Post on 03-Mar-2018
Japan
Map• Japanisanarchipelago(chainofislands)madeupofabout3,000islands.
• SurroundingCountries:• Russia,China,NorthKorea,SouthKorea
• CiAes:• Tokyo(capital)
• Size:• 145,936squaremiles
PopulationandCurrency• PopulaAon:127.3million• Language:Japanese(withseveralotherlanguages)• EthnicGroups:• Japanese(98.5%)• ChineseandKorean(0.9%)
• Currency:Yen
PopulationandCurrency• ReligiousGroups:• Shinto(57%)isasoldastheJapaneseculture• Buddhism(35%)wasimportedfromthemainlandinthe6thcentury.
• Thereligionsco-exisAngharmoniouslyandcomplementeachothertoacertaindegree.MostJapaneseconsiderthemselvesBuddhist,Shintoistorboth
Geography• Japanismadeupofover3,000islands,makingseafoodwidelyavailable
• 8percentofallthefishcaughtintheworld
• EachpersoninJapaneatsmorethan150poundsoffishperyear,oraroundthreepoundsoffishperweek
• Hokkaido,innorthernJapan,producesmostoftheseafoodconsumedinJapan,aswellasawidevarietyofvegetables.
• Tokyoanditssurroundingareaarefamousfornigirisushi,seafood,andsoybean(edamame)products.
Geography• About60-70%istoomountainous,soalmostallthepeopleliveinciAes,mostofwhichwerebuiltonthecountry'sflatland(plainsarea).
• SouthernKyushugrowsawidevarietyofvegetablesandfruit,includingonions,strawberries,andshiitakemushrooms.
• Inthericebelt(EchigoPlain),mountainvegetablesandmaitakemushroomsarealsoproduced;buckwheatsobanoodlesandhot-potsusinglocalseafoodarepopular.
• Kansai,inthewest,producesvegetables,fruit,rice,andKobebeef;sukiyakiandudonnoodlesarespecialAes.
Geography/Climate• JapanislocatedinaregionwhereseveralconAnentalplatesmeet:
• Frequentearthquakes• Manyvolcanos
• Thecountryalsoexperiencestyphoons(hugestormsoriginaAngovertheocean)
Climate• Climateisgoodforfarming,ricebeingthechiefcrop
• TheclimateinmostofthemajorciAesistemperatetosubtropicalandconsistsoffourseasons
• Winteriscoolandmild
• Summerishotandhumid• Rainyseasoninearlysummer
• Widevarietyofvegetables/fruitscanbegrown,reflecAngJapan’sseasonsandclimatechanges
• DuetothelargelengthoftheJapan,theclimatevariesstronglyindifferentregions
• TheclimateofthenorthernislandofHokkaidoandtheSeaofJapancoastiscolder,andsnowfallsinlargeamountsduringwinter
• InOkinawatheclimateremainswarmthroughoutthewinter
Agriculture• AbouthalfofJapan'sarableland(landabletobefarmed)isdevotedtogrowingrice.• Somemountainousareashavebeenterraced(hadstep-likeareascutintothem)toallowfarmerstogrowriceandothercrops.
• SoybeansareamajoragriculturalproductofJapan.
Agriculture• “Wagyubeefcakle”areraisedtobehealthyanimalsinwell-venAlatedbarnsspreadwithsawdust.TheyarefedwithamixtureofhayandhighlynutriAous,safecompoundfeeds.FarmerswhobreedwagyucakleraisethemwithcarefulakenAontodetail.“Wagyu”referstoanycaklethatisbredinJapanortheJapanese-style.KobebeefiscomprisedofaveryparAcularstrainofWagyucalledTajima-Gyuthatisraisedtostrictstandards.
Culture• Japan’scloseneighbors,ChinaandKorea,haveplayedmajorrolesinitsculturethroughbothtradeandreligion.• ChinataughttheJapanesetoculAvaterice
• UseofchopsAcksandtheconsumpAonofsoysauceandsoybeancurd(tofu)alsocamefromChina
• IntheA.D.700s,theriseofBuddhismledtoabanoneaAngmeat• Sushi(rawfishwithrice)• Vegetarianfoods
• BeefreturnedtoJapanduringtheMeijiPeriod(1868–1912)
Culture• Westernfoods,suchasbread,coffee,andicecream,becomepopularduringthelate1900
• WesterninfluencehasintroducedAmesavingcookingmethods:
• Electricricecooker• Packagedfoodssuchasinstantnoodles,instantmiso(fermentedsoybeanpaste)soup,andinstantpicklingmixes
• JapanesearesAlldevotedtotheirclassiccookingtradiAons
Culture• MostimportantholidayisNewYears(Shogatsu)
• Specialholidayfoods,calledosechi,arepreparedinbeauAfullydecoratedstackableboxes-eachlayerhascompartmentsforseveraldifferentfoods.
• Glazedsardines,bambooshoots,sweetblackbeans,andchestnutsinsweetpotatopastearejustafewofthemanyholidayfoods.
• NewYearfoodsareeatenbecausetheyrepresentgoodfortuneorlonglife
Culture• Theteaceremony(chanoyu)isanimportantJapaneseritualthatcanbeheldonaholidayorotherspecialoccasion.Developedoverseveralcenturies,itplaysanimportantroleinJapaneselifeandculture.
• GreenteaisthenaAonalbeverageofJapan,althoughblackteaisalsoavailable.
Activity–Chopsticks!• ChopsAcksareusedtoeatmostfoods.Rules:• HoldyourchopsAckstowardstheirend,notinthemiddleorthefrontthird.
• WhenyouarenotusingyourchopsAcks,orhavefinishedeaAng,laythemdowninfrontofyouwiththeApstolep.DonotsAckchopsAcksintoyourfood,especiallynotintorice.Thisisonlydoneatfuneralswithricethatisputontothealtar.
• DonotpassfooddirectlyfromyoursetofchopsAckstoanother's.Again,thisisafuneraltradiAonthatinvolvesthebonesofacrematedbody.
• DonotspearfoodwithyourchopsAcks.• Donotpoint/wavewithyourchopsAcks.• IfyouhavealreadyeatenwithyourchopsAcks,usetheoppositeendtotakefoodfromasharedplate.
• KnivesandforksareusedforWesternfoodonly.Spoonshowever,maybeusedwithcertainJapanesedishessuchasdonburiorJapanesestylecurryrice.
MealtimeCustoms• PrioriAzequalityoverquanAtyintheirfood,prizingeachingredientindividually–usuallyfreshingredientspreferred
• Visualappealisasimportantasthefooditself,sopreparaAonandpresentaAonaremeAculous
• RiceandnoodlesarethetwomealAmestaples• Riceisservedateverymeal• NoodlescomeinmanyvarieAes
• Soba,thinbrownnoodlesmadefrombuckwheatflour
• Udon,thickwhitenoodlesmadefromwheatflour
• Ramen,thin,curlynoodles,alsomadefromwheatflour
MealtimeCustoms• SoysauceandothersoybeanproductsarealsostaplesinJapan• Miso(fermentedsoybeanpaste)
• Tofu(asoybeancurdthatresemblescustard).
• OthercommoningredientsinJapanesefoodincludebambooshoots,daikon,ginger,seaweed,andsesameseedproducts.
• Sake,winemadefromrice,andbeerarealsoverypopular
MealtimeCustoms• TwouniquelyJapanesefoods:• Sushi(freshrawseafoodwithrice)• Sashimi(freshrawseafoodwithsoysauce)
• Bothrelyonfreshlycaughtfishorseafood.
• Dishespreparedinasinglepot(nabemeno)arepopularthroughoutJapan.
• ThepeopleofJapanlivelonglivesandhavealowrateofheartdiseasebecauseofhealthyeaAnghabits.
• TheJapaneseeatthreemainmealsaday
• TheJapanesedonoteatwhiletheyaredoingotherthings
MealtimeCustoms• Si,ngtechniques• SiqnguprightontheflooriscommoninmanysituaAons
• MealsaretradiAonallyheldonatatamiflooraroundalowtable
• Siqngonthefloorisalsocustomaryduringtheteaceremony(chanoyu)
• Shoesandslippershavetoberemovedbeforesteppingontatami
• Theformalwayofsiqngforbothgendersiskneeling(seiza)• IncasualsituaAons,menusuallysitcross-legged,whilewomenwithbothlegstooneside.
women(casual) seiza(formal) men(casual)
Menu-Breakfast• Mealseatenearlyinthedaytendtobethesimplest.
• Atypicalbreakfastconsistsofrice,misosoup,andasidedish,suchasaneggorgrilledfish.
• MisosoupisasoupconsisAngofastockcalled"dashi"intowhichsopenedmisopaste(fermentedsoybeans)ismixed.Manyingredientsareaddeddependingonregionalandseasonalrecipes,andpersonalpreference.
Menu-Lunch• Noodlesareverypopularforlunch(andasasnack)
• Atypicallunchwouldbeabowlofbrothwithvegetables,seaweed,orfish.
• ThebentoisatradiAonalboxlunchpackedinasmall,flatboxwithdividers.ItincludessmallporAonsofrice,meat,fish,andvegetables.
• Afavoriteamongyoungpeopleisastuffedriceballcalledonigiri.
Menu-Dinner• Sukiyakiisadishmadeupofpaper-thinslicesofbeef,vegetables,andcubesoftofucookedinbroth.
• Shabu-shabuisbeefandvegetables,alsocookedinbrothbutthendippedinflavorfulsauces.
Menu-Dessert• Seasonalfreshfruitmakesagreatdessert.
• Sweetsaremorelikelytobeservedwithgreenteaintheapernoon.
• CastellaisapopularJapanesespongecakemadeofsugar,flour,eggs,andstarchsyrup.
• Sataandagiaresweetdeepfriedbunsofdoughsimilartodoughnuts
• hkp://www.foodbycountry.com/Germany-to-Japan/Japan.html
• hkps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Japan• hkp://www.japan-guide.com/e/e629.html
• hkp://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2039.html
• hkp://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2006.html
• hkp://www.japan-guide.com/list/e1000.html• hkp://www.visualgeography.com/
• hkp://www.hktdc.com/web/featured_suppliers/japan_food/en/index.html