The first time I came to Japan, my tutor asked me and my classmates if we had ever tried Okonomiyaki. “Okonomi-what-now?” we answered in barely comprahensible Japanese, and we were promptly taken to an Okonomiyaki restaurant. After getting a simple explanation about what it was, and ordered, we waited for a little while, and in came the bowl of batter. Our tutor poured it over the cooking plate in the middle of the table, and skillfully fried it up. Then he cut it into easy-to-handle pieces, and we were told to put Okonomi-sauce, mayonnaise, and shaved dry fish on top. The heat from the Okonomiyaki made the dried fish dance on top, and it all looked like it was alive. I then bit into this creation, and what I tasted was the start of a long love with Japanese food, other than Sushi.

Okonomiyaki is a sort of savory pancake, with a variety of ingredients in the batter. (Different from the French Crepe, or other “foody” pancakes, that are wrapped around an ingredient.) Usually one would find cabbage, pieces of meat, or seafood, and spring onion, etc. Basically, you can put whatever you want in it, as the name tells you: Okonomi (お好み), meaning “what you like”, and Yaki (焼き), meaning “grilled, baked, cooked, fried”.

Halfmade shrimp and cheese Okonomiyaki
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

This dish is usually associated with Osaka and the Kansai area, and with Hiroshima. However, one can find restaurants and chains all through Japan that sells Okonomiyaki. Next time you feel a little hungry when out in town, whether you have tried it before or not, why not try to find a nice Okonomiyaki place, and dive a little deeper into the Japanese cuisine?

We are now on Pinterest! Follow us! ↓

The sun is out, the temperature is up, and summer is approaching fast. A good way to enjoy the sun is to visit one of Tokyo’s many parks. So why not visit Ueno Park?

Ueno Park is one of the oldest public parks in Japan, and houses not only a wide range of temples, but also museums and art exhibits.  Established in the Meiji Period (1873 to be precise) it took inspiration from the western idea of a park, and it’s located on former temple grounds, after the temple was destroyed in the battle for Ueno during the Bakumatsu period.

Statue of Saigo Takamori walking his dog

In the park you can find a statue over Saigo Takamori. Fans of the film The Last Samurai should note that Katsumoto, the character played by Ken Watanabe, was loosely based on Takamori, a legendary Tokugawa loyalist. Today he remains an exemplar of the samurai spirit in Japan.

Tokugawa Mausoleum

Among the temples in Ueno Park, the most famous might just be the Tosho-gu, where Tokugawa Ieyasu is enshrined, and neighboring Hanazono Inari Jinja has red-bibbed Inari fox statues in an atmospheric grotto. There are also rows of red Toriis leading up to the temples.

Shinobazu Pond

In Ueno Park you also find the Tokyo National Museum, which is the oldest Japanese national museum. You can also find the National Museum of Nature and science, as well as the National Museum of Western Art.

This is our latest newsletter. Please check it out. Hope you will have fun.

For those of you who are interested in taking a class at Cosmos Japanese Language School, this is what the classroom will look like. It really is a nice, at-home environment and we do our best to keep it that way.

The main classroom

Our bulletin board