No, that’s not French bread, it’s Japan’s crazy-big gobo!

Giant gobo is shocking to look at, but how does it taste?

Japanese supermarkets often have their own in-house bakeries, so when our Japanese-language reporter Ikuna Kamezawa walked into her local branch of grocery store chain Ozeki, for a moment she thought she might be looking at an enticing loaf of crusty French bread.

Actually, make than an enticing and gigantic loaf of crusty French bread.

But actually this isn’t a baguette at all. As a mater of fact, it’s not even a kind of baked good. It’s a type of root vegetable called gobo.

Gobo, or burdock root, to use its English name, is used in a variety of traditional Japanese recipes for stewed, simmered, or stir-fried dishes. However, gobo is usually a lot smaller in size, typically about as thick as your thumb.

For comparison, here’s another photo of the gobo the jumbo gobo that Ikuna found next to a regular-sized version of it.

It turns out that what Ikuna found is a special version of the vegetable called Oura gobo, which gets its name from being most prominently grown in the Oura district of the town of Sosa, in Chiba Prefecture, Tokyo’s neighbor to the east. There are Oura gobo growers in other parts of northern Kanto (east Japan) too, though, and Ikuna’s was from Ibaraki Prefecture, a ways north of Tokyo.

The size isn’t the only difference between Oura and regular gobo, either. Whereas the standard variety has a smooth surface, Oura gobo has such a craggy texture that up-close it looks like the trunk or branch of a tree.

But while it may look like part of a tree, Oura gobo isn’t wood-hard. After washing it, Ikuna grabbed a kitchen knife to slice the root in half, and it came apart with a crunching noise as she pushed the blade through.

This led to another surprise, when she found out that Oura gobo is hollow at its center!

Regular gobo is solid throughout its cylindrical shape, but with Oura you have a jagged, shadow cavity inside, whose shape reminded Ikuna of a limestone cave.

The skin of gobo isn’t eaten, so Ikuna peeled that off while considering her cooking options. Gobo can be used in various nimono (simmered dish) and soup recipes, but one of the most popular ways to eat it, and one of the easiest to make, is kinpira gobo, a stir-fry of sliced gobo and carrots. Different households make their kinpira gobo a little differently from each other, but the basic concept is to slice the gobo, soak it in water, then stir fry it in a frying pan or wok with mirin (cooking sake), soy sauce, sesame, ad rep pepper flakes, adding sliced carrot part-way through the process, since the carrot takes less time to cook.

Taking a bite of the finished product, Ikuna found that Oura gobo is a little softer in texture than standard burdock root is. While still firm, the comparatively softer texture allowed more of the seasonings to seep in, with flavorful results. Since gobo itself has only a rather subdued, slightly bitter taste, the more absorbent quality of the Oura gobo is a plus.

If you find yourself wanting some extra crispiness, though, it’s easy to achieve by chilling the finished kinpira gobo in the fridge after you’re done cooking it, since the dish can be enjoyed either hot or cold.

Gobo isn’t an expensive ingredient, with normal versions available for about 100 yen in Japanese grocery stores. Ikuna’s Oura one obviously was more expensive, at 539 yen (US$3.50), but it was so big that she has quite a lot left over for other cooking projects (maybe she’ll even pair it with a fresh batch of igisu).

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Japanese government wants overseas anime market to roughly triple in 10 years, but are they crazy?

Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry sets targets of 186-percent growth in the overseas anime business, 253 percent for Japanese video games.

Japanese pop culture is more popular outside Japan than it’s ever previously been, with Japanese entertainment franchises having established passionate fanbases around the globe and even people outside the traditional otaku and Japanophile spheres finding series they enjoy. So it’s not surprising that the Japanese government’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is hoping to expand the overseas earnings of Japanese even further, but the scale they’re shooting for is honestly shocking.

In a meeting of the METI’s Entertainment and Creative Industry Policy Study Group held in late March, the ministry listed the size of the overseas anime marker at 2.1 trillion yen (US$13.55 billion) in 2024. The government wants to roughly triple that figure in the next 10 years, bumping it up to 6 trillion yen by 2033.

That’s not even the most ambitious goal in the plan, either. Within 10 years, the ministry wants the Japanese video game sector’s overseas revenue to balloon from 3.4 trillion yen to 12 trillion yen.

METI overseas market size growth goals (2024 → 2033)
● Video games: 3.4 trillion yen → 12 trillion yen (253-percent growth)
● Anime: 2.1 trillion yen → 6 trillion yen (186-percent growth)
● Manga: 0.3 trillion yen → 1 trillion yen (233-percent growth)
● Music: 0.1 trillion yen → 0.5～1 trillion yen (400～900-percent growth)
● Live-action: 0.1 trillion yen → 0.5 trillion yen (400-percent growth)

In total, the plan is to increase those sectors’ combined overseas revenue from 6.1 trillion to 20 trillion yen by 2033.

Considering how relatively small the music and live-action sectors’ overseas markets are, and the lack of truly major marketing pushes for them thus far, those two goals aren’t too startling, since they’re essentially trying to progress from next-to-nothing to a small something. It’s the other three targets, for anime, manga, and video games, that seem perhaps unrealistically high.

Japanese video games, anime, and manga aren’t exactly new entries to the global entertainment market. Video games in particular are a mature market, and it’s been quite some time since “Japanese cartoons and comic books” were an under-the-radar entertainment option only known to discerning animation and graphic art enthusiasts. Japanese entertainment media may not be readily and abundantly available in every country in the world, but it’s been pretty easy to find and purchase/stream in the world’s largest and wealthiest nations for multiple decades.

So how does the Japanese government hope to trigger a chain of events that will lead to the overseas demand for anime roughly tripling, and the demand for Japanese-made video games specifically nearly quadrupling, in just 10 years? METI presented a variety of strategies and policies, including tax incentives and budgetary support for the production and promotion of Japanese IPs, including helping with creation and expansion of distribution platforms, and, for manga, “localization support.” Broken down by sector, the plan also suggests:

● Video games: Increased effort for mobile and PC game industries
● Anime: Producing more blockbusters
● Manga: Reducing piracy, promoting legitimate distribution
● Music: Fostering fandom and attracting new fans through live events
● Live-action: Producing blockbusters with global distribution in mind

For long-time observers/consumers of Japanese entertainment media, there are a few potential issues that immediately spring to mind. By suggesting a focus on anime blockbusters (and yes, “blockbusters,” in English, is the term the ministry used), METI is likely thinking of the gobs of cash made by Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba–The Movie: Mugen Train, Your Name, and other pop culture phenomenon-level theatrical hits. However, chasing after blockbuster-level success carries many of the same risks that the video game industry is grappling with after years of major publishers focusing on AAA titles: ballooning budgets, protracted production schedules, and constraints on creativity as having so many resources committed to the project means it can’t afford to not try to attract the widest audience possible in order to recoup its production costs.

Particularly with many overseas anime fans being drawn to the medium because it offers something they can’t find in their home countries’ animated works, anime having to play things safe with creative choices runs the risk of erasing the things that make it appealing to many outside Japan in the first place. Likewise, the suggestion of producing live-action blockbusters with international appeal as a from-the-beginning target might just lead to bland action flicks that can’t match the popcorn spectacle of their bigger-budget Hollywood competition, leaving little reason for audiences to watch it over the latest Marvel or Fast and the Furious installment.

▼ The Hayai and the Mukatsuiteiru is probably not going to attract crowds of this size.

Of course, long-time Japanese pop culture fans can also tell you that in overseas fandom’s earlier days, it was hard to imagine it ever becoming as big outside Japan as it is now, and there’s also a potential scenario in which government support and guidance helps give Japanese creators the resources they need to play to their strengths, maintain the uniqueness of their works, and help them reach audiences abroad. Anime in particular is often produced on very tight budgets, especially where animator pay is concerned, so financial support and incentives could possibly be crucial in getting projects off the ground that otherwise would never have had the chance too. All the same, the ministry’s targets would represent an unprecedented penetration into the global entertainment market for Japanese IPs, so it’ll be interesting to see if they can pull them off.

Source: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry via Animation Business Journal via Anime News Network/Rafael Antonio Pineda
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Fading Tokyo – Horikiri Station, the Arakawa River, and Kinpachi-sensei[Walking course]

Mr. Sato heads to the neighborhood of a famous TV drama and finds a nostalgic taste of a youth he never had.

Welcome back to Fading Tokyo, in which our ace reporter Mr. Sato sets out to take one more, and possibly one last, look at train stations in Tokyo that are scheduled for renovation construction, which could end up permanently altering the look and feel of the surrounding neighborhood. Following his visit to Araiyakushi-mae Station on the western edge of downtown Tokyo, today Mr. Sato is headed to the east side of the city, to Horikiri Station in Adachi Ward.

Horikiri Station is a wooden building, a rarity for a rail stop in today’s Tokyo. The station’s name comes from the words horu and kiru, meaning “dig” and “cut,” which is appropriate because while the station sits next to the Arakawa River, the body of water used to be in a different place, and its current position is the result of a flood control canal that was dug out and opened in 1924. The Arakawa River now flows right over the spot where the station used to be, but for the past 102 years, Horikiri Station has been in its current location, although the exact construction date of the current building isn’t known.

▼ The Ryomo special limited express train passes by Horikiri Station on its way to/from Gunma and Tochigi Prefectures to the north, and the contrast in size between the train and the building really drives home how long the station has been here.

Horikiri Station is also close to the canal that connects the Arakawa and Sumida Rivers, and right away Mr. Sato’s eyes were drawn to the canal’s gate, with its signal light for ships looking to move from one river to the other.

With train tracks, rivers, and roads all converging here, there’s a complex array of stairways and overpasses for getting from one side of the cluster to the other. The planned renovations are meant to make the process easier and less confusing to navigate.

The surrounding neighborhood is mostly a quiet residential area, but it has a major claim to fame in that it’s the setting of Kinpachi-sensei, a landmark Japanese TV drama about a middle school teacher and his students that ran for eight seasons scattered between 1979 to 2011. Over the years, the series’ plotline dealt with a variety of evolving social issues in a thoughtful, heartwarming manner, and so today Mr. Sato would be walking to the section of the Arakawa riverbank where the Kinpachi-sensei opening sequence was filmed, with a bit of a detour toward Ushida Station, the next stop on the Tobu Skytree Line from Horikiri.

▼ The first part of Mr. Sato’s route

The cityscape was a mix of old and new as he walked, such as a playground tucked underneath an overpass, but with a fresh coat of paint on its swing set.

As for why Mr. Sato was headed this way instead of going directly to the riverbank, it was because he wanted to stop by Hinodeya, a local restaurant where the Kinpachi-sensei cast and crew became periodic customers while filming the series. Unfortunately, it turned out that Mr. Sato had timed his arrival too early, and Hinodeya, which doesn’t open until 11 a.m., wasn’t receiving customers yet.

So it turned out Mr. Sato would be going to the river before lunch after all. Rerouting, he headed north from Hinodeya, going through and underpass so low that he almost had to duck his head to make it to the other side.

However, this change in plans turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because it meant that stumbled upon a beautiful under-the-radar sakura spot, the cherry blossom tree-lined Ofumikiri-dori Street.

▼ The second part of Mr. Sato’s route

Following the street to its eastern end puts you at the grassy riverbank, and after climbing the steps up to it, Mr. Sato was greeted with the nostalgic, liberating scenery that often waits for you at the edge of Japan’s major river-bordered cities.

By the way, we mentioned earlier that Horikiri Station’s old location is now underwater, right? It’s about where the arrow is pointing in this photo.

Obviously, Mr. Sato had to recreate the Kinpachi-sensei opening while he was here. Turning to look to the north, he spotted a white bridge in the distance that he recognized from the show, so he headed in that direction.

However, Mr. Sato didn’t have the luxury of a full TV crew to set up his shot for him, so he had to estimate the angles, record himself, and then check the results afterwards.

The first take didn’t go so well, and neither did the second.

But just like Kinpachi-sensei encourages his students to always believe in themselves and never give up, so too did Mr. Sato keep trying, until he got it just right!

He also snapped a photo with which to make his own title card for the still-in-production-in-his-mind TV drama Hidepachi-sensei.

▼ Fun fact: Mr. Sato’s first name is Hidenori.

OK, now it really felt like a visit to Hinodeya was in order, and since the place was now open, Mr. Sato retraced his steps and returned to the restaurant.

Looking at the exterior of Hinodeya, you don’t expect it to be anything fancy, and it’s most definitely not.

What it is, though, is a fantastically authentic old-school casual Japanese local neighborhood eatery, with a menu filled with things like ramen, curry.. and fried rice. Quick, simple, hot meals…and also filling, comforting, and nostalgic meals.

Mr. Sato was saved from the paralyzing dilemma of having to pick just one when he saw that Hinodeya offers a ramen and half-size curry rice combo for 1,100 yen (US$7.10).

The ramen was a thing of beauty to look at, with a visibly juicy hunk of chashu pork and even a swirly-patterned naruto fish cake, a classical touch that’s becoming less common in newer ramen restaurants. The soy sauce-base broth had a touch of sweetness to it, and as Mr. Sato ate he could feel the soothing sensations of its flavor profile seeping into his body.

The curry rice, too, was a perfect embodiment of the sort of flavors you fall in love with as a kid, never tire of, and sometimes suddenly find yourself wanting to go back to. Hinodeya’s take on the dish doesn’t just feel like Japanese curry rice, it feels like Japanese diner curry rice, a sort of perfection born from simplicity.

Hinodeya’s flavors are so evocative of the uncomplicated joys of youth that even though Mr. Sato had never been here before, for a brief moment he felt like as though he’d grown up in this neighborhood, stopping by for a plate on a regular basis after walking along the river on his way home from middle school. So should you find yourself in the mood for some first-time-visit nostalgia too, you can still find it in this part of Tokyo.

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Wisteria season starts early with blooming of Japan’s Great Wisteria in its beautiful garden

Early blossoming likely means early full bloom at this breathtaking park within day-trip distance of Tokyo.

Cherry blossom season doesn’t last very long, and there’s often a twinge of sadness that comes from watching the last petals swirl and scatter in the wind as they fall from the tree’s branches. But while that’s an understandable emotional reaction, it’s important to remember that there’s an alternative to feeling wistful: focusing on wisteria.

Yes, Japan’s next entry in the country’s list of stunning seasonal flowers are going to be hitting their peak bloom over the next couple of weeks, and the buds have already opened at Ashikaga Flower Park, which includes what’s widely considered east Japan’s most beautiful wisteria garden.

Located in the town of Ashikaga in Tochigi Prefecture, the park has more than 350 wisteria trees, but the star is the Great Wisteria, whose branches create a flower canopy some 1,000 square meters (10,764 square feet) in size.

Yes, that’s all one tree in the photos directly above and below, and if you’re guessing that it must have been there a long time to grow so big, you’re absolutely right, as the Great Wisteria is more than 160 years old.

Ordinarily, the Great Wisteria begins flowering in the middle of April. It’s gotten an early start this year, though, with its first blossoms opening on April 8, and it should be at full-bloom within a week or two, looking like the photos seen here from last year.

Also starting to bloom about a week earlier than usual are the park’s usubeni fuji, or “soft pink wisteria.”

The early arrival of the flowers has caused Ashikaga Flower Park to also move up the start of its after-sundown light-up event. Originally scheduled for April 18 to May 20, it’ll now be starting on April 15 instead, making the park’s hours of operation during wisteria season as shown below.
● April 11-14: 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
● April 15-17: 8 a.m.-8:30 p.m.
● April 18-May 6: 7 a.m.-9 p.m.
● May 7-May 17: 8 a.m.-8:30 p.m.
● May 18-May 20: 9 a.m.-8:30 p.m.

While the park is definitely worth visiting even if you can only go during daylight hours, after dark the intensity of the colors gets kicked up a notch as they contrast against the dark sky, and the reflections formed in the garden’s bodies of water make it feel like you’ve been transported to a space with wisteria both above and below.

In most years, the park says that the best time to view the flowers is between late April and early May for the Great Wisteria, between mid and late April for the usubeni fuji, early May for its tunnel of white wisteria, and late April to early May for the Yae Kokuryu wisteria. With the early start of blossoming this year, however, the timetable for full bloom is probably going to be moved up by about a week or so.

▼ Yae Kokuryu wisteria.

Ashikaga Flower Park is just a three-minute walk from the appropriately named Ashikaga Flower Park Station on the Ryomo Line, which can be reached from Tokyo in just a little more than 90 minutes, making it an easy day trip from the capital. And if you’re looking for even more post-sakura springtime flowers to enjoy, there’s a place in Yamanashi Prefecture that you won’t want to miss either.

Related: Ashikaga Flower Park official website
Source, images: PR Times
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