Skiing in Hokkaido Japan

Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido offers some of the country’s best snow and has been unaffected by the recent earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan.

Hokkaido’s winter season is November to early April with some ski resorts still having snow until early May. Sapporo is the cosmopolitan main city on Hokkaido, but does not get a lot of snow until early December. The best places are ski resorts like Niseko, Furano, Rusutsu and Kiroro.

Nissan Leaf

Have you heard about the Nissan Leaf? The Nissan Leaf is Nissan’s electric car and was unveiled on August 2, 2009. The Leaf went on sale in Japan and the US in late 2010 and will make its debut across global markets from 2012. The great thing about the Leaf is it does not emit any CO2 when driven and doesn’t even have a tail pipe.

The Leaf also comes in handy in other areas. The electric car can also feed power from its battery back into a family home and run appliances for up to 2 days. Using the “Leaf to Home” system, the lithium-ion batteries of the car’s zero exhaust emission can be used as an emergency power backup. Great for any emergencies that pop up and that sudden loss of power. The system works by linking the car to the house’s electricity distribution panel. Power can also be fed the other way if the house generates its own electricity with rooftop solar. The Leaf batteries have a capacity of 24 kilowatt hours when fully charged, enough for two days for the average household.

Amazing stuff and Only in Japan

Read more about the Nissan Leaf at the Nissan Website

Find Out How To Import Cars From Japan and Save $$$$$$$!

Song of the Week Pareo wa Emerald by SKE48

This week’s number one single on the Japanese Jpop Oricon charts is Pareo wa Emerald by SKE48. SKE48 are an all-female idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. They debuted in October 2008 and perform in the newly built studio at Sunshine Sakae in Nagoya every Saturday.


SKE48 Official Website

Watch the video for the single Pareo wa Emerald by SKE48

Easy to Cook Japanese Recipe Gyoza (Japanese Dumplings)

Gyoza or Japanese Dumplings are originally from China but have become very popular in Japan. This is a great easy recipe for Gyoza.

Makes 10

Dipping Sauce
• ½ cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup rice vinegar
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp chili oil

Ingredients for Dumpling
• 60g minced pork or king prawns
• ¼ tsp chopped garlic
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1 Chinese cabbage leaf, chopped
• 5 stems Chinese garlic chives (nira), chopped
• a pinch of salt

• 10 round gyoza wrappers or gow gee wrappers
• vegetable oil for frying
• ¼ cup water

Method

1. Prepare the dipping sauce by mixing all the ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Place all the dumpling ingredients together in a bowl and combine well.
3. Place a wrapper on a plate or board and, using one finger, wet round the edges.
4. Put 1 tablespoon of filling on the center of the wrapper.
5. Fold the wrapper over the filling, seal the edges together by pressing and making small pleats.
6. Repeat with remaining wrappers.
7. Heat a non-stick frying pan and add a little oil, swirling around the pan.
8. Lay a few gyoza side by side in one or two rows in the pan, and cook on one side until golden brown. Then using a spatula turn over one row all at once. Add water and put a lid on to steam.
9. Steam for a couple of minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated.
10. Serve hot with dipping sauce.

Note:
• You can buy already prepared gyoza dipping sauce at most Asian Supermarkets.

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Strawberry Pocky

Pocky is a Japanese biscuit stick coated in chocolate. There are many different flavours of Pocky in Japan including Strawberry Pocky which made its debut in 1977. This is my favourite Strawberry Pocky and is called tsubu tsubu strawberry. It is strawberry flavoured chocolate with pieces of dried strawberry. It has a light sweet taste and is very addictive. I enjoy the sweat taste of the strawberry sometimes as opposed to some of the more bitter chocolate varieties.

Tsubu Tsubu Strawberry Pocky

This is what it looks like. You can see the pieces of dried stawberry.

Korean Style Beef Burger

This is a modern take on the classic burger with Asian flavours such as garlic, ginger and sesame oil in the meat and served with soy braised onions and chilli mayonnaise.


Serves 4

Ingredients
• 600g minced beef
• 4 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 Tbsp chopped spring onions
• 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
• 2cm knob ginger, finely grated
• 1 tsp sugar
• sea salt and pepper
• 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 onions, halved and finely sliced
• 2 Tbsp mirin (Japanese rice wine)
• 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 3 Tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tsp chilli sauce
• 4 burger buns
• 2 tsp sesame seeds
• 8 soft lettuce leaves
• ½ cucumber, finely sliced
• 2 small tomatoes, sliced

Method

1. Mix the beef, using your hands, with 2 Tbsp soy sauce, sesame oil, egg, green onions, garlic, ginger, sugar, salt and pepper. Form into patties and refrigerate for an hour.
2. Heat 2 Tbsp vegetable oil in a frying pan and cook onions over a medium heat for 10 minutes, tossing well until softened.
3. Add remaining soy, mirin and vinegar to the pan and cook 5-10 minutes more until golden brown. Set aside.
4. Whisk mayonnaise and chilli sauce together.
5. Brush burger patties with remaining vegetable oil and grill or pan fry over a medium heat for about 4 minutes on each side, until browned.
6. Split burger buns and lightly grill.
7. Top base buns with lettuce leaves and burger patties. Add a spoonful of chilli mayonnaise and top with soy onions and sesame seeds.
8. Arrange lettuce, cucumber and tomato on remaining bun tops alongside and serve.

With the help of Epicure, The Age 2011

Easy To Follow Steps To Create Over 108 Top Japanese Recipes!

Lady Gaga Promotes Japan

Japan has recruited Lady Gaga to promote and spread the word that much of Japan is safe for visitors. Japan is still recovering from March’s devastating earthquake and tsunami, but has now stepped up efforts to draw foreign travellers back to Japan. The Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) efforts include online videos of race car drivers, ice skaters and other celebrities like Lady Gaga urging travellers to visit the country. In an online video shot before a benefit concert in Tokyo in June, Lady Gaga says “I can’t say enough to people all over the world that the majority of Japan … is very safe”.

The northern summer months are vital to Japan’s foreign tourism industry with the nation traditionally reporting some of its highest tourist numbers in July and August. As part of its effort to lure visitors before the northern summer ends, the JNTO recently posted online the radiation levels for down town Tokyo that the tourism group says are lower than in tourist destinations such as New York, Singapore and Hong Kong.

The JNTO has been focusing its efforts on showing people that Japan is safe for travel and that it’s business as usual in Tokyo and most other major cities in Japan.

You can read more here about Is it Safe to Travel to Japan

Lady Gaga Promotes Japan as a Safe Destination