New Year's Day in Japan

CheapyD

CheapyD

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When CheapyMom-in-law asked me, "What do Americans do on New Year's Day?", I was kind of embarassed to feed into the lazy American stereotype by replying, "Well, we mostly sleep off our hangovers."

In Japan, New Year's Day is a big event. It starts of with a traditional style New Year's Breakfast, which includes tamago (egg), fish cake, lotus roots (and other veggies), beans, soup, sake, and some other stuff I forget. Pictured below is our semi-traditional breakfast created by CheapyMom-in-law.

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After breakfast, it's time to head to a Shrine, where the Japanese pray for a good new year and eat all kinds of delicious treats. The Shrine we went to was incredibly crowded, but as you can see, I got my eat on.

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There were many food and game vendors:
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Delicious tako yaki (octopus balls, not testicles!) are being prepared:
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I chow down on squid legs and grilled corn-on-the cob:
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I believe you are supposed to write down your wishes on those little white pieces of paper and tie them to the wire:
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Happy New Year from Japan!
 
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Cheapy's standing at the same level at everyone else in the picture.

As I get older, somehow I think that I'd like to imagine a more fulfilling New Year's Eve than plowing through shots of Jello and Jameson, interspersed with beers; yet, I don't want to become one of those boring people that stays home and watches a movie either. I don't think you'll find outdoor takoyaki stands in the states, but maybe a nice trip to the art museum will suffice instead.
 
Actually...fortunes should come on those little bits of paper...but no one seems to know whether it's good or bad to leave them tied up...I've had Japanese tell me that they come true if you tie them...but I've also heard that they DON'T come true if you leave them (i.e., if you get bad luck). Same is true in animes.

You should see little wooden prayer boards with a picture on them somewhere around the shrine...those are ema...and you can write your wishes on them.
-Zach
 
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Disturbing on so many levels. Also how many holidays do they got in Japan? I got a feeling that we just have too many and New Year's Day gets kind of lost in the shuffle.
 
Someone had to be pretty damn hungry to see a squid, pull it out of the ocean, and decide "Hot Damn, that looks like Good Eatin!".

I mean, given the choice, I'd rather eat a Bridgestone...

:)
 
Ok the entire concept of eating an Octopus strikes me as near the top of the most disgusting things to eat. I mean, its right up there with Slugs and other slimy foods...like Clams. Seriously...Clams...Oysters....its like someone blew their nose in a shell, and suddenly a few dash's of Tabasco make that *appetizing*??? :D

However...it depends what is in an octopus ball, and probably how its cooked and seasoned. Is this like..Octopus in breading or rice and then fried/seasoned/steamed??? IS it all fishy and rubbery and nasty? Do you gotta eat the Octopus BEAK!? :D

I've tried Sushimi and Sushi and honestly I can't understand the attraction....to me the Tuna I had tasted like..well...like raw fish. Its more about the texture than the flavor, as the sauces tend to cover the native flavor up (or so I have experienced). It wasn't nasty, or smelly, but it wasn't tasty either...like..."I eat this because its weird, not because its good".

I dont wake up going "man I can't wait to get me some raw fish today!" But then again, I dont wake up going "i can't wait to play me some cookie-cutter RPG where I take the form of a heroic Super-Deformed Elf who has to save the universe from dragons and monsters and find magic eggs scattered all over the earth so my princess will marry me!" either.....

I'm more the "I can't wait to play some generic FPS where I get to shoot the hell out of Nazis/Aliens/Mutant Zombies/Criminals today!"
 
well i love sashimi and sushi and if i could afford it, i'd eat it damn near every day

but the kyoto octopus balls (also called Tako-yaki) are grilled minced octopus with pickeled ginger and green onions breaded and served with mayo and some thick soy sauce and they are very very good.

travelling to asia was totally worth it just to try all the crazy ass foods - they way i go about it is to just assume since other people eat it, it might be good!
 
IF you didn't tell me there was octopus in it, I'd probably eat the hell out of it ;)

As for me...I have this general rule about putting anything cold, slimy, fishy, or any combination of the previous 3 in my mouth at any given time :)

Then again...mayonaise and soysauce can pretty much make anything taste ok, so I can see why people get into Octopus Balls. Its not the Octopus...thats just there for filler, its all the other good stuff rolled up around it :)
 
Just stop to think about what you are saying about "who would think to eat Squid?" Now think about things you regularly eat. Whoever thought to eat an egg? "hmm, it comes out of a bird's butt...got to get me some of that." Or "hey, let's yank on that cow's tits and drink it!"
 
[quote name='guardian_owl']Just stop to think about what you are saying about "who would think to eat Squid?" Now think about things you regularly eat. Whoever thought to eat an egg? "hmm, it comes out of a bird's butt...got to get me some of that." Or "hey, let's yank on that cow's tits and drink it!"[/QUOTE]

In case your parents haven't given you "the talk" yet.
::SPOILER WARNING::

Umm, the egg doesn't come out of the butt, its a different "part" that it comes out of.

::END SPOILER::
 
[quote name='RedvsBlue']In case your parents haven't given you "the talk" yet.
::SPOILER WARNING::

Umm, the egg doesn't come out of the butt, its a different "part" that it comes out of.

::END SPOILER::[/QUOTE]
ok, ok ;) the back region of the chicken.
 
Cheapy, is that the Kannon temple in Asakusa? Looks familar.

Mmm, takoyaki. Those little dangos on a stick drenched in that sauce are awesome, too. Rats, I miss Japan...
 
[quote name='guardian_owl']Just stop to think about what you are saying about "who would think to eat Squid?" Now think about things you regularly eat. Whoever thought to eat an egg? "hmm, it comes out of a bird's butt...got to get me some of that." Or "hey, let's yank on that cow's tits and drink it!"[/QUOTE]

Well if you've ever seen the movie CAVEMAN, you'll know that Ringo Starr taught us all how to eat eggs :) And of course, we all (well most of us anyhow) start off our lives by sucking on teats to keep us fed, so thats not really alien.

But look at a squid....in the ocean...does that look like food?

What about a Crab? Does that look like food?

And if it does, then why not....a Tarantula? Or a giant african tree spider?
Why not those things? I mean, they both look vile and dangerous, and yet..some people just wanna eat em :)
 
I was just recently in Nagoya, Japan from January 1-10. My friend down there tells me that you get your fortune at these temples and if it says bad luck, you tie the fortune to either the ropes they provide near where you got the fortune or to anything else. When you do that, you disspell the bad luck. You don't want to keep the bad luck with you outside of the temple area.

Tako-yaki is excellent. I also tried grilled squid, tongue and intestine. All very delicious.

To me squid doesn't really have much taste to it alone. If you add spices and sauces to it, then it's great.

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The round circular meat is tongue.
 
[quote name='maxg']The round circular meat is tongue.[/QUOTE]

Tongue is pretty good with some sesame seed oil with a little salt and pepper. If anyone is interested in trying it here, you can usually get it at any Korean BBQ place - the kind where you BBQ yourself like in the previous picture posted - in the US (at least that has been true for me throughout California).
 
[quote name='thorbahn3']Also how many holidays do they got in Japan? I got a feeling that we just have too many and New Year's Day gets kind of lost in the shuffle.[/QUOTE]
I'm not sure but I remember hearing somewhere that they don't have many holidays. In Japan, they even frown upon calling in sick for work.
 
[quote name='HeadRusch']What kind of tongue...Beef...? Bison? HUMAN?!?!?[/QUOTE]

No one told me. I didn't even think of asking.
 
Someone offers you tongue and you dont even ask...??

First thing outtta my mouth woulda been "Was she cute?"
 
maxg, word up on the Nagoya trip. I live there for a bit before moving back to america.

Headrusch do u remember me? ;)

Cheapy, damn good play on the takoyaki. Did you ever eat at the Takoyaki stand in NYC? I think its on 9th street. Damn good food there.
 
[quote name='Sleepkyng']i miss those octopus balls in kyoto so much :drool:[/QUOTE]

Osaka is famous for takoyaki. I didn't like the stuff actually until I had it in Osaka. Good eats. There's a reason why Osaka is known as the kitchen of Japan.
 
^ You are correct about that. However, Nagoya and they season chicken wings or whatever is the best! People who go to Nagoya know what I mean.
 
[quote name='maxg']I was just recently in Nagoya, Japan from January 1-10. My friend down there tells me that you get your fortune at these temples and if it says bad luck, you tie the fortune to either the ropes they provide near where you got the fortune or to anything else. When you do that, you disspell the bad luck. You don't want to keep the bad luck with you outside of the temple area.

Tako-yaki is excellent. I also tried grilled squid, tongue and intestine. All very delicious.

To me squid doesn't really have much taste to it alone. If you add spices and sauces to it, then it's great.

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The round circular meat is tongue.[/QUOTE]


Is that raw bacon I see in the lower left hand corner???

Japanese food is a whole other world to me...I've had avocado california rolls and that's about it.
 
[quote name='Jrunt20x']maxg, word up on the Nagoya trip. I live there for a bit before moving back to america.

Headrusch do u remember me? ;)
[/QUOTE]

SURE! You're the guy who needs a Liver Transplant! :D
 
[quote name='Apossum']Is that raw bacon I see in the lower left hand corner???

Japanese food is a whole other world to me...I've had avocado california rolls and that's about it.[/QUOTE]

Yep, that's bacon. Everything was excellent there was excellent.
 
Bacon is the universal "Make it Better" food. Everythings Better with Bacon...it should be a slogan.

That tongue by itself seems nasty...*BUT WRAPPED IN BACON*?? Oh now we're talking a completely different story.

I'm still waiting for Bacon Toothpaste...
 
[quote name='gunm']Cheapy, is that the Kannon temple in Asakusa? Looks familar.[/QUOTE]No, it's not. I forget where we went, but I know it wasn't there.


[quote name='Jrunt20x']Cheapy, damn good play on the takoyaki. Did you ever eat at the Takoyaki stand in NYC? I think its on 9th street. Damn good food there.[/QUOTE]Hell yes! When we lived in NYC, we ate in the East Village all the time. In fact, I think I ate just as much Japanese food living in NYC as I do know.
 
[quote name='RedvsBlue']Umm, the egg doesn't come out of the butt, its a different "part" that it comes out of.[/QUOTE]

Actually, chickens lay eggs and poop out of an all-purpose hole called a cloacae. So, eggs and chickenshit travel out the same pipe ;)

Thanks a lot, Cheapy, now I'm starvin'! :D
 
i see no problem with eating squid, octopus, etc. People simply eat whatever is native to their area and will find ways to eat whatever is in surplus.

Maybe the thought process wasn't "Hey, that icky squishy fish thing looks tasty... im gonna eat it" but rather "Hey, there sure are a lot of those icky squishy fish things around... I should find a way to cook it!"

Personally, I feel like if you're starving (as the first settlers into a new area oftentimes are) everything looks tasty. Also, the only reason why cow, chicken, and pig is eaten so often is because Europe and North America, because of flat, open area, were especially good for herding, so any animal that could easily be managed would be eaten.

In Japan, theres a focus on seafood because its an island, so anything that could be fished (especially close to shore) would be eaten.
 
OMG, I swear Tako ball is all i eat whenever I go back to Asia.
Thank God I am going back in a few days again. Thanks CheapyD for the picture..
 
I think I'm the only one h8ting on the seefoods ;)

I've had fried calamari..which was rings of calamari breaded and fried in butter.
Now that was good...because I was basically eating onion rings. You couldn't taste the miniscule amount of squid in each one.

But eating a whole squid? I only had that once......it was a hot Antipasto at a local Italian restaurant, and when the things came out with Clams Casino, friend calamari (whole, they looked like frickin spiders) and other things...after a few drinks, I tried them.

And all things considered, they weren't half bad.....but honestly I'd never order them as a real meal, its just not appetizing.....drown anything in butter (or..BACON) and it becomes consumable, but not desirable (to me..IMHO).

Guess its whatever you grow up with...my mom tells me I wouldn't eat Pizza until I was 8 years old.....today, I could live off them. So it only goes to show you one thing:

i dont know WTF I'm talking about :)

I now return you to your regulary scheduled Thread....already in progress...
 
Cheapy,

Maybe this has been asked and maybe its a stereotype... but have you found your weight etc to have changed in the 2 1/2 months you have been over there? Riding the bike, eating different foods etc.
 
[quote name='Snake2715']Cheapy,

Maybe this has been asked and maybe its a stereotype... but have you found your weight etc to have changed in the 2 1/2 months you have been over there? Riding the bike, eating different foods etc.[/QUOTE]


That's what I want to know too.

So that's what goes on during New Year's Day in Japan? They eat yummy foods instead of just drinking? Sounds good to me, I'd rather do that that just get hung over.

Dammit, I need a live in Asian chef. Just looking at the food in CheapyD's photos is making my mouth water.
 
[quote name='Snake2715']Cheapy,

Maybe this has been asked and maybe its a stereotype... but have you found your weight etc to have changed in the 2 1/2 months you have been over there? Riding the bike, eating different foods etc.[/QUOTE]I don't think so. I've never really owned a scale, but I'd imagine I'm still around 195 lbs. I think once it gets warmer, I will be riding my bike more and get into better shape.
By the way, there is plenty of junk food in Japan. However, the portions are definitely smaller. For example At places like McDonalds, you will notice the soda sizes are much smaller than their USA equivalents.

FWIW, Japanese love bacon and hotdogs, perhaps more than Americans.
 
Candied Squid....fried, dried Squid......Wasabi Squid Balls.......are these the types of junk food we're talking about, or is it....Shrimp Toast and Pringles and Cheeze Doodles.... :)

As for Bacon and HotDogs...and the love of them...I salute them :)

What does a BigMac taste like in the Land of the Rising Sun.......I had McDonalds in italy once a long time ago and it was...not gross...but definately "different". Nothing tasted the way you would expect it to taste.
 
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