Tonjiru Pork Soup Recipe

This Month’s Easy to Cook Japanese Recipe is Tonjiru, which is a Japanese soup made with pork and vegetables, flavoured with miso.

This is one of my favourite Japanese soups along with Miso Soup. It contains mainly root vegetables and is a real comfort food.

Okonomiyaki Japanese Savoury Pancake

Okonomiyaki is a Japanese savoury pancake based on a batter containing a variety of ingredients and cooked on a hot plate. The name “okonomiyaki” is derived from the Japanese word “okonomi” meaning “what you like” or “what you want” and “yaki” meaning “grilled” or “cooked”. The history of okonomiyaki goes back about 500 years. It was originally made by spreading a thin layer of flour paste on a hot plate then adding miso for flavouring and rolling into a thin pancake. Later toppings such as chopped green onion and sliced dried fish were added and miso paste replaced by a special sauce. In modern okonomiyaki, a wide variety of ingredients are used such as shrimp, squid, octopus, pork, cabbage and vegetables. The finished pancake is served with a special sauce, mayonnaise and seasonings such as green powdered seaweed (aonori) and dried fish flakes (katsuobushi).

Speed Up by Kara

This week's Japanese Song of the Week is Speed Up by Kara, which has debuted at number 2 on the Japanese Jpop Oricon charts.

Kara is a girl group from Korea formed in 2007. The current five-member band made their debut in Japan in 2010 and have had a string of hits.

Read more about KARA

This is the group's 6th single in Japan and is very upbeat and sexy.

Usuzumi Sakura Cherry Blossom

Usuzumi Sakura is one of the oldest cherry blossom trees in Japan and is said to have been planted in 487 AD. It can be found in Neo village, which is located amongst the beautiful mountains of Gifu Prefecture.

The tree is said to be one of the three largest cherry blossom trees in Japan and is reported to be the oldest cherry blossom tree in Japan. This unique cherry blossom initially sprouts pale pink flowers, which become white in full bloom. The tree has been appointed as a National Natural Monument of Japan and is one of the great places to visit in Gifu Prefecture.

Miyajima Travel Guide

Image from JNTO

Miyajima is a 40 minute trip by tram and ferry from downtown Hiroshima. Most people know Miyajima for its famous giant torii gate, which seems to float on top of the water. The island has been deemed a sacred place since ancient times and is now classified as a “Special Place of Scenic Beauty” in Japan.

The first thing you notice on arrival are the welcoming committee of deer. Several hundred deer roam freely on the 30sq km island, attaching themselves to tourists, who supply them with food.

Miranda Kerr in Japanese Commercial for Lipton Limone Lemon Tea

Australia's own supermodel Miranda Kerr features in a new Japanese commercial (CM) for Lipton Limone Lemon Tea. The CM is very funny and quite catchy.

In the commercial, Miranda plays a singing waitress and actually sings in Japanese, but look out for the cute "oishii" at the end.

Cherry Blossom Forecast 2012

This year’s cherry blossom forecast is later than previous years with most places in Japan expecting a late March blooming date. This is most likely due to the colder weather experienced this year in Japan.

The best time for viewing the cherry blossoms varies between a few days to a few weeks from the first bloom, so don’t leave it too late to see the beautiful blossoms.

I have created a table below for the major places in Japan with the estimate start date and peak bloom of the cherry blossoms.