Kochi’s New Year’s Dishes

The Basic Rules of New Year’s Dishes (Osechi and Zouni)
   Osechi, traditional Japanese New Year’s dishes are made using auspicious ingredients and cooking methods, in the hope of bringing health and prosperity in the new year. For example, burdock plants are used because they have deep roots, symbolizing continued prosperity for each generation of the family. A classic New Year’s meal would be a combination of osechi and zouni, a soup containing mochi rice cakes. Zouni’s ingredients and seasoning differ greatly between region and household.

Ms. Takahashi and her wonderful smile

We watched Shimenawa being made!

   In Japan, Shimenawa is used to decorate the gates at shrine entrances, torii gates, and entrances of homes when New Years rolls around. The word Shimenawa comes from the word “Shimeru,” which means “to possess or occupy.” A Shimenawa is the boundary between the domain that the gods occupy and this world. A Shimenawa represents the wish to not let evil inside.

   We visited Mr. Mizuta’s residence, in Ino Town, where they make Shimenawa, and the straw was piled up high! They were working silently among the piles of straw. They are inundated with orders from shrines outside of the prefecture, and during December they are extremely busy as they prepare to deliver their products.

The Mizuta family

Would you like to experience Hatsumoude at Chikurinji?

The stone steps of Chikurinji

   Paying a visit to a shrine or temple after the new year is called Hatsumoude. The reason for a Hatsumoude is to express gratitude for the previous year, and to pray that the upcoming year will be a good one. So what exactly happens at a Hatsumoude?

Kochi Lifestyle Q&A : Let’s request books in our native tongue at the Otepia library!

Writer: Kochi Prefectural Office, Coordinator for International Relations, Han Jeonggyu

   Hi. I am Han. Having spent a long time in Japan, away from my home country, I sometimes find myself missing Korea. At times like this, I head to Otepia Kochi Library. There are many books of various languages at Otepia, and I take comfort in the Korean books. However, what happens when they don’t have the books I want? One can request, for free, that Otepia import specific books from overseas.

   To request books, you will need a “Joint Library Card” (Otepia’s standard library card). You can make one at the library for free. Just bring along something that can verify your identity, like your residence card. Once you have your Joint Library Card, you can request books using the application form, or through the library’s website. The application form is available at the service counters in Otepia and other branch libraries. To request a book through the website, use the form titled “お問い合わせ入力フォーム” (http://bit.ly/OtepiaToiawase). Ensure that you write your book’s title, author, publisher and the year it was published. That’s all! All of this information should be written in the language the requested book is published in. If there is a Japanese translation available, please provide its title as a reference as well. In addition, providing the book’s ISBN will help your request be processed even more smoothly.*

   If you miss your home country, why not warm up your heart with a book in your mother tongue?

   ＊ However, even if you make a request, there are times when the library cannot import your books.

Nature & Experience Promotion Campaign

   The Nature & Experience Promotion Campaign, held by Kochi Prefecture from February 1st, 2019 to December 31st, 2020, promotes tourism to all regions of Kochi. Building on the previous campaigns that focused on Kochi’s history and food, the current campaign focuses on Kochi’s nature and experiential activities.

Lush forests and Niyodo River

Let’s do some whale watching this summer!

Kochi Prefecture CIR Valerie Teo

   It’s summer.

   When we talk about summer, the sea comes to mind.

   For those who cannot get enough of the sea and would like to try some unusual fun activities, why not try whale watching on the open sea?

   The whale watching season arrives with the end of the rainy season! There are five whale watching tour operators in Kochi, with their snazzy, multilingual website, so we decided to head there.

   On normal weekdays, there is only one whale watching tour a day. However, during the summer holidays, participants can choose from one of three tour times each day, not only on weekends but on weekdays as well. For this report, a KIA staff member and I participated in a tour with six other people, including a group from Hong Kong.

Listening to the staff explaining points to note

Nature & Experience Promotion Campaign “Grape-picking”

This banner greets everyone

   The theme this time is “Nature and Experience Promotion Campaign”, so after examining several activities which fit the theme, we decided to go to Kyohoen, where you can experience grape-picking with minimal materials close to Kochi City.

Kochi Lifestyle Q&A

Q. I want to try out various activities in Kochi! Is there any way I can easily gather information and make reservations?

A. Yes there is! In fact, Kochi just started its Nature & Experience Promotion Campaign. Thanks to this campaign, finding information and reserving activities has gotten much easier.

 

   First, if you understand Japanese, you can search for activities at https://kochi-experience.jp/. This is the perfect place to collect information. On it are suggested itineraries, information on different places and events in Kochi, and even tour packages by various travel companies such as Jalan and Asoview all gathered together. Plus, when you find an activity you would like to try, you can reserve a place on the spot!

Tasty / Happy / Fun Susaki ~Morning” at a Café~

Me and Shinjo-kun

Kochi City Hall CIR Marisa

 

   Susaki is famous for Shinjo-kun, but I heard that this city has an interesting tradition, so I went to Susaki City with staff members from KIA to learn more about it!

 

Getting to know “Morning” culture
   It is said that on the ocean side of Susaki, after fishermen came back from sea, “eating breakfast at a café” later became known as “Morning” and spread from there. We immediately picked up a “Morning”/lunch guide map at JR Susaki Station. There were many cafes offering “Morning” all day, and it was very hard to decide on one as they all looked delicious.

Susaki seaside, baby sardines on drying racks

Reflect on yourself through an hour of Zen meditation in the morning

Temple gate of Gokokuji

Going through the temple gates
   In this edition, CIR Naomi and KIA staff visited Gokokuji Temple in Iguchicho, Kochi City. It was still dark at 5:50 am, and a dim light was coming from within the temple gates. We went through, and the wooden building and plants, still wet with dew, looked beautiful. We could see the figure of the abbott through a small window, and with the scent of incense wafting from the entrance, it felt like we had entered a scene from a Ghibli movie!
   The inside of the temple gave one a feeling of traditional Japan; the interior was simple and the moss-covered garden emanated an atmosphere of calmness. The abbott told us that he gets up at 2:30 am every morning and cleans the building, as well as incorporating Zen meditation into his daily practices—an ideology passed down from previous generations.

Kochi Lifestyle Q&A: Q. Are there consultation services for foreigners for various fields? A. Yes, there are such places below!

①Kochi Consultation Center for Foreign Residents
   This center opened as a new organization under KIA at the end of May 2019! It assists foreign residents in Kochi by listening and advising them with regards to their daily life, and helping them out with their troubles. It is equipped with telephone interpreting and translation applications, so feel free to contact the center in your own native language.

Let’s make a “Ryoma Passport” and travel around Kochi!

   The Ryoma Passport is an item which gets you special perks simply by showing it at various tourist facilities, hot springs, road stations, and restaurants serving local dishes. Might as well use it if you’re
living in Kochi! You’ll be surprised at how many places there are near to you where you can use it. In this issue, KIA staff and CIRs will show you some of the ways to use the Ryoma Passport.

 

The flag

How to get a Ryoma Passport
1. First, get the pamphlet for the Ryoma Passport at various places like the Kochi Station Tourist Information Center, and cut out the registration postcard on the back. (We also have the pamphlets at KIA.)
2. Collect three kinds of stamps on the postcard at applicable facilities. For example, ①Enter the main keep of Kochi Castle→②Spend at least 500yen on food or goods at Hirome Market→③Visit The Museum of Art, Kochi. You will already have three stamps this way.
3. Next, if you go to the Kochi Travel Plaza in front of JR Kochi Station, you can exchange the postcard for a “Blue Passport” on the same day.
＊ You can also mail the registration form. Once you collect the necessary stamps for the “Blue Passport”, you can trade it in for a “Red Passport”. There are five levels (Blue→Red→Bronze→Silver→Gold).

Having fun in Nankoku City with the Ryoma Passport!

Kochi City CIR Marisa

   The cold weather has all but disappeared, and spring, the season where Japan’s beautiful cherry blossoms start to bloom, has begun. As it gets warmer it becomes a waste to spend your days curled up at home, so why not head out and use your Ryoma Passport! You can use it as if you were playing a gamecollecting stamps, and moving up levels.

 

We used our Ryoma Passports to try Shamo chicken in Nankoku!

Shamo nanban ricebowl

   Gomen Machi in Nankoku City is famous for its shamo cuisine, and the chickens raised there are called “Gomen Kenka Shamo”. It is said to have been a favorite dish of Sakamoto Ryoma. Furthermore, these “Gomen Kenka Shamo” are rare in Japan due to being purebred, the same as when they were once eaten by Sakamoto Ryoma. Shamo is known for its firm meat and chewy texture.

 

   In Nankoku City, approximately 20 restaurants located around the JR Gomen Station area provide shamo cuisine, and of these, 15 accept the Ryoma Passport. When we investigated, the standard shamo dish was “nabe” (hotpot), however we found you could eat a whole range of shamo-based foods in the area, including “shamo teppan-yaki” (shamo cooked on a hotplate), “shamo koumi-age” (shamo that is deep-fried after being seasoned with herbs or spices) and shamo pizza. We were surprised that there was such a mix of shamo dishes available!

Let’s enjoy Akaoka with our Ryoma Passports!

Kochi Prefecture CIR Valerie Teo

 

   We’re off to Akaoka Station! Akaoka used to be called Konan’s “Commercial Town”, and nostalgic scenery can still be seen in its streets even now. Following on from a discovery in Nankoku City, this time we will be exploring Akaoka in search of eateries and facilities that display the Ryoma Passport banner.

 

 

Tosawo Shoten Chirimen Chuunichi Soba

  First, with our eyes on the “Chirimen Chuunichi Soba”, we headed to “Tosawo Shoten”. After a five minutes’ walk from the station, we spotted the banner!! “Tosawo Shoten” was written on the outer walls of the store in huge letters.

   Upon passing through the entrance, many fresh foods were laid out before our eyes, and to our left were tour pamphlets of the region.

   The eatery was located at the end of the room. Their menu had many food items—in addition to what we were intending to eat—that looked particularly delicious. We decided to go with the garlic-chive filled gyozas in addition to our chirimen chuunichi soba. The soba is made from a collaboration between Japanese style local chirimen fish soup stock, and Chinese noodles. Small fish, spring onion, fishcake, fried fishcake, shredded kombu made up the ingredients. It usually goes for 600 yen, but we got it at 550 yen thanks to the Ryoma Passport!

 

Kochi Lifestyle Q&A : The theme this time is HAY FEVER!!!

   Sakura (cherry blossoms) is synonymous with spring in Japan. The Sakura around Kochi Castle are indeed beautiful. In the spring, the plants are freed from the cold winter and all blossom at once.

 

Q : My friend is in his 5th year in Japan and all of a sudden has developed hay fever. What’s going on? I’m worried the same might happen to me.
① What are some symptoms of hay fever?
② I don’t have any symptoms now, but I’m very worried about what will happen from here on out. Is there anything I can do to keep the symptoms away?
③ If I do develop hay fever, what should I do?

 

Japanese Cultural Experience Japanese archery

   Kochi Castle Museum of History will provide opportunities for foreigners to experience traditional Japanese culture. This year we will introduce Kyudo (Japanese archery), one of Japanese military art. In addition to learning about the history about Japanese archery, and try drawing the bow themselves. With explanations in English, even beginners will easily understand. Please come and experience the wonderful aspect Japanese art through Japanese archery.

 

Date
　March 16 (Sat), 2019  2:00~4:00 p.m.

 

Place
　Kochi Prefectural Kyudo (12-1 Takasone, Kochi-city)

Capacity
　First 20 arrivals

Cost
　Free

How to apply
　Send a post card, or a fax, or a mail, or call us with your name, address, telephonenumber.
　We’ll send you a ticket.

Inquiries
　Kochi Prefectural Kochi Castle Museum of History　
　2-7-5 Ote-suji, Kochi-city 780-0842
　Phone 088-871-1600／Fax 088-871-1619
　e-mail address: jce20190316@gmail.com