New Tokyo movie tower, Japanese sake and vinegar, and 3 old tales

New Year's osechi ryori cuisine: super difficult to make at home.

Tokyo is going gang busters on huge tower complexes. It all began with the transformation of Roppongi with the Mori Museum and other adjacent buildings. Then we had the Tokyo Skytree and the huge Sora mall at its base. Then there was Toranamon Hills. And now we have the 48-story Tokyu Kabukicho Tower (plus 5 underground floors) on the edge of Shinjuku’s Kabukicho, infamous for street food and all kinds of bars, boisterous izakaya pubs, and hints of the red light district just out of sight. The Tower is home to one of Japan’s biggest nightclubs, Zero Tokyo. Think five floors and each floor has nearly 100 expensive high-end speakers. In principal, the Tokyu Kabukicho Tower is focused on entertainment and recreation. There are movie theatres, hotels (yes, more than one!) and art installations. The upper floors feature two hotels: Hotel Groove Shinjuku on floors 17–38 ; and the Bellustar Tokyo on floors 39–47, with a contemporary three-story restaurant atrium set in the 45th-47th floors. The 109 Cinemas Premium Shinjuku theater sound system design was supervised by the late Japanese musician and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto. I find it strange that this complex hasn't received more attention in the international Japan travel press. I loved hanging out in the heat of summer or the dead of winter in the entertainment worlds of Roppongi Hills. The new Shinjuku tower sounds like a colossus of fun and surprises.

The winter season has already begun in the hearts of Japan: Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. The night temperatures favor hot sake, hot tea, comfort blankets, and soups. When I first arrived in Japan in the early 1980s, winter was a challenging time. I was poor and the kerosene heaters were sooty and smelly but necessary. If you were really lucky your home had a horigotatsu sunken table, covered in a thick blanket to trap the heat of the high power bulb under the table top.

The Japanese have all kinds of winter foods. My favorite, just because it's so odd or old world, is oden sold at convenience stores. Oden is vat of broth filled with boiled egg, big triangular deep fried tofu slabs, boiled daikon radish slices, and more. The mustard looks innocent but can be used to start a fire! Kyotsukete, be careful!

I never liked the New Year transition in North America or Europe. I like Christmas a lot but New Year seemed fake and superficial to me as an older teenager and in my early 20s. In Japan the last day of the year or the last days of the year are reserved for 3 things: 1. Tending to the Butsudan home Buddhist altar as part of the end of the Buddhist year. 2. Preparing special and hard to make Shinto delicacies for Jan 1, 2 and 3 (in the 1980s and 1990s hardly anything was open on these days except for 24/7 convenience stores!).

In winter (Dec, Jan, Feb) in Japan nabe one pot meals or nabemono cuisine are the best way to warm up from the inside. And there are options vegetarians, meat eaters, or fish lovers. There is a nabemono style for every taste. Nabemono are prepared at the table in large earthenware pots with all kinds of fresh ingredients at hand or at table. Sukiyaki or thin slices of well-marbled beef, vegetables, and tofu cooked in a mixture of soy sauce and sake is also a nabemono style. Every person at the table also receives a small dish containing a raw egg. This is used as a dip, and when the egg touches the hot beef it cooks instantly. Shabu shabu uses the one pot meal idea using paper-thin slices of the finest beef and vegetables; all of which are quickly cooked in a clear broth and then dipped into one of several sauces. Ponzu is a vinegar based dip, usually used as a vegetable dip. Gomadare, made from sesame paste, is for dipping the meat into. Chanko Nabe is basically the kind of one pot meal that makes sumo wrestlers bulk up fast. Sumo nabemono can pretty much include anything — vegetables, yudofu (a kind of tofu), fish, and shrimp, chicken. In restaurants the portions are much smaller than what a professional wrestler has for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

From January 01 to 03, especially, the Japanese eat "cross into the New Year buckwheat noodles" or toshikoshi soba. This still popular custom started in the Edo period (1603-1867). Soba noodles, so they say, make life and relationships longer (that is why they are often given as a gift to new neighbors when one moves) and also to help you keep your money longer! In Kyoto, many soba noodle shops remain open right into the New Year.

On the morning of the New Year’s day, before osechi ryori (special, previously prepared New Year’s dishes) and otoso (the first sake of the year), Kyotoites drink houjicha (roasted tea) containing thin strips of kombu (sea kelp), and small umeboshi (pickled plums). This tea, it is said, will keep you healthy and safe all year. Major Japanese emporiums in Tokyo and Kyoto (notably Ippodo and Fukujuen) sell daifuku-cha. Japanese tea specialty boutiques in the basement of high-end department stores like Mitsukoshi Ginza, Takashimaya, Seibu, Isetan will also have big happy tea ready for sale in December.

The rest of this post consists of covers:

Kyoto's sake makers & vocab
An introduction to Kyoto vinegar
Three ancient Japanese tales to learn from!

Content by Ian Martin Ropke, owner of Your Japan Private Tours (est. 1990). I have been planning, designing, and making custom Japan private tours on all five Japanese islands since the early 1990s. I work closely with Japan private tour clients and have worked for all kinds of families, companies, and individuals since 1990. Clients find me mostly via organic search, and I advertise my custom Japan private tours & travel services on www.japan-guide.com, which has the best all-Japan English content & maps in Japan! If you are going to Japan and you understand the advantages of private travel, consider my services for your next trip. And thank you for reading my content. I, Ian Martin Ropke (unique on Google Search), am also a serious nonfiction and fiction writer, a startup founder (NexussPlus.com), and a spiritual wood sculptor. Learn more!

Kyoto's sake industry in the Fushimi district

As is true of so many other traditional industries, Kyoto's sake industry is symbolic of the finest in the land. The excellent underground spring water — the premier ingredient for making good sake (rice quality is also extremely important) — of the Fushimi area is amongst the best in all of Japan. Today, there are over 40 breweries still active in the area — including Japan's largest producer, Gekkeikan. Sake, unlike wine, has no vintage years, and is best drunk within the year it is bottled (average alcohol content: 15% - 19%). Common types of sake include — junmaishu (pure rice sake; slightly diluted with water, without additional sugar), namazake (draft sake; unpasteurized and drunk fresh), taruzake (barrel sake, stored in special wooden barrels to give it its distinctive taste), gingoshu (select sake; made from the highest quality rice on the market), and genshu (pure unadulterated sake). Key sake tasting words are amai (sweet) and karakuchi (dry).

Sake, unlike wine, has no vintage years, and is best drunk within the year it is bottled (average alcohol content: 15% - 19%). Common types of sake include — junmaishu (pure rice sake; slightly diluted with water, without additional sugar), namazake (draft sake; unpasteurized and drunk fresh), taruzake (stored in special wooden barrels to give it its distinctive taste), gingoshu (select sake made from the highest quality rice on the market), and genshu (pure unadulterated sake). Some sakes are best drunk warm (@50 degrees centigrade: called atsukan); others chilled (reishu). Dryness is referred to as karakuchi and sweetness as amakuchi. The tiny cups are called sakazuki and the small ceramic serving bottles tokkuri.

The heart of the Kyoto sake industry is old historical Fushimi, a lively area in the far south of the city. Today, there are over 40 breweries still active in the area including Japan's largest producer, Gekkeikan. Blessed with pure sweet spring water and access to the best rice through its flourishing river port, Fushimi was a natural spot for sake brewing. Here is an overview of some of the top sake producers in the Fushimi district:

Gekkeikan: Established by Rokujiro Okura in 1637, Gekkeikan is the oldest sake company in existence in Kyoto. The brand name was changed to Gekkeikan in 1905. Gekkeikan successfully developed the advanced brewing system that permits sake brewing throughout the year. It is by far the largest brewer in Japan. The prestige of the company is so high that it is the official purveyor of sake to the Imperial Household. In 1989, they became the first Japanese brewer to start brewing overseas (California, U.S.A.).

Kinshi Masamune: Established by Kyube Matsuya in 1781, this medium-size sake brewer was originally based in downtown Kyoto. In 1880, the company transferred its brewing facilities to Fushimi. In the 1920s, they established themselves as one of the first luxury brand sake makers.

Kizakura: Established in 1925, this brewer changed its name to Kizakura in 1964. Though Kizakura is a relative newcomer to Kyoto's sake industry, it quickly established itself as one of the biggest and best in the country with a host of unique marketing tactics, including the idea that sake bottles should be smaller. Their motto is 'Sake for a modern lifestyle.' With the culture of sake is losing its luster, due to competition from foreign alcoholic beverages, makers like Kizakura have played an important role in keeping the sake tradition up to date and fashionable.

Takatori: Takatori is the main brand of the Yamamoto Sake Brewing Company, which was established in 1936. The company's brewery is located directly overlooking the Uji river in south Kyoto, and the main buildings have remained unchanged since they built in the late 1920s. Takatori sakes are amongst the finest produced in the Fushimi area. Their consistent high quality brews are a direct product of their wells, some of the best in the area, and the high quality rice they use in all of their products. The Iwai brand of rice that they use has, in recent years, become highly popular with a host of other sake manufacturers.

Kyoto vinegar: too amazing to miss!

Vinegar, along with soy sauce, mirin (sweet sake) and oil, has been one of Japan’s main flavor makers since ancient times. It is almost impossible to talk about authentic Japanese cuisine without vinegar. For example, without the zesty freshness of Japanese vinegar in the rice, sushi would simply not taste the same.

Large scale Japanese vinegar production dates back to the Muromachi period (1333-1576). Before that time, like so many things that we take for granted in Japan today, including sake, incense, tatami, sliding shoji doors, etc., vinegar was a luxury product available only to the ruling classes.

Kyoto vinegars are popularly known as Kyozu. They are very light in keeping with the fine art of Kyoryori (Kyoto cuisine) in which no one flavor should dominate. Among the few remaining locally produced traditional brands, Murayama Zosu's Chidorisu has an especially high reputation. Its unique fullness and depth of taste hasn’t really changed for over 250 years.

Murayama Zosu still produces some of its vinegars by hand. The entire process takes about three days. Most of their production is sold directly to restaurants. Some of their finest products are sold directly to Japanese restaurants in London and Paris, mainly because the vinegar in Europe is much too strong for Japanese cooking purposes. Their mustard-like vinegar miso is also highly recommended.

For the visitor interested in learning more about the way of vinegar, a tour of the backside of the Murayama Zosu factory is a great idea. Tours must be arranged in advance. If you can not speak Japanese well, an interpreter must accompany you.

Murayama Zosu’s fine vinegar products are available on the B1 floor of Takashimaya Department Store, and at the factory itself, on the south side of Sanjo, west of Higashioji; Tel: 761-3151.

Three new ancient Japanese tales to learn from

Heavan’s Mysterious Infant: About 1250 years ago, when Nara was the capital of Japan, the city was in quite a disastrous state as a result of long-term warring with the indigenous Ezo people of that area. The city was plagued with starvation, and many people died from hunger. In an attempt to appease the evil spirits, Emperor Shomu commanded that Todai-ji Temple be built. This temple is famous for its Daibutsu (Great Buddha).

The manager at the temple, whose name was Ronin, had experienced a very mysterious incident in life. When he was still a new born baby, a lone eagle suddenly swooped straight down out of the sky, snatched little Ronin away from his mother and took him away out of sight. After some time, the eagle finally dropped the baby along the border between Kyoto and Nara and flew away as quickly as it had appeared. The people in a village nearby looked in great surprise at the abandoned Ronin, as he dangled from a towering, tall tree. They decided this mysterious baby must have been sent from the heavens, and they finally welcomed him as a special gift from the gods. Ronin was raised and cared for by the villagers that found him and later came to be the caretaker of the temple.

One day, an aging couple visited Todai-ji Temple and saw Ronin working there. When they overheard Ronin’s story, they took a special interest and spoke to him. "Is it true that you were taken away from your parents by an eagle?" they asked Ronin. "Yes, that is true," he replied. "We wonder, then, if you haven’t a black spot on the right side of your abdomen." "How did you know such a thing?” Ronin exclaimed with the greatest surprise, “You two must be my real parents!"

Absolutely overwhelmed by this chance meeting, they all wept for joy at being reunited after so many years. And they lived together happily ever after.

The Monkey and the Spineless Jellyfish: Once upon a time, there was a monkey taking a nap on a beach-side pine tree. All of sudden he was awoken by a squirming jellyfish who called out from the water, "Hey monkey, how about a visit to the Underwater Palace with me?”

"Sounds great! But I’m sorry I can’t go. For you see, Jellyfish, I don’t know how to swim," replied the monkey disappointedly.

But the jellyfish happily answered, "Well, don't worry about that one bit. I can give you a ride all the way there." The monkey could only accept his fine offer. "Well then, I’d really love to go with you."

So together they left the beach for the legendary Underwater Palace, the monkey thoroughly enjoying his ride atop the jellyfish as they went. But just as they reached the halfway point, the jellyfish let a secret slipped out, "I heard that the princess at the palace is suffering from an unknown illness. They say a monkey’s liver holds the cure...and actually, that’s why I invited YOU!." In a panic, the monkey suddenly realized he was powerless. But he knew he had to get off the back of the jellyfish to escape. He knew it would take some quick thinking. Just then a tricky idea hit him and he exclaimed, “I would truly love to help the princess but I’ve just realized that I left my liver drying on the branch of the pine tree where I napped. We’ll have to return there to retrieve it.”

The gullible jellyfish believed the monkey and innocently agreed to turn back. Promising to return quickly, the monkey hopped off the jellyfish and climbed up the tree. Looking down on the jellyfish from his branch, he stuck out his long, red tongue and teased, "So long, you stupid jellyfish."

Ashamed of himself, the jellyfish made his way to the Palace, where he had to confess to everyone that his mission had failed. They were angered by the stupidity of the jellyfish in such an urgent situation and attacked him, crushing his spine. Since then, all jellyfish have lived to pay for this one’s failure by being born as spineless, wriggly blobs.

The Special Dog and His Ashes: Once upon a time, there were two old men living next to each other. One was very sincere and lived with a very smart dog. The other was very greedy, and always tried to take advantage of the other old man.

One day, the dog was barking at a spot on the ground to get the nice old man’s attention. Curious, the old man dug where the dog was pointing, and discovered a pile of gold coins and treasure. The story of the smart dog and old man soon spread throughout the village.

As soon as he heard about it, the greedy old man next door came over and asked to borrow the dog for a while. The sincere old man willingly let him take his dog for while. Day after day, the greedy old man waited for the dog to show him another treasure spot. Finally, the dog barked at another spot. The greedy old man dug up the ground, but found only ugly frogs and worms. In a rage, the old man killed the dog. A few days later, the sincere man asked to have his dog back. In answer, the greedy old man said, " Your dog was useless. I just burned it in the fire." The sincere old man was very upset but managed to calmly reply, "Then, give me the ash of my dog". The old man returned home and climbed the cherry tree in his garden, with the ashes in a jar in his arms. From the top of the tree, he scattered the ash into the air, saying, "Please make this beautiful cherry blossom for my dear departed dog". A lord who was passing by heard the old man and curiously enquired, "Do you really think you can make the cherry blossom with that ash?" The next instant, all the branches of the tree became full of beautiful pink cherry blossoms. The lord was very impressed and gave the old man reward.

The greedy old man, who had heard the story, came over the next day and asked to borrow the ashes. The kind old man gave him some. But the greedy old man wasn't satisfied with the idea of making just his tree bloom, so he made a visit to the lord's residence. The old man boasted to the lord, "The magic you saw the other day is nothing compared to mine. I will show you even more wonderful cherry blossoms." When he spread the ash onto the tree, all that happened is that the ash came down on the lord's head and got in his eyes. The greedy old man instead of getting a reward was severely punishment.

Kyoto's sake makers & vocab
An introduction to Kyoto vinegar
Three ancient Japanese tales to learn from!