Food, Fun & Cute

Our Action Plan

We are the group Hello Sunrise Land! A group of students at UofC. 

For the amount of importance and attention put towards the air of food, Japanese culture has developed the cooking, preparation and presentation techniques into something unique, with little to no similarity in any other places in the world. As we explore the various food scenes present in Tokyo, Japan, we hope to gain some insight as to the traditional foods popularized today around the world, as well as the effect of foreign cultural influences on food, like the fusion restaurants or Japanese-style French bakeries and the like. 

Cultural entertainment in Japan has developed into very diverse scene and a distinct stylized form. Traditional entertainment still exists in the form of kabuki performances, geisha entertainment, tea ceremony and calligraphy. It has also developed into a contemporary form, mainly popularized by such forms as manga/ anime, video games, and through film and movies, as well as the assorted merchandise that follows.

Cultural entertainment is not only in performances and activities, but also through clothing; the most significant example being the kimono. Other modern styles have developed through Japanese history, such as Lolita and Lolita-Goth, but styles such as Victorian-era or steampunk are also present. We want to focus on the topic of the kimono, as well as its cultural importance, meaning, and the subject of cultural appropriation in regards to who chooses to wear it, and under what context and with what intentions.

Every week we will explore one food related item and one cultural item. We will be looking at the history of our topics as well as experiencing them and seeing their influences in Japanese culture and community. 

Week 1:

~Pokemon- Cultural Influence and Impacts

Pokemon is one of the biggest pop culture phenomena in world and nowhere does it have a greater influence than its home country of Japan. From games, to food, to merchandise, Pokemon has made its way into every corner of Japanese culture. One of the best places to experience this impact is at a Pokemon Center, stores that specialize in selling Pokemon themed merchandise. While found few and far between in the rest of the world, Japan alone has 11 of these stores. We’ll be visiting the largest of these; the Mega Tokyo Pokemon Center located in Ikebukuro. While Pokemon merchandise can be found all over the world the sheer variety found at the Mega Tokyo Pokemon Center demonstrates just how impactful Pokemon has been to Japanese culture. Our visit will allow use to experience this impact first hand, while simultaneously allowing us to empty our wallets on all the Pokemon goodies our hearts desire.

~Research: the long 20 year History, Cultural Influence, Mega Tokyo Pokemon Centre, Pokemon Club at Senshu. 

~Theme Cafes- Creative way of presenting food, and entertainment
Themed cafes have become a really popular in Japan. They are known for taking an idea, pop culture character or animal and exploit it as the main item to attract customers. Decorations, music, food and beverages are also elaborated and presented in a way that fits the particular theme of the restaurant.

~Research: In order to understand what makes these establishments so unique and fun we plan to visit a number of themed cafes, including but not limited to: Maid, Animal and Cosplay cafes. Explore the different food presentations provided by each café and compare them in terms of artistry and quality of the food.

Week 2:

~Shintoism- Shrines, Practices and Gods

Shintoism is particularly unique to Japan, and even in religious practice perspective, it has traits uncommon to most other religious philosophies and practices.  Shintoism is deeply rooted in traditions, and is passed from one generation to the next, or from master to disciple. It is called "the way of the Gods", and similar to Hinduism, there are many many deities one can worship or offer prayer to; anther translation of Shintoism is "millions of gods".   Gods are called "kami", and are portrayed as imperfect beings, and part of the living and the death worlds; taking form in various aspects of our lives in the elements, in a household God, or a tiny shrine in a park or along a roadway. 

With Japan being very technologically advanced compared to the rest of the world, the idea of Shintoism still existing in small ways among a literal concrete jungle as a means to connect to the natural world is intriguing.  Parks, greenspace, and rooftop gardens are small ways to immerse oneself in nature, and we hope to identify little instances of Shintoism among the cityscape, or in films or anime references that may be showing while we are in Tokyo. Studio Ghibli is a notable example of ties back to the natural world; we hope to travel to the Ghibli museum and the park nearby the studio that the animators use for inspiration.

~Research: Going to Shrines, learning its History, reading about the Gods.

~Baking in Japan- Pastries and Foreign Influence
Baking and pastries in Japan has become a food art that is well-recognized around the world.  Cookies of product mascots are popular, as well as elaborately decorated themed cakes.  Due to Japan's unique tendency to blend other cultures or foreign influences with their own, cakes and pastries have distinctly Japanese touches combined with decorating stylizations from other countries.

In Japan, there is an abundance of French-style bakeries that sell fresh baking every morning.  There are also the kind of sponge cakes and the like that are prepared a particular way (flavouring, decoration and otherwise), and then sometimes stamped with the brand's logo onto the top by "burning" it on with a template.  In Shinjuku Station, there is a store called Mr. Doughnut, an in it, they sell all assortments of jelly-filled, powdered, and deep-fried variants of doughnuts.  Another place we hope to visit to look into the vast options of cakes, baked goods, and cookies is at the buffet-style Sweets Paradise, an entire floor dedicated to cakes and other baking goods

~Research: Different Imported Sweets, History of imported goods.

Week 3:

~Kimono- History, Etiquette and Cultural Appropriation
Kimono originated as a word used to describe clothing. Now the kimono is a specific style of dress with many rules and uses. Kimono has a great history, starting with the choice of the fabric, to how the kimono is cut, to how the ties bring the kimono together, all aspects of kimono have a very specific set of rules and ways to be made. There are many styles of Traditional Kimono all will be explored in our time here in Japan. The kimono is a staple in recognizing cultural aspects of Japanese life and history. Kimono is currently the centre of a controversy, Cultural Appropriation is a topic of recent cultural studies in which the kimono has found a spot, can people of other cultures wear the kimono without it becoming akin to a costume for other peoples to wear? Kimono is an important aspect of Japanese culture and learning its history will help our understanding of Japanese life and culture. 

~Research: History, visit Kimono shops, how its made (types of fabric used) and the Monet controversy. 

~Traditional Food- Wagashi, Sushi, Noodles and Soups

Being an archipelago, most of Japanese dishes are characterized by the use of marine components such as fish, shrimp and squid.  Traditional Japanese cuisine also implements rice as the main base for the majority of dishes. Japanese rice is known for being sticky, shorter and more round than other types of rice, which makes it perfect for the preparation of sushi and onigiri (rice balls).

In addition to rice and fish, we can see a variety of noodles and soups that complement a typical meal in Japan. Thick noodles (udon) and thinner noodles called soba are the most commonly found in traditional cuisine. Another form of traditional food in japan would include the wagashi or sweets, are often served during tea ceremony and are characterized by really attractive colours and shapes.
~Research: Quite simple, we plan to visit several establishments that offer traditional Japanese food and sweets in order to obtain some insight about the preparation techniques of some of these foods and observe what really constitutes a typical Japanese meal. Visiting the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo will allow us to understand better how Japanese people select the most fresh and appropriate product for the preparation of their food and also the price ranges they are willing to pay for such products.