Have you ever fiddled with the change you receive from the cashier in grocery stores in the US, UK and Europe?



While I lived in the UK, probably the worst part of living there was the service that I received in many places mainly because I was spoiled with the service in Japan. Those of you who have been here before understand this.



And one thing that I recall was one of the most uncomfortable times was when I received change after paying for my bills in grocery shops in… Continue

You won't believe it. This probably only happens in Japan.



In Tokyo near the Ikebukuro traing station, there is a bar/pub that has a stack of "hashi" (chopsticks) with names of their customers written on them.



In February 2007, this bar/pub eliminated disposable chopsticks from their stocks and started to sell nice plastic and colourful "hashi" for 280 yen (about $2.40 or GBP 1.20) and have their clients "keep" their chopsticks at the store for their next visit.… Continue

Perhaps sweets are not really food but I crave for Japanese sweets right now so let me share a little bit of Japan with you tonight with a snapshot of their sweets.

There is a traditional Japanese sweet we call "wagashi" (「和菓子」 in kanji characters which simply translates as "Japanese sweets") as opposed to "yogashi" (｢洋菓子」in kanji characters which means "Western sweets"... pronounced "Yo"… Continue

What do you think about Japan and Japanese food? I noticed recently that when I have casual conversations about Japan and Japanese food with non-Japanese in England, I often get the response, "I can't eat sushi" or the "idea of raw fish doesn't appeal to me." I don't know why I get that kind of answer most of the time but I do know that Japan and Japanese are still a mystical existence to many.

I sort of understand why non-Japanese/foreigners get…

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