It's Ring Finger's Fault 薬指が悪いんです｡｡｡

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Anyone must've made at least one (or more than hundreds!) spelling errors in life. I'm not an exception. I misspelled "mouth" as "month" in the post about netsuke sculpture and was unaware of it until it was pointed out by a kind reader. I always perform a spell check before publishing posts or submitting documents to clients at work, but as writing "month" instead of "mouth" isn't a misspelling, but the misuse of words, it went through a spell check without being detected....

One day about ten years ago, I was translating several provisions of Japanese tax law about donations. Japan, as other countries, exempts certain donations to non-profit organizations serving the public interest from tax. Since the translated document was for a big client, meaning it was urgent, as soon as finishing translation, I emailed the document to a British proofreader and went to the ladies' room.

Coming back, I saw him smirking, pointing to the screen of his computer to indicate a misspelling of "public" as "pubic."(OMG!) Since then, my right ring finger has always twitched when I intend to type "public."...

先日、根付について書いたところ、読者の方からスペルミスをご指摘いただきました。（「mouth」が「month」になっておりました。ご指摘、ありがとうございました！）。ブログでも仕事でも、スペルチェックはいつもかけているのですが、こういうのはすり抜けてしまいます。そこで似た事例をもう一つ。

以前、日本の公益法人の寄附金税制について訳していた時のことです。日本に限らず、公益法人は寄附金について税制優遇を受けられる場合があります。急ぎの仕事だったのでガーっと訳し、ネイティブチェッカーにチェックをお願いし、トイレに行って戻ってきたら、そのチェッカー氏、ニヤニヤと画面を指差しているではありませんか。見ると何と「public interest（公益）」が「pubic interest (言えません｡｡｡)」に（恥）｡｡｡

以来、「public」と書くときは薬指がピクピクするようになりました。

Beef Jerky at Midnight 真夜中のビーフジャーキー

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

 

On a weekday afternoon, I was in the office, talking with a colleague of mine. He loves steak, in particular, grilled beef steak.

As always, he was passionately telling me about his favorite steak restaurants. It was nearly 1 p.m. I had many things to do in the afternoon, but he kept talking. I glanced at my phone pretending to check the time and, when looking up, found surprisingly a slice of raw beef on his right palm. He said with a broad grin, "This is the best beef I've ever had. You should try this!!"

The meat just appeared literally out of nowhere. Where was he holding it? Then, he disappeared. After that, I only recall him coming back shortly, holding something in his right hand, and saying with a grin again, "Eat this."

It was grilled medium-rare, which made me wonder again how he could cook it in such a short time and where?? But I wasn't given time to think because he told me again to eat it. He was persistent. I couldn't say anything, just grabbing and put it into my mouth.

What am I chewing? It's like tasteless beef jerky! I felt his eagerness to hear something good about "what he was calling the best steak," but couldn't speak because no matter how many times I chewed it, it didn't get soft. I couldn't swallow it. It was still in my mouth with no taste... I had to keep chewing it over and over again........ until I woke up, realizing that I'd been dreaming and chewing my silicone mouth guard for anti teeth grinding.....

ある日の午後、ステーキ好きな同僚のK氏が職場で肉を差し出してきました。そして「絶対に食べるべきだ」と言って聞かない｡｡。断ることもできず一切れ口にしたまではいいのですが噛めない！ というか、ビーフジャーキーを固くしたみたいで噛み切れない、飲み込めない、しかも味がない｡｡。仕方なくずっとくちゃくちゃしながら「これ何？ ステーキじゃないじゃん、味のないジャーキーじゃん！！」と叫んたところで目が覚めました。歯ぎしり用のマウスピースを噛んでいました。ウソのような本当の話です。

Japanese Saying: "Wear a Cat" in Aye-Aye and British Guy Examples 「猫を被る」アイアイ

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Aye-aye "wearing a cat"

Today, I would like to explain the meaning of "猫を被る ("neko wo kaburu") using examples of an aye-aye and a British guy. For those who've never heard of this Japanese saying, it means literally "wear a cat," but figuratively "feign innocence."

So first, look at the above picture showing a typical aye-aye in Japan. According to Wikipedia, the aye-aye is "a long-fingered lemur, a strepsirrhine primate native to Madagascar that combines rodent-like teeth that perpetually grow and a special thin middle finger ....... and considered evil." But here in Japan, aye-ayes are known as cute animals because of a cheerful song for kids composed by someone who'd never seen aye-ayes. (How could this happen?) The lyrics says, "Aye-aye♪ aye-aye♪ They are monkeys♪ Aye-aye, aye-aye♪　They are monkeys in a southern island　Aye-aye♪ aye-aye♪ They are monkeys with long tails♪"

Then, take a look at the picture below of an aye-aye after "taking off the cat."

Aye-aye not "wearing a cat"

Aye-ayes eat fruits, but they also eat insects using their long middle fingers. Their munching insects with eyes glaring in the dark is so gross and horrifying!! Of course this is a real aye-aye...

Here is another sad example... A former friend of mine was so quiet and gentle. He is British, teaching English and translating for a big Japanese firm for over ten years. But one day I saw him shouting, "I hate Japanese! They don't learn!!!" Sometime later, he was found to have cheated on his wife and divorced. He must have been sick of "wearing a cat" at home and work for such a long time.....

以前から不思議でしょうがないのがアイアイの歌。アイアイを見たことがない人が作ったらしいのですが、そんなことってあるのでしょうか｡｡。怖い、気持ち悪い｡｡。それであの歌｡｡。

「猫を被る」は、猫は「うわべは優しいけど本当は獰猛」だかららしいのですが、アイアイの方がよっぽど猫を被っている（ご本人にそのつもりはないでしょうが）と思います。口で虫を引きちぎっている映像を見て以来、アイアイ♪を歌う気にはどうしてもなれません｡｡｡

ちなみに昔お友達だった英国人男性。英語の先生と翻訳をしておられ、紳士だとばかり思っていたのですが、ある日「日本人なんてでえ嫌いだ。学習しねえ！」と叫んでおられました。その後浮気が発覚し、離婚されました。家と職場の両方で「猫を被る」のに疲れてしまったんでしょうね｡｡。

Japanese Saying: Netsuke Titled "A-Hum" 根付って面白い！

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I found this netsuke in the Prince Takamado's netsuke collection at Tokyo National Museum. For those who have never heard of "netsuke," a netsuke is a small carved ornament, especially of ivory or wood, worn as part of Japanese traditional dress as a toggle by which an article may be attached to the sash of a kimono.

根付 (netsuke) titled "Beginning and End" 

Exquisite Chinese Ornaments of Three Kingdoms 中国美術の繊細さ

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Crown decorated with cicada design

I want to show you two items currently on view in the Three Kingdoms exhibition held in the Tokyo National Museum.

One is a 5cm wide 5cm tall, gold and bronze made crown in the above photo. The color is so beautiful and its cicada design, usual for Chinese bronzeware, is so exquisite.

Money tree

The other is "Money tree," a two meter high bronze made tree, decorated with more than 400 bronze coins. Despite the name, the tree has some kind of religious (not financial) significance.

Both embody delicate and exquisite beauty with many similarities to ancient Japanese ornaments.

東京国立博物館の三国志展に行ってきました。展示物が多かったので、自分の好みで二つ紹介します。

上の写真は「蟬文冠飾」という天子や重臣の装飾具。下は「揺銭樹」で英語では「Money tree」と言いますが、宗教的な意味合いを持つ装飾具だそうです。

両方とも、とっても繊細でした｡｡。

What's Your Name, Kung Fu Buddha? 仏様、お名前は？

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。 

What do you think it is? I found this 15cm to 20cm tall Buddha in the Tokyo National Museum. It was between an old plaque and an old mirror which were made from the 10th to 12th century and found in Tenkawa village, Nara prefecture, but there was no description of this kung-fu kicking Buddha.

So, hey Buddha, I'm gonna name you "Kung Fu Buddha"!

A curator said that a description of the Buddha is missing and that they're waiting for re-issuance. If you are in Tokyo or considering coming to Japan, don't miss the chance to meet him!!

東京国立博物館に行ってきました。そこの本館で見つけました。ムムム！奈良県天川村で発見された銅板と鏡の間にあったのですが、このちっちゃい（15cm～20cmぐらい）仏さまに関しては何の説明もなし。確認したところ、おそらく漏れてしまい（なくしてしまい）、再発行を依頼しているとのこと。

でもこのとぼけた顔可愛いでしょ。一見の価値ありです！

Reason for Writing No.2 - An Elephant Never Forgets! 英語の諺「象は忘れない」

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

An elephant never forgets. Neither do I...

Mr. Yamanishi, my third grade homeroom teacher, treated his favorite students differently. He quietly snapped at me when I pointed out to his mistakes. (I'd never do that today...)

Mr. Kumagai, my eighth grade English teacher, went back to the teachers' lounge without answering my question about the subjunctive mood. He spoke English with strong Japanese and regional accents.

Then, Mr. Onishi, my ninth grade homeroom teacher, said that I'd lost my "innocence." I was transferred from one school to another seven times from the first grade through the ninth. How could I have survived bullies and loneliness, had I been an "innocent" girl?　

Last, but not least. My high school homeroom teacher said, "Women can wait, but men can't." I don't exactly recall what he meant by this. We were talking about me being bullied. He suggested me to be a good girl and less assertive like a friend of mine...

Elephants do forget actually. (And me too, off course!) Being inspired by this saying, Agatha Christie wrote the book entitled, "Elephants Can Remember," but she forgot things, too. A study shows that Christie became forgetful when she got older maybe because of dementia, which is now known as Alzheimer's disease.

In conclusion, I have to write as many blog posts as possible before I forget...!

ブログを書く理由が最近少々変わってきました。というわけで今日はそれを英語の諺になぞらえてみました。

小学3年の時の担任はえこひいきがひどく、間違いを指摘したら静かに切れられました。（今考えるとそんなことする私が馬鹿です｡｡｡）

中2の時の英語の先生は、仮定法について質問したら無言で職員室に帰ってしまわれました。地元訛りの強い英語を話すことで知られた先生でした。

中3の担任には「転校ずれ」してると何度も言われました。（小中学校で合計7校行ったので当然です。）修学旅行で夜おしゃべりしてたら私だけビンタされて他の生徒への見せしめにされました。私にもっと素直になってほしかったそうです（？？）。

最悪なのは高校の担任です。いじめについて相談したら「女は待てるが男は待てない」と言われました。「黙って男についていけ」みたいなことかしら？「あまり自己主張するもんじゃない」というようなことを言われました。

ここで諺。An elephant never forgets.（象は忘れない。）

「象は記憶力がよく、昔の恨みを忘れないとされており、この言葉は記憶力がよいことを賞賛する分脈で使われることもあるが、自分に不親切であった人に対する恨みをいつまでも忘れないという意味でも使われる」とのこと。大人、特に先生は気を付けましょう。象だけではなく、子供も覚えてますよ！そして今、私がブログを書くのは「忘れちゃう前に全部書いておきたいから」です｡

ちなみにアガサ・クリスティー作品に「象は忘れない（Elephants Can Remember）」というのがありまして、この諺を下敷きにしています。象の記憶力はいいそうですが、勿論忘れることはあります（証明済みです）。クリスティーは晩年、アルツハイマー認知症で忘れっぽかったのではないかと言われています。

Japanese Sweet - Onrai Manto Pineapple Cake in Hiroshima 呉の鳳梨萬頭（おんらいまんとう）

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Onrai Manto, Hiroshima pineapple cake

As I've written in several posts, I moved too many times in my childhood so I can't say where I'm from in Japan. But my parents are definitely from Hiroshima although they sometimes pretend to be from Tokyo....

Is 7-Eleven's Decision Mottainai? セブンペイ撤退に関する考察

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Seven & I Holdings Co. has ended its mobile payment service just one month after launch because of securities issues, which had resulted in customers using their app losing money to scams. Everyone was surprised and has criticized this giant convenience store chain for their stupidity of being so naive about online security and making such an embarrassing decision.

Are they stupid? Yes, they are in terms that they were unaware of their lack of security related knowledge and technology. But is the decision of ending the service stupid, too? I don't think so. Rather, when comparing it with the belated decision to end the war, resulting in the loss of so many young lives, I find the company's decision courageous.

During the war, many young soldiers lost their lives because, firstly, Japan couldn't decide not to start the war by accepting that it had no chance to win and secondly, it couldn't decide to stop fighting by acknowledging that it was losing. This was because of mottainai-ism, i.e., the spirit of "making it work at any cost." Japan is known for the mottainai spirit, but this spirit doesn't always work good....

This 7-Eleven incident shows how Japan is increasingly globalized. Japanese are no longer afraid of, or embarrassed by, doing and saying things first and changing, stopping or retracting them in a few hours, days or months. Being flexible is good as long as the real cause is identified and the right people (i.e., not staff, but management making the decision) take the responsibility....

The 7-Eleven store in my neighborhood is its oldest shop in Japan...

セブンペイの撤退、驚きました。日本人にしては珍しい。ある意味「勇気ある撤退」です。以前書いた「もったいないから結婚する」の話に通じると思ってます。人生、損切りするタイミングを見誤ると泥沼化します。「かる～く行き（生き）ましょう」がモットーです。

金銭的な損害、会社の評判という意味では大変だったと思いますが、詐欺被害が広がるより良かったかな、と思いました。

The Boiling Frog Theory (Revised) ゆでガエル理論（改定）

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Is he being boiled to death?

(This is a revised version of the story originally posted on September 30, 2017...)
Two years ago (meaning in 2017), my company decided to transfer certain staff to another group company. I was one of them, but had no problem. It was part of a usual reorganization process. Nothing would change, I thought....

It was just one week before the deadline for signing a transfer agreement that I learned that there would be no place for me in the group company because of my seniority. I would have been obviously pressured into quitting not immediately, but in a few years. I'd seen many people being transferred from one department to another and quitting in reorganizations, but never expected that that would happen to me. I had to decide in a week whether to accept their request (which is legally so, but practically an order in Japan) or refuse it and fight the company to stay there.

Then, I remembered the boiling frog theory.

My dad, who likes this kind of stories, told me about it when I was a kid. As you may know, it's a fable about two frogs, one slowly being boiled alive, dying without realizing it while the other suddenly put into boiling water, jumping out and surviving.

I decided to go for the latter, i.e., immediately dealing with the situation by fighting "now" for career survival. I would rather have died (i.e., fought) when people knew why I was fighting than wait and make a fuss a few years later when everyone has forgotten about what happened to me. But Japan is a "harmonious" country. It was and still is very unusual and difficult for people to disobey superiors and employers....

This has affected me physically. Last year I was hospitalized for a week. I'm better now, but still on medication. It took me two years to face up to this again and write about it not from a third-person, but from the first person perspective. I still work for the same company and looking back, believe that I was right in choosing to jump into boiling water...

（２年前に書いたものを大幅改定しました。）
数年前に会社でいろいろありました。異動を受け入れるか拒否するかの選択を迫られたのです。拒否する＝会社と戦うことだったのですが、問題は、異動を受け入れても結局は数年後、異動先でまたもめると分かっていたこと。さあ、どうするか。戦うのは今か、それとも数年後か？

その時思い出したのが「ゆでカエル理論」。カエルが水からゆっくり茹でられると知らないうちに死んでしまうけど、熱湯に投げ込まれると驚いて飛び跳ねて死なない、というあの寓話です。

この手の話の好きな父が、子供の頃話してくれました。それで思い切って熱湯に飛び込んじゃった（つまり「即」戦う方を選んだ）んですが、大変でした｡｡。精神的にも肉体的にもつらく、去年は入院しました。今も通院しています。でも振り返ったら正しい決断だったのかな｡｡｡と。

当時はあまりにつらくて三人称でしか書けませんでしたが、2年経ち、やっと一人称で書けるようになりました｡｡｡😢

Don't Smother Verbs in Haiku Writing プレバトを見て－英語と俳句は似ている？

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Hurricane lilies, a haiku season word for autumn

As a translator, I often write in English and read books about how to write concisely. Two tips I always share with others are:

- Avoid negative sentences; and 

- Use active voice.

They are easy to start with, particularly the second one for Japanese, who generally prefer passive voice to avoid straightforwardness. 

But my favorite tip for plain writing is "Don't smother verbs" and I've recently learned when watching a Japanese TV show "Pre Bato" that this also applies to haiku writing.

Here is an example for Japanese speakers of a smothered verb in an English sentence. I'm sure that they can see the second sentence clearer and simpler than the first!

Call a stop to this nonsense.

Stop this nonsense.

Then, the following is an example for non-Japanese speakers of a smothered verb (the underlined part) in a haiku:

(1) Original　人生の　お守りとなり　曼珠沙華

Hurricane lilies, as maintainers of graves,
watch over us.

⇩　

(2) After editing　人生を　守り墓守もる　曼珠沙華

Hurricane lilies
maintain graves and watch over us.

Sorry for this poor translation... It's so difficult to translate haiku poems. But you can see what I mean, can't you? The term "お守り" in (1), a noun (i.e., maintainer), was changed to its verb form of "maintain" by the haiku master of the show. Both English and haiku writers should avoid smothered verbs, but this made me wonder why other Japanese writings and speeches, e.g., government regulations and politicians' comments, are so vague and obscure......

Hurricane lilies are ominous in Japan because, according to Wikipedia, they usually bloom near cemeteries around the autumnal equinox and are said to grow in Hell and guide the dead into the next reincarnation. But they are so beautiful that "hurricane lily" is a haiku season word (季語 [kigo]) for autumn.

プレバトの俳句見てていつも思うのですが、英文ライティングと俳句は似てます。両方とも、無駄な言葉使いがとても嫌がられます。

英文ライティングについていつも私が言っているのは、
- 肯定形で書く
- 能動体で書く

なのですが、実は一番好きなコツは「名詞でなく動詞で書く」です。先日、IKKOさんの作った俳句もなっちゃん先生に次のように直されました。

原文　　人生の　お守りとなり　曼珠沙華
　　　　　　　　　⇩　

添削後　人生を　守り墓守もる　曼珠沙華

「お守り」という名詞が「守る」という動詞に変えられました。英文ライティングも同じです。例えば、

Call a stop to this nonsense.　ではなく、

Stop this nonsense.　

と書きましょう、といった具合です。いちいち「call a stop」なんて名詞（stop）で書かずに動詞の「stop」でいいわけです。（いい意味で）効率化され、無駄がなくなります。

ところで、俳句はこんなにすっきりを目指しているのに、政治家の話す日本語と役所の書く日本語って、どうしてあんなに曖昧かつ意味不明なのでしょう。聞いていて「こりゃあ訳せんな」と嫌になることがよくあります｡｡｡

Work Like Hell or Possum? 「死んだふりして働きなさい」蛭子さんの助言

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

"Work like a possum...."

This is the answer to someone seeking advice in a magazine advice column I was reading in the waiting room of a hospital. He was a sales person, scolded almost every day by his boss for his poor performance and one day had been yelled at, "Work like hell!!"

The adviser is Mr. Yoshikazu Ebisu, a famous Japanese cartoonist who is also known for loving to play mahjong and gambling and being "lazy."

In Japan, people working to enjoy life are often considered lazy and forced to work like hell by the company. How we work, whether like hell or a possum or in any other way, is something we decide, not forced by others. But this social pressure causes more than 30,000 people to kill themselves every year in Japan and, during the war, forced so many young people to die for the emperor or the country... Am I overreacting?

The memorial day for the end of the war, August 15 (Japan time), is coming up this month. Whether we work like hell or a possum or in any other way, it's time for us to think it over and decide ourselves why we live and how. By the way, I work like a ninja, disappearing from the office at 5:30 p.m. sharp...

病院の待合室で読んでいた雑誌に人生相談のコーナーがありました。そして回答がこれ。営業成績が振るわず上司に「死ぬ気で働け」と怒鳴られた男性に、蛭子さんが「死んだふりして働きなさい」と答えてました｡｡。（ちなみに英語の「like a possum」は、ポッサムがやばいと死んだふりするところからきているそうです｡｡｡）

くだらないけど深い。だって、年間3万人が自殺するなんておかしいでしょ。過労でハラスメントでうつや自殺なんておかしいでしょ。死ぬ気で働くか、死んだふりして働くか、はたまた別の形で働くか、つまり「どう生きるか」は自分が自分で決めること。他人が強制することではありません。蛭子さんのアドバイスを読んで特攻隊の悲劇のことまで考えてしまうのは私だけでしょうか。

自分で決める（もちろんそれに対する責任は伴いますが）ことの大切さを日々痛感する今日この頃です。

ちなみに働き方ですが、私は定時にドロンします🙇｡｡。（ドロンも結構大変です｡｡｡）

Japanese Sweet - Hiroshima Hassaku Orange Jello 因島のはっさくゼリー

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

As I have lived in too many places in Japan, I can't say which part of Japan I'm from, but my parents are definitely from the Hiroshima prefecture where this jello is made.

 Innoshima Island no Hassaku Orange jello

I bought this Innoshima Island no Hassaku Orange jello (Hassaku orange jello of Innoshima Island) at a nearby supermarket. Innoshima Island is a small island in the Seto Inland Sea, once known as one of the bases of the Murakami clan pirates and now as one of the beautiful tourist sites along the Shimanami Kaido, a 60km cycling route connecting the mainland Japan and the Shikoku Island.

As almost a half of this jello consists of fresh hassaku orange, it's so amazingly orange!! You can buy this jello at some supermarkets and Hiroshima Brand Shop in Ginza. It's 172 yen including Japanese VAT.

By the way, at Hiroshima Brand Shop in Ginza, you can try other Hiroshima stuff, like saki and okonomi yaki. Hiroshima okonomi yaki is different from Osaka one and they have been fiercely fighting, claiming to be the best okonomi yaki in Japan! Okonomi yaki is a popular pan-fried dish that consists of batter, cabbage and selected toppings and ingredients ranging from meat and seafood to wasabi and cheese, but Hiroshima one contains more vegetables than Osaka one. As a Japanese national who’d lived in more than a dozen places from north to south Japan until the age of 15 and so is unbiased to any particular prefecture, I recommend Hiroshima okonomi yaki for someone conscious of diet while Osaka one for pizza or pancake lovers. I like them both!! 

因島のはっさくゼリー。近所のスーパーで買いました。パッケージのゆるさとは逆に中身は直球。はっさくがほぼ半分を占める贅沢なゼリーです。私自身は引っ越しばかりで「日本出身」としか言えないのですが、両親はゼリーと同郷の広島出身。因島は今やしまなみ海道で有名になった広島県尾道市の島です。

お値段税込み172円。安くはありませんがデパ地下よりいい（高くてたまにしか買えない｡｡｡）！そして何より「ものすごくはっさく」です。是非一度お試しあれ！通販でも買えます。

I Said "C'mon," But Didn't Mean It That Way.. 「カモン」て言ったら｡｡｡

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

My nephew, Kohei, is Japanese, but was born and lives in Hong Kong and goes to an American school there. Naturally, his first language is English, the second Japanese and the third Mandarin.

In one summer when Kohei and his sister and their parents (i.e., my brother and sister-in-law) came back to Japan, we got together at my parents' house, had dinner and after that, played Concentration. Kohei was three or four years old back then.

Big Whirlpool Sushi Roll of Koichian 古市庵のうず潮巻き

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Sushi roll

Do you know what this is? I found this black stuff with a diameter of 8 cm and a length of 20 cm when looking for Japanese sweets for this blog at Ginza Matsuya department store.

This is a sushi roll called "Uzushio Maki (meaning whirlpool roll)" of Koichian, an Osaka sushi company. I love this so much that I always buy one on my way home in Tokyo from Kyoto. And on that evening, it was being sold at 1,080 yen (10 dollars), 20% off!! How could I ignore it?

Japan has several types of sushi and Uzushio Maki is a type of maki zushi, a roll of vinegared rice with fish, vegetables and other ingredients wrapped in nori (海苔) seaweed. But this big sushi roll is special, containing eel, shrimp, egg, cucumber, kanpyo (dried gourd), salmon, salmon roe and others which I can't recall because of too many!! It's thick and fat enough to make two persons full.

Uzushio Maki is originally 1,343 yen (12 dollars), but if you go to the store at the right time (maybe around 6 p.m.?), you can get a discount. Don't be too early or late because if you are too early, you can't get a discount and if you're late, you will find it sold out. But I assure you that it's worthwhile to try! Koichian has stores across Japan.

My mom used to make this kind of sushi rolls (though a little thinner) for New Year holiday. I didn't like them and wanted to eat pizza or burgers. I was a kid...

大阪古市庵のうず潮巻きです。銀座松屋で和菓子を探しているときに偶然見つけました。京都から帰る時は必ず買って帰る一品。だから大阪寿司なんだけど私にとっては京都のお土産というわけです。

小さい時、毎年、お正月に母が太巻きずしを作ってくれていました。その時はハンバーガーの方がいいなと思っていたのですが、人って変わりますね（笑）。

うず潮巻き、一晩でペロッといただきました！