Most people from outside of Asia don’t think of green tea as a flavor they want in a snack. But those of you who have basked in the delight of creamy, sweet, slightly bitter green tea desserts have probably already been converted to the green side of the snack universe. There are many kinds of green tea snacks: from chocolate to cookies to ice cream and traditional Japanese wagashi sweets.
Perhaps you’ve heard of them–these majestic plastic thrones with the latest in rear-end pampering technology. To the Western eye they are a fabled bathroom wonder only available to Hollywood’s super-rich, but in Japan these “washlet” toilets are accessible to all, from train stations to shopping malls to private commodes, with 72% of Japanese households now performing their daily duty atop these electronic bidet toilets.
Have you ever wondered what’s in Japan’s water to make sushi rice look mouth-watering good? That same water can also clean an amazingly dirty gyūdon bowl; but the true secret ingredient to either of these is not the water, it’s the Japanese appliances. People from nearby Asian countries fly to Japan just to get their hands on the country’s rice cookers and compact dishwashers and if they can’t take it with them by plane, they’re sure to use a buying service like FROM JAPAN to get them.
Fukubukuro Season in Japan is basically the equivalent of Black Friday in the United States. Starting from the day after New Years and usually lasting until January 5, stores try to get rid of products left over from the previous year, by packaging them into bags called fukubukuro and selling them at ridiculously discounted prices. Usually, the fukubukuro is sealed to prevent you from looking inside, basically making it a mystery shopping event; however, in an effort to draw more customers recently some stores have departed from the surprise aspect and now post fliers showing what’s inside. That way, the customers don’t feel like they got a raw deal. Interestingly, it seems to be working for the stores as fukubukuro are as popular as ever.
(Image Source: amiamiblog.com)
Finding good doujinshi is often a cause for major headaches. This is especially true for international buyers due to the limited numbers of available stock, even within Japan, causing many foreigners to head to Japan just to get their paws on a doujinshi by their favorite circle.
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