Twentythree

Grown-in-the-shade green tea gets its time to shine.

As green tea and green tea sweets continue to grow in popularity around the world, so too do attempts to upsell it. Outside Japan, you may, for example, encounter cafes and confectioners billing their premium products as using “ceremonial matcha,” which isn’t an actual classification in Japanese tea culture, and is merely a marketing term meant to imply higher quality to go along with the higher price being charged.

That’s not to say that there aren’t sweets in Japan that employ types of green tea that sit above matcha in the country’s tea hierarchy, though, which brings us to cream puff chain Beard Papa. Spring is the harvest time for green tea, when its flavors are said to be their most robust, and so Beard Papa has brought out a new limited-time green tea flavor that uses gyokuro.

Gyokuro is a type of green tea in which the leaves are shaded from the sun for at least 20 days during the growing process. This helps smooth out any rough astringent elements and enhances the sweetness/umami of the tea, making gyokuro at once mellower and more flavorful than other types of green tea. The timing of when the leaves are shaded is important (do it too soon and the leaves won’t have enough sunlight to properly mature, but do it too late and you’ll just end up with regular old green tea), and this extra required care means that gyokuro is one of the most expensive types of green tea, but well worth the price for fans.

▼ Gyokuro plants with their sun-shading nets not yet unfurled

With this year’s crop of gyokuro now coming in, as of May 1 Beard Papa is offering Gyokuro Matcha Cream Puffs, with a cream filling flavored with a mixture of matcha and gyokuro that promises to be a delicious mix of sweet and bitter elements. The treats are finished off with a dusting of green tea powder, and they’re cooked after ordering for the optimal amount of crunch to the dough for you bite through on your way to the warm, melty filling.

As you might guess from the high-class marque ingredient, the Gyokuro Matcha Cream Puff is a little more expensive than Beard Papa’s standard 250-yen (US$1.60) cream puffs, and will instead set you back 320 yen. That still makes it a pretty affordable luxury, though, and something we’re sure we’ll be able to find room in our budget for between now and June 30, when they’ll be leaving the menu.

Source: Beard Papa, PR Times via Japaaan
Top image: PR Times
Insert images: Wikipedia/Westermeierw, PR Times
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We play culinary roulette at a cheap restaurant in Kabukicho.

When you’re looking for somewhere to eat in the middle of Kabukicho, Tokyo’s notorious red-light district, the choices can be as overwhelming as the bright lights and multi-storey buildings towering over you. What can help in these situations is some advice from a local who’s eaten in the area before, and that’s where our reporter Yuichiro Wasai steps in, with a recent review of an izakaya (Japanese-style tavern) where the price of sushi starts at a super low 100 yen (US$0.63).

Eating at such a cheap place, especially in the middle of a red light district like Kabukicho, can be like playing culinary roulette, so Yuichiro decided to bite the bullet and find out what lay inside the multi-storey building, which attracted his interest with its super slim appearance.

▼ This has got to be one of the narrowest buildings in all of Tokyo.

According to the signs outside the izakaya, the prices are as tiny as the plot of land it stands on, with 120 minutes of all-you-can-drink starting at 980 yen, skewers at 90 yen, and, as we mentioned previously, sushi at 100 yen.

▼ The name of the izakaya is “Umi no Chikara“, which translates as “Power of the Sea“.

Stepping inside a place like this can be intimidating for a first-timer, but Yuichiro is used to visiting these types of under-the-radar spots. After walking in boldly, he headed over to the lady at the reception desk on the ground floor, and as he was dining alone he asked her if they had tables for one. She replied, “Yes, that’s fine. Please go up to the fifth floor.”

Yuichiro thought it was interesting that the izakaya stretched across so many floors, and it was a unique quirk as the slim building design meant the store had to expand vertically instead of horizontally.

▼ When he made his way up to the fifth floor and was shown to his seat, it was a tight space as well.

The passageway beside the table was so narrow that only one person could pass through at a time, and several customers brushed their coats against the edge of Yuichiro’s table as they made their way through.

▼ Checking out his surroundings, Yuichiro found an ashtray at his table, as smoking is allowed at all seats, making it a smoker’s paradise.

In a way, the space was very typical of Kabukicho, as it was casual and unpretentious, and when he browsed the drinks menu, he saw that draft beer was 380 yen, highballs were 150 yen, and lemon sours were an unbelievably low 50 yen.

Looking closer, the prices all excluded tax so that’s something that can crank up prices a little – the sushi, for example, might be listed as 100 yen but it’s actually 110 yen including tax.

With or without tax, these prices are undeniably cheap, so Yuichiro opted for a bottle of beer, placing his order on his smartphone. Shortly after, a waiter appeared with a serving of edamame, which he hadn’t ordered, but he was told it was an otoshi, the appetiser that acts like a seating charge in Japan.

This was a nice surprise for Yuichiro, as it was a large serving for an otoshi, and cheap too, at 380 yen, showing a sense of generosity you don’t usually see at a cheap izakaya.

▼ Then his sushi arrived: lean tuna (110 yen), medium fatty tuna (280 yen), and squid (110 yen).

Yuichiro was relieved to find that the cheap price point didn’t reflect the quality, as every piece was delicious. The texture of the rice beneath the fish toppings was a little on the dry side, but other than that he had no complaints.

Then his next dish arrived – the Mega Fried Chicken (830 yen). Like the edamame, this was another larger-than-expected serving, with 11 chunky pieces of fried chicken, and it left him feeling very satisfied.

Continuing with the meal, the yakitori was the second most satisfying item after the fried chicken, with a platter of five skewers costing 650 yen.

Happy with the skewers, Yuichiro felt emboldened enough to try the eel, which was only 380 yen. It was tasty and good quality, but if he had to choose between this and the fried chicken, he’d probably go with the fried chicken.

▼ Another better-than-expected menu item was oyster gratin in the shell (430 yen).

By this stage, Yuichiro was now feeling full so he didn’t have enough room in his belly to try any of the other options on the menu, and there were many to choose from.

▼ The menu is written in Japanese, Chinese and English, so foreign tourists are welcome here.

The only downside to this izakaya, in Yuichiro’s eyes, was the narrow seating, as this is what the table he sat at looked like.

So is this an izakaya you’ll want to visit next time you’re in Kabukicho? Well, it might not be for everyone, but if you prefer a casual atmosphere over refinement, don’t mind the smoking policy, and can cope with a small space, then this is a very cheap option that’ll leave you with more money in your back pocket to spend elsewhere.

Despite being the narrowest izakaya Yuichiro has ever visited, there’s nothing narrow-minded about the place, with a sense of boldness in its prices and offerings. He likes to think that this boldness, hidden in what can seem like an intimidating building, attracts customers who have a little boldness hidden in them as well.

Restaurant information
Umi no Chikara / 海のちから
Address: Tokyo-to, Shinjuku-ku, Kabukicho 1-18-7, Shinjuku Daiichi Building
東京都新宿区歌舞伎町1-18-7新宿第一ビル
Open 24 hours

Photos ©SoraNews24
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Image Board Collection series turns spotlight on two classic Studio Ghibli anime.

Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki is famous for having a very hands-on approach to anime production, to the extent that he’ll sometimes just draw over an animator’s draft rather than verbally explain the changes he wants made. So Whisper of the Heart sticks out in his filmography, since it’s the only Ghibli film for which Miyazaki handled scriptwriting duties all by himself, but didn’t direct the movie.

This doesn’t mean that Miyazaki didn’t have any visual ideas for Whisper of the Heart, though. As someone who’s pretty much always dreaming and drawing, Miyazaki created a number of pre-production concept illustrations and storyboard segments for the film, including several for the in-anime story being written by protagonist Shizuku. And while Miyzaki’s artwork didn’t show up on the screen, it is included in a new book from publisher Iwanami Shoten, which includes illustrations that will be shown to the public for the very first time.

Iwanami Shoten is getting ready to release the sixth volume in its Hayao Miyazaki Image Board Collection series. “Image board” is used here as a collective term for various kinds of pre-production art, which give fans a behind-the-scene look at how ideas and designs evolved from their initial states to what audiences eventually saw in the beloved Ghibli classics.

Whisper of the Heart made its Japanese theatrical debut in 1995, and screenings also include On Your Mark, a Ghibli-animated music video for the song of the same name by Japanese pop duo Chage and Aska. Miyazaki both wrote and directed On Your Mark, which veteran Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki recalls was a liberating release valve from the difficulties Miyazaki was going through while trying to crystalize his ideas for Princess Mononoke, which would come out two years later, in 1997.

▼ On Your Mark

Miyazaki’s concept art for On Your Mark is also included in the new book. A story of two policemen in a futuristic dystopia helping an angel-winged girl escape captivity, Miyazaki clearly had more ideas than could be fit into On Your Mark’s sub-seven-minute running time, and the concept art might provide glimpses of the wider world beyond what there was time to show on-screen.

In total. Miyazaki Hayao Image Board Collection 6: Whisper of the Heart and On Your Mark contains 178 pieces of artwork, 21 for Whisper of the Heart and the remainder for On Your Mark. It’s priced at 6,160 yen (US$40) goes on sale June 4, and is available online from Amazon Japan and Rakuten (here and here).

Source: PR Times, Iwanami Shoten
Top image: PR Times
Insert images: PR Times, Studio Ghibli
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Cafe in Japan uses a recipe from an old document to recreate a historic brew.

Japan might be commonly associated with tea, but coffee is also a big part of the culture, having first been introduced here during the Edo period (1603-1868). Back in those early days, coffee was seen as a luxury item imported from abroad and only enjoyed by a select few who used it as a medicinal elixir. Though that might be hard to imagine now, one area of Japan is keeping the spirit of Edo-period coffee alive: Hirosaki City in Aomori Prefecture.

Historically, Hiirosaki was a city where many foreign teachers were employed, so retro buildings with Western-style architectural influences can be seen throughout the area. A lot of these buildings now function as cafes, creating a unique ambience that will make you feel as if you’ve stepped back in time, and one of those places is Salon de Café Ange.

Here, they serve a very special drink called “Samurai Coffee“, using a recipe recreated from an old document that draws upon the area’s rich samurai history. During the Edo period, many samurai from the Hirosaki domain were sent to Ezo (modern-day Hokkaido) by order of the shogunate. At that time, coffee was distributed as a preventative measure against beriberi, a type of edema.

Although coffee beans themselves had been introduced to Japan during the Edo period’s era of isolation, through the controlled area of Dejima in Nagasaki Prefecture, it’s said that the first people to develop the habit of drinking coffee in Japan were samurai from the Hirosaki domain.

Currently, 10 shops in Hirosaki serve “Samurai Coffee”, made using the same methods described in historical documents, with the city determined to preserve its culture as a “coffee town”. Curious to try the coffee once enjoyed by warriors, we pulled up a chair at Salon de Café Ange, where a cup of the brew costs 600 yen (US$3.75).

When it arrived, we were surprised to see the coffee presented like a tea set, complete with a Japanese-style teapot.

Coffee cups and paraphernalia likely weren’t common back then, so this rustic setup immediately took us back to a bygone era.

▼ When we lifted the lid we received another nice surprise.

The roasted coffee beans, ground in a mortar, were bundled up in what looked to be a makeshift tea bag made out of a tiny burlap sack.

The sack was very cute, reminding us of the acorn sack carried by the Medium Totoro in Studio Ghibli’s animated feature My Neighbour Totoro. It also looked a bit like the drawstring bags used in medicinal baths that you sometimes see at public bathhouses. These bags fill the bathhouse with an intense aroma, and the medicinal ingredients ooze out when you squeeze them.

The teapot is already filled with hot water, so all you have to do is let it steep for about a minute. Then you can swirl the bag in the water, holding onto the attached ribbon, until it reaches your desired strength. When it gets to a colour you’re happy with, pour it into the teacup. We steeped ours for quite a long time, but the colour remained light, with an amber hue.

Since there are records of it being drunk as medicine, we braced ourselves for a hit of bitterness upon first sip, half expecting it to taste like a spicy, herbal craft cola. Although the cafe says you can add sugar to the brew, we were worried that might make it taste like licorice, so we kept it black and took a very tentative taste.

▼ Thankfully, it wasn’t bitter at all!

In fact, the flavour was gentle, mild, and very similar to kuromamecha (“black bean tea” made from roasted soybeans). Rather than being strong, the taste was on the weak side, and the temperature of the water was lukewarm as it took so long to brew.

It even went down smoothly like tea, with a very slight grassy taste, and we could imagine samurai easily swigging these down without any hesitation.

Drinking coffee from a teacup in a dollhouse-like Western-style building in an old samurai town is a reminder of where the humble cup of joe began in Japan. It wasn’t long after this that modern cafes began to spring up, with waitresses in white aprons serving coffee to customers in establishments that became glamorous gathering places for intellectuals.

▼ Hirosaki is also famous for apples, and the acclaimed apple pie at Salon de Café Ange was delicious.

It’s not every day you get to enjoy a cup of coffee in the way it was enjoyed by Japanese warriors. So next time you’re visiting Hirosaki, which you can get to by overnight bus, don’t forget to stop for a taste of Samurai Coffee and help keep the old ways alive.

Cafe information
Salon de Café Ange / サロンドカフェアンジュ
Address: Aomori-ken, Hirosaki-shi, Shirogane-cho 2-1
青森県弘前市下白銀町2-1
Open 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. (last orders 5:30 p.m.)

Images©SoraNews24
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Annual survey finds cases of 90-year-old parents caring for socially reclusive children in their 60s.

KHJ, or Kazoku Hikikomori Japan, is an NPO offering support and guidance to hikikomori (shut-ins) and their families. The organization, which also goes by the name National Federation of Hikikomori Families, conducts an annual survey on the social phenomenon, and on August 28 it announced the most recent results, which paint a troubling picture.

Within the study, which was conducted this past December and January, 280 families with a hikikomori were surveyed, and the data shows that the average age of hikokomori is increasing. When KHJ carried out the survey’s first iteration in 2014, the average hikikomori age was 33.1, but in the most recent edition it’s risen to 36.9 years old. In addition, 43.1 percent of the hikikomori in the surveyed families are over 40 years old, and 12.7 percent are in their 50s or older.

As most hikikomori are reliant on their parents for living expenses, a rising average hikikomori age presents problems even beyond the economic hardships of retirement-age senior citizens having to continue to work or attempt to support their unemployed children on a fixed household income. It also adds a ticking clock element, as older hikikomori will lose that safety net when their parents pass away. The KHJ survey’s data showed that the average age of a family member caring for a hikikomori was 66.3, also an increase over previous years, and even found instances of hikikomori in their 60s who are being supported by their parents in their 90s. Even with Japan’s life expectancy being one of the longest in the world, simple math shows that isn’t a living arrangement that’s sustainable for the very long term.

The rising hikikomori age shows that for many of those dealing with crippling social anxiety, the cause isn’t just a simple source of temporary stress, nor is the condition just a phase that they’ll overcome with the mere passage of time. However, with school bullying or academic pressure being the two most commonly perceived triggers for becoming a hikikomori, there’s comparatively less attention given to recovery programs and assistance for full-grown shut-ins. “There’s a common image of initiatives to help hikikomori as things that should be focused on supporting young people, but the reality is that this is an issue that doesn’t affect only younger age groups,” said Chikako Hibana, one of KHJ’s directors.

As with many social issues in Japan, hikikomori are often treated as a family issue first, and cultural values make Japanese parents more willing to shoulder the extra responsibility of caring for an adult child than parents in many other countries might be. However, while such patience may come from a place of kindness, parental support can’t last forever, and so more concentrated efforts to help adult hikikomori integrate into wider society, at least to the extent of becoming more self-reliant, are going to become increasingly important in the years to come.

Source: Asahi Shimbun via Yahoo! Japan News, Dmenu/Teleasa News
Top image: Hikikomori
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Sparkly new range will hold down your papers and lift your spirits with anime charm.

Paperwork can be a significant source of stress for any student, worker or bill payer, but now there’s a way to lighten the load, thanks to a new series of paperweights from Studio Ghibli’s specialty retail chain Donguri Kyowakoku.

There are three to choose from in this sparkly range, which pays homage to the studio’s 1988 film, My Neighbour Totoro.

▼ The first paperweight is the “Standing Totoro“.

▼ This crystal glass paperweight brings Totoro to life with a clear, radiant shine.

▼ It can be used in two different ways – upright in a standing position…

▼ …or flat so the character looks like it’s lying on its back.

This versatility is especially charming, as it recalls the way we see the character in the film. While Totoro is upright for most of the movie, there is a beautiful moment when the forest character is seen sleeping on its back, in the scene where he first meets main character Mei.

▼ The second paperweight also features Totoro, in a design called “Koma Totoro“.

This paperweight references the scene in the movie where the character flies through the sky on a koma (Japanese spinning top).

Though this paperweight is designed to be used flat, the beautiful scene it evokes will help to brighten your mood whenever you see it.

If you’ve ever wanted to escape your paperwork and fly through the sky on a spinning top, this is the design for you.

▼ Rounding out the collection is the Catbus.

This character has a glow about it in the film, thanks to its headlights and interior, but we’ve never seen it sparkle like this!

Beautifully crafted, the paperweight captures all the details of the magical character, including its tail…

▼ … legs …

▼… and signature grin.

▼ The curves of the Catbus refract light so beautifully you’ll hardly get any paperwork done.

Though these paperweights are designed to hold down papers and documents, they can also be displayed as treasured objets d’art.

▼ Each one is packaged in a beautiful box, with a card referencing the makers, Noritake.

Ghibli has long partnered with Noritake to produce its special edition yearly plates, so it’s nice to see this partnership evolving to include new glass designs. Each paperweight is priced at 5,500 yen (US$35.11) and can be purchased at Donguri Kyowakoku stores and online (links below) while stocks last.

Source: Donguri Kyowakoku
Featured image: Donguri Kyowakoku
Insert images: Donguri Kyowakoku (1, 2, 3)
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