The city of Morioka, located in northeastern Tohoku, is best known in Japan for its noodles. Jajamen is one of the “Three Great Noodles of Morioka”. But lately, I have seen it in other cities in Japan including my local grocery store in Kyoto. What is Jajamen? Inspired by Zhajiangmian, a noodle meal made at...Read More
G’day it’s Jessica here from our Sydney, Australia office. I work in our customer service department and help run Samurai Tours social media. I have only been with the company for 4 short months but I already feel like family and can’t wait to continue to grow with the company. I was born and raised...Read More
This installment of Japan by the Numbers features crime statistics in Japan and comparisons to America. Japan has a well-earned reputation of being safe, and these statistics prove that. While non-violent crimes such as telephone fraud, pickpocketing and others are increasing, violent crime rates have been going down. The number of the month is 0.04,...Read More
“Gyu” is the Japanese word for beef, and “tan_ is the Japanese version of the English word tongue. Gyutan (beef tongue) is popular all over Japan, but it is most popular in Sendai. This is partly due to the fact that cooking beef tongue in Japan originated in Sendai in 1948. Gyutan itself consists of...Read More
This month’s Japan By Numbers number is 45. 45 of the 50 busiest train stations in the world are Japanese train stations. Here is a list of the 50 busiest train stations in the world. The top 10 (all Japanese train stations) include the average number of people using the station everyday. 1 Shinjuku Station...Read More
This months number is 266. That is number of Japanese restaurants per person in Japan. This is the highest rate anywhere in the world. The country with the second highest number of restaurants in the world is America with 547 restaurants per person. 34 – The number of Michelin 3 star ranked restaurants in Japan....Read More
Millions of Japanese all over Japan start their day with Rajio Taiso, or Radio Calistenics. It is something almost every Japanese person has participated in, and everyone in Japan is familiar with it. In 1928, the program started broadcasting on radio. And in 1957, it started broadcasting on television. Today, every morning at 6:30AM, the...Read More
In Hiroshima, it is called “okonomiyaki”. But everywhere else in Japan it is called “Hiroshimayaki” to differentiate it from the Osaka-style okonomiyaki. While there are similarities between the two, there are also differences. For those who do not know what okonomiyaki is, it can best be described as a savory pancake. Other than the basic ingredients...Read More
This month’s number is 342. There are 342 Shinkansen everyday between Tokyo and Osaka (171 in each direction). The trains will normally start operating about 6:30AM and stop at about 12:30AM. That means there is a train every 6.3 minutes. 1964 – The year the Shinkansen started operating 285/177 – Maximum speed of the Tokaido...Read More
On April 25, 2019, the Hiroshima Peace Museum fully reopened after being partially closed for several years for earthquake-proofing renovations. While the work continues on the outside of the building, the inside has been completed and the museum and all of its exhibits have been completely redone. Since we take many tour groups there, I...Read More
