Line of Japanese-smelling watches sold through Japan Post Office

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Wear your love of a certain Japanese scent on your sleeve.

The middle of summer in Japan certainly isn’t known for its great smells, and if you find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time, it can get downright horrendous at times. It would certainly be nice to carry around a small whiff of more temperate times and places wherever you go.

That’s the idea behind watchmaker Maruzeki’s new line called Kaoru. The timepieces come in seven base color schemes, each with a rubber band that’s infused with one of seven quintessentially Japanese fragrances.

The Sakura watch has an elegant floral scent that gives a sense of the bursting of life that occurs in the cherry blossoms of spring, while the Matcha watch is a more refined and mature smell with a bitter tinge reminiscent of a relaxing cup of green tea or even some matcha ice cream.

A sharp pine-like scent can be found in the Hinoki (Japanese cypress) watch. It’s a relaxing smell that some say can keep insects at bay. There’s probably no bug-repelling benefit with the Tsubaki watch, though, whose inviting floral aroma of the Japanese camellia is incredibly appealing. The Yuzu watch has an invigorating citrus smell to lift your spirits with a sweet and sour aroma often used to make baths more refreshing.

The Waboku watch smells like a type of ink block used in Japanese calligraphy, and can have a very nostalgic effect on people who went to school here. The Jinko (Incense) watch contains the complex but pleasing smell of burning agarwood as incense, giving an almost transcendent feeling of being in a temple or shrine.

Sure beats a pile of garbage on the street corner on a scorching summer day, doesn’t it?

In addition to some personal relief during hot and hectic days, these watches can make excellent souvenirs for those who want to take a piece of Japan with them or great gifts to people in other countries where they can’t easily experience some of these aromas. That’s probably why Maruzeki has teamed up with Japan Post, where Kaoru watches can also be purchased, and packages them in an eye-pleasing gift-like box.

The basic watches cost 3,200 yen (US$24) each, but variations with special faces are also available for a range of additional prices such as a maneki neko for 3,600 yen ($27) or Doraemon for 4,400 yen ($33).

▼ Reflect on spiritual matters with this combination of a sunrise over a wave swept scene of Mt. Fuji complemented by the smell of burning incense.

▼　Wear a bit of Japanese spring everywhere you go by watching a maiko stroll through a scattering of cherry blossoms in Kyoto, and smell it too!

▼ The sophistication of Tokyo can be captured in this colorful look at its skyline while enjoying the keen smell of hinoki wood.

▼ The Osaka watch is, perhaps appropriately, a chaotic mishmash symbols like takoyaki, Tsutenkaku tower, and various phrases in Osakan dialect. This one is scented as waboku ink, because why not?

Bear in mind that these combinations of fragrances and face designs are not fixed and may change depending on when or where you purchase the watch from. For example the Maruzeki website is now offering Tokyo watches with a yuzu scent and a maiko watch that smells like tsubaki flowers.

Regardless of the watch style, the timekeeping mechanisms were all crafted by Seiko Epson, and all other parts from the rubber to the aromas were made in Japan, making these watches about as Japanese as you can get. So, get one yourself either through the Maruzeki or Japan Post online shops and arm yourself against the fish markets and sweaty packed trains of summer.

Source: PR Times, Maruzeki, Japan Post
Images: PR Times
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Anti-ramen stain T-shirt eliminates the one and only bad thing about eating ramen【Video】

https://ift.tt/Y32viW8 Casey Baseel

Because ramen belongs in your belly, not on your shirt.

Ramen fans will tell you that there’s never a bad time for a bowl of noodles, but that’s not entirely true. Sure, it’s great for lunch or dinner, on a hot summer day or a cold winter night, but there’s one time when you really do want to avoid ramen: when you’re wearing a white shirt.

That’s because ramen, in keeping with Japanese culinary customs, is meant to be slurped, but if you do it with too much momentum, you’ll get broth splashing onto your clothing and likely leaving a stain on any lightly colored fabric.

Unless, that is, you’re wearing this T-shirt.

The garment is the latest creation from Japanese apparel company Zorich, which calls it, quite straightforwardly, the Ramen T-shirt. In the demonstration video, we see a man eating a bowl of ramen with the level of gusto that situation customarily instills, but when he comes out of his food coma, his shirt is splattered with broth stains.

Ordinarily, such discoloration would require a lot of detergent and scrubbing to get out, and even then there’d be no guarantee it could be entirely removed. But the man calmly grabs a glass of water, pours a little of it on his shirt, flicks off the moisture with a napkin, and…

…it’s back to being as pure white as it was before he started eating!

▼ A second demonstration video, which specifies that this is tonkotsu (pork stock) ramen, shows the stains being removed with a wet napkin, so pouring water directly on the shirt doesn’t look to be absolutely necessary.

▼ “The coming of the savior of ramen-loving people!”
The splash-repelling Ramen T-shirt Broth splashes, the arch-enemy of ramen-lovers”

Ziorich hasn’t yet revealed the science behind the Ramen T-shirt, nor has it mentioned pricing or availability. The company has both a standard online shop, specializing in men(s suits and dress shirts, but it also occasionally debuts designs through Japanese crowdfunding site Makuake, where its most recent offerings were a nipple and armpit sweat-concealing undershirt and a T-shirt with a contoured midsection for a slimmer appearance. Both of those campaigns easily met their funding goals, so it’s likely we’ll be seeing the Ramen T-shirt as well in the not too distant future.

Source: YouTube/ZIORICH via IT Media, Makuake
Images: YouTube/ZIORICH
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Newest branch of Japan’s oldest burger chain serves up some crazy huge sandwiches in Ginza

https://ift.tt/JGO80cA Casey Baseel

Dom Dom Burger goes big as it comes to Tokyo’s fanciest neighborhood.

Dom Dom Burger is Japan’s oldest hamburger chain, but also its most frequently forgotten. That probably has something to do with the fact that even though it was founded all the way back in 1963, there are fewer than 30 Dom Dom Burger branches nationwide, and even when they are in big cities, they’re often not in the busiest parts of them.

So it was a big deal recently when Dom Dom Burger opened a new branch in Ginza, the swankiest of swanky Tokyo neighborhoods, right in the middle of the capital.

This new location also gets a slightly new name, Dom Dom Burger Plus. If you’re wondering what the deal is with “Grill Swiss” on the bottom right corner of the awning, that’s the name of the restaurant that used to be on the first floor of the building but has now relocated to the second, becoming Dom Dom’s upstairs neighbor.

The irony of Dom Dom Burger being so often forgotten is that they make some very impressive burgers, like the monstrously delicious Marugoto (“Whole”) Crab Burger.

▼ Which we tried at Dom Dom’s Asakusa branch a while back

As an upscale branch, Dom Dom Plus has a range of all-wagyu beef burgers on its menu, as well as the Marugoto Crab…

…but on this day, Mr. Sato decided to try another oversized seafood sandwich, the humbly named Fish Burger…which still manages to look shocking!

The slice of fried fish doesn’t so much stick out from the bun as much as the bread serves as a partial covering to hold onto the exact center. Really, there’s more fish outside the bun than inside it.

Not that Mr. Sato would ever complain about a colossal burger, of course. The sandwich’s size did present a bit of a problem, though, because he knew he wouldn’t have the throat capacity to just pick it up and cram it into his mouth. Thankfully, Dom Dom Plus serves the Fish Burger with a fork, so Mr. Sato could start by using the silverware to eat the extending sections.

The fish used is walleye pollock, a kind of cod, and it was flavorful and tender, with a perfectly satisfying crispness to the breading.

Anticipating that customers will be eating part of the fish on its own, the restaurant also supplies you with tartar sauce and, on the day Mr. Sato visited, a mantai mayo sauce made with mentaiko (spicy cod roe).

▼ “Mentai mayo goes well with anything and everything.” – Mr. Sato

Finally, Mr. Sato had eaten enough for the burger to be something he could eat with his hands, and it was time to taste test its true potential…

…and it did not disappoint, with the added flavor and texture of the pillowy soft buns and shredded cabbage joining with the fish for a sublimely scrumptious eating experience.

In keeping with its upscale environment, Dom Dom Plus’ sandwiches are in the 1,000 yen (US$7.25) and up range, but lunch specials, like the one that Mr. Sato got, can be as cheap as 890 yen, making the place an affordable luxury. So it’s definitely someplace Mr. Sato hopes to eat at again soon, especially since, in keeping with the fanciness of the neighborhood, Dom Dom Plus has an extensive wine list.

And there’s something even more intriguing. Remember Grill Swiss, the restaurant upstairs from Dom Dom Burger Plus? Rumor has it that Grill Swiss was the first restaurant in Japan to serve katsu curry, and so Dom Dom Plus has an exclusive menu item you can’t get at any other branch: the Katsu Curry Burger, produced in partnership with Grill Swiss

That’s going to have to wait for another day, though, because right now Mr. Sato is very, very full from that Fish Burger.

Restaurant information
Dom Dom Burger Plus / ドムドムハンバーガープラス
Address: Tokyo-to, Chuo-ku, Ginza 3-5-16
東京都中央区銀座3-5-16
Open 11 a.m.-3 p.m., 5 p.m.-11 p.m. (weekdays), 10:30 a.m.-9 p.m. (weekends)
Website

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Waiter, there’re 100 crickets in my soup! We try make-it-yourself Cricket Ramen【Taste Test】

https://ift.tt/xNYJfsS Katie Pask

Why settle for just one cricket when you can eat one hundred?

Like it or not, entomophagy (the practice of eating insects) is becoming more and more mainstream. Not only are they a good source of protein, but introducing insects into your diet is environmentally friendly, as bugs require less land, water and food than other animals we eat. And while in the past edible insects were limited to specialty stores, these days it’s much easier to chow down on some creepy crawlies.

Back in 2020 we reported on entomophagy specialist company Antcicada’s cricket ramen — insect ramen that you could make yourself at home. And after checking silkworm cakes and scorpion skewers off of our ‘to-eat’ list, we’ve finally got around to ordering some cricket ramen to try ourselves.

Taste-testing duties this time fell to our reporter Kouhey. Kouhey is a self-professed natto maniac, and logically speaking, someone who enjoys the notoriously pungent smell and intimidating texture of those fermented soybeans should be able to handle something as simple as a cricket.

The kit included two servings of cricket ramen and cost 2,200 yen (US$16). There are supposedly a hundred crickets contained within each serving of ramen, so Kouhey braced himself as he started inspecting the contents. Would the lifeless eyes of a hoard of crickets be staring up at him from inside?

Thankfully no, as most of the crickets had been ground down into a powder and used to make the noodles and broth.

The noodles, helpfully labeled as ‘cricket noodles’, had cricket powder as the second ingredient used in making them, right after flour.

The cricket broth featured two kinds of Japanese crickets, but there were also more traditional ramen toppings inside the frozen bag of broth, like chashu pork and bamboo shoots. Looking at it like this, you’d have no way of knowing the cricket broth was any different to a more run-of-the-mill ramen broth.

The final ingredient was a bit more cricket-like though, due to the fact that it was literally a whole cricket, deep-fried, added as the final garnish.

Ingredient inspection done and dusted, it was time to start making some cricket ramen. It seemed pretty straightforward. First, heat up the cricket broth…

… boil the cricket noodles…

… pop them in a bowl…

… add the seasoning (also made from crickets, naturally)…

… and add the deep fried cricket as the final touch.

Ta-da! A bowl of delicious cricket ramen, ready to eat!

Kouhey decided to take things slow, and started off with the cricket noodles first, made with ground cricket powder. How would they taste?

According to Kouhey, they tasted very good. The noodles were the perfect slippery texture and tasted great. Looking closely, he could see some dark specs in the noodles, which he assumed were pieces of cricket.

▼ The bamboo shoots also went down well, with Kouhey calling them “thick and chewy”

▼ The chashu pork was delicious too.

So far, Kouhey had nothing negative to say about his bowl of cricket ramen — in fact, it tasted way better than most home ramen kits he’s tried before, even ones without crickets!

While the cricket ramen was delicious, Kouhey was yet to sample on the star of the dish, the figurehead of the 100 crickets used to make this meal…

▼ The deep-fried cricket!

He tentatively put the cricket in his mouth, bit down and…

…

…

…

… ate it with no issues whatsoever. What’s more, it was actually quite delicious, with Kouhey comparing the taste and texture to that of sakura shrimp tempura. In fact, it tasted so good that he wished that he could have a couple more crickets to put on top of his ramen, but so many critters in his bowl would probably look pretty unappetising, no matter how good they might have tasted.

Before he realised, he’d devoured his ramen and was left with only the cricket broth. Luckily, the kit came with suggestions on how to use up your leftover broth, and so Kouhey decided to make ‘cricket cheese risotto‘.

He mixed in some rice and black pepper with his broth.

Next, he added some Parmesan cheese.

And that was it! Cheesy, cricket-y risotto, ready to eat! It looked more like a rice soup than risotto, but as long as it tasted good, who cares?

And taste good it did! The cricket taste went very well with the Parmesan cheese. The kit also recommended using mitsuba leaves as well, so there are a multiple options for you to pick and choose from.

Kouhey hadn’t expected to have enjoyed cricket ramen this much, but after polishing off the risotto he decided that this was definitely the best ramen he’d ever made at home, knocking his homemade natto ramen into second place.

You can order your own bowl of cricket ramen from Antcicada’s website here. If you’re new to the world of entomophagy and the idea of eating a whole cricket makes you a little squeamish, you can choose to remove the deep-fried cricket topping from your order if you wish. Alternatively, you can go to the other extreme and dump a whole bag of crickets on top of your meal, like our reporter Masami did.

Related: Anticada
Images ©SoraNews24
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First-ever carbon-neutral sake coming in October

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Sip some sustainable sake soon.

With a lot of focus being put on products that are sustainable and ethical, the Japanese alcohol known as nihonshu in Japan, or just sake abroad, really has a lot going for it. For centuries, it has been an all-natural, additive-free, and vegan alcoholic drink in its standard form, made with three simple ingredients: rice, water, and yeast.

That alone would make sake a great choice for those with environmental or ethical concerns, but one brewery in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture still thinks more can be done. Kobe Shushinkan is a prestigious sake brewery that dates back to 1751, has won many awards, and even had its sake served at the Nobel Prize ceremony.

Now they are embarking on a bold new campaign to make their entire business environmentally sustainable, starting with the world’s first carbon-emission-free sake, Fukuju Junmaishu Eco Zero.

This version of Kobe Shushinkan’s famous Fukuju brand of sake accomplishes this in four different ways. First, they switched their energy sources to Kobe’s non-fossil-burning sources for electricity and carbon-neutral liquified natural gas to run the brewing. They have also taken numerous steps around the brewery to reduce overall electricity consumption such as LED lighting.

In the brewing process itself, instead of milling the rice grains down to 70 percent as they normally do Kobe Shushinkan will only mill them down to 80 percent. By milling less of the rice grains, less power is used and as a result the sake has a more complex and earthy taste than the highly fruity flavors of sake made from heavily milled rice like daiginjo.

Normally in sake brewing something called “shubo” is used. Literally translating to “sake mother” this mass of mushy steamed rice is used to cultivate the yeast needed to ferment the sake. However, since the steaming process consumes energy, this step has been eliminated in the production of Eco Zero. Instead, dried yeast is used to reduce the environmental burden and speed up the entire brewing process.

▼　A quick and very informative video showing shubo being prepared

Finally, the bottles themselves do not have any labels which require additional materials and energy to produce. Instead, a lead-free ink is applied directly to the bottle through electrostatic coating. These bottles will grace liquor shelves starting 20 October for an expected retail price of about 1,500 yen (US$11) per 720-milliliter (24-ounce) bottle.

Eco Zero is only the first step in Kobe Shushinkan’s Sustainable Journey initiative in which it aims to have complete emission-free brewing by 2030 and extend this to all aspects of their supply chain by 2050, including farming and distribution to the 15 countries where Fukuju sake is sold. They also plan to share these techniques with other breweries so that the entire industry can move in a greener direction together.

In addition to adhering to basic social responsibility, Kobe Shushinkan also has a vested interest in curbing climate change and protecting the environment. Sake brewing is deeply connected to the water and land of the local environment in which its made. So for them and for all of us, saving the environment also means saving great tasting sake.

Source: PR Times
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert image: PR Times
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