-- Email
Hey Jake
Hey, it’s been a while, hasn’t it I would love to catch up with you again. I am writing this
email to share my experience with foreign countries food and culture.
Recently I went to Japan as a vacation. Modern Japan is a land of fascinating high-end
technology and ancient traditions. Tokyo is a city that is brightly lit by its thousands of vehicles and
its buildings. However, if we zoom onto their city, we are able to locate many shrines and temples
which used to serve as a place of faith for many but now lies empty. It seems that the shrines were
dedicated to their then popular Shinto religion. Shrines in Japan is said to be built around the sixth
century during the Yamato period. Each shrine had elaborate details from their woodwork to its
interior designs. One thing that had me flabbergasted was the pattern on the plank. Each plank was
scribbled with different shapes indicating different deities such as Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi.
Temples dedicated to Amaterasu (goddess of sun) represented the sun rays illuminating the land of
the rising sun. On the other hand, temples that were devoted to Tsukuyomi (God of the moon) had
intricate details embedded into it, so that it reflected the beaty of the moon and its mysterious
appearance that happens only during the darkest nights.
Another mesmerizing thing about Tokyo was its renowned cherry blossoms, otherwise known as
the “Sakura”. The Sakura tree played major part in the development of Japanese tradition and
culture. One particular aspect of the Sakura tree is that it starts to blossom in April after harsh
winter in the northern lands. Therefore, the Japanese thought of Sakura as a present from the gods.
Plus, the beauty of cherry blossoms justified the claim. Furthermore, the Japanese started to
celebrate the week after the first cherry blossom bloom and called it the golden week. This was
probably since the cherry blossom blooms for a week. It's like a magic all other trees stay afloat for
the whole summer, but the Sakura only stays for a week.
Now let's discuss about their cuisine. Japanese cuisine heavily relies on seafood and rice. Ever
since the early days of Japan people living in the area grew rice rather than potatoes or carrots. The
most popular dish known around the globe from Japan is named Ramen. Ramen is exquisite and
delightful to eat and enjoy. The root of delicious ramen is in the broth. The broth is boiled together
with bones of pork or lamb for 24-48 hours absorbing the nutrition that the bones provide.
Afterwards, the noodles are added. Local places run by generations of ramen makers usually
creates their own noodles. So, if you want to experience authenticity I recommend the local places.
Finally the other dry ingredients are added such as fish cakes and etc. Aside from the infamous
ramen Japan has no running out of new experiences.
To sum it all up Japan is a nation that must be on your bucket list as a place to visit. Any
expenditure spent will be returned to you in other ways manyfold.
Take care Jargalbat
