Japan Navigator

Culture Day is coming up (November 3), so it is again time for the Order of Culture. Recipients have just been announced. Among them is Donald Keene, the foremost authority on Japanese literature. My only question is why he had to wait untill he became 86! Another well-known recipient in the cultural field is conductor Seiji Ozawa (who is still “young” at 73).

Although sunsets seen from the area of Monzen on the Noto Peninsula are also very good, the city of Matsue, on the banks of Lake Shinji in Shimane Prefecture, is making business out of them. Matsue is of course a tourist center, thanks to its original castle, old temples and shrines, beautiful museums and the fact that Lafcadio Hearn lived here for a year in the late 19th century. But of tourists there is never enough and the city now is promoting the sunsets over Lake Shinji as a sight to behold at least once in your lifetime. As AFP notes: “It has set up what it believes is a first-of-its-kind sunset forecast, giving weekly previews of whether there is a view to enjoy.” (See the Japanese-language sunset timetable on the city’s website). The city makes appreciable efforts to keep the view of the lake clean by not allowing high-rises in the area. It has built a special park for sunset-viewing and the Shimane Art Museum, also on the lake side, stays open until dusk in spring and summer so that visitors can enjoy the sunset from among the art works.

With the help of Trevor Corson of The Zen of Fish fame (here is my review), the Blue Ocean Institute has brought out a pamphlet about “sustainable sushi.” As the Japan Times notes: “Mackerel is in but octopus is out. And bluefin tuna, known as the king of sushi for its fatty belly meat, is a definite no-no.” I found another good guide at Seafood Watch. Generally speaking, price and availability, together with diversifying taste in japan, will regulate the market of its own accord – at least partially. As you can see in any Kaiten-sushi (conveyer belt) restaurant, the tuna is becoming rare and instead you find many new types of sushi, with beef, pork, ham, eggplant, sea salad or crab salad, corn, and in Kyoto of course yuba. Sushi seems to become like sandwiches: any topping will do… But being a conscious customer never hurts!

All three stories were found on the web thanks to the convenient links daily provided by NewsonJapan