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Recently, I've found myself enjoying non-alcohol beer. This non-alcohol beer has been named "Non-Alcohol"by the beer company that manufactures it, so obviously it hasn't got a drop of alcohol in it. Apparently the alcohol is removed during the manufacturing process. I had to drive my car after a dinner out on one occassion, so I had no choice at the time and started to drink it but then found that when its cold it is almost no different to ordinary beer and I was quite satisfied. But when it warms up, the fact that it tastes quite different from beer becomes clear, so I make sure that I drink it while cold. To make sure that I can drink it all down quickly once I've taken it out of the refridgerator, I prefer to buy the 350 milimeter cans and not the 500 milimeter cans. It looks like the beer companies have cottoned onto this point as well, so from September the 500 milimeter cans have disappeared from the supermarlet stores and only the 350 milimeter cans are available now. In the tough and competitive climate of beer sales, non-alcohol beer sales have been steadily boosting sales and have come to be somewhat of a lifeline product for many beer makers. No matter how much you drink, you never get even mildly drunk ; is one of the product's weak points, but if you do get the chance, why not try to drink some non-alcohol beer ?
Do you
know “Mirin”? “Mirin” is an alcohol condiment which is often
used for Japanese cuisine. Although I can buy Mirin in a Japanese
supermarket or Chinese supermarket in a big city in UK, I could not
buy it in a small town where I live. However, the other day, when I
went to a big chain supermarket, surprisingly they sold Mirin. I was
glad, and bought it spontaneously.
There
are “Hon-Mirin(genuine Mirin)” and “Mirin-style condiment”.
What is the difference between these two? The main difference between
“Hon-Mirin” and “Mirin-style condiment” is the amount of
alcohol. “Hon-Mirin” has about 14% of alcohol, and “Mirin-style
condiment” has less than 1% of alcohol. As for the Mirin I bought,
since it has 14% alcohol written on it, it seems it is Hon-Mirin.
Generally,
“Mirin-style condiment” is cheaper than “Hon-Mirin”. It is
because “Mirin-style condiment” has low alcohol, and is not
charged with a liquor tax. Although I have never drunken Mirin as it
is, it is said that around the 16th century, women and people who
could not drink a lot of alcohol used to drink Mirin.
Mirin is
one of the condiments that I use just like soy source, I feel scared
of drinking Mirin as an alcohol. If you are brave, don't just use
Mirin for cooking but try to drink it as it is as well.
The
evenings and mornings are beginning to get cooler, as we feel Autumn
coming around, but the lingering summer heat in the afternoons is
still quite harsh.
Here
in Fukuoka where I live, the summer this year was really hot.
And
during the hot summers the one thing I really like to eat is of
course Kaki Gori ( Shaved Ice with syrup) .
When
I was a kid I often used to make Kaki Gori with a machine, cover it
with bright colored syrup and and eat it. There are electrical ones
now as well, but in the old days, the Kaki Gori machines were manual
and used to be have a handle which you would turn by hand . It was a
little difficult but everytime you turned the handle there was a
panda whose eyes would roll with each turn so it was fun.
After
becoming an adult, I have stopped making Kaki Gori at home, but
sometimes I go out to a Kaki Gori shop .
When
summer comes around, shops that have Noren ( sign curtains hung at
the shop entrance) which have the Kanji for ice (Kouri 氷
)
written on them catch my eye. You can get Kaki Gori at these shops.
In
Fukuoka, the most popular one is Cobalt ice cream 「コバルトアイス」.
Even though it is Kaki Gori, for some reason they named it ice cream,
but with its fine texture it feels great in your mouth, so it has
been a long-selling favorite here. There are other types too, there
is a fluffy and mild shaved ice which is made from frozen raw fruits
which comes from Taiwan and many other Kaki Gori appearing that are
full of unique flavors.
We usually eat this treat until the end of
September, so if you have a chance to travel to Japan before then,
please come and try it.
The lingering summer heat gets blown away by this
treat too.
★ 今週の語彙 This week's vocabulary
かき氷（ごおり）
a shaved ice with syrup on the top
訪（おとず）れ
a
visit
残暑（ざんしょ）
lingering summer heat; the heat
of late summer
かき氷機（かきごおりき）
a machine
どぎつい色（いろ）
a
glaring [garish／loud]
color
シロップ
syrup,
sirup
電動（でんどう）の～
on
electricity
ハンドル
a
handle
回（まわ）す
to
turn something around
手動（しゅどう）の～
hand-operated,
manually-operated
くるくる回（まわ）る
something
rolls
目（め）につく
to
catch one’s eye [attention]
きめ
grain,
texture
細（こま）かい
be
small, fine
口（くち）当（あ）たりが良（よ）い
tasty
palatable, smooth
ふんわりとする
soft
, fluffy, light
凍（こお）らせる
to
freeze something
個性（こせい）
individuality
豊（ゆた）かな
be
abundant, plentiful
登場（とうじょう）する
to
appear
吹（ふ）っ飛（と）ぶ
something
vanish immediately, be blown away, be shattered
The 17th of September is one of the National Holidays in Japan and is known as “Keiro no Hi” (Respect for the Aged Day). In the past September 15th used to be “Keiro no Hi” but due to a revision of the law, since 2003 the day was moved to the 3rd Monday in September.
The point of “Keiro no Hi” was allegedly established as 'a day to respect the aged and celebrate longevity', but each year as “Keiro no Hi” draws near I find myself thinking and asking myself, “At what age exactly does one become aged or elderly ?”
Currently in Japan, the age at which you are eligible to receive an old age pension is 65 years old, so this has become one standard of measurement, yet in a popular opinion poll most people regarded the definition of an aged person as being someone over the age of 70 years old.
In truth, many people in their 60s are healthy and active I'd feel sorry to call them aged. If I were to celebrate “Keiro no Hi” for them, it would amount to saying that, “You are old” which would be rude; so I find myself thinking.
There are two children in our family, and for them the closest old people would be their grandma of course, however our family's grandmother is 67 years old this year. Its a difficult age to decide whether to celebrate “Keiro no Hi” or not.
★ 今週の語彙 This week's vocabulary
国民（こくみん） a citizen
祝日（しゅくじつ）a holiday 敬老（けいろう）の日（ひ）Respect for the Aged Day
以前（いぜん）before 法律（ほうりつ）a law
改正（かいせい）revision によってbecause of
第（だい）3the third 移動（いどう）transfer; move 老人（ろうじん） the old; old people 敬（うやま）う respect 長寿（ちょうじゅ） long life 祝（いわ）う celebrate; congratulate 主旨（しゅし）the point 制定（せいてい）する establish 近付（ちかづ）くbe close お年寄（としよ）りthe aged; older people いったいon earth 現在（げんざい）nowadays; at present 老齢年金（ろうれいねんきん） an old-age pension 目安（めやす）a standard 一般（いっぱん）general 調査（ちょうさ）inquiry; investigation 高齢者（こうれいしゃ）an old person; a person of advanced age 実際（じっさい） actually 60代（だい） sixties 申（もう）し訳（わけ）ないfeel sorry 我（わ）が家（や）one’s home 身近（みぢか）close 微妙（びみょう）delicate; difficult
Beachcombing
is the hobby of picking up and collecting objects that have washed in
with the tide. It involves walking along the shore, making a
collection of any things of interest that are found, researching
where they originally came from, making decorations or objects with
them : there are various ways of doing it, depending on the person.
There are shells and coral to be found of course , as well as
driftwood and pieces of glass or rock that have taken on strange
shapes as they rolled around in the oceans ; there are a host of
treasures to be found on the beachline with mysterious countries of
origin.
Its
not only about picking up interesting objects, it also involves
cleaning up the beaches by picking up garbage as well ; in some local
areas there are cleaning events tied in with beachcombing.
In
September in Japan, this is the season of typhoons. When you take a
look at the beaches after a typhoon has gone past... there are
various objects to be found lying around. How about going and looking
for your very own piece of treasure ?
