It has grown on me!

Thursday, August 31, 2017

The Best Selling Japanese Hair Brush - Koizumi Reset Brush KBE-2811

This March, Koizumi Reset Brush, an electric hair brush, was featured as one of the best products from Japanese electric appliance store on TV show, Ariyoshi Zemi. Since then, it has been incredibly popular in Japan, and it's sold out very quickly at many stores in Japan indeed.

Koizumi Reset Hair Brush KBE-2811 コイズミリセットブラシ

5980 yen
Can be purchased at many electric stores, Donki, Tokyu Hands in Japan.

Koizumi Reset Hair Brush KBE-2811

Reset Hair Brush has been also featured as the best selling beauty product in many Japanese beauty magazines. It has so many positive reviews on Amazon Japan, and many people review that it makes hair shiny and beautiful without heat. Some people say that their hair texture has changed by using this hair brush.

Scalp Care
You can massage your scalp with its platinum brushes, which also give your scalp cool feeling.

Remove Hair Static
While brushing your hair with Reset Hair Brush, it removes static in your hair. It makes your hair shiny and beautiful.

Koizumi Reset Hair Brush KBE-2811

This YouTube video shows that it also works for hair wigs.

Magnetism : 2000 Gauss
Sonic Vibration : 6000 per minute

Koizumi Reset Hair Brush KBE-2811

・Use twice a day.
・Only use for dry hair.
・Two AAA batteries

Koizumi Reset Hair Brush KBE-2811

     These are my entries you might like.

♥The Best Japanese Shampoo And Conditioner Won Beauty Awards in Japan - Kao Asience Meguri

♥The Best Japanese Shampoo & Conditioner

♥5 Best Japanese Deep Conditioning Hair Masks

♥The Best Japanese Hair Dryer, Panasonic Nano Care Hair Dryer

♥2 Best Japanese Hair Dryers

♥Top 5 Life-Changing Japanese Beauty Products

♥10 Best Japanese Beauty Products on Amazon Japan, You Can Also Purchase Them at Drugstores in Japan

♥7 Best Japanese Beauty Products 2016 Hall of Fame

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♥5 Best Japanese Facial Lotion (Toner), Kesyou-sui

     My entries related to Best Japanese Beauty Products can be seen here.

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     You can find my beauty entries by categories from here.

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Traditional Japanese Porcelain Wares at Daiso

Daiso sells many Japanese dishes at very reasonable prices. Many of dishes at Daiso are made oversea because dishes made in Japan are not cheap. However, Daiso have some famous Japanese porcelain wares, Mino Yaki (美濃焼) and Arita Yaki (有田焼). When I first found that Daiso has these famous traditional Japanese dishes a few years ago, I was pretty surprised about that because Mino Yaki and Arita Yaki are known as pretty high-end porcelain wares in Japan.

at Daiso

If you are planning on purchasing some dishes at Daiso, check the label if it are made in Japan.

Mino Yaki, Mino Ware (美濃焼)
Mino Yaki (美濃焼) is Japanese porcelain made in Toki (土岐市), Tajimi (多治見市), Mizunami (瑞浪市) and Kani cities (可児市), Gifu prefecture (岐阜県). Mino Yaki is said that it was first made during Heian period (平安時代), 794 to 1185.

Mino Yaki (美濃焼)

Arita Yaki, Arita Ware (有田焼)
Arita Yaki (有田焼) is Japanese porcelain made in around Arita cho (有田町), Saga prefecture (佐賀県). Arita Yaki is also called Imari Yaki (伊万里焼) sometimes. Arita yaki is said that it was first made in 1610s.

Arita Yaki (有田焼)

These are my entries you might like.

■4 Best Daiso Beauty Products You Can Find in the U.S.

■4 Kawaii Daiso Kitchen Gadgets

■ Top 10 Products You Should Buy at Daiso

■Top 3 Daiso Beauty Products

■Top 3 Most Popular Daiso Hair Products

■Top 3 Cool Daiso Erasers

■8 Interesting Japanese Kitchen Gadgets!

■Top 10 Most Popular Japanese Foods

■Top 10 Products You Should Buy at Japanese Supermarkets (for Beginners!)

■My Top 10 Favorite Japanese Snacks

■My Top 10 Favorite Japanese Sweets

■The Best Japanese Shampoo & Conditioner

■5 Best Japanese Hair Treatment / Mask Products

■Top 5 Japanese Sunscreen Products

■4 Reasons Why I Love Kose Softymo Cleansing Oil

     My previous entries related to Daiso can be seen here.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/Daiso

     My entries related to Japanese sweets and snacks can be seen here.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/Japanese%20sweets%20and%20snacks

     My entries related to beauty can be seen here.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/beauty

     My entries related to Japan can be seen here.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/Japan

       This is my entries related to cooking.
http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/cooking

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Why Can Children in Japan Walk to School Alone?

When I moved to the U.S. from Japan, one of the things I was very surprised about US was that children cannot be alone outside and inside home. In the U.S., parents need to take children to schools every morning and pick them up after school. Then, children have to be with their parents or babysitters outside schools. I thought that children are well protected in the U.S., and parents are very busy to follow the law.

Today, I watched this video, Japan Encourages Parents to Let Kids Walk to School Solo. In Japan, children go to school alone or with friends. After school, they go back home themselves.

      When I was 4 in Japan, I started to go to a kindergarten where was located only about 1/3 mile from my home. I walked to the kindergarten with my friends who were my neighbors and were age 4 to 6. Sometimes, I couldn't wake up on time, so I had to go there alone. I remembered that I was scared at a dog my next-door neighbor owned. Every day, the dog barked at me loudly while I was walking the road near him. The dog was my only enemy at that time. ;) Now, my sister's children go to a kindergarten with their grandmother by a car because it's located a little far away from their home (Small children cannot walk such a long distance every day.).

When I was 6, I started to go to an elementary school. I also walked to the school with my neighbors who were 6 to 12. It took us about 45 minutes from home to the school. After school, I walked to home with my friends as well. Then, I went to my friends' houses by bicycle alone and played with them outside or inside home. I was told by my parents to go back home before dark (It's usually 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.). When I was 10 years old or over, my friends and I sometimes went to the next city by a public bus for shopping on weekend. I asked my parents for the permission only when I was planning on going far away from my home. Unlike children in the U.S., Japanese children may go out freely without an adult, and parents don't have to always stay with children, so parents don't need to hire a babysitter.

Why can children in Japan walk to school alone?

Japan Is The Safest Country, And Children Know How to Avoid the Risk.
As you might know that Japan is one of the safest countries in the world. However, it's clear that crime rate is not zero. It possibly happens in Japan. When I was in an elementary school, students were sometimes told by teachers these.

"Do not follow strangers."
"Do not receive anything from strangers."
"Do not trust strangers even if they give you snacks or sweets."
"Do not ride strangers' car"
"If a stranger ask you a direction to your neighbor's home. Do not ride his/her car."
"If a stranger tell you that your father or mother is sick, do not ride his/her car."
"If a stranger try to kidnap you, scream at him/her loudly, run away, find an adult and ask for help."

     I haven't encountered any of these, but I was aware of these risks when I was a little girl.

       These are also my entries you might like.
■Why Do You Love Japan?

■Very Affordable Weekday Lunch Combo in Japan

■Japanese Drugstore Shopping List - 6 Best Japanese Products You Can Purchase at Drugstore in Japan!

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■Top 10 Products You Should Buy at Daiso

■My Top 15 Must Eat Foods in Japan - My Favorite Japanese Foods

■Top 10 Most Popular Japanese Foods

■8 Interesting Japanese Kitchen Gadgets!

■My Top 10 Favorite Japanese Snacks

■My Top 10 Favorite Japanese Sweets


     My entries related to Best Japanese Beauty Products can be seen here.

My entries related to cooking can be seen here.

My entries related to Japanese noodles can be seen here.

     My entries related to Japan Haul can be seen here.

   My entries related to beauty can be seen here.

   You can find my beauty entries by categories from here.

Monday, August 28, 2017

Two Famous Japanese Pancake Mix Products, Hotcake Mix

     In Japan, pancake mix is called hotcake mix (ホットケーキミックス), but it's sometimes named pancake mix (パンケーキミックス) as well. Hotcake mix and pancake mix are the same, but hotcake mix is commonly used rather than pancake mix in Japan. Hotcake mix is very useful. It's not only for making pancakes, but it also can be used to make bread, dorayaki, steamed cake, muffin and so on. Did you know that Japanese pancakes taste different from US pancakes?

    When I moved to the U.S. from Japan, I purchased a large box of pancake mix at a grocery store. I thought it's like Japanese hotcake mix, and I was really excited to try US one. However, my pancakes made with US pancake mix tasted different from Japanese one. Even though it had delicious butter aroma, it was too salty to me. I tried to make it several times to use it up, but I couldn't get used to its taste. I believe that taste is subjective, so you might like American pancakes better, not like me.

    Pancakes made with Japanese hotcake mix is fluffy and slightly sweet. The most well known hotcake mix products in Japan are Morinaga Hotcake Mix (森永ホットケーキミックス) and Nissin Hotcake Mix (日清ホットケーキミックス). If you are in Japan, you can find these products at supermarkets easily.

Morinaga Hotcake Mix (森永ホットケーキミックス)

Morinaga Hotcake Mix

Morinaga is one of the most famous confectionery companies in Japan. I wrote about some Japanese chocolate from Morinaga in my previous entry, Haul - Japanese Sweets and Snacks - Part 1. When I lived in Japan, I sometimes used Morinaga Hotcake Mix. This 600g package has four 150g packs of hotcake mix. You can make three medium sized pancakes with a 150g pack of hotcake mix. If you want to make just three pancakes, you can keep remaining three packs fresh.

Morinaga Hotcake Mix

Nissin Hotcake Mix (日清ホットケーキミックス)

Nissin Hotcake Mix

Nissin is one of the largest food manufacture companies in Japan. As I mentioned in my previous entries, Japanese Instant Noodle Haul and A Package from My Mother-In-Law in Japan, they also make instant noodles such as Nissin Raoh and Nissin Chicken Ramen. Nissin Hotcake Mix also contains 600g of hotcake mix. If you use a large amount of hotcake mix at a time, this is perfect for you. This hotcake mix has maple syrup aroma.

I Made Japanese Pancakes Today. :)
It's been a while, since I made pancakes with using Japanese hotcake mix last time. Today, I made pancakes for breakfast because my husband found this Mitake Soy Pancake Mix (みたけ大豆粉と米粉のパンケーキミックス), which is made of rice and soy beans, at Tokyo Central in Costa Mesa. This is perfect for people who are allergic to wheat. We don't have wheat allergy, but it was on sale there, so we decided to try it. If you are in Kanto region such as Tokyo, you can also find this Mitake Soy Pancake Mix at Seijo Ishi supermarkets (成城石井) and Mami Mart supermarkets (マミーマート). This is made by Mitake, which is a Japanese food manufacture company, and Orange Page Magazine, which is a Japanese cooking magazine. Anyway, I'm going to share with you how I made pancakes with this one.

Mitake Soy Pancake Mix

1. Whisk an egg and 180ml of milk. Then add this pancake mix and mix them well.

2. Pour the mixture into a pan. Cook it over low heat for 3 minutes. Flip over it and cook it another 2 minutes.

3. Serve and enjoy! I put some butter and drizzled the pancake with honey.

     Even though it wasn't made of wheat and wasn't as fluffy as one made with regular Japanese hotcake mix, it tasted just like Japanese regular pancakes! It didn't taste like soy beans to me. It was slightly sweet and so delicious! :)

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■My Top 10 Favorite Japanese Snacks

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■How to Cook Japanese White Cream Stew

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Sunday, August 27, 2017

How to Cook Wafu Pasta, Japanese Style Pasta Dish

Yesterday, I cooked wafu pasta (和風パスタ), a Japanese style pasta dish. There are many kinds of Japanese style pasta dishes. This time, I cooked a soy sauce flavored onion pasta dish and it turned out so delicious. It reminded me of wafu mushroom pasta I used to eat with my friends when I was in high school in Japan. My friends and I used to go to a Japanese cafe restaurant by bicycle on Saturdays after school. We enjoyed talking and our delicious lunch there. I remember that I loved their wafu mushroom pasta and wafu pilaf there. :) This time, I didn't add any mushrooms because I didn't have ones in my refrigerator. Anyway, I'm going to share how to make wafu pasta with you.

Ingredients (4 Servings)
1lb (454g) of Spaghetti
4 Tablespoons of Oil
1 Tablespoon of Minced Garlic
1 Onion (Sliced)
Shimeji Mushrooms (Optional)
2 Cans of Tuna
7 Fl Oz (200ml) of Water
3 Tablespoons of Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon of Hondashi
Chopped Green Onions
Nori (Cut into small pieces) or Kizami Nori

1. Cook spaghetti according to the instruction of the package.

2. Heat oil and garlic in a pan over low heat. Add onions and stir-fry them over medium heat for 3 minutes.

3. Add tuna and mushroom. Stir them.

4. Add water, soy sauce and hondashi. Cover the lid. Simmer it for 3 minutes.

5. Add cooked spaghetti and stir them.

6. Serve it on a plate. Sprinkle green onions and nori over it. Enjoy!

These are my entries you might like.
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Saturday, August 26, 2017

How to Make Abekawa Mochi, Kinako Mochi

Today, I made this Abekawa mochi (安倍川もち), which is Japanese mochi coated with kinako (きな粉), roasted soy bean flour. It's also called kinako mochi (きな粉もち). When I was a child, my grandmother used to make Abekawa mochi for me during winter because winter is a season to enjoy mochi in Japan. Regardless of age, Abekawa mochi is popular mochi dessert in Japan all year round. (By the way, people in my hometown love to eat kinako rice, which is called kinako gohan (きな粉ご飯). I used to sprinkle kinako and sugar over steamed rice. It was quick and easy dessert. I don't know if you like it, but my husband and I loved it when we lived in Japan. )

This time, I used mochiko (もち粉), for this Abekawa mochi, but you can also make it with kirimochi (切り餅). Just grill or microwave kirimochi and soak it in water. Then, coated it with kinako. Anyway, I'm going to share how to make Abekawa mochi with you. :)

Ingredients (4 Pieces of Abekawa mochi)

For Mochi
80g (2.8 oz) of Mochiko, Japanese Sweet Rice Flour
1 Tablespoon of Sugar
100ml (3.3 fl oz) of Water

For Kinako and Topping
Kinako, Japanese Roasted Soy Bean Flour
Sugar
Anko, Sweetened Red Bean Paste (Optional)

1. Mix mochiko and sugar in a bowl.

2. Add water to it little by little as you stir the mixture.

3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Microwave it for 2 minutes. Knead the mochi with a rice paddle thoroughly.

4. Cover it with plastic wrap and microwave it for 30 seconds. Knead the mochi with a rice paddle thoroughly.

5. Mix kinako and sugar according to your preference. (You might like the ration of 8 Tablespoons of Kinako to 4 Tablespoons of Sugar. )

6. Scoop a small piece of mochi with a wet tablespoon. Soak the mochi in water.

Then, move the mochi into the mixture of kinako and sugar. Coat the mochi with it.

You can store the remaining mixture of kinako and sugar in refrigerator, so try kinako rice later if you are interested in it. ;)

7. Serve and enjoy! Add anko, sweetened red bean pastes, if you like it.

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■How to Make Japanese Deep Fried Chicken, Kara-Age

■How to Cook Japanese Curry

■How to Cook Miso Soup

■How to Cook Japanese White Cream Stew

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My entries related to Japanese instant ramen can be seen here.

My entries related to Japanese noodles can be seen here.

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Friday, August 25, 2017

How to Cook Healthy Tofu Okonomiyaki

Last night, I was going to cook cabbage yaki, Osaka's fast-food cuisine, which I used to eat when I lived in Osaka. However, after shredding cabbages, I realized that I didn't have any flour in my pantry! What should I make? I opened my refrigerator and found soft tofu in it. That's why I decided to make tofu okonomiyaki for the first time in years. :) Tofu is rich in protein, so it's much healthier than using flour. :) The taste of tofu okonomiyaki is actually as delicious as regular okonomiyaki.

Tofu Okonomiyaki

I also cooked this negi tofu okonomiyaki. By putting ponzu, citrus based sauce, over it, it has refreshing flavor. :) Anyway, I'm going to share how to cook healthy tofu okonomiyaki with you.

Negi Tofu Okonomiyaki

Ingredients (4 Servings)
1 lb of Soft Tofu
4 Eggs
1/2 Smaller Size Cabbage (Shredded)
2 Tablespoons of Tenkasu (Optional)
Nip of Salt and Black Pepper
1 Tablespoon of Hondashi
Thinly Sliced Pork, Seafood, Cheese or Diced Mochi (Optional)
Oil

Topping for Regular Tofu Okonomiyaki
Okonomiyaki Sauce
Japanese Mayonnaise
Katsuobushi, Dried Bonito Flakes
Aonori
Kizami Shoga, Red Ginger Pickles

Topping for Negi Tofu Okonomiyaki
Green Onions (Chopped)
Ponzu

1. Microwave tofu for 5 minutes. Drain the water. Mash the tofu with a potato masher.

2. Mix tofu, eggs, cabbages, tenkasu, salt, black pepper and hondashi in a large bowl. You can add cheese if you want.

3. Heat oil in a pan over high heat. Scoop the mixture and place it in a pan. Make a flat round shape with a turner. If you want to add meat, seafood or mochi, place it under the mixture. Cover the lid and cook it over medium heat until it's browned.

4. When the okonomiyaki is browned, flip over it. Since it's made from tofu, it's pretty difficult to flip over it, so move it to a plate first. Then, flip over it as moving it back to the pan. Cover the lid and cook it until it's browned.

5. Move okonomiyaki to the plate. For regular tofu okonomiyaki, top it with okonomiyaki sauce, Japanese mayonnaise, katsuobushi, aonori and kizami shoga. Enjoy!