Japanese Dishes: Gyudon

Gyudon (beef bowl) is a popular domburi dish consisting of beef and onion served over a bowl of rice. The meat and onion are cooked in a mixture of soy sauce, mirin, sugar and sake giving the dish a sweet, salty flavour. Many chain restaurants (gyudon-ya) specialize in gyudon making it an informal, inexpensive dining option frequented by students, and ideally suited to travelers on a budget.

Typically, beni shoga (pickled red ginger) and shichimi (red chili mix) are available at the table and added to taste. Tofu or konnyaku (devil`s tongue) may be cooked along with the beef although these ingredients are more common in home recipes than at restaurants. Common restaurant additions are a beaten raw egg stirred into the finished product, or green onions sprinkled on top of the meat.
Between 2004 and 2006, a Japanese ban on imported American beef drastically affected the production and sale of gyudon, causing upset among gyudon lovers. However, the ban increased the popularity and frequency of butadon and tondon, which are both pork variations of beef bowl.

Gyudon ya are numerous and often open 24 hours. These restaurants operate in one of two ways. Either a staff member takes one's order as usual, or the meal is paid for in advance at a vending machine located near the restaurant entrance.

A side bowl of miso soup may come with the meal or be offered in a combo set. Other side dishes are salad and kimchi. Tea and water are offered for free with refill jugs available on the table for customers to serve themselves.

Travel Guide to Akihabara!

Akihabara (short: Akiba) is a district in central Tokyo, famous for its many electronics shops. In recent years, it has also gained fame as a center of the gaming, manga and animation culture. A major redevelopment of Akihabara Station and surroundings is nearing its completion, giving Akihabara a new face.

Electronics

Hundreds of electronics shops of various sizes can be found around Akihabara Station and along Chuo Dori (Chuo Avenue). They offer everything from the newest computers, cameras, televisions, mobile phones and home appliances to second-hand goods and electronic junk.

A few major stores, such as Ishimaru Denki, Sofmap and Laox operate multiple branch stores mainly along the main roads, while many smaller shops can be found in the narrow side streets.

Note that some of the electronic appliances on sale are only suited for use in Japan due to voltage and other technical differences and limited warranty. However, several stores also feature a selection of products for overseas use and offer duty free shopping to foreign tourists on purchases of over 10,000 Yen (passport required).

Manga, Animation and Games

The character of Akihabara has constantly changed over the decades and continues to do so. A recent development is the emergence of Akihabara as a center of Japanese animation culture, as the number of stores offering video games, manga and animation related goods has notably increased.

In addition to conventional stores, various other animation related establishments have appeared in the area, such as cosplay ("costume play") cafes, where waitresses are dressed up like anime characters, and manga kissaten ("comics cafes"), where customers can read comics, watch DVDs and surf the internet.

Dewa Sanzan Travel Guide

Dewa Sanzan ("three mountains of Dewa") are three sacred mountains in Yamagata Prefecture, each with a shrine on or near its peak. The mountains are named Haguro-san, Gas-san and Yudono-san and remain centers of mountain worship. Representing birth (Haguro-san), death (Gas-san) and rebirth (Yudono-san), the mountains are usually visited in that order.

Dewa Sanzan is a center of Shugendo, a folk religion based on mountain worship, blending Buddhist and Shinto traditions. Shugendo practitioners, called yamabushi, perform feats of endurance as a means of transcending the physical world. Training includes such tasks as long pilgrimages and endurance of the elements.

Evidence of Shugendo's most extreme test of physical endurance and religious devotion lies in the nearby Churenji and Dainichibo Temples. Here, two monks succeeded in preserving their own bodies as mummies through extreme diet modification and meditation. Although the practice is now banned, these self-mummified monks are considered living Buddhas for their achievement.

Part of Dewa Sanzan's appeal is its remoteness. Yamagata's heavy snowfall makes travel in the mountains difficult during the winter months when only Haguro-san remains open. The best time to visit is between July and mid September when all three shrines are open to pilgrims and tourists.

Japanese Entertainment: Pachinko

Pachinko is a mixture of slot machine and pinball. The player is quite passive while playing pachinko. He or she is only controlling the speed with which many small steel balls are thrown into the pachinko machine.

Most of the balls just fall down the machine and disappear, but a few find their way into special holes. This activates a kind of slot machine. Like with slot machines, you win if the same three pictures appear. This occurs quite rarely in pachinko, but if it happens, you win countless new balls. When just playing for 500 or 1000 yen, you may likely just lose all your balls within a few minutes.

Pachinko machines can be found in pachinko parlors which are spread over the whole country. Many parlors also offer a corner with slot machines. One can recognize parlors easily because they are bright and colorful. Inside a parlor it is loud and smoky. Both men and women play pachinko and it is said that there are even a few pachinko professionals.

If you win balls, you can exchange them into goods that are available in the parlor's gift shop. But you can also bypass the law that prohibits gambling in Japan by exchanging the balls first into some special goods and then exchange them for cash at a small window just outside the parlor.

Japanese: The Samurai

The samurai (or bushi) were the members of the military class, the Japanese warriors.

Samurai employed a range of weapons such as bows and arrows, spears and guns; but their most famous weapon and their symbol was the sword.

Samurai were supposed to lead their lives according to the ethic code of bushido ("the way of the warrior"). Strongly Confucian in nature, Bushido stressed concepts such as loyalty to one's master, self discipline and respectful, ethical behavior.

After a defeat, some samurai chose to commit ritual suicide (seppuku) by cutting their abdomen rather than being captured or dying a dishonorable death.

Japanese Restaurants

A large number of restaurant types can be found in Japan. Below is an attempt to introduce some of the most popular restaurant types in categorized form:

Many restaurants in Japan specialize in just one type of food.

* Sushi-ya
Sushi-ya are restaurants which specialize in sushi. In most sushi-ya, customers can sit either at a normal table or at a counter (sushi bar), behind which the sushi chef is working.

* Kaiten-zushi
Kaiten-zushi are sushi restaurants, where the sushi dishes are presented to the customers on a conveyor belt. Customers can freely pick the dishes that they like as they pass in front of them or order dishes which are not available on the belt. In the end, the number of plates is counted to determine the cost. There are usually a few kinds of plates (differing in color or pattern), each being associated with a certain price of typically 100 to 500 yen. Kaiten-zushi tends to be less expensive than usual sushi-ya.

* Soba-ya
Soba-ya specialize in soba and udon noodle dishes. Most noodle dishes come either cooled with a dipping sauce or in a hot soup and with different toppings. The menu often changes slightly with the seasons, with hiyashi (cold) noodles popular in summer and nabeyaki (hot) udon popular in winter.

* Ramen-ya
Ramen-ya specialize in ramen dishes, Chinese style noodles served in a soup with various toppings. Every ramen-ya has developed its own soup, the most crucial ingredient for a restaurant's success. Several other dishes of Chinese origin, such as gyoza and fried rice, are usually also available at a ramen-ya.

* Kare-ya
Kare-ya are restaurants that specialize in curry rice (kare raisu) dishes. There is usually at least one kare-ya and one ramen-ya inside or around any major railway station.

* Tonkatsu-ya
Tonkatsu-ya serve tonkatsu, deep fried breaded pork cutlets. Korokke and other deep fried dishes are also available at many tonkatsu-ya.

* Gyudon-ya
Gyudon-ya specialize in gyudon (beef domburi). Gyudon-ya tend to be inexpensive fast food style restaurants.

* Okonomiyaki-ya
Okonomiyaki-ya specialize in okonomiyaki and sometimes monjayaki. Customers are usually preparing their okonomiyaki by themselves on a hot plate which is built into the table.

* Yakitori-ya
Yakitori-ya specialize in yakitori, grilled chicken skewers. They are particularly popular among salarymen after work. Along with ramen-ya, they are also popular places to go as a late night snack after drinking.

* Tempura-ya
Tempura-ya specialize in tempura dishes, such as tendon (tempura domburi) and assorted tempura.

* Unagi-ya
Unagi-ya specialize in unagi (fresh water eel) dishes such as unajuu and unadon (unagi domburi).

* Sukiyaki-ya
Sukiyaki-ya specialize in sukiyaki and shabu-shabu. They tend to be expensive and are not very numerous.

History of Japanese Anime

Anime began at the start of the 20th century, when Japanese filmmakers experimented with the animation techniques that were being explored in France, Germany, the United States, and Russia. The oldest known anime in existence was screened in 1917 - a two minute clip of a samurai trying to test a new sword on his target, only to suffer defeat.

By the 1930s, animation became an alternative format of storytelling compared to the underdeveloped live-action industry in Japan. Unlike in the United States, the live-action industry in Japan remained a small market and suffered from budgeting, location, and casting restrictions. The lack of Western-looking actors, for example, made it next to impossible to shoot films set in Europe, America, or fantasy worlds that do not naturally involve Japan. Animation allowed artists to create any characters and settings.

The success of Disney's 1937 feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs influenced Japanese animators. Osamu Tezuka adapted and simplified many Disney animation techniques to reduce the costs and number of frames in the production. This was intended to be a temporary measure to allow him to produce material on a tight schedule with an inexperienced animation staff.

During the 1970s, there was a surge of growth in the popularity of manga—which were often later animated—especially those of Osamu Tezuka, who has been called a "legend" and the "god of manga". His work and that of other pioneers in the field, inspired characteristics and genres that are fundamental elements of anime today. The giant robot genre (known as "Mecha" outside Japan), for instance, took shape under Tezuka, developed into the Super Robot genre under Go Nagai and others, and was revolutionized at the end of the decade by Yoshiyuki Tomino who developed the Real Robot genre. Robot anime like the Gundam and Macross series became instant classics in the 1980s, and the robot genre of anime is still one of the most common in Japan and worldwide today. In the 1980s, anime became more accepted in the mainstream in Japan (although less than manga), and experienced a boom in production. Following a few successful adaptations of anime in overseas markets in the 1980s, anime gained increased acceptance in those markets in the 1990s and even more in the 2000s.

Quick Tour of Tokyo

Tokyo is Japan's capital and the country's largest city.

Tokyo is also one of Japan's 47 prefectures, but is called a metropolis (to) rather than a prefecture (ken). The metropolis of Tokyo consists of 23 city wards (ku), 26 cities, 5 towns and 8 villages, including the Izu and Ogasawara Islands, several small Pacific Islands in the south of Japan's main island Honshu.

The 23 city wards (ku) are the center of Tokyo and make up about one third of the metropolis' area, while housing roughly eight of Tokyo's approximately twelve million residents.

Prior to 1868, Tokyo was known as Edo. A small castle town in the 16th century, Edo became Japan's political center in 1603 when Tokugawa Ieyasu established his feudal government there. A few decades later, Edo had grown into one of the world's most populous cities.

With the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the emperor and capital were moved from Kyoto to Edo, which was renamed Tokyo ("Eastern Capital"). Large parts of Tokyo were destroyed in the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 and in the air raids of 1945.

Japanese Traditional Music: Brief History

There are several types of traditional, Japanese music (hogaku). Some of the most important ones are listed below:

• Gagaku:

Ancient court music from China and Korea. It is the oldest type of Japanese, traditional music.

• Biwagaku:

Music played with the instrument Biwa, a kind of guitar with four strings.

• Nogaku:

Music played during No performances. It basically consists of a chorus, the Hayashi flute, the Tsuzumi drum, and other instruments.

• Sokyoku:

Music played with the instrument Koto. Later also accompanied by Shamisen and Shakuhachi. The Koto is a zither with 13 strings.

• Shakuhachi:

Music played with the instrument Shakuhachi, a about 55 cm long flute. The name of the flute is its lenght expressed in the old Japanese length units.

• Shamisenongaku:

Music played with the instrument Shamisen, a kind of guitar with only three strings. Kabuki and Bunraku performances are accompanied by the shamisen.

• Minyo:

Japanese folk songs.

Ramen

Ramen is a noodle soup that was originally imported to Japan from China in the Meiji Period. In more recent decades, it has become a very popular dish in Japan, adapted to the Japanese taste. Ramen restaurants (ramen ya) number in the thousands, and instant ramen (invented in 1958) is popular both in and outside of Japan.

Ramen noodles are about as thin as spaghetti and are served in a soup that varies based on region, city and even specific vendor. Ramen's popularity stems in part from the fact that it is so inexpensive and widely available, making it an ideal option for budget travelers. In addition to freshly prepared ramen at ramen ya, supermarkets and convenience stores offer a large selection of instant ramen bowls.

Though ramen can be considered a one dish meal, gyoza are a common side dish offered at ramen ya. These Chinese style, pan fried dumplings are eaten with a soya and vinegar sauce. Shichimi (red chili mix) is usually available on the table to be added according to taste.

Ramen can be classified according to its soup base. The most popular ones are:

* Shoyu Ramen: Brown, transparent, soya sauce based soup
* Miso Ramen: Brown, non-transparent, miso based soup.
* Shio Ramen: Transparent, salt based soup.
* Tonkotsu Ramen: White, milky, pork based soup.

Ramen can also be named according to its ingredients. For example, chashumen is a ramen dish that features barbecued pork as toppings.

Japanese Language

Japanese Language: Japanese (日本語 nihongo) is spoken in Japan, and essentially nowhere else. The Japanese language is distinct from Chinese and Korean, although the written form uses Chinese (kanji) characters, and is not known to be related to any other language.

Grammar
Japanese generally employs a subject-object-verb order, using particles to mark the grammatical functions of the words: 私がハンバーガーを食べる watashi-ga hamburger-o taberu, "I-subject hamburger-object eat". It is common to omit subjects and even objects if these are clear from previous context.

Verbs and adjectives conjugate by tense and politeness level, but not by person or number. There is no verb "to be" as such, but the polite copula desu can be used in most cases: John desu ("I am John"), Ringo desu ("This is an apple"), Akai desu ("It is red"), etc. Note that the exact meaning will depend on the implied subject!

The good news is that Japanese has none of the following: gender, declensions or plurals. Nouns never conjugate and almost all verbs are regular.

Reading and Writing
Reading and writing Japanese are advanced skills which take years of work to gain much real proficiency. Japanese themselves use three different writing systems of various complexity, two of which (hiragana' and katakana) are syllabic and relatively easy to learn with 50 characters each, but the clincher is the set of over 2000 Chinese characters known as kanji. The set of hiragana characters is illustrated in the Japanese Pronunciation Guide.