COROMIND ISSUE 18 JUN24 ONLINEVERSION - Flipbook - Page 11
prices of these made-in-Japan alcoholic drinks is determined by
the quality, so you can become a drunk very cheaply if your only
concern is the alcohol. Combine that with the very cheap tobacco
products and a slow death by drinking and smoking won’t cost
you very much.
out information in Japanese, and others will even serve you in
restaurants.
Of course, no commentary about Japan is complete without
mentioning the famous food. The supermarkets are full of seafood,
meat, fruit and vegetables of every kind, often half the price of
their New Zealand counterparts perhaps due to economies of
scale and the low value of the Japanese yen. Various seaweeds and
fermented pickles like daikon (super large radishes), burdock and
bamboo shoots complement the taste of the delicious rice which
is a part of most Japanese meals. Along with the usual western
varieties, popular Japanese drinks include green tea, mugicha
(barley tea), yakult and calpis (probiotic drinks). Japan also has
its own alcoholic drinks like Nihonshu, sometimes called sake.
It is a kind of rice wine. I would advise drinking a high quality
variety as the cheap stu昀昀 can leave one with a headache not
worth having the next morning. Shōchū is a popular hard liquor
spirit made from a base of sweet potato, barley, rice or sugar
cane. It has a high alcohol content so watch out! Japanese whisky
has a very high reputation worldwide; umeshu, another often
home-made alcoholic drink, is a kind of unfermented plum wine
which is said to aid digestion, reduce in昀氀ammation in the body
and dissolve calcium build-up in the blood. It’s nice to know that
some alcoholic drinks may contribute towards good health. The
The Japanese people are very generous, honest and
accommodating. They will go out of their way to o昀昀er help where
needed and if you lose something it will always be returned intact
with nothing missing. They are also extremely hard working,
resulting in a system in which everything works e昀케ciently and
on time, unlike in New Zealand. The motorways are smooth and
straight, going through mountains not around them and if you
are one minute late for your train or bus, you are likely to miss
it. Of course, the trains are often super-crowded and I feel sorry
when I see tired, often overworked salary men and OLs (o昀케ce
ladies) dozing their way home on a not uncommon 90-minute
train journey. I can understand why many young Japanese are
choosing a di昀昀erent lifestyle in foreign countries. I think we are
lucky to have had a thriving Japanese community of residents
and language students here in Whitianga for the past 30 years. I
just hope one of them will one day open a typical Japanese eatery,
where you can keep your own bottle of Nihonshu with your name
on it on the shelf and order delicious Japanese cuisine – perhaps
like the one in the excellent Net昀氀ix series ‘Midnight Diner’, a must
watch for those who love things Japanese. Sayonara, mata ne!
(Goodbye, catch you later!)
Words by
Ross Liggins
Coromind | 10