15 Steps to Understanding Japan, part 2: Food

Any time I think of Japan, and to a greater extent Asia, I cannot help but think of food. Not because I love it or hate it, but because it is frequently unrecognizable to that kinds of foods I normally eat. I love cheese and meat lots of vegetables with a little butter and salt. I like eating both junk and really healthy. In Japan, forget it. There will be almost no junk and the veggies will just be something different too. As an avid traveler, I am used to and embrace the differences. However, for the occasional travel this may be cause for alarm. It should, even though I have poked a little fun a Japanese cuisine in the past, Return to Japan and the Lord of the Flies.

I did fine and ate a lot during my recent visit, here are a few pointers visitors should know about the cuisine.

Food is not only prepared for flavor, but also sight, sound, and texture. This means food will have a variety of gelatinous forms, soft forms, creamy forms, and blended forms that come in a variety of squirmy, crunchy, slippery, wriggly and slimy. This sounds challenging, but really I am making it sound worse than it is. Most everything was tasty, but never having an overpowering flavor. All these morsels will come with fish, rice and soup (probably miso). As a diner, expect numerous small portions of many different tastes. I had heard it said, that the Japanese believe that every persona should eat 30 different kinds of food at every meal. After nearly a month of meals in Japan, I would have to agree that this is a goal well achieved.

I remember at one point saying to my guide, “I would hate to be a dish washer in a Japanese restaurant.” Not because of the difficulty of cleaning up Japanese food, but due to all the tiny odd-shaped bowls and plates — none of which match. My guide later told me the this is by design. Plates are not meant to match each other. They are meant to match the color and style of the food. So a small green square of tofu might come small sea-foam cup to match the tofu, regardless of what the rest of the dinnerware looks like.

Written by Devin Galaudet

The L.A. Times Travel and Adventure Show

America’s Largest Travel Expo Showcases More Than 550 Exhibitors and Thousands of Affordable Vacation Options

Who: Travel enthusiasts and more than 550 exhibitors

What: The Los Angeles Times Travel and Adventure Show is America’s largest travel expo, comprised of more than 550 exhibitors and thousands of affordable vacation options. Attendees can meet travel experts, attend seminars and workshops, enjoy hands-on activities, see cultural performances and book their next vacation at discounted rates–right on the show floor. Special appearances include:Rick Steves, Pauline and Arthur Frommer, Huell Howser and Zac Sunderland.

When: Saturday, February 13th, 2010
10am – 5pm
8am – 5pm (Trade hours)

Sunday, February 14th, 2010
10am – 5pm

Where: Los Angeles Convention Center, West Hall

Admission: Adults: $10 regular admission / $8 online with promo code “LATPR”
Children 16 and under: FREE

For Further
Information: For details and to purchase tickets, call 1.800.LATIMES, Ext. 7SHOW or go to www.latimes.com/travelshow.

Written by ITKT Media

15 Steps to Understanding Japan, part 1

ITKT fans can expect a whole lot of Japan in the coming weeks as I have just returned from tour that included Chiba, Kanagawa, Saitama and Tokyo. The trip was a bit of a whirlwind but mostly reminded me how much I love visiting Japan. Moreover, I visited Japan as part of a group that included another ITKT writer, Jenny Block (she can bee seen here opening a can of whoop-ass against a Kisarazu geisha in a festive round of Rock, Scissors, Paper. She will have several Japan-based stories as well. So yes, lots of Japan and Japanese customs in weeks to come.

Because I have found Japan so different, but inviting, I wanted to help demystify Japanese culture a little for future travelers — at least a little. I started this with Mysteries Revealed: Bowing in Japan, but realized there is so much more to explore.

However, before we begin, here are some of the basics:
Japan is about the same size as California that is 65% mountains and forest with a population of 127,000,000 people squeezed into rest of the usable, flat land. Tokyo has about 12 million people but the immediate outlining area has about another 30 million, hence the incredible towers and multi-level freeways that fill the Tokyo skyline. This information alone, offers some good insight into Japanese culture. With so many people moving, needing shelter and food, it makes sense why I found efficiency to be a key factor in much of what I saw in Japan

Language
I have been told that Japanese is an easy language to learn because it has a relatively small vocabulary, it is phonetic and all words end in vowels or “n.” However, Japan uses three sets of alphabets. One alphabet uses 47 Japanese characters for original Japanese words. English is used for non-Japanese originated words like computer and email (This helps as many signs and street names are all have some English on them). Chinese is also used. In speaking, there are several variations of “polite” speech, ten words that all mean “I,” a vague grammar system and word gender attributions. I say all this to let you know. Visitors will not quickly pick up language. I suggest learning the basic pleasantries and use them often: good morning, thank you, nice to meet you.

Step 1: Leave your shoes at the door
Most entrances to restaurants, temples, homes and some traditional hotels will require you to take off your shoes. If you are wondering when this is supposed to happen, it will be obvious. Most places will have even rows of one-size-fits-all slippers (which will never fit) waiting for you to scoot around in and a small entry way with some racks for shoes. My advice, consider loafers and clean socks.

Written by Devin Galaudet

Public Bathing and Communing with the Stars in Japan

I have taken many, many baths in my lifetime. And I have been naked among strangers more than once. Yet somehow – despite having dressed in kimono and eaten root vegetables ground into powder and refashioned as jelly noodles – taking a dip in the public bath seemed the most foreign moment of my recent trip to Japan thus far.

Perhaps it was my consciousness of being so fair amidst these honey-skinned women or maybe it was the curves and sway of my Western build versus the narrow hips and small breasts typical of Asian women. Maybe it was the ritual. The bath before the bath, sitting naked on a small stool in neat rows of other women doing the same. But I felt like a stranger in a strange land.

The water was warm and welcoming and it rushed from the faucet filling the small room with rich sounds of falling water. My limbs sunk into the water and to my mind there was no sense of where my body ended and the water began. That heady feeling that steam and warm water brings soon overcame me and I carefully climbed the few steps out of the tub. I left the interior room and stepped outside into the elegantly manicured rock garden.

The air was cold and sharp. But in a few steps, I was again immersed in warm, rushing water. And from the oval, wooden tub, I could see the moon and the big dipper in the sky above me and I as foreign as it all was, I was instantly part of something still and ancient.

After a few minutes of communion, I returned inside to rinse again and dress. That foreign feeling arose again. The Japanese women around me rubbing lotions and creams into their unblemished skin. I rushed into my robe and shook my head as I stuffed my thong and bra into the pocket as I am sure no self-respecting Japanese woman would do. There are things that are so familiar that in an instant can become as foreign as traveling to the stars. The same actions in a different space are not the same at all.

Jenny Block is the author of “Open: Love, Sex, and Life in an Open Marriage” (Seal Hardcover, June 2008 and Seal Paperback, March 2009), which has been nominated for a Lambda Literary Award. She writes a weekly column for the Dallas Morning News publication Quick called “Sex Talk with Jenny Block” (quickdfw.com). Jenny holds both her BA and her MA in English from Virginia Commonwealth University and taught college composition for nearly ten years. She writes for a wide variety of publications and websites, including huffingtonpost.com, yourtango.com, American Way, Veranda, the Dallas Morning News, the Dallas Voice, edgedallas.com, literarymama.com, Spirit, chow.com, and ellegirl.com.

Written by Jenny Block

Jamaica Prepares for Bob Marley’s 65th

KINGSTON, JAMAICA – February 5, 2010 – This Saturday, Bob Marley would have turned 65 and music fans around the world are preparing to celebrate the legacy of Jamaica’s greatest musical icon.

“Bob Marley is one of the foremost proponents of the Jamaican culture. He embodies the spirit and soul of the island,” says John Lynch, Director of Tourism, Jamaica Tourist Board. “In every corner of the world you will find Bob Marley fans and every year thousands of music fans visit Jamaica just to find out more about a true musical icon who offered his great gift to the world. Not a day goes by that Marley is not celebrated in Jamaica.”

All around the world, events will be taking place to celebrate Marley’s work. In Jamaica, a week of activities will take place throughout the island to celebrate the life and achievements of the legendary millennium man the Rt. Hon. Robert Nesta ‘Bob’ Marley, O.M. Activities in Jamaica usually include a service at the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, ceremonial laying of plaques at the Bob Marley Museum in Kingston, an Ital Food Festival and much more.

Visitors to Jamaica can follow the legacy of Marley at anytime by visiting key attractions such as:

Chukka Caribbean Adventure’s Zion Bus Line
This authentic Jamaican Country Bus, the “Zion Bus Line”, will take you on a unique tour from Island Village in Ocho Rios, via Claremont to the birth and final resting place of the King of Reggae, Bob Marley. This pilgrimage has been specifically designed for Reggae enthusiasts and hardcore Bob Marley fans, who would like to visit the “Graceland” of Reggae. Rock to the rhythm of Bob’s greatest hits as your “dreadlocked” driver negotiates the narrow winding country roads to the mountain village of Nine Miles. If you are a baby boomer who was hip to the 60’s & 70’s music of Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Jimmy Cliff, or if you are now a fan of Shaggy, Sean Kingston and the Dance Hall phenomenon, this is a Reggae experience you can’t miss.

Bob Marley Museum
The museum portrays the life and achievement of the artist with memorabilia, artifacts, writing and photographs. A twenty-minute drive from Norman Manley International Airport (Kingston), Bob Marley’s former place of residence also houses his original studio where he recorded many of his songs. The museum displays Marley’s personal treasures and features a well-equipped 80-seat theatre. You can also tickle your palate with sumptuous meals from the Legend Cafe. The venue allows you to see every aspect of the life of Bob Marley.

About Jamaica Tourist Board
The Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), founded in 1955, is Jamaica’s national tourism agency based in the capital city of Kingston. The JTB was declared the Caribbean’s Leading Tourist and Convention Bureau by the World Travel Awards (WTA) from 2006 to 2009, while Jamaica earned the WTA’s vote as the World’s Leading Cruise Destination, the Caribbean’s Leading Destination and the Caribbean’s Leading Cruise Destination, also for the third consecutive year.

JTB offices are located in Kingston, Montego Bay, Miami, Toronto and London. Representative offices are located in Düsseldorf, Barcelona, Rome, Amsterdam and Tokyo.

For details on upcoming special events, attractions and accommodations in Jamaica go to the Jamaica Tourist Board’s Web site at www.visitjamaica.com, or call the Jamaica Tourist Board at 1-800-465-2624.

Written by ITKT Media

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