Showing posts with label Travel Japan Osaka. Show all posts

Have A Small Budget for Dinner in Japan ? Try Their Kaiten Sushi (Sushi Belt)

Kaiten Sushi or a Sushi Belt is a budget small sushi shop with seats that are close together, usually having restricted movement. Being a budget sushi shop does not necessarily mean it's low in quality, on the contrary, a lot of the better sushi places I've stepped foot in, a Kaiten Sushi usually provides some of the best experience and sushi that I've had.



In a Sushi Belt store, while sticking with the traditional sushi flavors, they also tend to have modern ingredients such as beef sushi, duck sushi or even ham and mayonaise sushi. Some stores might even surprise you with western ingredients on sushi. The chefs are usually in the center of the belt, replenishing the sushi fresh onto the belt.

If you order from the menu, the food usually comes quicker than a restaurant. However, the main experience is choosing what you want from the Sushi Belt, hence the name. It is a great concept for hungry and busy Japanese people who need to eat fast and full.



Sushi is also usually priced at a relatively cheap range like 100YEN~300YEN. Other side dishes like Onigiri or Chawanmushi is usually around the same range as well. Going to a Kaiten Sushi store is certainly an experience for anyone at any kind of budget. Most of them even have English menus as well, so there's no need to be hesitant or daunted stepping in.

How And Where to Buy Cigarettes in Japan

Smoking is a common and popular habit in Japan and cigarettes are rather easy to purchase. The legal smoking age is 20 although many start smoking in their younger years.

A few ways to purchase cigarettes in Japan are as such-

Vending Machine



Vending machines now require a TASPO card which you have to be a resident in Japan to aquire. This card is to certify that you are of age to purchase and smoke cigarettes. All cigarette vending machines are now equipped with the TASPO card function.


An example of the taspo card.


The next way is to purchase from a convenience store like lawson, family mart or 7/11.

Most convenience stores sell cigarettes that they label by the number. It may be a little difficult for non-Japanese speaking people to buy cigarettes over the counter, however the cigarettes are usually displayed in a wide array where the customer is able to just point.




The last way is to buy through a cigarette vendor. They carry a large variety of cigarettes, even some uncommon/rare brands that most people do not smoke.



They are usually ran by traditional Japanese people that don't understand much English. However these stores usually give out goodies like specific lighters, keychains and such when purchasing their cigarettes. Think of it as a GWP (Gift with Purchase).

MacDonald selling Potato ?

IN JAPAN

There isn't anything called "french fries" in Japan's MacDonalds menus. Instead you will find a word "ポテト”, which is a direct english translation for the word "Potato". Perhaps because they have difficulties translating it into hiragana. Japanese has weak tolerance against spicyness and that explains why they only serve ketchup without chilli. As I don't really fancy ketchup, I have been eating MacDonalds without any sauce since I arrived in Japan 2 years ago....

IN SINGAPORE

Luckily, we still use the word "french fries" for french fries. The only difference is the kind of sauce we have in Singapore. As compared to Japan, Singapore's MacDonalds does provides a great varieties of sauce, e.g ketchup, chilli sauce, sweet chilli sauce ....

Shabu Shabu (しゃぶしゃぶ) at Osaka

Shabu shabu (しゃぶしゃぶ)is a variant of Japanese-style hot pot, which are available all year round, though it is eaten mostly during winter times to keep away the coldness. Most of these restaurants operates like buffet, houdai (放題) which allows you to have free flow of ingredients for 90 mins or 2 hours, depending on the restuarant itself. In addition, they also have a la carte menus which can be included in the buffet course, of course at additional charges.

There are many style of soup base available and the one shown below is so-called yin-yang pot, where one is spicy while the other is just plain chicken stock.



Let's introduce the ingredients used... Usually thin slices of meat and veggies varieties. You can try all the veggies into the pot at first as it takes a longer time to cook. As for the meat, after the soup start boiling, dip the meat until medium rare and it is ready to be eaten, (not true for chicken meat though). It is quite a Japanese culture to eat a half-cooked meat and so don't be surprised by that !

Oh, nearly forgot about it. You need to dip it in sauces, called tare (たれ), which would make the food much more tastier. Usually used are gomatare (ゴマたれ), which is sesame sauce or ponzu (ポン酢), orange juices with vinegar. (Sorry, I will make up the photos for the sauces again.)



To prove that it is delicious, look at the mess we made in the restaurant ! Well, there are 2-3 big eaters around, and the waitress make it in time to do the clean up.

Last Photoshoot Before Graduation Exam at Meric Japanese School A4 Class

これですね。卒業試験の日に撮った写真から作ったものだ。






























Cigarette Vending Machines at Osaka, Japan

I was cleaning up my photo albums one day and I saw this interesting photo which thought it might be good to post it on my blog. One interesting fact in Japan is that are so many 7-11, family mart located along the street which are just few meters away, the streets are still being littered with vending machines selling drinks and cigarettes. I did a brief calculation the number of vending machines around a block and guess what ? There is a total of more than 20 vending machines ! A sight which you will never see in Singapore. These vending machines are available 24 hours along the street, so hooray for the smokers ! By the way, the cigarettes that are selling in Japan tasted and smell much better than those selling in Singapore...

Different Culture Views
Japanese certainly have a different views compared to Singapore in terms of control of cigarettes selling. While Singapore has banned cigarettes advertisement donkey years ago, Japan are selling them with vending machines and advertisements all over the place. Better still, they are also selling alcoholic drinks e.g. beers straight from the vending machines as well.

cigarettes vending machines lined along the streets
Control of Cigarette Selling to Underage
It is definite a question that how can they control underage from buying cigarettes from the vending machines. Initially while I was in Japan, I did not really see much control being done and there is only a message pasted onto the vending machines that underage should not smoke cigarettes. 

A year later in Osaka, they have came out with a new system called the "Taspo" card, which you will need to register at one of their booth free of charge and tap the card on the panel before you purchase the cigarettes. Furthermore, they have implemented time restriction on the vending machines to operate till 10 or 11pm in the night and available at 5am in the morning at some places to strengthen the restrictions.

No long later, they have equipped all cigarettes vending machines with face recognition panel, and the camera will scan your face to determine your age. If you passed, you can buy the cigarettes without using the Taspo card. It was quite innovative way to control underage, but I am not sure how effective face recognition can be. 


This is how the IC card looks like



Life Being Too Digitalised ?
While the Japanese has made it so convenient that is no human interaction at all. This could means technology are building up barriers between people and breaking communication. Looking at Singapore, if you are buying cigarettes from the same family mart or coffeeshop, at least the uncle or auntie will interactive and chat with you, but apparently Japanese like to stay in their own life without interference. In the instance of some restaurants, you can just go to the vending machine, make a selection of your intended lunch, make payment and bring the coupon to the counter. They will served you immediately. Without a word. Some could understand the convenient of such system as it bring ease and speed up proceed, especially foreigners like us, but you can just feel the lack of communication.

Too Much Electricity Usage?
Seriously, I am not sure who is paying for the electricity of these vending machines, but I think they are spending far too much electricity and resources in a densely populated province like Osaka. I think I will be fine with 7-11, at least I could grab a bite at the same time. 

My First Home-cooked Meal as a Student in Japan

Though living in Japan, the cheapest way to settle a meal is to make one by yourself, but as you know, guys are lazy to run errands and do the cooking. Especially washing dishes. I am a guy who likes "challenges" thus i have tried to make my own dinner, in the first week I arrived in Osaka.

Scrambled egg with onions. Actually it is supposed to look like a pancake-shape, but I messed it up.

Kinou with butter (Straw Mushrooms). Too salty...

Ok, I admitted it.. Donkatsu (Japanese-style fried chicken). Bought it at 7-11.


Well, that is my dinner. I did the cooking and shared it with my sister. Saying that it is not bad for first-timer, but that was the first and the last time I cooked in that month...

My Japanese Language School - Meric Japanese School


This is the Japanese Language School which I am currently studying at, located near the computer street, Nipponbashi and as well Namba, where you can find a lot of shopping areas.

MERIC Japanese Language School
1-10-6 Nippombashi-Higashi Naniwa-ku
Osaka 556-0006
Tel: 06-6646-0606
Fax: 06-6646-0320
Website: http://meric.bho.or.kr/eng/main/

There are staff who can speaks English, Mandarin and a female staff who can speaks Spanish.