Last Saturday was Okinawa Day in London’s Spitalfields Market and, although the weather was far from tropical, the blast of Okinawan Culture certainly brightened up the day. I attended the event for work, so I won’t be giving a blow-by-blow photographic account of everything that happened as I usually do. If you want that, I … Continue reading
I have to admit, it’s getting harder to think of recipes to try for my monthly recipe, despite owning so many Japanese cookery books. This month I took inspiration from the tropical Okinawan islands, and decided to come up with my own version of ‘chanpuru‘. I spent a while reading different recipes on various different … Continue reading
When you think of a tropical getaway, do you think of Japan? It’s certainly all I can think about at the moment! Since seeing this poster (above) in London earlier this year, my mind has been full of clear blue seas, colourful coral, diving, snorkelling, and Ryukyuan culture. I never made it down to the … Continue reading
Every time I encounter Okinawan culture I fall in love a little bit more, even though I’ve never been there. Last Friday I had the chance to go along to a free event at the Lilian Baylis Studio next to Sadler’s Wells – Ship of the Ryukyu present YUGAFU – Ryukyuan Dance. In case you … Continue reading
As some of you will know, I’m a bit of a Kit Kat ‘otaku’ (obsessive fan). I even have a separate blog for Kit Kats (Kit Kats!), which was initially a page about Japanese Kit Kats on this blog but, when it grew too large, it became a blog about Kit Kats from all over … Continue reading
Last week’s post was about chirashizushi (ちらしずし / ちらし寿司), so this week I need to start with し (shi). A big thank you to everyone who joined in this week – JapanAustralia with Shiga (滋賀) and Shirakawa-go (白川郷), lovelycomplex with film director Sion (Shion) Sono (園 子温) and ZoomingJapan with Shingu (新宮) (I assume you mean Shingu in Wakayama and not the one in … Continue reading
Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending Okinawa Day 2012 in Spitalfields, London. The event celebrates the culture of Okinawa Prefecture; the southernmost prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture (沖縄県) consists of hundreds of the Ryukyu Islands (琉球諸島 / Ryūkyū-shotō or 南西諸島 / Nansei-shotō) in a chain over 1,000 kilometres long, which extends southwest from Kyūshū (九州) (the southwesternmost of Japan’s … Continue reading
Last year I missed Okinawa Day in London because I went to the Brighton Japan Festival. This year I’ve decided to only go to the first weekend of the Brighton Japan Festival, which means I can go to Okinawa Day 2012 on 30th June. Here’s some more information about Okinawa Day: Okinawa Day 2012 @ … Continue reading
Last week’s post was about Randoseru (ランドセル), so this week I need to start with る (ru). I’ve discovered that it’s almost impossible to find a legitimate Japanese word beginning with “ru”, so I’ve really struggled to come up with something this week. In the end, I managed to think of something, though… Ruuchuu (ルーチュー) I’m almost … Continue reading
Never having made it as far south as Okinawa while I was in Japan, I was intrigued to hear about an exhibition in London influenced by Okinawan culture and traditions. Tonight, I went along to the opening night of LOOCHOO ‘Time’ at The Crypt Gallery in London to see what it was all about… In the … Continue reading
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