The Tokyo Traveler

Did you know that the use of disposable chopsticks is contributing to the decimation of forests in China? 
Asia’s appetite for chopsticks has resulted in the loss of 25 million trees a year in China and since the start of the decade and the country has exported over 165,000 tonnes of chopsticks, with 15 billion pairs finding their way to dinner tables in Japan and South Korea.  One estimate states that a nation wide noodle chain in China uses 160,000 pair of chopsticks each day.  That’s a lot of trees!
…environmentalists say they (chopsticks) are up there with plastic carrier …read more

4 Comments

Bring your own chopsticks three times and you could win a new pair!  Just the latest eco-conscious promotion in Japan.  But the best eco-conscious product has to be the solar powered bra that you can use to charge your I-pod.
The Japanese have brought native Noma horses back from the brink of extinction and you can now see one of these adorable miniature horses at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo.
As incomes rise, more Asians turn to cosmetics that promise a lighter skin color.
Neon orange paint balls are the newest crime-fighting innovation in Japan. I’m not sure how effective they will …read more

2 Comments

In Japan eating with chopsticks or hashi is commonplace and you will often have to ask for a fork if you are unable to use chopsticks. With the proliferation of Asian cuisines throughout the world many people are able to use chopstick quite effectively but how many do you think know their chopstick etiquette?
Yesterday I told you about Ginza Natsuno, your one stop shop for everything chopstick related, and today I want to let you know about 11 things not to do with your newly purchased chopsticks. These things are all considered rude or at least culturally …read more

9 Comments

Did you know that there are over 1400 types of chopsticks and 1,100 different ways to hold them? There are even rules about what you should and shouldn’t do with your chopsticks. The Japanese term for chopsticks is hashi and Ginza Natsuno is a store dedicated to everything beautiful about hashi!
On a visit to the branch in Harajuku I was amazed by the variety of hashi available. The walls were covered with hashi in almost every color of the rainbow and there were sizes and styles that I had never seen before.
When you purchase hashi the correct …read more

5 Comments