Does the Blue Mt Fuji Curry taste as terrifying as it looks?

We go on a trek to conquer this mountain of curry, and end up learning something in the process.

Mt Fuji, or “Fujisan” as it’s known in Japanese, is Japan’s most famous peak. Due to its global popularity, you can find a whole heap of products that feature Mt Fuji as a motif…but for our reporter Udonko, there’s one product that’s unrivalled in its visual impact.

Fujisan Blue Curry is enough to stop anyone in their tracks as soon as they lay eyes on it, and Udonko happened across it while browsing the retort curries on the Yodobashi e-commerce site. Although the curry was originally offered as a menu item at the Mt Fuji Lavacafe, located inside the Mt Fuji World Heritage Center in Yamanashi Prefecture, it became so popular that it was commercialised and now it’s sold at a wide variety of retailers.

Udonko purchased hers from Yodobashi for 715 yen (US$4.79), and when it arrived, she checked the ingredients list and was surprised to find that peach puree was on the list, along with more savoury ingredients like sautéed onions and ground chicken.

The peaches were sourced from Yamanashi Prefecture, where the retort curry is produced, which was a nice way to support local farmers in the area. However, though she’d heard of apples in curry before, this was her first time seeing a curry with peaches in it, and she couldn’t help but wonder how a product containing peaches could end up looking so blue.

▼ As she looked at the instructions for making the curry, she began to feel a flutter of nerves.

The first step would be to pop the retort curry pouch into a pot of boiling water and while it was cooking, scoop out a serving of rice onto a plate. That was easy enough, but it was the next step that made her nervous, as the rice needed to be moulded into the shape of the famous mountain.

▼ Putting her nerves aside, she began by shaping it into a round mound.

With the base looking sturdy, Udonko piled another mound of rice on top and that’s when things started to look a little wonky.

She used the scoop in an attempt to bring the grains together, and when that failed, she resorted to using her hand, popping a glove on to stop the rice from sticking to her skin.

She spent a fair amount of time fighting to complete the mountain, but no matter how hard she tried, her mountain-making skills fell short and she failed to replicate the perfect sample on the front of the package.

While moulding the mountain proved to be difficult, pouring the curry onto the rice was much easier.

Pouring carefully to avoid sullying the top of the mountain, Udonko let the blue roux slide down the sides of her rice mountain, forming a wondrous pool around it.

The mountain was a little wonky, and grains of rice were poking out in all the wrong directions, but in the end, with the roux poured around the sides, Udonko’s little mountain did resemble Mt Fuji!

▼ As long as you keep the peak white, and use a little imagination.

Now the only thing left to do was taste the curry, which looked more like a terrifying blue-green slime than an actual curry. Though her brain was begging her to run away from the fearsome-looking spoonful she was lifting to her mouth, Udonko mustered up all her courage and took that final step into the unknown.

Almost holding her breath in fear, Udonko suddenly relaxed as she realised the roux was absolutely delicious!

Despite its bold appearance, the curry had a surprisingly mellow and creamy flavour. The spiciness was a little more intense than a sweet curry but less than a medium spicy curry, and while it was sweet at first, the spiciness slowly made its presence known.

The only hurdle to a meal like this is getting past the first frightening bite, but once Udonko had accomplished that, she couldn’t stop eating the Mt Fuji curry, shovelling spoonfuls into her mouth like a ravenous mountaineer.

It’d been a long while since Udonko had eaten a curry this good, and it seemed even more delicious because of the sense of adventure involved. So if you like playing with your food, or know someone who does, the Fujisan Blue Curry makes for a perfect souvenir. It’s the next best thing to seeing the mountain from the Fujisan View Express train!

Related: Fujisan Blue Curry, Yodobashi
Images © SoraNews24
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Credit:

How to eat well at a cheap Japanese house in the countryside with no electricity【SoraHouse】

No convenience store food allowed during this sleepover!

Back in 2021, we dropped a cool 1 million yen on a house in the Japanese countryside, which, going by exchange rates at the time, was equivalent to US$9,100. As you might guess from the super low price, this old house was a doer-upper, and we’ve spent the past two years slowly but surely making improvements, while having a lot of fun in the process.

We’re still a long ways from actually being able to live in the SoraHouse — it’s not even hooked up to electricity yet — but that hasn’t stopped us from dreaming of the day when it’s inhabitable and we can comfortably spend the night there.

Our reporter Masanuki Sunakoma is not as patient as the rest of us, and he recently decided to beat us all to it by becoming the first person to stay there overnight. He wanted to know what it would feel like to spend an entire day living in an old ramshackle house in the countryside, so he packed up a sleeping bag and some meals and headed out there for a last hurrah during summer.

Masanuki was keen to eat well without resorting to buying convenience store food during his stay so he’d done some research beforehand, hooking up with a meal subscription company to try their meals. Before he got down to eating and relaxing, though, there was work to be done, so he took up a shovel and began clearing away old remnants of wood from a past demolition project.

Though this was a fairly unremarkable task, every little bit helps when it comes to improving the look of the SoraHouse, and it was a nice change of pace from working at his desk all day. Before he knew it, he had become engrossed in the job, and he was now beginning to sweat.

Fortunately for Masanuki, we have a river on the property, so he headed over there to cool down and freshen up. As he splashed water on his face and enjoyed the gentle spray from the mini waterfall, he realised how vital rivers like this must’ve been back in the day, before there was air conditioning.

There was no air conditioning at the SoraHouse, so Masanuki felt as if he’d slipped back in time. Taking a moment to enjoy the birdsong and the rustling of the leaves, he felt calm and relaxed by this slow way of living.

When it came time to return to the task at hand, however, Masanuki felt his playful, childlike side begin to stir within him. Away from the big city, he now felt like throwing the big rocks that needed to be cleared instead of carefully moving them.

▼ So that’s what he did.

He felt like running with big sticks instead of weeding.

▼ So that’s what he did.

And he felt like playing with the spooky fireworks he’d brought with him, which resemble hitodama (balls of fire that are said to be the souls of the dead).

▼ So that’s what he did.

All that play made him work up an appetite, and luckily, he had his three meals with him. Created by meal subscription company Nosh, these products use environmentally friendly paper packaging and are said to be convenient for eating outdoors so he was looking forward to trying them out.

The only inconvenient thing about eating heated meals in an old house with no electricity is the fact that a portable battery is required to operate the microwave oven we have in the kitchen. Masanuki had brought the battery with him, though, so he was able to heat up his lunch, which was Chicken Teriyaki.

Masanuki had once heard a saying that goes, “Eating outside makes food three times more delicious”. As he sat on a rock with his lunch and looked out at the surrounding scenery, he heartily agreed with this sentiment.

▼ Chicken teriyaki never tasted so good.

The meal was light, but it gave him enough energy to get back to work and stop messing around. After clearing away more debris and taking a few breaks to enjoy the countryside views, the light began to dip behind the mountains, and that meant it was time for another meal.

▼ Dinner came in the form of a Hamburg steak with chilli sauce and vegetables on the side — healthy and delicious.

This time, Masanuki ate dinner inside, with nothing but the light of his phone to brighten the top floor area.

He could’ve spent a few more hours watching videos on his smartphone or reading a manga he’d brought with him, but he was so exhausted at this point that he decided to just curl up on his sleeping bag and drift off to sleep.

After sleeping like a log through the night, Masanuki woke to the sound of birds at sunrise. He immediately strolled down to the river to freshen up, and then it was time to start the day…

▼ …with breakfast!

▼ Fried fish with tartar sauce and vegetables.

▼ Masanuki enjoyed his meal with a view out the window.

While it would’ve been nice to have rice on the side to help beef up these meals, we’re yet to bring a rice cooker to our humble estate, so Masanuki had to make do with the main and sides on their own.

Still, even without the rice they were good, and he felt proud of himself for not resorting to convenience store food like he usually does during visits to the SoraHouse. These healthier meals helped to make him feel more like he was relaxing at a home away from home, or even on a spa break at a health retreat, albeit without any of the luxurious pampering sessions.

So in the end, Masanuki put us all to shame by not only staying the night at our rundown house, but eating well while he did it. He’s braver than all of us combined, especially when you consider the fact that the house is known to have midnight visitors.

Related: Nosh
Images © SoraNews24
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Credit:

Super Mario Bros. Wonder insulated cups coming to 7-Eleven Japan

Too bad there’s no Bowser one or I would have copped a Koopa cup of that.

The Super Mario franchise has been around so long that the main characters have appeared in countless video games, movies, and ice cream. So it’s probably safe to say that we’ve all crossed paths with the pudgy plumbers in one way or another, and I’m sure we’ve all had the same thought when looking at their curvy physiques: “You know, if I tore off his head and limbs, he’d make a pretty swell tumbler.”

Well, now this psychopathic dream will become a reality with the release of the Super Mario Tumbler Book on 12 October. The reason it’s called a “book” is that it comes with some kind of pamphlet that allows it to be classified as a book and thus displayed on the magazine racks of a convenience store which in this case is 7-Elevens nationwide.

They come in the torsos of either Mario or Luigi for 2,959 yen (US$20) each and the designs are deceptively simple yet detailed, right down to the subtly different shades of blue used in each brother’s overalls.

Each cup is made of steel and can hold about 320 milliliters (11 ounces). The design is vacuum insulated to keep your beverage at an optimal temperature and also keep condensation from forming on cold drinks, making them great for workspaces.

▼ That Compaq Presario is safe and sound!

These limited-edition cups are being sold to commemorate the launch of Super Mario Wonder for Nintendo Switch on 20 October. The titular “book” that comes with each cup will offer a look at the upcoming game and other details.

So, be sure to pick up a cup from one of the many 7-Elevens that carry it or order it directly from the website of its distributor Takarajimasha. Hopefully, next time, the company will answer the question on everyone’s mind — whether or not tearing off Sonic the Hedgehog‘s head would make for a decent toothbrush holder.

Source: Takrajimasha, PR Times
Images: PR Times
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Credit:

Sold-out Studio Ghibli desktop humidifiers are back so Totoro can help you through the dry season

Filled with tiny details to delight fans of Spirited Away, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and Howl’s Moving Castle too.

Japan has a love/hate relationship with humidity. Hot and muggy is pretty much the forecast for every single day of the summer months, but once we’re out of summer and the weather cools off, you can expect people to be grumbling in short order about how dry the weather is, making their skin uncomfortably itchy.

To cope with the dryness at home, many people plug in a room humidifier. But while Japanese electronics and houseware stores stock a wide variety of the little gadgets, last year people who wanted their living spa both humidified and adorable flooded Ghibli specialty shop Donguri Kyowakoku, which was selling compact humidifiers featuring characters from My Neighbor Totoro and other works by the Hayao Miyazaki-founded anime studio.

Unfortunately, the high quality and loving attention to detail of Donguri Kyowakoku’s creations means that their items often sell out in a flash, especially for essentially seasonal products like the desktop humidifiers. Fortunately, with dry days on the way once again, the Ghibli desktop humidifiers are back in stock, with all four versions available as of this writing.

Naturally, you can’t ignore Totoro when putting together a line of Ghibli merch. The cuddly character stands on a tree trunk while blowing steam out of his ocarina on this humidifier topper, and there’s even a small Totoro for a double dose of cuteness.

Black cat Jiji is the representative for the Kiki’s Delivery Service model, here perched on Kiki’s breakfast table next to the coffee mug she purchases (at Jiji’s urging) upon arriving in her new town, plus a stack of thick pancakes. In a clever touch, the humidifier’s steam rises from the coffee cup, making it look like it’s actually filled with a fresh cup of java.

▼ See what we meant about Donguri Kyowakoku being detail-oriented?

There’s more culinary cleverness with the Howl’s Moving Castle humidifier, where fire spirit (and sometimes toy car) Calcifer is grilling up a full frying pan of bacon and eggs…

…and for Spirited Away, there’s steam rising from a tub at bathhouse of the gods, which is currently occupied by a trio of birds, with one more waiting to hop in.

▼ This sometimes happens at real-world bathhouses in Japan too (the having to wait to get into a crowded tub part, not the giant birds).

Though the shape of the bottle is the same for all four humidifiers, each has its own subtle logo, with No Face showing up on the Spirited Away one.

Power is supplied by a USB cable, and the devices’ compact size means they can easily share desk space with your laptop.

The humidifiers are identically priced at 5,280 yen (US$35.70) each, and can be ordered through the Donguri Kyowakoku online store here.

Source: Donguri Kyowakoku
Top image: Donguri Kyowakoku
Insert images: Donguri Kyowakoku (1, 2, 3, 4)
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Credit: