjuku Line (a bit of a hike from the station though). A very useful site for train directions, just type in your station and your destination and it will recommend the best routes: http://www.hyperdia.com/

Maybe a better idea than preparing it at home (and thus having to deal with stinkiness and stickiness during preparation) would be eating it out. The first time I tried- and enjoyed- natto was at an izakaya and it was served deep-fried. Not a usual dish, but it pops up on menus occasionally. Deep-frying is a no-brainer, but basically any kind of cooking will destroy the smell and stickyness, so get out to an izakaya and keep your eyes open for any kind of cooked natto. Once you have your first favourable cooked natto experience, you can move on to simpler, more usual preparations. I think there is a natto thread where you can get some ideas.

I got one wrong, but they didn't say which one. I think it was the 'mekiki' question- what is that? I actally know very little about sushi, since virtually all the sushi I eat is at kaiten-zushi places. You never have to ask for more 'gari' or order your favourite fish by name- it's all there at the table or whizzing by on the belt!