Mahua - Chinese vegan snack

While strolling in Chinatown in Yokohama the day before yesterday, I dropped in a few confectionaries to see if there were any vegan sweets. Unfortunately, mooncakes and many other sweets contained lard, but I found vegan snacks that I had seen before. These are mahua, deep-fried twisted dough sticks.

Though mahua are made also in Yokohama, these are from Nagasaki with the oldest Chinatown in Japan. Mahua are a specialty in Nagasaki and called also “Yoriyori” there. According to the package, they were introduced into Nagasaki around 1600.

The ingredients are simple: wheat flour, sugar, plant oil, salt, and expansion agent. Though they look like twisted doughnuts, they are hard and so crunchy that I hear a cracking sound as I eat them. They are good and not so sweet.

Trip to Yokohama (3) - Vegan ramen in Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum

The last destination of yesterday was Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum located near Shin-Yokohama Station. It took more than 40 minutes from Shibuya, and I had to change trains twice.
The museum is just 5-minute walk from the station. When I got there, there was a queue outside the building. I bought a ticket from a vending machine and went inside.

Ramen is Chinese noodle soup and one of the most popular foods in Japan. In this museum, you can learn the history of ramen and enjoy ramen of highly rated ramen shops across Japan. Many shops have come and gone, and there are eight shops at present. Two of them have vegan ramen, and two have ovo-vegetarian ramen. 

The shops are situated on floors B1 and B2, where you can see a replica of a downtown in 1958 when instant noodles were invented in Japan. When I went there, a band was playing. The atmosphere was nostalgic and warm. The ceiling had the color of sunset while the outside of the museum was already dark.

Near the stairs, there was Komurasaki (こむらさき), one of the shops with vegan ramen. Before entering inside, I bought a ticket of Vegetarian Ramen from a vending machine. When I sat at a table, a staff member came and tore a stub. It didn’t to take much time before the ramen was served.

It looked like ordinary ramen with roasted pork slices. The main difference was that they weren’t real meat but soybean meat, and the soup was also based on soybeans. The soybean meat was a little salty, but the soup was mild and tasted good. I was glad to eat ramen after a long time, because it was extremely difficult to find vegan ramen in ordinary ramen shops. Even if they have “vegetable ramen” in their menu, they usually contain meat.

When you search with “Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum”, you can see their website and read the details. The language is switchable between six languages. In addition to vegan/vegetarian ramen, they make efforts to meet needs of international visitors. According to the website, they have Wi-Fi, pamphlets in multiple languages, and a Muslim prayer room with mats and a kiblah (compass). Beside the ramen shops, there are a sweet shop and a café from old days and other things to see, which may be attractive to visitors from abroad. 

From Shin-Yokohama Station near the museum, you can take Shinkansen to Hamamatsu. But I took local trains, using Seishun 18. After four hours, I finally returned to Hamamatsu at 22:30.

Trip to Yokohama (2) - Sea Bass and round trip to Shibuya

After lunch, I strolled around Chinatown and walked to Yamashita Park. It is a long narrow park along the seaside. There I saw a large passenger ship Hikawa Maru that made the first voyage in 1930, survived the war, and is used as a museum now. 

While looking at this large ship, I heard a whistle from somewhere. It excited me, and I felt like going for a cruise. So, I took an ocean bus Yokohama Sea Bass from Yamashita Park to Yokohama Station via tourist destinations Minato Mirai 21 and Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse. 

This is Yokohama Bay Bridge with length of 860m. The wind was not cold even on the sea, thought it was December.

  

This is Minato Mirai 21, an urban area meaning "harbor of the future."

It was difficult to take pictures of Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse closely. Red Brick Warehouse No.1 and No.2 were completed in 1911 and 1913 respectively. They were used as customs houses. Now they are used as a cultural facility and a shopping mall and restaurant arcade. 

It took about 35 minutes to get to Yokohama Station. From there, I went to Shibuya in Tokyo by JR trains as I used Seishun 18 also yesterday that allows unlimited train rides of the day. Shibuya is one of the most crowded area in Tokyo, and I was there for the first time in seven years. It was difficult to walk through the extreme crowd, but the destination was near the station. It was The Bunkamura Museum of Art that held an exhibition called “Romantic Russia.” It was a collection of oil paintings of Russian natural scenery and people from the State Tretyakov Gallery.

As I always like to see realistic paintings, I also enjoyed this exhibition. It was divided into Russian four seasons and people. I was especially impressed by “Midday in the Outskirts of Moscow” by Ivan Shishkin with peasants walking on vast land under vast sky. A scenery with vast sky gives me a feel of freedom.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t spend much time in the museum, because I had another place to go. I returned to Shibuya Station and found the Hachiko statue with a red-and-white scarf. It is a statue of a dog that came to Shibuya Staion every day to wait for his master even after the master passed away. Faithful Hachiko is a landmark of Shibuya, and a movie about him has been made (Hachi: A Dog's Tale) in the U.S.

Trip to Yokohama (1) - Vegan lunch in Chinatown

Yesterday, I made a day trip to Yokohama. When I left home, I saw the morning star. I took the train leaving 6:15 and saw the dawn as the train ran eastward. The changing color of the sky was very beautiful. After changing trains twice, I arrived at Ishikawacho Station near Chinatown in Yokohama, the greatest Chinatown in Japan. It was around 10:30, and there weren’t many people on the street yet.

First, I went to Kantei-byo (関帝廟). It is a temple dedicated to Kuan Yu, a hero in “The Romance of Three Kingdom” who has been worshipped as a god of war or business. There I bought a ticket from a vending machine and got five incense sticks and an entry card for the temple building.

After putting incense sticks in five places in front of the building, I went inside. The ceiling of the temple was splendid, but I couldn’t dare to take pictures. There were people kneeling down in prayer. In Japanese temples, we are usually standing when we pray. I looked around and did as others did. This was my first time to pray in the Chinese way.

After that, I went to a restaurant that has a Taiwanese vegetarian menu as well as a non-vegetarian menu. I had searched it in advance, and it was easy to find because the word “Vegetarian” was clearly written (also in English) outside. When I asked the owner about the menu, he asked me if I was a vegan and recommended me to try majian mian. I ordered this and turnip cakes. There were other familiar dishes such as boiled dumplings, spring rolls, and fried rice in vegan version. How I wished to try all these, though it was impossible to eat them alone!

Turnip cakes are known as “daikonmochi” in Japan. They were very soft and melted in my mouth. Majian mian is sesame paste noodle. The owner explained that they use black sesame and sesame seeds are good for our skin and high blood pressure. When blending pak-choi, bean sprouts and noodles with the sesame paste well by using chopsticks, I felt good smell of sesame. The noodle was a little firm and chewy. I had never eaten noodle like this before. The owner also recommended me to eat up the sesame paste, and I did so.

People at other tables also enjoyed their meal, following advices given by the owner. He was a pleasant person and seemed to know about food very well. Maybe I’ll come to this restaurant again to try boiled dumplings because they seemed delicious.

Christmas in Japan

Yesterday was a public holiday. This was not because it was Christmas Eve, but because the emperor’s birthday (public holiday) is December 23 and it fell on a Sunday this year. So, it was just a substitute holiday.

Though majority of Japanese are not Christians, we have Christmas. I think our Christmas is just like Halloween. We want to have fun without thinking of the meaning of it. Many people eat chickens of KFC or roasted chickens and cakes decorated with cream and strawberries or chocolate cakes. When I was little, my mother used to take me and my sister to a cake shop so that we could choose between these two kinds of cakes by ourselves. She also took us to a toy shop to buy what we wanted on the spot or gave us presents she chose, because she didn’t care for Santa Claus. My parents are practicalminded people. But these days, more and more parents seem to try to make their children believe in Santa Claus.

As for Christmas cakes, some convenience stores and supermarkets provide vegan options. They are not specifically intended for vegans but for children who are allergic to eggs, milk, and wheat. I have seen some reservation forms of such cakes. They looked as beautiful as other Christmas cakes but too big for me to eat by myself.

Before Christmas, I found that Swedish ginger cookies are vegan. Since then I have wondered if there are any other European traditional vegan sweets for Christmas. So, I went to Entetsu Department Store today. It was noon and not very cold.

On shelves in the basement, there were imported Christmas sweets sold already at half price.

I bought Walkers Rich Fruit Pudding as it seemed to contain no animal products according to the label in Japanese. The package was also attractive.

Before trying it, I peeled off the label in Japanese to check the ingredients in English just to make sure. It said “Suitable for vegetarians” in the last line. I wondered why not vegans. The pudding looked like this when I took it out from the plastic case inside. It had beautiful colors.

The inside looked like this.

It had a dense texture and a very rich taste. It was so rich that I had to check ingredients again to see if any alcohol was contained. To my surprise, no alcohol was written on the package, but I felt my body got a little warmer. It contained much raisins (33%) and mixed spices.

I remembered Agatha Christie’s book “The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding” and thought this rich pudding was indeed suitable for a feast. Maybe I’ll buy one again next year.

European Christmas (4) - Scandinavian Fair in JR Nagoya Takashimaya

After arriving at JR Nagoya Station, I went directly to JR Nagoya Takashimaya and took an elevator. It is a big department store located in JR Nagoya Station and has the 15th Scandinavian Fair on the 10th floor until December 24. In this fair, traditional handicrafts and food in Northern Europe are introduced and sold.  

Beside this display, there was an artisan painting on a red wooden horse. She was Ms. Maja Carlstein from Dalarna (Dalecarlia) in Sweden, and the horse was a Dalecarlian horse.

A Dalecarlian horse has a history of nearly 400 years. It was originally a toy for children but is now one of the most popular souvenirs of Sweden. I have one myself, but this was the first time to see how it was painted. There were already some people around Maja, looking fixedly at her work. I joined them to look closer.

It was amazing how smoothly and skillfully she used her brush. I didn’t think the patterns could be corrected later by overpainting them. High concentration was obviously required for each stroke. It was especially interesting to see how she drew blue arcs on the horse. The blue paint was added only partly on the brush and the rest of the brush remained white. In this way, the two colors were put on the horse at the same time with each stroke, making fine gradation between the blue arcs and the white part. It reminded me a technique of Japanese ink painting my uncle showed me once, though in his case, the gradation was made with black ink and water.

Everyone around her was drawn into her work and looked for a while. I wondered how long it took to acquire this craftsmanship she had. I feared to break her concentration but finally could speak to her. Here I’d like to thank Maja for letting me take pictures. Tack så mycket!

After that, I walked around the venue for a while and went back to Hamamatsu. It was a long day. I came home about 20:30. My first trip with Seishun 18 in this season was over.

Then I had dinner. This is thin bread I bought at IKEA. It is my most favorite food in Sweden, and I went to IKEA mainly because of this.

European Christmas (3) - NAGOYA Christmas Market

NAGOYA Christmas Market is a big event that has been held in Hisaya Odori Park since 2013.  I have visited there a few times during the day. This time, I went there in the evening on my way from IKEA to JR Nagoya Station.

There was a big Christmas tree with lights on.

The park was full of festive atmosphere. I heard a chorus singing Christmas songs and saw children riding on horses in a small merry-go-round. There were many stalls selling German food and drink such as sausages, fried potatoes, soup, and coffee. As this is a Christmas market, they had also stollen and Glühwein (sweet hot wine).

Unfortunately, I have a low alcohol tolerance, so I looked for something else to drink. Near the stall of Dallmayr, an old German company, I got a menu printed on paper. I became interested in herbal tea called Alpine Herbs that contained as many as 10 ingredients. I asked the staff member how it tasted, but it seemed to be difficult to explain. They mentioned the names of herbs I didn’t know very well and finally said “If you like herbal tea, you’ll like this, too.” So, I bought a cup of Alpine Herbs.

I can’t explain how it tasted. It wasn’t bad, but the taste was too light. Maybe I didn’t wait long enough before drinking the tea. I was told to wait 6 minutes.

In my daily life, I drink herbal tea of POMPADOUR, especially peppermint tea. I’m interested in how German people use herbs. Germany is also a country where many kinds of vegan food are produced and sold. I’d like to eat their vegan sausages in this Christmas market some day.

After drinking the tea, I returned to JR Nagoya Station by subway. The car was very crowded, and I sweated surprisingly. I wondered if this was an effect of the herb tea that contained fennel.

European Christmas (2) - Swedish Christmas in IKEA

After seeing a Finnish tiny Christmas in the movie, I went to IKEA, a Swedish furniture store. It took about 40 minutes to go there from Fushimi by subway and maglev train. It is situated near Koen-nishi Station in a town Nagakute, and directly connected to the station with a pedestrian bridge.

As I expected, there were many people. Model rooms were decorated beautifully for Christmas, but it was difficult to take pictures without including any person. I could manage to take only a few. I think star-shaped objects are uncommon in Japanese interior shops.

This big round mirror was also nice.

And I got interested in the cat in the room.

In addition to furniture, IKEA is known for their restaurant that provides popular and reasonable Swedish dishes. Some years ago, I heard that they started to provide veggie balls in addition to traditional meat balls. Before leaving home, I searched the website of IKEA in Nagakute to see the restaurant menu. Unfortunately, they do not have veggie balls.

I thought there was nothing for me to eat in the restaurant. But the smell of the food captured me when I passed by the restaurant. It was the smell of Sweden. I couldn’t resist the temptation and entered the restaurant. There I had a cinnamon roll, almond cake, and lingonberry drink. They were all very Swedish.

Someone said that memories are often associated with food. It may be true. I have to admit that it is difficult for me to ignore cakes and buns that contain good dairy products from Northern Europe, though I try to be a vegan. It is understandable why many people have difficulty giving up meat. They may have happy memories of feast with their family or friends.

In the Swedish food shop on the first floor, I found many vegan bread and cookies. I bought some and left IKEA to go back to Nagoya.

European Christmas (1) - Finnish Christmas in movie

Yesterday I went to Nagoya to enjoy the atmosphere of European Christmas. Nagoya is the nearest big city with population of 2.3 million. It takes about one and a half hour to go there by local trains.

After arriving at JR Nagoya Station, I walked to the curry shop CoCoICHI near the subway station Fushimi and had vegetarian curry for lunch. After that, I went to a movie theater Fushimi Million-za 5 minutes away from the curry shop to see a Finnish movie “Onnelin ja Annelin Talvi (Jill and Joy’s Winter)” that was based on a Finnish children’s book of the same title.

The story is about two little girls Onneli and Anneli who live together in their own house and a family of small people who lives in the girls’ doll house temporarily after their house was destroyed. Later, this family is kidnapped and sold to a show booth by one of the big people who needs money…

At first, this movie felt too girlish for me because their house, interior, and cloths were very sweet.  However, there was a very impressive scene in the last half: the woman who kidnapped small people regretted what she had done to them when she learned to know that they had their own family name. Then she realized that the “strange creatures” were humans like her and other big people. This scene reminded me of racism in the real world. People could do whatever cruel things to others whom they don't regard as humans. I remembered Africans who had been sold as slaves. Even now, people who look different from the “standard” are often treated inhumanly though they are individuals and have their own name and life.

At the end, the small people returned to the doll house and invited big people to their tiny Christmas party. They had a fantastic time together, and the family moved in their new house.

In the movie, the father of the family said “Independence is important.” I think it very Finnish. I like Northern European books for children because children are vividly depicted as individuals. I also like movies based on such books. Child actors act well and naturally. The “Onneli ja Anneli” series consists of four books, and they are all made into a movie. This time I saw the second one. It is a good movie and suitable to see at Christmas time. I hope the third and fourth movies will be introduced in Japan soon.

Seishun 18 - Ticket for unlimited rides on local JR trains

The holiday season is coming. As I wrote before, Hamamatsu is located halfway between Tokyo and Osaka. Between these two cities, there are other major cities such as Yokohama, Nagoya, and Kyoto. From Hamamatsu, you can make a day trip to each of these cities even by local trains.

JR Hamamatsu Station 

Seishun 18 is a seasonal ticket sold by JR or Japan Railway. It allows you to ride on local and rapid trains unlimitedly in a day (until 23:59) for five occasions. You can use it for five days all by yourself or can share it with other people. As “Seishun” means “youth”, there is misunderstanding that you have to be 18 years old or younger to use this ticket. But it can be used by people in all ages. It is sold and used in spring, summer, and winter, and now the ticket for the winter period valid from December 10, 2018 to January 10, 2019 is available. For details, you can search with “Seishun 18.”

I often use Seishun 18. Last spring, I traveled to Osaka with this ticket. I took the first train that went westward. It was around six o’clock, and I saw some other people passing through the ticket gate with Seishun 18 in hand. There we got a date stamp from the station attendant.

Seishun 18 used five times

The train was almost full. I managed to have a seat, but people who came after me had to stand. Some were talking about temples in Kyoto and others Osaka Castle. They were going to see cherry blossoms. Though I had other things to do there, I thought it was perfect timing to travel, because it was a beautiful day and cherry blossoms were surely in full bloom.

When you go to Osaka or Tokyo from Hamamatsu by local trains you have to change trains 1-3 times and it takes around four and a half hours. It may sound bothersome, but I enjoy it. I like to hear dialects of local people on the trains. They are different from our dialect in Hamamatsu, making the trip more exciting.

A round trip to Osaka from Hamamatsu by local trains usually costs 10160 yen. Seishun 18 costs 11850 yen, only 2370 yen per day. Isn’t it amazing? I got one today and started planning trips.

Greta Thunberg - 15-year-old climate activist at COP24

Last summer, many countries suffered from extreme weather conditions and disasters. In Sweden, more than 50 forest fires occurred all over the country in July. I was sad to see burning forests on the Internet, remembering how I felt at ease to see forests from the airplane when I came to Northern Europe before. It was obvious that climate change had gone too far.

I read about Greta Thunberg for the first time in September when she went on school strike for the climate, sitting outside the Swedish parliament building to urge politicians to take actions. I thought her courageous, but my heart ached at the same time because I realized again how serious climate change had become, triggering a young student to take such an action.

Last week, Greta made a speech at COP24 in Poland. There she criticized world leaders who were too scared of being unpopular and didn’t take essential actions for climate change. I thought what she said was right.

As a climate activist, Greta leads an environmentally-friendly life. She went to Poland by an electric car instead of airplane. With her influence, the whole family has become vegan. Her mother is an opera singer and came to Japan for concerts before, but now she sings only in Sweden to reduce carbon emissions. When I saw Greta in another video “Greta & Svante Thunberg – Straight Talk (Improved Audio)” in YouTube, I noticed she had her own water bottle though PET bottles were prepared on the table. At the end of this video, I heard her whispering to her father “Practice as you preach.” Her consistent practice for environmental conservation is admirable.　

I knew well that traveling by airplane is harmful for the environment, but I still traveled to Finland and Sweden last autumn. After experiencing extraordinary hot summer and reading about natural disasters that occurred in other districts in Japan, I was worried that it would become more difficult to fly abroad in the future due to climate change and resulting disasters. So, in September, I decided to travel there before it would become too late and did it, though I had qualms.

It is difficult for me to lead an environmentally-friendly life completely. As for food, I try to be a vegan, but I still eat some foods that contain dairy products especially in holiday seasons. I have to remember Greta’s words.

In her speech, she said, “You say you love your children above all else, and yet you are stealing their future in front of their very eyes.” Maybe this was meant for world leaders, but I got embarrassed. All the adults in developed countries should hear her words (especially adults in Japan, where TV programs introduce gourmet dishes every day instead of explaining the cause of climate change and people enjoy eating meat without knowing or thinking of its burden on the environment). I don’t have any children but have often wondered how people who have children and grandchildren can be so indifferent about climate change. Greta’s speech struck me indeed.

Swedish vegan ginger cookies

When I was little, there was a Swedish school in a neighboring town Kosai. At this time of year, they used to have Lucia celebration, which was reported in local newspaper every year. It is one of the most well-known traditions in Sweden.

In the morning December 13, a young girl in a white long dress and a red sash with candles in a wreath on her head, who represents Saint Lucia, goes around in a house and gives out ginger cookies. Exactly 30 years ago, I was in a youth hostel in Stockholm and got a ginger cookie from Lucia. She and some other girls came to our room, singing a song with a mysterious melody. I can still remember how thrilling the song sounded in the darkness. Later, I learned that the name of the song was Staffansvisan, a song about Saint Stephen.

These days, ginger cookies are available all year round even in Hamamatsu. Annas Original Ginger Thins, which have been baked since 1929, are sold in Meijiya in the basement of Entetsu Department Store. It is interesting that these traditional ginger cookies are vegan while European cookies often feature their rich taste of butter. Annas Original Ginger Thins may be one of the most famous vegan sweets in the world.

As the name implies, they are thin and light. I couldn’t help but eat a few cookies before I took the picture. They were crispy and had delicate texture. It was a pity that I didn’t have coffee that might match these cookies, but they were still very good. I felt like also trying Annas Almond Thins and Orange Thins.

I’m thinking of Sweden. I have another unforgettable memory on Lucia Day. It was at the beginning of 2000s, and I stayed at my friend’s house in Mattisudden in Lappland. She showed me a Christmas card from her neighbor. On the card, I saw a picture of a boy adopted from Africa. I asked her why they adopted a child all the way from Africa though there were orphans in Sweden. She answered like this, “As Sweden is a rich country, even orphans can have a decent life. But children in Africa have much more severe living conditions. So, people adopt such children first.”

I was astonished because I had never thought of that before, and she said so as if it was a matter of course. I wondered how she could think like this. In Japan, adoption was very rare, and I didn’t think there were any children adopted from Africa even in Tokyo. Later, I concluded that their attitude about adoption had come from Christianity.

I have learned a lot from Swedish people. On my desk, there is a post card I got from her. The picture of the mountain was taken in Kiruna. Its shape is unique, and I never get tired of looking at it.

Christmas Market in Create Hamamatsu

Create Hamamatsu is a community center, where many cultural activities and events are held. Today, they had a Christmas market. I had been looking forward to going there since a couple of weeks ago because I heard a German bread bakery Roggenmehl would participate in the event.

When I buy bread at bakeries, I choose either French bread (baguette) or German rye bread. This is not because I try to choose vegan options, but because I simply like European hard bread. Unfortunately, options of hard bread are quite limited in ordinary bakeries, so I expected to have much wider selection in this Christmas market.

When I entered the building around 10:00, there was already a chorus group singing a Christmas song. I found a big Christmas tree beside a stall.

Roggenmehl was easy to find. They had too many kinds of bread to choose from.

Besides, they also sold German Christmas cakes stollen that have become popular in recent years. I bought a slice of Stollen as I had never eaten one before, and almost all kinds of hard bread in half size. Each of them had a label on which all the ingredients were listed.

I especially like bread that contains fruits and seeds. I had three kinds of bread for lunch and felt very happy.

This is a slice of stollen. The name of the bakery is beautifully written on the label.

I think Roggenmehl is the only German bread bakery in Hamamatsu. I checked information on their website.

Bakery Roggenmehl
Address: 1-51-32 Takaokakita, Naka-ku, Hamamatsu-shi, Shizuoka
Tel/Fax: 053-437-4753
Open hours: 7:00 - 18:00
Closed: Mondays
Parking space available for six cars

In the Christmas market, I found another interesting stand Maple Experience run by Mr. David Martel from Canada and his wife. They sold Canadian Christmas sweets. I saw Canadian Christmas cakes for the first time. They were slices of fruitcakes with marzipan on top. They explained me that they usually use marzipan for Christmas cakes in Canada and the cakes they were selling would keep for a few weeks. I thought it quite a long time, but I was really surprised when I heard that there were cakes that kept for 25 years!

I became interested in Canadian Christmas cakes and searched for a while after I came home. I learned that the marzipan on the cake represents snow like sugar on Stollen.

I ate a slice with peppermint tea. It was dense with many kinds of ingredients mixed together. It was so good that I regretted not having bought one more.

According to their Facebook page (@mapleexperience), they produce maple sugar and maple butter. Since I was so absorbed in the cakes in the Christmas market, I forgot to ask about their maple products. I wish I can find Maple Experience in some other events and can taste different kinds of sweets flavored by their products.

CoCoICHI - Vegan-friendly curry menu

At the beginning of December, there was a great news for vegetarians and vegans. CoCoICHI (CURRY HOUSE CoCo ICHIBANYA), a big Japanese curry shop chain, has introduced vegetarian curry menu in all their shops (more than 1200) in Japan. In addition, they introduced vegetarian soup curry, which will be on the menu until the end of February.

Today I went to one of four shops in Hamamatsu to have vegetarian soup curry. The menu was written in Japanese and English. Though they use the word “vegetarian”, these are vegan curry in fact.

The same applies to vegetarian soup curry. It contains as many as eight kinds of vegetables: potato, cabbage, carrot, eggplant, pumpkin, okra, cauliflower, and lotus root. It has also two tofu nuggets with corn. The soup looked spicy, and it really was. The inside of my mouth felt tingly, and I even sweat a little. I also noticed sweetness of the soup, which might have come from these vegetables.

On the counter, there was a box of fukujinzuke, pickles made of radishes, lotus roots, eggplants, etc. Japanese curry is always served with them. In CoCoICHI, customers can take the pickles freely.

Before I heard about vegetarian soup curry, I had never come to CoCoICHI. While I was there, I saw families and middle-aged men eating some other kinds of curry. It is a popular restaurant chain with mass appeal. I wish their vegetarian curry and soup curry will be included in the regular menu even after the end of February and other big restaurant chains will emulate this model for vegetarians and vegans.

In addition to a variety of dishes, CoCoICHI provides their customers with a wide range of options. They can select the curry sauce, quantity of rice, spice level, and add-ons and toppings, which I think very nice.

Near the door, there were several kinds of retort-pouch curry sold at reasonable prices, including this vegetable curry (vegan).

Before I left CoCoICHI, I got a drink passport which allows me to get a free drink when ordering curry in a CoCoICHI shop until the end of February. I’ll surely come again to have vegetarian curry next time.

CURRY HOUSE CoCo ICHIBANYA Hamamatsu Mishima
Address: 145-1 Mishima-cho, Naka-ku, Hamamatsu-shi, Shizuoka
Tel: 053-444-3533
Open hours: 11:00 - 24:00
Access: Take bus No.4 from the bus terminal to Uriuchi-Higashi (5-minute ride)
             20-minute walk from the south exit of JR Hamamatsu Station (go straight along the bus route)      

On my way back to JR Hamamatsu Station

Sweet potato snacks

Sweet potatoes are very common vegetables in Japan. Five years ago, a series of post stamps “Vegetables and Fruits” was issued, including a sweet potato.

In winter, some supermarkets sell baked sweet potatoes. They are one of the most popular snacks especially when it is cold. When I was in elementary school, a friend of mine and I went to a shop to buy some stone-grilled sweet potatoes after we played for a while in her house. It was windy and very cold, a typical winter day in Hamamatsu. Then I ate a stone-grilled sweet potato for the first time in my life as I had only eaten steamed ones at home. The sweet potato tasted very good, and the friend’s mother gave me a leftover one when I left their home. I was so happy. I went back to my grandparents’ house, where I used to stay until my father came to pick me up every evening, with the hot sweet potato put against my cheek all the way. It was one of the sweetest memories in my childhood. Unfortunately, stone-grilled sweet potatoes may not be so common these days, however, I still love baked sweet potatoes.

In supermarkets and some convenience stores, there are also dried sweet potatoes. Their colors and shapes may vary depending on manufacturers. Those sold in small grocery stores are often less expensive and simply packaged.

The white spots are the sugar content in the sweet potatoes that has appeared on the surface. Like fruits, dried sweet potatoes become sweeter when dried. They are soft and may stick to your teeth. It happens sometimes that my teeth ache when I eat them, but it doesn’t last long.

Another common snack is called imokenpi. They are crisp deep-fried strips. They were originally made in Kochi Prefecture but are sold in all over Japan now. I bought this bag at the convenience store FamilyMart. Though they were coated with sugar, they were not too sweet. I had thought potatoes and sweet potatoes were completely different, but imokenpi’s taste somewhat reminded me of potato chips. I couldn’t stop and ate them up today.